Shun looked at the girl and asked, "You are really not afraid?"
"Afraid? Afraid of what?"
Kurumi tilted her head slightly, her eyes full of confusion.
"Afraid that the cursed spirit that looks exactly like you will kill you."
Shun nodded. "Normally, if a curse looks just like you, it means your connection is anything but shallow. There is no telling when she might come to take your life."
In general, nothing good ever came from being entangled with curses.
Let alone sharing the same face.
"There was a case once. A pair of twins, they looked almost identical. One was a normal human, the other carried a curse."
"In the end, the cursed one killed her twin and obtained an extremely powerful twin-based technique."
Shun knew this case well.
Because he was the one who had exorcised that cursed spirit in the end.
"Eh? That is so scary."
Kurumi shrank her shoulders a little, putting on a look of fright.
But looking at the bright smile that still stayed on her face, she clearly did not care at all.
Shun shook his head.
It felt like he had just told her a ghost story that was not scary in the least.
Kurumi propped her chin in her hands, smiling as she watched him. "I already know everything you are saying."
"But, things are already like this. Even if I am scared, it will not change anything, right?"
She sounded surprisingly at ease.
"Instead of that, I would rather smile and live each day well."
"After all, the goddess of luck will not look kindly on people who always wear a gloomy face."
Shun eyed her with a trace of surprise. "You are pretty open minded."
"Of course. The Tokisaki family rule is that we must not hang our heads in discouragement, no matter what happens."
"There is a family rule like that?"
"I just made it up."
Shun clicked his tongue. "As expected of you."
"And also..."
Kurumi leaned forward again, closing the distance, and pressed her lips close to his ear.
"I believe in you very much, Gojo San."
Her breath against his ear was warm and itchy.
His heart gave a sudden thump.
"I am not afraid," she whispered.
"Because I believe you will protect me."
Then she quickly pulled back to her seat again, a playful smile on her face.
"So,, did your heart skip a beat just now?"
Shun's expression stayed calm. "Do not say things like that to someone you have known for less than half a day."
"Eh? Changing the subject, so you did feel something?"
Kurumi teased him with her eyes. "Even though we just met, I really feel that you are a very good person."
"So before I realize it, I ended up trusting you."
Shun let out a dry little laugh.
"So this is your roundabout way of giving me a 'you are such a good guy' card?"
"Do not overinterpret what a lady says."
Kurumi pinched the edge of the table and huffed.
Shun shrugged, took a sip of his coffee, then reached his hand out toward her.
"What?"
She looked at his hand, puzzled.
"Give me your phone," he said. "Since you trust me, we should at least exchange contact information. If those things come after you, I would not even know."
"What an interesting way to ask for a girl's number." Kurumi laughed as she took out her phone from her pocket. "But I am a little disappointed you need me to call you for help."
Her face took on a theatrically regretful look.
"Disappointed?"
Shun looked at her, not quite following.
Kurumi explained patiently, "Look, in TV dramas, when the heroine runs into trouble, the hero always appears like he has some kind of telepathic connection with her."
"Uh..." Shun rubbed his forehead. "I think you need to read a few proper books and learn about materialism. Do not fill your head with that nonsense."
Kurumi complained, "After everything that happened today, my faith in materialism is already hanging by a thread."
"Young lady, you must believe in science."
Shun used her phone to call his own, so both of their phones now had each other's numbers saved.
Of course, he did more than just that.
The moment she encountered those curses, the odds of Kurumi having the time to make a call would be close to zero.
The more important part was that he set a small curse on her phone.
No, as a jujutsu sorcerer, he could not call it a curse. It was a technique constructed with cursed energy.
Yes, that was exactly how an official professional should phrase it.
"Alright, here."
Shun handed the phone back to her.
Kurumi took it and immediately asked, "Um, Mr. Gojo, can I call you in the middle of the night to chat?"
Shun smiled kindly. "If you dare to disturb my sleep, I will put all kinds of strange curses on you."
"Are you a cursed spirit or what?!"
Kurumi shouted in protest.