"Couldn't hold back any longer, could you?"
Facing Yaga Masamichi's extremely stern questioning, Roy instead laughed.
An hour earlier, Yaga Masamichi had arrived at the Kita family residence with an assistant supervisor from Jujutsu High, extending an invitation for Roy to join the school.
Given that Roy was known to be a foreign jujutsu sorcerer, this invitation seemed incredibly reckless at first glance.
Foreign sorcerers typically had no vested interests with Japanese jujutsu practitioners, making it difficult for Japanese jujutsu institutions to recruit them. Essentially, beyond close personal relationships or substantial incentives, there were few methods to secure their cooperation.
Of course, if one could persuade a foreign sorcerer through eloquent appeals to patriotism or grand ideals, that would be considered a skill in itself.
However, Roy's attitude toward Japan was largely one of silent amusement. Concepts of greater good meant little to him—even if every single one of Japan's 100 million citizens perished, it wouldn't faze him in the slightest.
As a recent arrival in this world, he had no personal connections to leverage, ruling out that approach entirely.
Thus, Yaga had initially planned to entice Roy with cursed tools preserved at Jujutsu High as compensation for joining.
Jujutsu High—particularly the Tokyo campus under his jurisdiction—housed the largest collection of cursed tools in all of Japan. Were word to spread that the school was opening its cursed warehouse for sorcerers to freely select artifacts, the entire jujutsu community would descend in a frenzy.
If cursed tools proved insufficient, they could supplement the offer with ancient inherited techniques—barrier arts, shikigami rituals, and other foundational teachings of universal jujutsu principles.
Yet Roy declined these terms.
Instead, he proposed an alternative condition.
Agree to this single term, and he would join Jujutsu High.
But he refused to immediately disclose what this condition entailed, insisting on first visiting the school before finalizing his decision.
After leaving payment for his stay with the Kita family, Roy accompanied Yaga to Jujutsu High.
"No need to rush."
Under Yaga's watchful gaze, Roy smiled dismissively.
"I'll tell you my condition—just not yet. And don't worry, it shouldn't cause you too much trouble. Probably."
His words seemed like an explanation.
But to Yaga's ears, they conveyed nothing at all.
"Without knowing your terms, I can't in good conscience allow you into the school."
Yaga kept his hands clasped behind his back, his typically composed expression tinged with resolve.
"What, afraid I'll make trouble?"
Roy chuckled, gesturing upward.
"Aren't these barriers of yours supposed to suppress threats? Surely they can handle someone like me. Relax—treat me as a normal guest, and I won't cause any problems."
With a glance, Roy could see the immensely powerful barriers layered over Jujutsu High's skies.
Likely erected by Tengen, and not just a single layer at that.
While they posed no real threat to Roy, Yaga remained unaware of this fact—the barriers' presence should offer some reassurance. And truthfully, Roy had no intention of stirring up trouble here.
He had a singular objective in mind.
Before achieving this goal, he had no intention of acting recklessly.
"Even if I said I wasn't wary of you, you probably wouldn't believe me—and I admit I do have such reservations."
Yaga Masamune stood there like a statue, his tone low but his attitude completely forthright.
"Before you state your conditions, of course I will treat you as an honored guest. Jujutsu High isn't so lacking in manners. However, there's another issue—I hope you can give me a clear deadline. When exactly will you present your conditions? I want to know that."
A clear deadline, huh?
This Yaga Masamune was meticulous to a fault.
"When will I present them? Well, the answer to that question doesn't actually depend on me."
Roy pondered before giving an enigmatic reply.
Yaga Masamune's lips twitched, momentarily frozen in place.
Even he was taken aback by such a cryptic response.
"However, I suspect that day will come very soon—within three to five days at most. If it takes longer, consider the deal void."
Fortunately, after some thought, Roy still provided a concrete timeframe.
This eased Yaga Masamune's mind somewhat.
"Fine. Then I'll also give you an answer within five days. Until then—"
"I came here illegally, so I'd appreciate it if you could help sort out my identity. Also, I don't have a place to stay. Jujutsu High has plenty of buildings—you wouldn't mind lending me one, would you?"
"..."
Yaga Masamune was momentarily speechless.
This was the first time he'd seen someone openly admit to being an illegal immigrant.
Whatever.
"Fine."
This might be for the best.
Keeping him under close watch was better than letting him roam freely outside.
Yaga Masamune had already learned the details of last night's battle in the Okubo area. It was indeed a cursed spirit that had sought Roy out for revenge, only to be killed by him instead. The fault didn't lie with Roy.
But a powerful sorcerer capable of overwhelming three special-grade cursed spirits was, in himself, a walking vortex of conflict, one that would continuously attract those with ill intentions.
Moreover, it was currently the students' vacation period, so Jujutsu High was nearly empty. Even if something happened, there was no need to worry about the students being affected.
Most importantly—
Right now, Yaga Masamune had a compelling reason to keep this sorcerer here.
"Ah, right, right. Could you also lend me some money? I don't have any, you see. Oh, and I don't have a phone either. Why don't you just send someone to buy one for me?"
"...Fine."
"Ah, thank you so much! You're such a good person!"
"...Flattery won't help."
Yaga Masamune replied expressionlessly.
What was this?
Why did he see traces of another white-haired man in this one?
And so—
With Yaga Masamune's approval, Roy temporarily settled in at Jujutsu High.
For now, he was still a guest.
All that remained was to see whether Yaga Masamune would agree to his conditions in three to five days.
If he did, Roy would join Jujutsu High.
***
It was April, the beginning of spring.
Although Jujutsu High's academic calendar doesn't strictly follow Japan's three-term system, the school was currently on spring break. Most students had gone home, leaving only regular sorcerers and assistant supervisors on campus.
Upon learning this, Roy lost interest in exploring the school further.
"Alright, let's sort out the current situation!"
After settling into the room arranged by Yaga and retrieving his luggage from his imaginary pocket dimension, Roy established several barriers in the room. With nothing else to do, he began organizing his thoughts.
"First and foremost—this."
Roy drew a pure white Orga Lux from the sheath at his waist.
He attempted to channel prana into the Orga Lux. Sparks flickered briefly as the outline of a guard appeared faintly before dissipating completely.
Then nothing happened.
"The Sword of the Black Furnace still won't activate."
Roy frowned, staring at the Initiator in his hand.
The sword lay in his palm, conveying emotions of confusion, frustration, and unwillingness to him.
Why couldn't it manifest?
Even the sword itself didn't know the reason.
Its inability to assist Roy filled it with deep resentment.
Had it functioned properly last night, not only that creature called Jogo, but also those two called Hanami and Dagon wouldn't have escaped—they'd have been bisected before fleeing.
"It must be due to differences in world rules. After all, you require mana particles to form your blade."
Roy murmured this observation. To an outsider, it might seem like he was talking to himself, but the Sword of the Black Furnace knew he was addressing it directly.
In the Asterisk world, the sword functioned perfectly. In the Type-Moon world, since the Root had assimilated most of the Asterisk rules through evolution, the sword could operate there as well.
But in this jujutsu world, the fundamental rules differed drastically from the Asterisk world. This world lacked mana particles entirely, making it impossible for the sword to gather them and form its blade.
Was the Sword of the Black Furnace truly unusable here?
This was his sharpest weapon.
Roy attempted several more times to channel magical energy into the sword, but couldn't even form the guard, let alone the blade.
"Seems it's truly unusable... I'll have to craft a powerful rune blade or find a suitable cursed tool sword in this world."
Roy sighed in resignation.
At that moment, the sword suddenly conveyed excitement.
"What is it?"
Noticing this change, Roy looked down at the weapon.
Unable to speak, the sword could only project urgent emotions, as if urging him to do something.
"You want magical energy?"
After some thought, Roy ventured this guess.
The sword responded with relieved confirmation.
This reaction made Roy raise his eyebrows in surprise.
An incredible hypothesis formed in his mind.
Though the Sword of the Black Furnace had an aloof personality, it would never play tricks on its master.
A reaction like this must mean it had discovered something.
Asking for his magical energy—could it be...
With this thought, Roy once again channeled his magical energy into the Sword of the Black Furnace.
This time, he didn't stop at all, continuously pouring the energy from his body into the red core of the activation unit.
The blood-red Mana Crystal at the heart of the activation unit suddenly shone brightly, its crimson flashes growing increasingly dazzling in his room. The shape of the guard gradually began to form on the Orga Lux.
But just as it was about to complete, the guard abruptly shattered into countless tiny fragments and scattered. The glow of the Mana Crystal dimmed in an instant.
Failure.
The Sword of the Black Furnace radiated intense frustration and unwillingness.
"No, it doesn't seem like a simple failure."
But Roy, who had witnessed the entire process, brightened with realization, his face lighting up in understanding.
"If it were truly unusable due to rule differences, then no matter how much magical energy I poured in, it shouldn't have formed even a hint of shape—at most, it would just spark a little. But just now, it nearly completed the guard. What does that mean?"
It meant the rule differences were being overcome!
As Roy continued to pour in more magical energy, the Sword of the Black Furnace itself was gradually breaking through the rule differences!
However, the amount of magical energy Roy had provided was clearly insufficient to fully overcome the rule differences. Not only was the blade of light not formed, even the guard hadn't been successfully constructed.
If Roy possessed an ocean-like reserve of magical energy and poured it into the Sword of the Black Furnace, perhaps it could break through the rule differences in one go—assuming the sword had no power limit.
Ultimately, it was Roy's own unique trait at work!
His ability to help the woman he slept with adapt to the rules he carried.
Now, it seemed even his magical energy could assist weapons in adapting to the rules of other worlds!
Though the efficiency was far lower compared to that.
"Come to think of it, I've always gone straight to the point before. I've never tried this method."
Roy stood up eagerly.
He found a basin in the room, placed the Sword of the Black Furnace inside, then took out a rune-carved knife and slit his wrist without hesitation. His crimson blood dripped steadily onto the Mana Crystal at the sword's core, not a single drop wasted.
The Mana Crystal of the Sword of the Black Furnace immediately emitted a dazzling, multicolored crimson glow, illuminating the entire room so brightly it seemed to eclipse even the sun.
After a while, as if it had consumed all his blood, the sword's radiance gradually calmed.
Roy picked up the Sword of the Black Furnace again and channeled his magical energy into it.
With a resonant hum, the guard formed instantly.
But the blade portion remained as illusory as a mirage, flickering like a candle in the wind, appearing highly unstable.
"Seems like it'll take more time."
A delighted smile spread across Roy's face as he nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he had guessed.
His blood also possessed the ability to help others and weapons adapt to the rules of another world—and it was even more efficient than his magical energy.
Though still not as effective as that.
How strange—what kind of Tang Sanzang-like constitution did he have?
Still, the fact that the Sword of the Black Furnace could be used was undeniably a great boon.
As his sharpest blade, the Sword of the Black Furnace would play a crucial role in crushing all enemies. As for its ability to "sever the special powers of magicians and witches," whether it would evolve in this world remained uncertain.
Roy's own abilities—whether it was the Mystic Eyes of Inverted Moon or his body modification—were gradually becoming conceptualized, that much was true. But whether the weapon's power could follow suit and become conceptualized was still unclear.
"Anyway, I'll just spend more time letting the Sword of the Black Furnace adapt to this world as quickly as possible."
Roy placed the Sword of the Black Furnace back into the basin and continued to nourish it with blood as if watering a flower.
Thanks to his body modification ability, he could generate blood out of thin air, so he didn't have to worry about excessive blood loss. He just needed to reserve a bit of magical energy for emergencies.
As he nourished the sword, Roy's consciousness gradually sank into the depths of his soul.
Deep within his soul lay an infinite imaginary space, filled with an ocean of black mud—the Chaos Tide brought by Tiamat.
At this moment, floating atop that sea of black mud was a massive dragon with distinctly feminine features, cradling a black Holy Grail in her arms. Her eyes remained closed, and even her simple breathing resembled a storm sweeping through the atmosphere.