The Visitors – Chapter 142
"The higher-ups from Jujutsu are coming to meet you here."
Mei Mei's voice carried from the hallway, calm as always, but with a strange undercurrent Ren didn't like. He blinked once, registering the words.
"Huh," he muttered. "'Well, that's… unexpected.'"
His thoughts ran faster than his expression gave away.
'I thought they stayed away. In fact, I remember clearly—those old fossils never personally showed up in the manga. Not even once. They always sent proxies and gave orders from the shadows. So why now? Why personally?'
His brows furrowed. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, thinking hard.
'This… isn't right. This doesn't feel like the higher-ups. Something's off. Someone else? Acting under their name? Or… is Mei Mei being fooled?'
Ren looked toward the door.
There she was—Mei Mei, her head tilted ever so slightly, half-hidden behind the doorway as she peeked into the room like a nosy cat. Her eyes flicked around as if trying to figure out who he had been speaking to. Ren could see it on her face.
She was suspicious.
'Was he on the phone?'
'Was he talking to someone else?'
Ren stood without a word and casually walked past her, brushing his shoulder lightly against her as he moved into the main hall. He sat down on the soft couch with practiced calm and leaned back.
His voice came out level.
"Are you sure the Jujutsu higher-ups are coming to meet me?" He raised one eyebrow, then added, "How many? And who?"
Mei Mei lingered at the bedroom door a second longer, stealing one more glance inside before finally turning her attention back to Ren. She folded her arms, her expression annoyed but controlled.
"Uh… it should be fewer than three people," she said. "It's a secretive meeting, not official. And… who? I'm not entirely sure. But if I'm right, it should be a female elder—the same one who gave me the mission to first get close to you."
That made Ren pause.
He closed his eyes.
He tried—tried hard—to pull any memory from his knowledge of JJK. A female elder…?
'No… no, there was nothing like that in the manga. Not a single clear female higher-up. Fucking hell, is this one of those murky gaps in canon again? Right now? Just when I was finally making progress again?'
He exhaled through his nose, slow and annoyed.
'Fine. It doesn't matter. I still have Mei Mei. Grade 1 sorcerer. And the higher-ups, as far as I know, were never all that strong. Hell, they barely moved in canon. Still… can't be careless.'
Ren opened his eyes again and gave his next command calmly:
"Gather a huge number of crows. Even inside the mansion. Be ready to fight."
Mei Mei blinked. Her composure cracked for half a second.
"...Wait—what? What do you mean, 'be ready to fight'? Are we seriously preparing to fight Jujutsu higher-ups?"
Ren didn't blink. His reply was measured and cold.
"Stupid. If they're really coming here, they must want something. Information, leverage, a show of dominance… something. Whatever it is, we stay ready. Simple as that."
Mei Mei stared at him for a long second. And then her lips curled.
'Hmm, he's not wrong… But still, the higher-ups wouldn't try to fight someone who's a confirmed special grade… Even if he's young, even if he's unstable… No, they've probably just come to see him. Or maybe… to see how well I've been doing with this little seduction mission of mine.'
She tilted her head thoughtfully, almost playfully.
"You'll have to act like my boyfriend, then."
Without missing a beat, Ren answered, "Okay. So?"
Mei Mei's eyebrow twitched. That answer had come way too fast.
A sly smile spread on her face.
'Hehe… I won't take advantage of this for sure…'
She turned away before Ren could see the slight blush threatening her cheeks.
Even as she walked off, muttering something about planning outfits and posture and keeping up appearances, her mind was whirling—not with strategy, but revenge. 'He won't even let me in the damn bedroom, and now I have to act like we're dating in front of a bunch of creepy old sorcerers? Oh, I'm going to get him back for this… somehow.'
Meanwhile, Ren just sat there, back against the couch cushion, staring at nothing.
'She seems convinced. That this really is the higher-ups. And Mei Mei… she's not an idiot. To fool her, this person must've either fooled everyone or… really is a higher-up.'
He exhaled.
'Either way… this is a problem. Right when I was getting somewhere—when I finally found a real path forward—another interruption showed up. Goddamn it.'
Somewhere else…
A black car pulled out of the airport parking lot in Congo, silent and sleek. Inside, two people sat side by side: the lady in white with her elegant smile and ancient eyes, and the short old man in a plain coat and cap, slouched into the leather seat like a man who hated luxury.
The car moved slowly at first, then sped up as it merged into the highway.
The old man finally broke the silence.
"Are the rumors true?"
The woman didn't respond right away. Instead, she reached into her handbag and produced a file—a thick manila folder filled with neatly typed documents and a few photos. She passed it to the old man wordlessly.
He opened it.
Read through the pages.
His fingers froze for just a second as his eyes widened.
"Such high merit… at such a young age," the man murmured. "He might reach Gojo."
The woman smirked. "Or he might even reach higher."
The old man let out a sharp, short laugh, followed by a raspy cough.
"Reaching Gojo is a might. Going higher? Impossible."
He glanced at her sidelong.
"How'd you even get this file? Last I heard, you didn't have clearance for something like this."
The woman just gave a little shrug, her voice laced with amusement.
"You know me. It's not hard for me to enter the Jujutsu Headquarters and leave with a seat at the table."
The old man coughed again—louder this time.
The woman laughed softly.
Outside the car, the jungle blurred by. The wind howled faintly beyond the glass.