"Panda-kun can eat…?"
The scene was set at Jujutsu Technical College, on a grassy training ground near the school building. Everyone was seated on the lawn, chatting casually while enjoying some cake Mamoru had brought.
Watching the oversized, fluffy panda delicately nibble on a tart, Mamoru found himself distracted by pointless questions.
Is it really okay for pandas to eat sweets?
And where does the food go in the doll's stomach?
"Ah, it's not like it gets digested or turned into nutrients. Even when cursed spirits eat humans, they don't—Mugh."
Maki's fist sank into Panda's soft side mid-sentence.
"Don't say stuff that ruins my appetite while I'm eating!"
"Don't hit me without warning! I'll sue you for animal abuse!"
"If you want animal rights! Maybe we should just stick you in a zoo!"
Mamoru sipped the tea he bought from a vending machine and thought:
(Feels more like teasing than fighting…)
Maybe it was because of how closely he was monitored at Advanced Nurturing High School—constant surveillance, overly perceptive people—but Mamoru found himself always tense, burdened by the weight of the supernatural secrets he carried.
Just watching these sorcerers joke and bicker, he felt something he hadn't in a while: ease.
Then, as if her exchange with Panda had concluded, Maki turned her attention to Mamoru.
"Still, you're doing some pretty annoying work, huh? Guarding a school full of weak cursed spirits?"
Mamoru had already given them the short version of his situation. The conversation had started with updates about Okkotsu, then shifted to Mamoru's school life and why he was attending a different institution.
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm under a three-year contract until graduation. I can't do much during weekdays, so I only move at night or on weekends—like today."
The security job had originally been offered to his older brother through a different channel than the one used by the higher-ups at the technical college.
At first, Mamoru hesitated to talk about it so openly. But when he saw his brother munching away at cake like it was someone else's problem, he gave up worrying.
"I don't know if that school's government-run or what, but who do they think they are? They requested protection, then banned sorcerer from coming in or out. What a joke."
Maki scowled, clearly irritated.
Not because she sympathized with Mamoru—but because, from the outside, the school's behavior was ridiculous. Requesting assistance, then slamming the door on the very sorcerers they summoned? It felt like an insult to their work, and to sorcerers in general.
Mamoru nodded sincerely. "Yeah. But the chairman seemed pretty reasonable. Apparently, he's negotiating with the higher-ups about allowing some sorcerer access, so I'm trying to be patient."
Still, if Mamoru was being honest, he'd rather not spend three full years at that school.
Spending today with actual sorcerers reminded him just how tense and cautious he always was around civilians. There were people like Kaede, sure—but her status was complicated. He couldn't afford to speak too freely.
Just then, his brother—halfway through his slice of cake—paused like something had just occurred to him.
"Speaking of the chairman… Mamoru, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
The vague question left Mamoru baffled. But his brother smirked, apparently taking Mamoru's confusion as confirmation.
"Ah, so you haven't heard. That old man never tells students when things get messy."
"…Messy how?"
Mamoru was annoyed—not only by how casually his brother called the chairman "old man," but also by the ominous way he used the word "messy."
"Like you said, the chairman's making moves—getting support from various sectors. But not everyone's happy about his growing influence. There've been some… suspicious developments."
Mamoru frowned. "Sounds shady. We talking politics, or something worse?"
"I dunno," his brother replied with a shrug. "Could be either. They've been getting threatening letters and dealing with low-level harassment."
"…Think it could be a sorcerer?"
"Not impossible. Politicians have money and connections. It's not just sorcerers—we have no idea what they'll throw at us."
Mamoru's brother, for once, sounded sensible. His words, though casually delivered, held an unsettling weight that made not just Mamoru—but everyone listening—tense slightly.
After finishing his cake, he crushed the paper plate with cursed energy into confetti-sized pieces and tossed them into the air like it was nothing. Then, changing the mood, he spoke lightly:
"Well, guess I'm meddling too much. Mamoru, you gave the chairman that amulet, right?"
"Yeah."
Mamoru had anticipated trouble, which is why he'd entrusted the chairman with a cursed amulet linked to him. If anything happened, he'd know immediately.
But that didn't make things foolproof. Mamoru's tools had limitations.
"If they go with a non-cursed approach, the amulet won't react. That's something the chairman has to handle himself."
Detection tools only picked up cursed energy above a certain level. If a normal human with a weapon slipped in—or if a sorcerer suppressed their energy—they'd bypass it entirely.
"The chairman has bodyguards. If it's just humans or low-level threats, they can handle themselves. Mamoru, your job's to act fast if things escalate."
"Roger that…"
(Might need to review the school's security system again…)
Mamoru let out a quiet sigh. Expanding surveillance to account for human threats meant rethinking their whole security layout.
Then, sensing the conversation had reached a stopping point, Maki chimed in.
"…By the way, what is your cursed technique? You can detect energy from a distance and teleport—there's gotta be more to it."
Mamoru hadn't gone into detail about his teleportation, but based on his prank in class and conversation with his brother, the four students had pieced some of it together.
Okkotsu looked confused. "Teleportation?"
"He popped out behind us earlier in the classroom," Maki said dryly. "And from what you said, he's clearly got a way to travel long distances while supposedly being 'confined' to another school."
Okkotsu slumped, as if scolded.
Panda clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Yuuta. You're still learning."
"Salmon."
Inumaki's cryptic support somehow comforted him.
"But I'm curious too," Panda added. "We shouldn't pry, but if we're going on missions together, knowing your capabilities helps."
Mamoru turned to his brother.
He didn't mind revealing his technique to these four. His brother was usually secretive and kept him on solo assignments. The fact that he arranged this meeting meant he trusted them.
"Brother, can I?"
"Go ahead. As long as it's about the ritual, there's no issue. They've all got reasons to hate the higher-ups anyway. Honestly, I was hoping Mamoru's 'room' would give these kids some experience."
('Room'…? You're just gonna drop that?)
The "rooms" Mamoru created were his ace—his most closely guarded secret. If his brother was naming them out loud, it meant he had high expectations.
…Especially for Okkotsu.
"Well then," Mamoru began, "my technique is basically spatial manipulation. I isolate a space using a barrier, and then interfere with it."
"That's pretty vague," Panda said. "What exactly can it do?"
"Easier to show you."
Mamoru picked up a plastic fork and formed a hand sign. A cubic barrier appeared at the tip of the fork.
Then—crunch—the barrier violently compressed, obliterating the fork's tip.
"Like that. I can compress space."
He pointed into the distance, forming a barrier large enough for a person. A moment later, Mamoru appeared inside it.
"I can teleport within barriers too."
He returned in a blink, adding, "You could say it's like reducing 3D to 2D. I manipulate space like a 3D modeling program."
"And I named it!" his brother interjected proudly. "Pretty cool, right? My little brother—our family's lethal weapon!"
(If I'm the lethal weapon… what does that make you? The nuke?)
The students' reactions varied. Okkotsu looked amazed. Maki and Panda, meanwhile, analyzed the implications.
"…So if the base is a barrier, there has to be a trade-off, right? Like, strength decreases the more effects you stack."
(Smart. Panda-kun's sharp. Yaga-san must've trained him well.)
"Yeah," Mamoru replied. "The more complex the function, the more focus it takes. You can't really manipulate refractive indexes or reshape objects mid-battle."
It was similar to Gojo's Limitless—space manipulation was versatile, but wide in scope. Too wide. Controlling everything was impossible.
"My formula's a two-step process: first the barrier, then the spatial effect. The more effects I add, the weaker the barrier becomes. Against powerful enemies, it might break before it crushes them."
For example, a full-body barrier crush might work against second-grade curses—but against first-grade or stronger, it became a gamble.
On the other hand, a tiny fist-sized barrier packed more strength but was harder to hit with.
"Still strong," Maki muttered. "My relatives said you were a loser, but that was a lie. What's your actual grade?"
Before Mamoru could reply, Gojo jumped in.
"He hasn't been certified. But if we're talking power…"
He grinned proudly.
"…he could take down a special-grade cursed spirit."
Silence. Shock.
Gojo joked a lot—but not about this.
Mamoru, meanwhile, listened like it had nothing to do with him.
(So he really went and said it…)
The secret was out. His technique was already revealed—but his actual strength, too?
Gojo added casually, "Oh, but don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Huh? What's with the secrecy now?" Maki frowned.
"It's terrible, isn't it?" Gojo smirked. "My poor little brother might get used by some crusty old men with power fetishes. Then I'd have to kill them."
The light tone didn't match the bloodlust behind the words. Everyone felt the spike in cursed energy behind Okkotsu.
"Oops. My bad."
Gojo quickly reined himself in. The cursed energy—Rika's—receded.
The others gave Gojo cold looks.
"You're an adult, act like one."
"Right."
"Salmon."
Mamoru quietly agreed.
Then Gojo dramatically clutched his face, feigning heartbreak. "Yuta… say ten nice things about me. Please."
"E-Eh?!"
The others immediately whispered into Okkotsu's ears:
"His excitement's annoying."
"His eye mask is lame."
"Bonito flakes"
Maki, Panda, Inumaki—an unholy alliance.
Gojo looked wounded and grabbed Okkotsu's shoulder. "Yuta… I didn't think you would betray me."
"Eh!? Me?!"
Maki jumped in: "Even if it's true, there are nicer ways to say it."
"Yeah!"
Panda grinned. "Panda, I'm gonna smack you later," Gojo muttered.
Okkotsu turned pleadingly to Inumaki.
Inumaki gave a thumbs up. "Salmon!"
Okkotsu could tell—it meant "hang in there."
Finally, Okkotsu turned to Mamoru, his last hope.
Mamoru sighed. Why me?
But feeling a bit sorry, he tried a wild card.
"Orimoto-san… Okkotsu-kun is being bullied."
Instantly, cursed energy surged behind Okkotsu.
Mamoru's plan worked too well.
"DoN't BuLLy YuTA!!!"
Three minutes later, the students lay bruised on the grass. The only one unscathed was Gojo—sitting atop Panda, eating the leftover cake in peace.