The sun dipped low, dusk settling in.
A knock echoed through the apartment.
When the door opened, the awakened Gojo Satoru stood outside, blindfold back in place, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Ah, Mr. Gojo? Please, come in."
Seele, who had gone to answer the door, smiled and nodded politely. Then she spoke with a hint of apology.
"Sorry, we don't seem to have any extra indoor slippers at home."
"No worries."
Gojo didn't mind. He carefully looked Seele over for a moment, then took off his shoes and followed her inside.
In the living room, An Xora was already seated. Seeing Gojo enter, he gestured toward the chair opposite him.
"Have a seat."
Gojo didn't stand on ceremony and immediately sat down across from An Xora.
"Since we didn't expect any guests, we didn't prepare tea or anything. If the hospitality's lacking, you'll just have to endure it."
"Hey, hey—no matter how you look at it, that's not something you're supposed to say to a guest, is it?"
Realizing he wouldn't even get a glass of water, Gojo's mouth twitched slightly. Still, thinking of the matter at hand, he paused briefly before speaking.
"Can you tell me what happened after I lost consciousness?"
"What else could've happened?" An Xora replied casually. "After you were defeated, Seele healed you, tossed you back at the construction site, and that was it—until you woke up."
Clearly dissatisfied with that answer, Gojo frowned.
"That's obviously not the point. If I'm not mistaken, the curse inhabiting Miss Seele's body had already come out at that time. Can you tell me what happened after that? How did you seal the curse back inside?"
Gojo's expression was unusually serious as he asked this question.
In response, An Xora looked at him as though he were staring at an idiot.
"Didn't I already tell you? After you were beaten, Seele came back out and healed you. Sealing? What sealing? After beating you, the other Seele just went back on her own."
No sealing?
She just went back… on her own?
"Wait," Gojo said slowly. "Are you saying that after the curse inhabiting Miss Seele took over her body and defeated me, it voluntarily returned control? It didn't attempt to seize her body, and you didn't impose any restrictions on it?"
"Otherwise?" An Xora shrugged. "If you want, I can have her come out right now."
"The other me is not a curse," Seele said softly, having somehow appeared behind An Xora. "She is my family."
"And you'd better watch your mouth," came a sharp voice.
Black-red cursed energy surged forth as Dark Seele separated from Seele's body and manifested independently in the living room. Floating behind An Xora, she fixed Gojo with a gaze full of malice.
"Say one more disrespectful word in front of me, and don't blame me for being rude."
Even clay figures had their limits, let alone Dark Seele, who was never known for her patience. After being targeted again and again, she was clearly itching to teach Gojo another lesson.
Feeling that familiar black-red cursed energy—the same power that had led to his defeat—Gojo took a deep breath.
"…Alright. Seems I misunderstood things. Your relationship really is closer than an outsider like me imagined."
Seeing Dark Seele able to manifest independently of Seele's body, Gojo realized his earlier assumptions had likely been wrong.
The relationship between the curse and the girl wasn't the typical curse–host dynamic. It was closer to the situation his former student Yuta Okkotsu once had.
The only difference was that Yuta's case lacked the aspect of incarnation.
Well… there was also a difference in sheer power.
Given this, Gojo decided to stop probing Dark Seele's identity further.
First, from what he could observe, the bond between the curse and Seele didn't seem fake. Second… well, best not to say more.
"Alright then. Let's change the subject."
Gojo straightened slightly.
"Are you interested in joining the jujutsu world?"
"Don't rush to refuse. If An Xora-kun and Miss Seele are willing to join, I can personally arrange for Miss Seele to take the special-grade sorcerer examination. As for you, An Xora-kun, you could apply for the Grade 1 sorcerer examination."
Although Seele and Dark Seele were clearly far stronger, Gojo could tell that both of them subtly deferred to An Xora's opinion. As a result, most of his words were directed toward An Xora.
Truth be told, Gojo was still puzzled by the trio's relationship.
Seele made sense—she was clearly the gentle, obedient type. It wasn't strange for someone like her to listen to those close to her, even with great power.
But that curse?
That one was obviously not mild-tempered. Listening to Seele, maybe—but why would it listen to An Xora? Why would it even prioritize his opinion?
Could it be… affection?
A curse falling for a human?
…Actually, that wasn't entirely impossible.
Reexamining the dynamics between the three of them, Gojo found that this explanation, as unbelievable as it sounded, could somehow work.
Back when Yuta Okkotsu had bonded with Rika, their relationship had already existed before she became a curse. But this case was clearly different.
This curse didn't seem to originate from a human at all. It felt more like something born from Seele herself—a natural curse.
To think that even a curse born of pure negativity could be "won over"…
Gojo could only click his tongue internally.
Had he gotten old? Why did the new generation of sorcerers keep getting harder and harder to understand?
Unaware of the mental gymnastics happening across from him, An Xora pretended to ponder.
Joining the jujutsu world and making use of its intelligence network was already part of the plan. Still, there was no reason to agree too easily—he could squeeze out some extra benefits first.
"Joining the jujutsu world isn't out of the question," An Xora said slowly. "But let's be clear up front. We won't accept any orders from the jujutsu authorities. In return, when we need it, the jujutsu world must provide us with information on cursed spirits."
"So basically, you want to be free sorcerers with higher-level clearance?" Gojo chuckled. "That's fine. I can agree to that on my own authority. Any other conditions?"
"Yes. We also want detailed information about the jujutsu world—especially the higher-ups, and the distribution of personnel within their backing clans…"
An Xora listed off a string of additional demands, and Gojo felt a hint of surprise as he listened.
Why ask for information on the higher-ups and their clans out of nowhere? What—checking household registries?
Though he didn't know what An Xora intended to do with that information, Gojo, motivated by the desire to mess with those old fogeys, straightforwardly told him everything he knew about the jujutsu higher-ups.