Not long after, Akira Zenin brought Megumi Fushiguro and Tsumiki—who had finished packing their things—to Tokyo Jujutsu High. Since it was break and there were no classes, he took the opportunity to teach Megumi Fushiguro a few basics.
Near the grove by the training field, Megumi Fushiguro stood quietly, holding a stick of translucent yellow malt sugar. Apparently, Akira Zenin had dug it out of a classmate's dorm room…
Meanwhile, Akira Zenin lay back in a hammock strung between the trees, opening an envelope.
"Ah… another mission. One after another. It never ends."
Almost out of habit, he pulled out his phone and dialed Naoya Zenin.
"Hello…"
"Little Uncle?"
"Yes."
"I've got another mission here."
"Go on…"
Akira Zenin turned his head and saw Megumi Fushiguro standing there with nothing to do. A new idea suddenly crossed his mind.
"Never mind. It's fine."
"Huh? What do you mean it's fine? Hello? Hello—?"
Naoya Zenin stared at his disconnected phone, speechless. Great. Another day of Akira Zenin acting up.
…
Akira Zenin hung up cleanly.
"Hey, Megumi. Have you ever seen a real curse?"
Megumi Fushiguro silently pointed at the white Divine Dog beside him, which was currently swallowing a Fly Head. Noticing his master looking over, the white Divine Dog hurriedly gulped down the curse it had been holding in its mouth and wagged its tail happily.
"Not that kind. I don't mean the Fly Heads that just make your shoulders stiff and your back ache. I mean the ones that can actually threaten human lives."
Megumi Fushiguro's pupils shrank.
"They kill people?"
"That's right. Every year in Japan, there are over 10,000 cases of unnatural death or disappearance. Most of them are caused by curses—negative emotions released by humans."
"So the mission you just received… it's to stop that kind of powerful Cursed Spirit from hurting people?"
"More or less."
The moment he heard someone might be in danger, Megumi Fushiguro became even more eager than Akira Zenin.
"Then we don't have time to waste. Let's go!"
…
Before leaving, Akira Zenin didn't inform any assistant supervisors. He might step in personally this time, and he wasn't sure whether any of them currently had Kenjaku's spies among them. He had no intention of attracting the attention of that thousand-year-old brain just yet.
The two of them took a taxi straight to the mission site—a remote, abandoned factory.
It was worth mentioning that taxis in Japan were truly expensive. When Akira Zenin handed over a 10,000-yen bill with a blank expression, Megumi Fushiguro winced as if it were his own money.
Since the factory was built halfway up a mountain, they got out at the base and walked the rest of the way.
Surprisingly, despite being near an abandoned factory, the surrounding greenery had been maintained quite well.
"This used to be a beef canning factory. It went bankrupt after getting caught up in the mad cow disease outbreak."
Megumi Fushiguro summoned Divine Dogs, sending the white one off to scout while keeping the black one at his side for protection.
"Caught up too?"
"A lot of companies went under because of mad cow disease. Quite a few recent missions have been connected to the aftermath."
"If canned goods weren't inspected in time, then…"
"Who knows? That factory even used children from the orphanage next door as labor. When mad cow disease broke out, they might've secretly dumped the cans they couldn't deal with onto the market."
"An orphanage?"
"Yeah. Part of the factory was converted into one. This mission started because the 'Window' personnel discovered that after the factory shut down, the children here weren't evacuated—and Cursed Spirits were present."
Megumi Fushiguro walked with his head lowered, kicking at stones along the way. His calm temperament and newly awakened Cursed Energy had already made him overwhelmingly strong for his age—he was practically untouchable in elementary school. But that didn't mean he lacked empathy.
On the way here, his Divine Dogs had already devoured one Grade 3 Cursed Spirit and several Fly Heads.
That was the strength of a hereditary technique from one of the Three Great Families. Even freshly awakened, it granted power on par with a Grade 3 sorcerer.
Perhaps because everyone focused on the very strongest, people forgot something simple: most sorcerers struggled their entire lives just to reach Grade 3. Some never advanced beyond cleaning up Fly Heads…
As they talked, the white Divine Dog returned—this time dragging along a sallow-faced, ragged little girl.
Akira Zenin settled the girl inside a roadside phone booth to wait for rescue, then continued toward the mission site with Megumi Fushiguro.
After walking a bit farther, Akira Zenin pointed ahead at a dilapidated wooden two-story building.
"We're here. The Residuals lead to this place."
"Residuals?"
"Leftover traces of Cursed Energy. We can use them to—"
Before he could finish, Megumi Fushiguro pointed at the ground.
"Is it there? I can already see it."
"…At least let me finish."
Akira Zenin smiled faintly. Megumi Fushiguro was even sharper than he'd expected.
"So then, ready to see what the real Jujutsu World looks like, Megumi~?"
Megumi Fushiguro looked pained.
"Please don't use that tone."
As they approached, a crisp sound echoed from inside the house.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The footsteps drew closer.
Then a grotesque figure slowly entered Megumi Fushiguro's line of sight.
It resembled a cow in overall shape, but its body was made from several mannequin-like human forms fused together. The skin had been stripped away, exposing dark red muscle, tangled organs, and bone.
Akira Zenin glanced at the boy beside him.
'Almost Grade 2. I'm not as gentle as Satoru Gojo when it comes to teaching. Let me see what you're really capable of…'