Rika entered the room with the three Servants.
"Please lie down and make yourself comf... comfortable, all right? Would you try lying on the bed here?"
Koyanskaya of Light, the Assassin, tilted her head.
She seemed unsure whether lying down was even possible in Rika's current state.
"Mm."
Rika obediently followed the instruction.
Faced with someone who felt like a frightening older sister, she had completely shrunk in on herself.
She had a gloomy, obsessive side, but at her core, she was still a devoted girl.
There was no way she could win a battle of nerves against a former Beast of Humanity.
Koyanskaya of Darkness, the Foreigner, moved to Rika's side.
Ibuki-douji and the Assassin each took their places as well.
Rika's current state was, in a sense, that of a soul.
Her structure was similar to that of a Servant, a soul given shape.
Of course, since ordinary people still couldn't see her, it was only an incomplete version of that existence...
Still, from a Servant's perspective, she was in a very workable state.
There was Spirit Origin Conversion, the technique that altered a Servant's form and, at times, even their Noble Phantasm.
There were also methods like Spiritron Dress alteration, which changed only outward appearance.
All they had to do was apply those techniques as they were.
Then adapt them and develop a new branch of Magecraft.
Compared to Maki and Mai, whose very souls had needed to be redefined from the ground up, this was far simpler.
"This wasn't your original form, was it? Shall we start by finding your true shape?"
Floating above Rika's pillow, Ibuki asked the question.
It was a comfortable position for conducting the ritual.
The Assassin looked at Ibuki, nodded, and spoke.
"Yes. It would be best to build from that foundation. Whether we have a photograph or not hardly matters."
"There probably isn't a photo to begin with, is there? Anyway. Considering the time that's passed, it'd be better to make her a little prettier too, right?"
"More attractive would be even better."
The Foreigner added that in a calm voice.
If Rika became more attractive, the desire to keep her close would only grow stronger, and the odds of sending her on would drop even further.
Which meant Okkotsu's power would remain intact as well.
Not conditional copy, but unconditional copy.
Along with Rika's power and her enormous reserves of Cursed Energy.
Listening to the three Servants talk over her, Rika trembled.
She looked as frightened as a child waiting for an injection at the hospital.
"Now then, just relax and sleep. Changing your outward form will be over quickly, so there's no need to worry too much."
The Foreigner smiled as she placed a hand on Rika's head.
Her hand shimmered with a green light.
Sleep Magecraft. The spell settled over her, drawing her into slumber, and Rika obediently fell asleep.
Even if she could have resisted, she chose not to.
This was different from canceling a summoning, so her form did not disappear.
It left her in the perfect state for Magecraft.
"Then shall we finish this quickly?"
Light flickered across both of Ibuki's hands as well.
The Assassin nodded and began to work her own Magecraft.
Their Magecraft was different from [Idle Transfiguration].
They could not casually twist a soul however they pleased, and there were limits to what they could do.
More than that, they could only interfere with the soul itself.
They could not distort the soul and force that change onto a physical body.
In any case, the three Servants raised their hands over Rika.
It was time for the procedure.
I served tea and dumplings to the anxious Okkotsu.
Since it was evening, it worked well enough as a light meal too.
"You know the connection hasn't been severed, right? Just relax and wait. It won't be much different from getting double-eyelid surgery."
"Yes. Thank you very much."
Okkotsu timidly picked up a dumpling and ate it.
He still looked painfully tense.
"Um... you're Mr. Kadoc, right? I heard about you from Maki."
"Really? What did she say? That I'm a womanizing older brother? Or something a little different?"
"Huh? Ah, no. No, not that, but..."
When I trashed myself first, Okkotsu visibly panicked.
Well, I did live surrounded by six Servants.
Womanizer?
Trash?
I could accept comments like that easily enough.
If I'd seen a guy like me back when I was an ordinary person?
I would've envied him. Or hated him for it.
"It's fine. When you're living in the middle of luxury this excessive, that kind of reputation naturally follows. Anyway, what did she say?"
"Ah. She said... you're an amazing person."
"I am pretty amazing when it comes to being a womanizer."
When I hit him with the self-deprecation again, cold sweat broke out across Okkotsu's forehead.
Maybe I should stop teasing him.
"Sorry. Anyway, I'm not the amazing one. The Servants who choose to follow me are the amazing ones."
"Servants?"
"Yeah. I'm grateful Maki and Mai think well of me, but all I really do is give directions. I leave everything to them."
I chewed a dumpling and washed it down with tea.
The tea was mild and nutty, and it made the dumplings taste even better.
This place is good.
I had bought them from a dumpling shop nearby, and I liked them quite a bit.
I should start coming here often for a while.
Okkotsu blinked at me as if I were some kind of curiosity.
He must have been seriously surprised.
Still, that was better than him staying cowed.
Better than fear, too, so I let him keep staring.
"Looks like they're done."
By the time I'd silently stuffed away three dumplings, the closed door opened.
The Assassin. The Foreigner. Ibuki.
And behind them, a woman with an unfamiliar face slowly emerged from the room.
Long brown hair.
A fuller chest, a taller frame, a presence that felt both cute and mature at once.
I was certain that woman was Orimoto Rika.
Obvious as it was, even if I hadn't known beforehand, I would've recognized her.
It was the image of her younger self from Jujutsu Kaisen.
The youthful softness from back then, the overall atmosphere, it was unmistakably Orimoto Rika.
"Y-Yuta..."
Orimoto Rika floated shyly over to Okkotsu's side.
Now that her appearance had changed, she no longer stammered, and her voice came out clear and clean.
"Rika?"
Okkotsu's eyes went wide.
He probably would've known by instinct anyway, but with her appearance changed so drastically, there was no way he wouldn't be stunned.
She definitely qualifies as stacked.
I gave a cool-headed assessment as I looked at Orimoto Rika's chest.
Smaller than the absurdly overblown Servants, sure, but still undeniably large.
"Mm. Yuta... how do I look?"
"I'm surprised. It feels like if Rika-chan had stayed with me, this is how you would've grown up."
"Hm? Really?"
Rika asked with a bashful little laugh.
Even smiling shyly, she had a bright, blooming charm to her that was genuinely captivating.
I thought she looked great, but Okkotsu?
That didn't even need asking.
The shock on his face. The light in his eyes.
The feeling of falling for her all over again was written across him with painful clarity.
"Yeah. Really."
"That's a relief. Thank you so much."
Rika spun lightly in place, then bowed her head to the three Servants.
You could feel how sincere her gratitude was.
"I'm glad you like it. Take care."
The Assassin smiled and spoke for the group.
On the surface, she looked like nothing more than a kindhearted, beautiful older woman.
"No side effects from the procedure, right?"
Ibuki happened to walk over, so I asked just in case.
"None at all. Don't worry. I handled it carefully, without letting anything sloppy or strange slip through the cracks."
Seeing Ibuki answer with such confidence put me at ease.
Good. Then there was nothing left to worry about.
Okkotsu without the nerf is going to be even more insane, isn't he?
After the nerf—
In other words, after Rika passed on—he had needed a part of the target's body to copy their Cursed Technique.
In Jujutsu Kaisen, Itadori's finger was one example.
And when he copied that naked woman... Uro, was it? He ate either her arm or her leg. That was the classic case.
But now, he wouldn't need any of that.
He could use that fraudulent copy ability with no conditions at all.
Oh, wait.
Then if he sees [Idle Transfiguration], couldn't he copy that too?
Why didn't I think of this before?
I need to make sure Okkotsu meets Mahito too.
If, by some chance, Geto failed to capture Mahito—
Then having Okkotsu copy Mahito's Cursed Technique would make for an excellent backup plan.
From a risk-management perspective, too.
From a safety perspective, it was an extremely solid idea.
I took Okkotsu's hand and smiled.
"Let's work well together from here on out. Okkotsu-kun, you're going to become an incredible Jujutsu Sorcerer."
"Ah... y-yes. Thank you very much."
Okkotsu bowed over and over, polite to a fault.
He even bit his tongue a little.
Raising students was a teacher's duty.
The road they were meant to walk.
Geto had always believed that, and he had always acted on it.
Even Gojo, who wasn't a teacher, understood that much.
Gojo wasn't an instructor at Jujutsu High, but whenever he had time, he still stopped by the school.
It was for the sake of the students' education.
Cursed Energy control. Understanding of Cursed Techniques.
By reading the flow through the Six Eyes, he was able to help.
Gojo was a genius, which made him clumsy when it came to teaching ordinary people, but...
Geto filled that gap.
Geto was a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer too.
He was more than talented enough to be called a genius himself, and he was an excellent teacher as well.
Still, this is a bit much.
Geto smiled as he ended the phone call.
Have Okkotsu copy every Cursed Technique he can.
Ally or enemy, it didn't matter.
The request Kadoc had sent was absurd, but it wasn't without reason.
Okkotsu's Cursed Technique was copy.
It was the kind of technique that only grew stronger the more cards he had in hand.
It's a little shocking, but he wasn't wrong.
[Limitless] required the Six Eyes to use.
So copying that would be pointless, but [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] was different.
The technique itself was simple.
And because it was simple, using it after copying it wouldn't be especially difficult either.
At least he couldn't use a Domain Expansion. That was some comfort, but...
For some reason, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Yuta. You've adjusted to life at Jujutsu High, so I was thinking it's about time we started your training. Would that be all right?"
"Huh? Yes. Yes, I'm fine with that."
On a quiet afternoon, Okkotsu came to the dojo and stood facing Geto.
It was a little sudden, but it wasn't exactly special treatment.
The other students received one-on-one instruction from time to time too.
Even Maki and Mai, who had almost nothing left to be taught, still received private lessons.
Those were sparring sessions, but training was training.
"Your Cursed Technique is copy, Yuta. Versatility is its strength, but the more cards you hold, the harder it becomes to use them well."
"Yes. I think so too."
Geto smiled as he looked at Yuta, whose eyes were shining.
The girl floating in the air behind him looked much the same.
Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit, Orimoto Rika.
She was so cute now that it was hard to believe she was that monstrous existence.
At least she's easier to look at now.
Geto let out a private sigh and changed gears.
Time to get started.
"First, we're going to have you copy the Cursed Techniques of the students here at Jujutsu High. Thankfully, a lot of people have agreed to cooperate, so don't worry."
"I feel a little bad about it... Is it really okay for me to copy them?"
"Of course it is. We're fellow Jujutsu Sorcerers. Comrades."
Geto smiled bitterly.
For a moment, he remembered the old days, when he had wavered over whether non-sorcerers were truly worth protecting.
Fellow sorcerers. Comrades. Friends.
Hearing those words, something resonated deep in Okkotsu's chest.
He had come through a school life filled with bullying and reached something like a real youth at last.
He was grateful to be living through the time that should have been his by right.
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