At the entrance to the forest of Jujutsu High, the group from the Tokyo School and the few from the Kyoto School who could still stand were gathered. Yaga, Gakuganji, Tsukumo Yuki, and several Kyoto School teachers stood before them.
Genji keenly noticed that compared to the lineup that had initially come to welcome them, there seemed to be a few fewer Kyoto School teachers standing behind Gakuganji.
Of course, Genji couldn't have known what happened in the judges' room during their match. Besides the two teachers who were expelled, several other Kyoto School staff members had also chosen to decline attending. After all, the score gap between the two sides in this match was simply too embarrassing.
The remaining Kyoto School personnel also had dark expressions. Among the teachers, only Yaga uncharacteristically maintained a smile that he couldn't suppress no matter how hard he tried. There was no helping it; after losing for several years in a row, the Tokyo School had finally achieved a massive reversal. At this moment, he could even accept not touching his dolls for a whole day.
"The winner of this Group Battle is the Tokyo School," Gakuganji announced again in a heavy voice. His expression was as gloomy as ever, with shadows under his brow obscuring his eyes, making it impossible to read his mood. However, those familiar with him knew he was currently in an extremely foul mood.
To be honest, if he weren't the principal, he wouldn't have come either. Gakuganji could finally understand Yaga's feelings from previous years. Thinking this, Gakuganji glanced at Yaga, who was smiling so much it was almost sickening, and couldn't help but sigh heavily in his heart.
"Since several students from the Kyoto School are severely injured—" At this, he glared at Satoru Gojo and Genji before continuing: "Since many are injured and require time for further treatment, the Individual Battles will be postponed for three days."
After speaking, Gakuganji looked at Yaga and glanced at Shoko, hinting for Yaga to take Shoko to treat the three bedridden students. But Yaga stepped forward as if he hadn't seen anything and spoke to Genji and the others:
"Your accommodations have been arranged. You are free to move around Kyoto for the next few days." After that, he looked back at Gakuganji: "Principal Gakuganji, there shouldn't be any other issues, right?"
Seeing Yaga play dumb, Gakuganji had no other choice and could only mutter a "No issues."
Immediately, Yaga put his arms around Genji and Satoru Gojo's shoulders and said happily to everyone, "Let's go. Tonight, it's my treat."
"Hmph."
Watching the backs of the seven people including Yaga Masamichi as they left, Gakuganji just snorted. He didn't say anything more to the remaining Kyoto School students and left directly. The rest of the Kyoto School teachers followed him, leaving the few Kyoto School students looking at each other.
"So, what do we do now?"
The speaker was Sawada Ji, one of the two boys who had gone with Zenin Shi to attack Genji and Shoko at the start of the match, only to be blown away by Shoko instead.
Accustomed to following orders, he felt somewhat at a loss now that the three people who usually gave commands were absent.
"What else can we do? Disperse and go rest," Aoki Chiyo said to Sawada Ji with a roll of her eyes, sounding somewhat impatient. After speaking, she turned around and left, pulling Kobayashi Ren and Nanami Nami with her.
"...Let's go too." The remaining few looked at each other and also chose to disperse.
That evening, at a villa under the Gojo Family's name in Kyoto.
"Senior Utahime, move aside, the soup is going to spill!" Genji walked over carrying a bowl of crucian carp and tofu soup, while shouting at Utahime, who was blocking the way, to clear the path.
"By the way, didn't Teacher Yaga say it was his treat? Why is he off drinking now, while I'm here working hard to cook!"
Genji placed the last of the soup on the table and immediately began to complain.
"There, there. After all, Teacher Yaga did pay for the groceries, didn't he? This high-grade beef isn't cheap," Suguru Geto said to Genji with a somewhat mischievous smile.
"Then did this table full of dishes and meat just transform into existence on its own?" Genji glared at the guy with the weird bangs with dead-fish eyes.
"Satoru, don't touch the food on the plates directly with your hands! Go wash your hands first!" Genji suddenly turned around and smacked away the white-haired boy's hand that was secretly reaching for the short ribs.
While Genji was dealing with his two best friends, Utahime, who had already washed her hands and was sitting at the table waiting for the meal to start, was completely captivated by the aroma of the food.
"It smells so good... slurp." Utahime swallowed her saliva.
"How on earth did that guy Genji develop such cooking skills?"
"After all, Genji has lived alone for nearly ten years. He definitely had to learn to cook for himself; he couldn't just order takeout forever," Shoko said to Utahime as she walked out carrying the rice cooker.
"Indeed, Genji-san's cooking is quite excellent." At this moment, Mei Mei also joined the conversation. While Genji was cooking earlier, she had tasted a few dishes under the guise of flavor testing, and the taste was indeed very good.
"Genji-san, if you ever stop being a Jujutsu Sorcerer, remember to tell me. I can invest in you then, and we can open a restaurant together," Mei Mei said half-jokingly to Genji, who had returned dragging Satoru Gojo along.
"Miss Mei Mei, you flatter me. But forget about opening a restaurant. If I really did, I'd probably get bored of it before long," Genji replied with a smile, while tossing Satoru Gojo back into his seat.
"Well then, to celebrate our victory in the Group Battle, cheers!" Genji sat down and raised his glass to propose a toast.
"Cheers!" *5
The other five also raised their glasses in agreement.
...
After everyone had eaten their fill, only empty plates and bowls remained on the table, with not a single leftover. From this, one could see that everyone's appetite was quite large. After all, Genji had made no fewer than ten dishes, all in large portions. One could only say that being a Jujutsu Sorcerer was truly a profession with high physical activity and high consumption.
To one side, Utahime, who had been mocked by Satoru Gojo again after eating her fill with "If you eat this much, Utahime, you'll break the scale sooner or later," picked up a fork and began to furiously chase Satoru Gojo.
Satoru Gojo kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far, giving Utahime the false hope that she could catch him. In this way, Satoru Gojo teased Utahime as they dashed all over the house.
"Satoru, Suguru, I'm leaving the dishwashing to you two." Genji, who was full and didn't want to move anymore, decisively handed over the most hated task of washing dishes to the two who hadn't helped at all during the cooking process.
Hearing Genji words, Suguru Geto, who also didn't want to move after being full, had an idea. He immediately shouted to Satoru Gojo:
"Satoru! Genji said if you wash the plates, he'll make pudding for you later!"
"When did I ever..." "Really!?"
Before Genji could finish his rebuttal, Satoru Gojo's eyes lit up, and he cleared all the plates from the table in one go. Soon, clattering sounds came from the kitchen, occasionally punctuated by the sound of a plate falling and shattering on the floor.
"Forget it. At this rate, we'll just have to buy a new set later. By the time Satoru finishes washing, there probably won't be much left," Genji originally wanted to stop Satoru Gojo, but after hearing the noise from the kitchen, he knew it was too late.
"Hehe." Shoko watched them from the side, the smile on her face never fading.
Meanwhile, in an Izakaya in Kyoto, an elderly figure sat down next to Yaga, who was drinking alone.
"You're late."
"Sorry. After all, having lost so miserably to you, even this old man feels ashamed, Yaga." The newcomer was none other than Gakuganji.
Although the two belonged to different schools, surprisingly, their personal relationship was actually quite good.
"You ignored me on purpose at the end, didn't you?"
"Yeah. After all, that Zenin Shi on your side can be said to have thoroughly offended Genji and Shoko. How could I force my students to do something against their will?" Yaga replied.
"You still haven't changed." Gakuganji also raised his glass and clinked it with Yaga's.
"But don't worry about the individual matches," Yaga suddenly spoke up.
"Oh?" Gakuganji originally thought Yaga meant he would restrain those young lads, but as it turned out—
"You won't be able to win the individual matches either."
"Yaga, you brat!"
Yaga laughed heartily, and Gakuganji glared at him in anger, but then he also let out a slight chuckle.
"It seems I really am getting a bit old, being outperformed by a bunch of young lads."
Thus, the two drank glass after glass, chatting until the sky began to brighten before finally leaving.