Chapter 124: The Progress of Mutsumi
"Strange?"
Hoping to catch a glimpse of Sakiko, Nagasaki Soyo rushed out of the school gates. However, even though she had clearly seen Wakaba Mutsumi not far ahead just a moment ago, the girl had vanished in the blink of an eye. Soyo looked left and right, trying to find Mutsumi in the crowd, but there were only other students; the person she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.
"She was just here..." Soyo muttered, feeling utterly perplexed.
In reality, ever since Mutsumi noticed Soyo secretly tailing her, she hadn't left the school at all. Instead, she had doubled back halfway and slipped back inside. At this moment, Mutsumi was standing in the school corridor, quietly observing the frantic Soyo through a window.
Perched near her, the green monk parakeet wearing a mortarboard was exceptionally lively. Like a complete simpleton, it flew in circles around Mutsumi's head, looking quite smug.
"Stupid Soyo, can't find us, can't find us!"
It wasn't just Soyo's clumsy tracking skills that had given her away; Mutsumi had another pair of eyes—the talking parakeet—which had detected Soyo's suspicious behavior long ago. When Soyo was following Mutsumi, the bird on Mutsumi's shoulder had already sounded the alarm.
"The Idea Queen of Tsukinomori is following us!"
"Midori, you shouldn't be rude to Soyo," Mutsumi said softly, feeling a bit helpless.
The only thing Mutsumi found troublesome about her own Innate Technique was how noisy this little parakeet was. Furthermore, it lacked respect for others and loved giving people nicknames—just as it often called Mutsumi "Mutsumi-bot" or "Little Blockhead."
The only person who could make this loud little bird behave was Hachiman.
'But why is Soyo following me?' Mutsumi wondered.
Was there something wrong with what she had said? She retraced her steps mentally; she had only said she was going out with a friend. If something had been amiss, her "silly bird" should have warned her in advance. She couldn't figure out what information she had leaked that made Soyo decide to tail her.
"I have no idea," Mutsumi thought after a moment.
Regardless, Mutsumi remained vigilant. Her anti-reconnaissance awareness had always been strong, especially since Sakiko had asked her not to tell Soyo anything about her affairs. Consequently, Mutsumi was usually very restrained when she spoke. More importantly, she didn't want to drag Soyo into this. Joining the Sorcery Association was a step further into the jujutsu world, and Mutsumi didn't know what changes it would bring.
She only knew the jujutsu world was dangerous.
"Cursed spirits are everywhere."
In Mutsumi's eyes, this world—which only had color when music was playing—was now countless times more dangerous than before. It was filled with hideous vengeful spirits and man-eating monsters. This placed a certain psychological pressure on her. Fortunately, she could handle those things. If a cursed spirit realized she could see them, she would simply use her technique to kill it.
Thus, in Mutsumi's view, Soyo following her was a very dangerous act. She would never want to involve her best friend in this. After evading Soyo, she sent her annoying little bird out ahead to check if Soyo had truly left.
Luckily, Soyo didn't linger after losing her target and headed straight off to find her new bandmates. Still, the cautious Mutsumi chose the café where she and Sakiko usually met as the meeting spot for her and Hachiman.
Hachiman had originally intended to drive to the gates of Tsukinomori Girls' Academy, but he received a text from Mutsumi. While waiting at a red light, he opened it to find Mutsumi asking if he and "the other person" wanted anything to drink. Although Sakiko usually paid when they were at the café, Mutsumi was now taking the initiative to ask. It was clear that under Hachiman's guidance, she was trying hard to learn social graces and the art of reciprocity.
Even if Mutsumi was well-protected by her parents and friends, she would eventually have to enter society. As long as he was her teacher, Hachiman felt an obligation to guide her. Unfortunately, while she was learning, her progress in this area was a bit slow—much like her unique way of speaking.
Hachiman checked with Yukinoshita Yukino.
"I'll pass," Yukino said, reflexively declining. She wasn't used to accepting kindness from others, even if the girl was technically Hachiman's student. It was still quite a marvel to her that Hachiman had become a teacher so quietly.
'Hikigaya-kun as a teacher, huh.' It actually fit her impression of him; he seemed like the type of serious, good teacher who would genuinely guide someone.
"It's fine, don't be a stranger. Mutsumi is one of us," Hachiman said into his voice-to-text.
"One iced cappuccino, double sugar."
The sugar levels in café coffee were always too low for Hachiman. As a sugar lover, he found it hard to accept. He usually added three spoons of sugar. Then, he spoke for Yukino: "And one Darjeeling tea."
"Temperature?" Mutsumi replied.
"Iced as well," Yukino added with a sigh of resignation.
"Mutsumi is actually a good person; she's just not very good at expressing her thoughts," Hachiman said, providing a "preventative shot" in case Mutsumi said something offensive. "She might be a bit blunt, so please bear with her."
In truth, when it came to making people lose their composure, Mutsumi and Yukino were very similar. Mutsumi excelled at accidentally saying things that broke people, while Yukino did it face-to-face with clear logic and righteous indignation.
A short while later, Hachiman arrived at the café. He could see Mutsumi from a distance, already holding a bag and standing obediently by the roadside.
Yukino also saw this "top disciple" Hachiman had trained. She was a beautiful girl with shoulder-length, avocado-green hair, wearing the dark blue uniform of Tsukinomori. They appeared to be around the same age. Yukino's initial impression of Mutsumi was good; the girl was much cuter than she had imagined.
Hachiman had mentioned that Mutsumi came from an acting family—her father was the famous comedian Wakaba, and her mother was a top film star.
This had surprised Yukino, though the girl's looks certainly reflected her parents' excellent genes. The only downside was her cold expression; she looked blank, with no emotional fluctuations, like an exquisitely crafted doll.
What truly puzzled Yukino, however, was something else.
"A parakeet?"
Yukino saw a small monk parakeet, about the size of a fist, with the same hair color as the girl. It treated the girl's head like a wooden nest, constantly flying around her. It was quite cute.
'How do those tiny wings carry such a chubby body?'
Furthermore, the bird wore a mortarboard and a wooden plaque around its neck that read: "The one who speaks first wins."
It was a humorous sight. But Yukino could tell that the bird was composed of extremely high-density, high-concentration cursed energy.
"Yeah, that's Mutsumi's technique," Hachiman explained.
The parakeet possessed a certain level of intelligence. Hachiman was considering whether Mutsumi, while developing her Innate Technique's supplementary skills, should focus on giving the bird its own offensive power. That way, in a fight, the bird could join in as a combatant. It was quite an interesting concept.
The Nine-Tailed Fox also immediately recognized the bird's extraordinary nature. Even in her era of peak sorcery, techniques that could function independently and possess intelligence were rare. In the hands of the Great Families, such core techniques were usually reserved for the direct lineage and were highly sought after.
A special shikigami born from one's Innate Technique not only grew alongside the sorcerer but also had zero chance of betrayal.
What the Fox liked even more, however, was Mutsumi's actual cursed effect. For some reason, she could sense a very faint but real "subtle aura" coming from the girl.
It was an aura that could potentially harm her. To the Fox, the idea of a Grade 4 sorcerer harming a Special Grade Vengeful Spirit seemed absurd, but it wasn't about raw power—it was about the possibility that the girl's technique was a natural counter to her.
The jujutsu world had many "gimmick" users. Even if their raw power was low, the destruction they could cause once all conditions for their technique were met was terrifying. The person who had broken the Fox's composure the most was Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, whose technique was incredibly domineering: it forced a five-minute "Technique Burnout" period. Reaching the condition wasn't hard—one just had to destroy three puppets. But that was because Yoshifusa, with his immense strength and talent, had spent decades optimizing away all the other troublesome conditions, leaving only the core requirement.
The lesson the Fox had learned from being imprisoned for a thousand years was never to underestimate the world's heroes.
Hachiman stopped the car and let Mutsumi in. Yukino noticed something funny: the lively little parakeet that had been happily flying around its master immediately turned cowardly once it entered the car. She saw it clumsily hide its fluffy, chubby body into the girl's hair using its tiny wings.
"Hello, my name is Yukinoshita Yukino." Yukino felt a sense of closeness toward Hachiman's "disciple" and initiated the greeting. Since Hachiman said Mutsumi was a bit cold by nature, Yukino thought it best to break the ice herself.
" Wakaba Mutsumi," the girl replied, looking at Yukino—whose beauty was on par with her own—and nodded. "My name."
Mutsumi then remembered the drinks she was holding. "Here."
"Mutsumi, keep mine for now," Hachiman said. He was currently driving toward the Tokyo branch of the Association. Along the way, he explained the process for Yukino's enrollment.
"Generally, a freelance sorcerer joining the Association to get a rank needs to complete specific tasks. For example, to get a Grade 3 qualification, you'd have to kill a Grade 2 spirit that's on the weaker side of its rank. However, these are extraordinary times. With a recommendation from a high-level sorcerer, the process can be simplified."
Without simplification, finding a suitable cursed spirit incident could take six months if luck was bad. Although Hachiman wasn't officially a Special Grade, his treatment at the Association was higher than one because he had terrified the elders. Recommending low-level sorcerers was trivial for him.
Thus, the trip was mostly a formality to enter Yukino and Mutsumi's information into the database. They had to be there in person because the process involved recording their specific cursed energy signatures. This was essential; the reason a traitor like Suguru Geto could stay hidden for over a decade was because tracking cursed energy is notoriously difficult.
The Tokyo branch was located in a busy district, intended to nip any potential incidents in the bud to ensure city safety. When Hachiman arrived, the staff—having received his appointment—were already standing by.
Yukino and Mutsumi were greeted with a very warm welcome the moment they entered the area. So many people were at their service that if Yukino hadn't seen the cruel side of the jujutsu world, she might have thought everyone in it was friendly. She had enough self-awareness to know that as a Grade 3 level "pawn," she shouldn't be receiving Special Grade treatment. She knew these changes were all because of Hachiman beside her.
Yukino noticed that most people here were acting with extreme caution, terrified of making a mistake. And for good reason—these sorcerers were elite Grade 1s specifically chosen to handle affairs for the leadership. They had received strict orders from the higher-ups: if the reception wasn't perfect, they might as well go home and farm sweet potatoes.
The usually tedious process became exceptionally smooth.
"Congratulations, ladies. You have officially joined the Sorcery Association."
Amidst the applause, Yukino and Mutsumi became sorcerers with official status. They were treated with great courtesy in the lobby.
However, in contrast to the lively environment inside, over a dozen "ordinary people"—walking with a strange, uncoordinated stiffness—approached the perimeter of the branch's barrier. Their cursed energy fluctuations were so faint and unremarkable that no one paid them any mind.
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