"Here. This is a limited-edition B'z CD, and this one's a rock T-shirt."
Akira Zenin set the two wrapped boxes on the tea table and pushed them forward.
Sitting across from him was a bald old man dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. If not for the somewhat exaggerated four pairs of earrings and the nose ring, he would have looked like an aged monk with one foot in the grave.
Gakuganji stroked his beard, clearly puzzled by what Akira Zenin was doing.
"What is this supposed to mean?"
"Headmaster, if there's no gathering, that's one thing. But it's awfully quiet here today.
You're pushing eighty, and yet not a single person genuinely remembered your birthday..."
Gakuganji Yoshinobu's gloomy eyes softened slightly. When he spoke, his voice carried that distinctive tone unique to old men. It was obvious he was in a good mood.
"But you remembered, didn't you..."
Akira Zenin watched as Gakuganji carefully put the boxes away, but he remained seated across the tea table without moving.
"Feeling better? Then I'll get to the real matter..."
"Oh?"
The moment he heard Akira Zenin mention "real matter," Gakuganji instinctively glanced to the side, intending to have Kasumi Miwa go prepare some tea. Then he remembered that Miwa was out on a mission today...
"Why did you warn Mechamaru not to continue his research into the 'Cursed Energy Storage Device'?"
Although Akira Zenin's tone did not change, the atmosphere around them turned solemn and heavy.
"That isn't just my decision. Once a Cursed Energy Storage Device is completed, it would mean..."
Before Gakuganji could finish, Akira Zenin cut him off with the same bad habit he always had of interrupting people and derailing their train of thought.
"It would mean modern low- and mid-grade Cursed Tools could be mass-produced. It would mean the 'Jujutsu System' would no longer need to rely entirely on people. It would mean the survival rates of 'Windows' and ordinary sorcerers would rise dramatically. It would mean the higher-ups of the jujutsu world could no longer keep clinging to their boring status and power."
Perhaps because Akira Zenin had brought gifts, or perhaps because he was Mechamaru's "guardian," Gakuganji quietly listened to him all the way through.
"You missed one point. Cursed Spirits are aggregates of Cursed Energy. Gathering Cursed Energy in one place requires a great deal of manpower to watch over it. If too many people start using it, it could even trigger a wave of Special Grade Cursed Spirits...
Cursed Energy is not electricity. It carries the influence of negative emotions. A 'Cursed Energy Storage Device' is nowhere near as simple as a 'battery.' With limited resources and limited room for development, there are too many things you need to consider..."
Akira Zenin glanced at Gakuganji's earrings and nose ring and smiled. Those did not look like the choices of a man leading the conservative faction.
"I wonder who it was that, under pressure from the jujutsu higher-ups, resolutely broke through the blockade on knowledge and used the resources of the Three Great Families to promote education.
I wonder who it was that forced the current successor of New Shadow Style to pass down New Shadow Style Simple Domain in order to reduce sorcerer casualties...
And I wonder who it was that, when questioned by the jujutsu higher-ups, refused to answer a single thing and instead sat right in the middle of the curtain... playing guitar for them."
Gakuganji widened his eyes and stared at Akira Zenin.
"You investigated me... Though I suppose that makes sense. You're part of the Zenin Clan leadership, not some arrogant brat like Satoru Gojo."
"At the end of the day, you're afraid that if something new appears, it'll break the current balance.
More than forty years ago, you were the organizer and one of the main members, the 'Guitarist,' of the most radical sorcerer group of that era, the 'Band'...
So why are you this conservative now? Has time ground down your spirit so much that you no longer want the younger generation to sing at the top of their lungs?"
"Radical..."
As if sighing, Gakuganji straightened up, then leaned back against the sofa behind him.
"And that's why, one by one, my old friends all left, until I was the only one left. In the end, we didn't change anything in the jujutsu world...
The higher-ups are still the same higher-ups. The Three Great Families are still the same Three Great Families..."
...
"Sorcerer Akira Zenin."
"Mm."
"On the path of a Jujutsu Sorcerer, if you aren't radical, you'll gain many more friends.
If you aren't conservative, you'll run into far fewer troubles."
"So?"
"So it means this. Whether you choose to be radical, conservative, or even aloof and indifferent to others, none of that really matters.
What matters is how you define yourself.
If you're radical, then be radical all the way and devote yourself completely to changing the jujutsu world.
If you're conservative, then commit to it fully and make sure the jujutsu world continues to function properly.
If you're neutral, then stay aloof to the end. Have no desires, ask for nothing, and fully trust in the abilities of others..."
"Then... Headmaster Gakuganji, how do you define yourself now?"
Gakuganji's expression returned to its usual gloomy look. He lightly tapped the table twice with his fingers, then picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Can you tell me your most honest opinion about that research of Mechamaru's?"
"My opinion has always been the same..."
Akira Zenin shook his head, stood up, and began walking toward the door.
Gakuganji opened his eyes and watched Akira Zenin's departing back.
"You have the strength to ignore many things. But have you ever thought about this? Once a 'Cursed Energy Battery' appears, it will continue to exist forever. But what about the next generation? And the generation after that? If no more Special Grade Sorcerers like you, Satoru Gojo, or Suguru Geto appear, how will they deal with the risks?
You're very intelligent, but you and Mechamaru are both people who study 'technology.' Do you really understand how the jujutsu world should be properly sustained?
And you, who have always maintained yourself through Binding Vows... how long can you keep that up?"
Akira Zenin turned his head and looked at Gakuganji.
"I believe in them..."
"That's not enough. Your reasoning isn't sufficient. It isn't rational either!"
Gakuganji seemed somewhat agitated that he couldn't persuade Akira Zenin. He coughed a few times before muttering quietly.
"Sigh... Not a single Special Grade Sorcerer is ever easy to deal with. I once had high hopes for you, yet you turned out the same. Someone who thinks he can accomplish anything and therefore never bothers to consider the consequences.
As expected, Special Grades are all exceptions. Only Grade 1 sorcerers are the true backbone."
Perhaps Akira Zenin's earlier words had opened the floodgates, because the usually quiet old man suddenly began talking endlessly.
Akira Zenin did not stay to listen to Gakuganji's rambling. He simply walked out of the room.
He never mentioned that Mechamaru's "Cursed Energy Storage Device" had actually been completed long ago and was already in practical use.
After all, now that something like the "Ultimate Mechamaru Absolute Form Armored Puppet Prototype No. 0" had already been built, the prerequisite technologies were naturally close to fully mature.
"At least it's his birthday today. No need to provoke him."