Three days later.
Iwate Prefecture.
When the group got off the vehicle, it was already noon.
"Oh? Such a beautiful setup. Is there some kind of festival or something?"
Shoko, dressed in casual clothes, ran next to a Daruma doll, gave a peace sign, and took a selfie with her phone.
Today, Shoko had shed her iconic Jujutsu High uniform, replacing it with an oversized brown knit sweater, short denim jeans, and thick black socks that hugged her calves.
"If I remember correctly, it's the Iwate Grand Fireworks Festival right now. That's why it's so lively." Suguru said.
He was dressed in black casual athletic wear, his signature hairstyle unchanged as ever. He walked to a nearby stall and bought three candied apples. Kids love sweets, and Suguru himself had eaten these often as a child.
Renji surveyed his surroundings, watching the bustling streets and the chatting, laughing pedestrians. He couldn't help but recall the world he had lived in before being hit and killed by the truck.
"Master, I want to eat that too." Murasame's voice echoed in Renji's mind.
"The candied apple? Sure." Renji took the candied apples Suguru handed to him and Shoko.
The next moment, Murasamemaru, wrapped in white cloth strips on Renji's back, suddenly trembled, then transformed into the figure of a young girl standing beside Renji.
Murasame had a petite figure, a flat chest, and flowing green hair tied up on both sides with red-purple cords. The attire she wore was a seemingly cool Japanese-style outfit, primarily dark-colored with a red sash at the waist.
Murasame took the candied apple and gently bit into the surface of the apple.
"As I thought..."
Murasame handed the once-bitten candied apple back to Renji, then smiled as if nothing had happened and said, "Master, I want to see the Fireworks Festival here. It feels completely different from the one back home."
The flicker of loneliness in Murasame's eyes, of course, did not escape Renji's notice.
Murasame was the caretaker of Murasamemaru. She had died five hundred years ago due to pneumonia and its complications. After her death, her body was offered at a shrine, and she was invisible to everyone except the protagonist.
"How does the candied apple taste?" Renji asked.
Murasame clearly hadn't expected Renji to ask this question. She blinked, remaining silent for a few seconds. "It's... very sweet, very delicious."
"Liar." Renji patted Murasame's head.
"I-I'm not lying." Murasame's body trembled.
"It must feel very uncomfortable, right? Not being able to taste food. You like sweets but can't savor their flavor."
Renji looked up, his gaze landing on Shoko, who was eyeing the various stalls with sparkling eyes not far away.
Suguru, standing to the side, was watching Renji out of the corner of his eye.
He thought to himself, 'A shikigami aura suddenly appeared around Okkotsu just now, but I couldn't see it. I need to keep an eye on him for a while, until I can determine if it's safe.'
"You foolish master." Murasame said dejectedly, then returned to Murasamemaru.
"Murasame, I will definitely turn you back into a human. I will let you live an ordinary life. I swear it." Renji took a step forward, following the sparse flow of people ahead.
"Really... such a foolish master."
Sitting alone in the space within the sword, a single tear that could not fall traced a path down Murasame's cheek.
As for Suguru, the moment he sensed the shikigami aura disappear, a new question immediately arose, 'What exactly is that shikigami? Friend or foe?'
"Hey! You two, hurry up. Suguru, which way is your house?"
Shoko turned back, calling out to Suguru, who hadn't moved more than a few steps, and Renji, who had already walked some distance ahead.
Passing through a small alley, they arrived at the street opposite and a two-story house belonging to an ordinary family appeared before the trio.
"We're here. Let's go. I've already told my parents in advance." Suguru smiled, walked towards the house, took out a key, and opened the door.
The furnishings inside were ordinary, typical of a perfectly normal family. After that, Renji and Shoko met Suguru's parents. They were ordinary businesspeople. Perhaps because it was their first time meeting their son's classmates, they were extremely enthusiastic, even a bit overwhelmingly so.
3:00 PM.
In the guest room on the second floor of Suguru's house.
"The Fireworks Festival is tomorrow night. For today, you two should rest up. I'll take you around tomorrow." Suguru stretched.
He hadn't been home in a long time, and his parents' enthusiasm made him feel a bit out of place too.
"The Fireworks Festival is tomorrow?"
Shoko lied on the bed and, as if suddenly remembering something, looked at Suguru. "Can I smoke?"
"Yeah, we came back just in time. As for smoking, just don't set my bed on fire." Suguru didn't say much else.
Click!
The flint sparked, producing tiny embers and cigarette smoke curled upward in circles.
"Just now, my Cursed Energy perception sensed that the number of Cursed Spirits in all of Iwate Prefecture isn't exactly small. Aren't events like festivals and such quite dangerous?"
Renji sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't want to fight anymore, he just wanted to have a proper vacation.
Suguru pulled out a chair, straddled it, hugged the backrest with both hands, and explained, "Iwate Prefecture is the second-largest prefecture in all of Japan. Naturally, the number of Cursed Spirits isn't small. However, where Cursed Spirits gather, Jujutsu Sorcerers exist. Iwate Prefecture has sixteen Jujutsu Sorcerers from Jujutsu High and over ten more from other factions."
"With them around, as long as no particularly dangerous Special Grade Cursed Spirits or the like appear, nothing will go wrong. Oh, right, the couple living next door to my family are Jujutsu High Sorcerers. They were also the ones who scouted me into Jujutsu High back in the day."
After Suguru finished speaking, Renji nodded.
To protect important non-sorcerers like Suguru's parents, Jujutsu High would dispatch at least one Semi-Grade One Sorcerer to prevent potential revenge attacks from Curse Users who might be provoked during Cursed Spirit exorcisms.
"Well then, you two rest well. Shoko, your room is next door." Suguru stood up, walked to the door, and pushed it open.
"Mhm. Got it." Shoko lied on the soft bed with her eyes closed, limbs spread out in a starfish shape.
...
Somewhere in the sewers of Iwate Prefecture.
A drainage outlet clogged with various waste and garbage was washed over by filthy water, emitting a foul stench. A vortex suddenly appeared in the center of that waste. Then, the vortex grew larger and larger and a livid, enormous hand broke through the vortex.
"Corrode... Hehehe... Rot away, humans."
The owner of the giant hand slowly emerged from the sewage. It was a mouse with human-like limbs, its rotting body constantly oozing purple blood.
Not far away.
"Ah, seriously, it's almost evening. Why is this damn sewer clogged again? These people... don't they know trash needs to be sorted? Bastards." A scruffy-bearded sewer maintenance worker pinched his nose, muttering to himself with annoyance.
Gurgle...
The man was drawn to the sound of flowing water coming from not far away.
"Why is there a water sound from the sewage processor up ahead?" The man was puzzled but still patiently walked into the darkness.
As the man's figure completely vanished from the faint light of the manhole cover, a scream, mingled with the sudden rush of flowing water, disappeared into the depths of the sewer.
(End of Chapter)
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