Time passed quietly.
Around two in the morning, a subtle and almost imperceptible wave of Cursed Energy spread through the apartment like a pebble dropped into still water.
It was not an attack.
It was more of a probe, carrying a cold, invasive presence that silently reached toward the master bedroom, specifically Hoshizuki Hikari's room.
Sol, who was sitting cross legged on the living room sofa, slowly opened his eyes.
A cold glint flashed through his dark red eyes.
He did not make any grand movements. With nothing more than a slight shift of his will, the tendril of Cursed Energy attempting to penetrate Hoshizuki Hikari's room and draw out her fear was instantly incinerated by an invisible force.
It disappeared without a trace before it could even touch the door.
Not a single ripple was left behind.
Far away, somewhere outside the apartment building, a figure hidden within the shadows suddenly trembled and let out a suppressed groan.
Uncertainty flickered in his eyes.
His technique had been severed without warning.
It had even backfired on him.
Inside the apartment, Sol vanished from the sofa like a ghost.
The next instant, he appeared outside the building, standing effortlessly on the vertical glass exterior as though gravity no longer applied to him.
His dark red eyes scanned the dimly lit streets below and the distant alleys.
His perception expanded like an invisible net, instantly covering an enormous area.
He found it.
The source whose Cursed Energy had just been disrupted by the backlash was standing on the edge of a commercial building diagonally across from the apartment.
Sol disappeared once again.
On the rooftop, a grim faced man wearing a dark hoodie clutched his chest as he struggled to stabilize his disrupted Cursed Energy.
"What happened? Did that woman hire a Jujutsu Sorcerer? No, an ordinary sorcerer couldn't create this kind of defense..."
His eyes were filled with confusion and alarm.
Then a voice suddenly spoke behind him.
"Who sent you?"
The man's entire body stiffened.
Without hesitation, he instinctively threw a black wind blade infused with cursed energy behind him while lunging forward to create distance.
The wind blade silently dispersed the moment it left his hand, as though it had never existed.
At the same time, his body froze mid movement.
An invisible force restrained him completely, preventing him from moving even a single finger.
An overwhelming sense of fear instantly gripped his heart.
Sol slowly walked around and stood in front of him.
Moonlight illuminated his sharp features and emotionless dark red eyes.
"I'll ask one last time."
His voice was quiet, yet every word carried an oppressive chill that reached straight into the soul.
"Who sent you?"
The man's teeth chattered.
In the face of such overwhelming power, every thought of resistance vanished.
He opened his mouth, attempting to reveal a name.
But just before he could speak, his eyes suddenly widened.
A tiny black curse mark flashed deep within his pupils.
Sol's gaze sharpened instantly.
His telekinesis invaded the man's body and suppressed the destructive Cursed Energy that was about to erupt.
Unfortunately, he was a fraction of a second too late.
The man's body convulsed violently.
The light in his eyes rapidly faded as his head slumped to one side.
His life force drained away at an alarming speed.
Although Sol forcefully kept him alive for a brief moment, his brain had already suffered irreversible damage.
The same type of restriction again.
Sol released his control and looked down at the man lying on the rooftop.
His expression remained unchanged.
Whoever was behind this operation was extremely cautious and ruthless.
He picked up the unconscious Cursed User and disappeared from the rooftop.
A few minutes later, he returned to the apartment.
He casually tossed the unconscious man into a corner of the living room, binding him with an invisible telekinetic restraint to ensure he could neither escape nor take his own life.
Afterward, Sol returned to the sofa and closed his eyes once more.
It was as though he had simply taken care of a minor inconvenience.
The next morning, Hoshizuki Hikari woke up feeling unusually refreshed.
It was the most peaceful sleep she had experienced in days.
When she stepped out of her bedroom, she was surprised to find Sol already sitting in the living room.
In the corner was an unconscious stranger suspended and restrained by an invisible force.
"Sol, who is that?"
Startled, she instinctively moved closer to him.
Natsukawa Haruka and Sora Mirai were also awakened by the commotion.
The moment they saw the scene, their faces turned pale.
"Last night's observer," Sol said simply. "He won't be waking up anytime soon."
The manager soon arrived and was equally horrified.
He immediately took out his phone and contacted trusted personnel who were familiar with matters related to the Jujutsu world to handle the situation.
After an examination, they discovered the Cursed User possessed nothing that could identify him.
His brain had also suffered severe damage, making it nearly impossible for him to ever regain consciousness, let alone answer questions.
The trail had gone cold once again.
Sol, however, was unconcerned.
He intended to keep playing with his opponent a little longer.
If he became serious from the beginning, the game would end too quickly.
Repeated failures and the loss of subordinates would only make the person behind this more anxious, forcing them to reveal additional weaknesses.
All he had to do was wait.
The next two days passed peacefully.
The unsettling sensation of being watched disappeared entirely.
Hoshizuki Hikari, Natsukawa Haruka, and Sora Mirai visibly relaxed. Occasionally, they even joked around and played games together inside the apartment.
Sol's presence was reassuring.
Most of the time, he quietly remained in either the living room or the guest room, like a guardian watching over the apartment.
Sometimes, Hoshizuki Hikari could not help stealing glances at him.
She noticed the sharp lines of his profile, the shadows cast by his eyelashes whenever he closed his eyes to rest, and the unfathomable depth within his dark red eyes whenever he looked out the window.
She gradually began initiating conversations, asking him what foods he liked and what he usually did in his spare time.
Sol's answers were always brief.
Even so, Hoshizuki Hikari quietly remembered every preference he casually mentioned.