Chapter 5: The First Mission
Of course, Miwa had no "techniques" left to teach the boy.
After hesitating and stammering her way through an explanation—finally admitting that she simply couldn't do what he was asking—she lowered her head in dejection.
Figures… useless Miwa, she sighed inwardly.
Ren shifted his eager, inquisitive gaze toward Utahime Iori.
Utahime immediately realized she was facing an even greater challenge.
Worse, in fact.
Miwa was a student—if she couldn't answer, it was understandable. But Utahime was a teacher. If she couldn't answer, where would her authority go?
Yet no matter how hard she racked her brain, turning every thought over and over, she couldn't come up with a satisfactory explanation.
Condensing cursed energy into a tangible blade was, objectively speaking, an extremely advanced form of cursed energy manipulation.
And she herself hadn't mastered it.
If she hadn't mastered it, how could she possibly guide him?
If anything, he should be the one teaching her.
The more she thought about it, the closer Utahime came to breaking down.
In the end, after careful consideration, she chose the only viable path.
She put on her signature gentle smile, praised the boy's creativity, told him that what he had demonstrated was an exceptionally advanced cursed energy technique, and emphasized that the fact he could achieve it without anyone's guidance was proof of remarkable originality.
She encouraged him to continue researching and refining it on his own—to see whether he could achieve breakthroughs no one before him had ever reached.
"This is not the time to shackle your creativity with outdated conventions, Kanzaki-kun," she said righteously.
As she watched the doubt and confusion in the boy's eyes gradually transform—first into excitement, then exhilaration, and finally into deep, self-directed concentration—Utahime let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Damn it…
She had only thought about how bright the future would be if she recruited a student like him.
She had completely underestimated how difficult it would be to teach him.
The rest of the morning was spent practicing cursed energy manipulation.
Ren didn't achieve any dramatic breakthroughs, but his control became noticeably more refined. Whether it was basic cursed energy circulation or manipulating his cursed energy blades, everything grew smoother and more precise with repeated practice.
In the afternoon, Utahime suddenly summoned them to her office.
"Live combat training? Exorcising a cursed spirit?"
Ren's eyes widened slightly.
"So soon?"
Utahime informed them that the afternoon's scheduled classes were canceled. A newly discovered cursed spirit needed to be dealt with outside campus—and as a complete newcomer, Ren would be going along as well.
This would be his first true field lesson.
Ren understood that being a jujutsu sorcerer was, by nature, a combat-oriented profession, and that real-world experience was indispensable.
But still…
This is my first day at school, he thought.
Isn't this pace a little too fast?
To be honest, the twisted grin of that blue-haired, stitched-faced monster still felt vividly close. Because of that, Ren couldn't help but feel an instinctive chill—and a sense of wary distance—whenever the term cursed spirit came up.
"Don't worry," Utahime Iori said, clearly noticing his unease.
"The cursed spirit you encountered last time was an exceptionally powerful one. Even among Grade 1s, it would be considered top-tier—and it may very well have already reached Special Grade."
"Most cursed spirits aren't anywhere near that dangerous. Even you, as you are now, could easily exorcise them. For example, the one you're about to face—according to intelligence from our Windows—is only a Grade 3 cursed spirit."
"And you won't need to fight directly. Mai and Miwa will be going with you. This mission is mainly for observation and learning—getting familiar with the basics of cursed spirit exorcism."
Utahime explained patiently, watching as the uncertainty gradually faded from the boy's face.
"Then… what about Mechamaru?"
Ren glanced around and asked suddenly.
He had noticed something keenly—Utahime had only mentioned two companions. Yet there were clearly three classmates in his year. Looking around, he realized that Mechamaru was nowhere to be seen. From the afternoon assembly onward, only the three of them had been present.
"Mechamaru went to carry out a different mission," Kasumi Miwa explained softly from his left.
"He's a Semi–Grade 1 sorcerer with considerable strength, so he can handle many difficult missions on his own."
As she spoke, there was a trace of admiration in her light-blue eyes.
…So that's how it is.
Ren sighed quietly.
Among the three, he had immediately sensed that the brass-bodied automaton was the most dangerous presence. With him along, the mission would've felt significantly safer. But instead, Mechamaru was off solo—leaving just these two.
"What's with that look?"
From his right, Mai crossed her arms and spoke coldly.
A single glance was enough—she instantly read the disappointment on his face.
"It's just a Grade 3 cursed spirit. Either Miwa or I could deal with it alone without breaking a sweat. If not for babysitting you, we wouldn't even need to go together," she scoffed.
"With this time, wouldn't it be better to stay at school and have afternoon tea instead? Tch."
"Is that so?"
Ren's eyes brightened slightly.
Only then did he realize he had underestimated the two of them.
Come to think of it, this was his first mission. Utahime would never assign anything truly dangerous. As she said, this task was meant for observation and learning—the actual fighting could simply be left to Miwa and Mai.
With that thought, his nerves finally eased.
---
"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
In front of an abandoned factory complex, Utahime Iori stood solemnly in her red-and-white shrine maiden robes. Her hands formed seals as she chanted under her breath.
As her incantation echoed, a mass of dark shadow materialized in the sky—thick and viscous like liquid—spreading outward, cascading down, and in an instant enveloping the entire factory.
"This is…?"
Having just pushed open the factory doors and stepped inside, Ren looked up at the suddenly dim sky and exclaimed in surprise.
"A Curtain," Mai Zen'in replied irritably.
She had only just come to acknowledge his strength and was prepared to get along with him—only to feel that he'd turned around and doubted them instead. The irritation was still stuck in her throat.
"It's a type of barrier technique," Miwa continued smoothly.
"This Curtain hides us from outside observation. That way, no matter how much noise we make while fighting inside, it won't disturb ordinary people."
"I see," Ren nodded, realization dawning on his face.
Outside the Curtain, Utahime lowered her hands and watched the three figures gradually fade from sight as the barrier settled.
She let out a quiet breath.
In her deep, luminous eyes, a faint spark of anticipation flickered.