The midday sun shone through the living room window, casting warm patches of light onto the wooden floor.
Rin, Geto, and Miguel had just returned from the training ground. Nanako and Mimiko were already sitting at the dining table, eating the steamed buns that Miguel had specifically saved for them in the morning, taking small bites.
The dishes on the table were simple: a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a bowl of tomato and egg soup, and the leftover steamed flower rolls from the morning. Yet, it all exuded a warm, homey feeling.
Rin had been hungry all morning. He picked up his chopsticks and devoured his food, finishing the rice in his bowl in just a few minutes, not even leaving a drop of soup behind.
Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, he immediately stood up, grabbed Miguel—who had just put his bowl down—and headed toward the door: "Mr. Miguel, let's hurry to the training ground! Didn't you say you were going to teach me combat techniques?"
Miguel stumbled from being pulled and shook his head helplessly: "You kid, you've been busy all morning, can't you take a breather? Don't you even have time to drink some water?"
"No need, no need!" Rin was full of energy. "I'm not tired at all! I'm full of energy right now, it's the perfect time to practice combat!"
Seeing his impatient demeanor, Miguel couldn't refuse. He turned, grabbed a wooden lunch box from the kitchen, and followed Rin toward the training ground: "Fine, fine. But if you get tired halfway through, don't push yourself."
As the two figures gradually faded into the distance, Nanako set down her steamed bun. Looking toward the doorway, she couldn't help but sigh to Geto: "He really has so much energy. He's been going at it since this morning and doesn't even seem tired. It puts so much pressure on us every day."
Mimiko, sitting next to her, nodded as well. She rubbed her eyes and complained: "Exactly! I could hear the sounds from the training ground in my room this morning—all that crashing and banging. It was so noisy I couldn't sleep; it was a struggle to stay in bed until now."
Geto sat in his chair, tapping his fingertips lightly against the tabletop. Watching the two sisters' lazy demeanor, he couldn't help but smile and tease them: "How about it? Seeing Rin working so hard, don't you feel any motivation? Why don't you go along too and have Miguel teach you some martial arts while he's at it? Practice more, and you'll have a better chance of survival when you encounter Cursed Spirits in the future."
As soon as he said this, the sisters' expressions changed instantly, and they immediately began making excuses.
"Ah... I just remembered I haven't finished my game yet! I have to beat it today!" Nanako said, jumping up and running toward her room as fast as she could, afraid that if she were a second slower, she'd be dragged off to train.
Mimiko followed right behind her, shouting as she ran upstairs: "I still have to watch the TV show I didn't finish yesterday! A new episode dropped today!"
In the blink of an eye, the two figures vanished at the top of the stairs, leaving behind only the sound of hurried footsteps.
Geto looked at the empty living room and smiled helplessly, though a hint of indulgence hid in his eyes. In truth, Nanako and Mimiko's abilities weren't bad; after all, he had raised them himself, and their talent for Jujutsu was decent.
But not everyone was like Rin, who possessed both talent far beyond the average person and the willingness to put in the hard work.
Rin gave his all in every training session, and his progress was astonishing. He could skillfully use Cursed Techniques today that he was still fumbling with just yesterday. Even Geto found this rate of growth surprising.
For most Jujutsu Sorcerers, once they reached a certain level, their progress slowed down significantly. To advance further, they had to rely on years of grueling training, polishing their techniques and accumulating Cursed Energy bit by bit.
Nanako and Mimiko were only fifteen, after all—the age where they wanted to play. He didn't want to push them too hard. It was better to let things take their natural course; waiting for them to realize it themselves and train voluntarily would be far more effective than forcing them.
Geto picked up the bowls and chopsticks from the table and walked slowly toward the kitchen. The sunlight outside the window was perfect, and everything exuded an air of stability. He sighed softly, yet he knew clearly in his heart.
Rin's growth might be even faster than he had imagined, and such "speed" would allow his plans to be realized sooner.
The gravel path leading to the training ground was lined with several cherry blossom trees. The afternoon sun filtered through the branches and leaves, casting dappled light and shadows on the ground.
Rin and Miguel walked side by side. The wooden lunch box in Miguel's hand swayed gently, and the apple slices inside occasionally made a faint clinking sound.
After a moment of silence, Miguel spoke first, his tone casual:
"Rin, what do you think of those two girls, Nanako and Mimiko? I always feel like you don't really like interacting with them. Usually, after training, when they want to chat with you, you always find an excuse to avoid them."
Hearing this question, Rin's footsteps faltered. He looked up at the training ground gate in the distance, then lowered his head to kick a small pebble at his feet. He pondered for a few seconds before answering:
"It's not that I dislike them; it's just that I feel like I don't have much in common with them." He paused and added, "They like to talk about the latest games and TV shows, while I'm usually either training or pondering my Cursed Technique. We really don't have much to talk about."
Miguel nodded and smiled with deep understanding:
"That's true. You kid spend all day fighting Cursed Spirits or obsessing over your Cursed Technique. Your schedule and interests really don't mesh with those two lively girls."
"At their age, they're at the time when they love to play, while you act more like an 'old cadre' than even Geto. It would be a miracle if you two had anything in common."
Rin smiled along, not saying anything more, but the look in his eyes darkened slightly. In truth, he had lied.
It wasn't that they didn't have common ground; it was that he was deliberately avoiding deep interactions with Nanako and Mimiko.
Not just them—aside from Geto, Miguel, and Larue, he was secretly keeping his distance from everyone else in the Star Plasma Cult.
The root of this alienation was never a difference in interests, but an unbridgeable chasm in ideals.
He remembered clearly: last time he passed by the conference room, he accidentally overheard several executives discussing "how to weed out the 'Non-Sorcerer scum'." The coldness and ruthlessness in their tone made his heart tighten.
Another time, Nanako excitedly told Mimiko, "Once Lord Geto overturns the current world, we'll be able to deal with those ordinary people who look down on Jujutsu Sorcerers however we want." That sense of matter-of-fact malice made him subconsciously avoid the rest of the conversation.
The mindsets of the Star Plasma Cult's executives were actually quite distinct.
Larue followed Geto because he had received favors from him in his early years and admired his strength. He just wanted to follow him to "reign supreme" and wasn't that obsessed with the ideology of "eliminating Non-Sorcerers."
Miguel was simpler; he was attracted by Geto's charisma and felt that following such a person would lead to great things. As for what exactly they were doing, he didn't really have many thoughts on that.
But the rest, including Nanako and Mimiko, were deeply attracted by Geto's ideology of "eliminating Non-Sorcerers and making Jujutsu Sorcerers the mainstream."
In their eyes, ordinary humans were "scum that dragged them down" and the "source of Cursed Spirits." Eliminating them was a "necessary means to purify the world."
Rin simply could not agree with such extreme ideology.
Before he transmigrated, he was just an ordinary person. He knew that most Non-Sorcerers were just ordinary people living ordinary lives. They had done nothing wrong and should not be considered "obstacles" to be cleared away.
Yet, he couldn't voice this disagreement. The Star Plasma Cult was Geto's lifeblood, and the people here were Geto's companions. If he expressed even a shred of opposition, not only would he be treated as an "outsider," but it would also put Geto in a difficult position.
Geto had helped him too much: teaching him to control Cursed Energy, providing him with training resources, helping him organize the Cursed Spirit system, and even patiently guiding him when he was lost.
Rin kept this kindness in his heart. He knew clearly that one day, he would fight for Geto.
But just thinking about fighting for the goal of "eliminating ordinary people" made his chest feel heavy.
For now, he could only strive to become stronger—stronger to have the strength to protect himself, stronger to have the ability to emerge unscathed in the storms to come, and even stronger to... perhaps have a chance to change Geto's mind.
He occasionally thought of the "past" that Geto would sometimes mention—the Geto who fought side-by-side with Gojo Satoru and wanted to "protect Non-Sorcerers."
He didn't know what had made Geto become the way he was now, but he always held a secret hope in his heart: perhaps one day, he could help Geto find his original self, allowing that gentle and determined Geto to return.
"What are you thinking about? We're almost at the training ground, and you're still daydreaming?" Miguel's voice pulled Rin back to reality.
Rin snapped out of it. He looked up to see the iron gate of the training ground right in front of him. He quickly shook his head, pushing down the distracting thoughts in his heart, and his tone became light again:
"Nothing, just wondering what combat technique you're going to teach me in a moment. Is it your specialty, the elbow strike?"
"Don't rush, first let you get a taste of 'basic getting beaten up'!" Miguel laughed and patted his shoulder, then pushed open the iron gate of the training ground. "Today, I'll make you understand that brute force alone is useless. Combat is about technique and timing. If you can't keep up, don't go crying about the pain!"
"Don't worry, I'm not afraid of pain!" Rin followed him into the training ground, temporarily casting aside the heaviness in his heart.
He knew that thinking too much now was useless. Only by becoming stronger could he have the right to choose at the crossroads of the future—whether for himself, or for the Geto he wanted to save.