"Uncle, I'll head back now."
Megumi walked to the gate of the courtyard, saying goodbye to Jinsuke.
Because of a certain agreement, every weekend Megumi would come to the Zenin residence to learn about the Ten Shadows Technique.
Within Megumi's body was engraved the Zenin clan's hereditary technique — the Ten Shadows Technique. That meant there was once again a possibility for the Zenin clan to produce a special-grade sorcerer.
When the Zenin clan learned that Toji's son had awakened the Ten Shadows Technique, they were both furious and delighted.
Furious that the one who awakened their family's technique was an outsider—Delighted that this "outsider" still carried Zenin blood and could possibly be brought back into the clan.
However, that joy didn't last long. Although Toji had once sold Megumi to the Zenin clan, he later regretted it.
So now, Megumi came to the Zenin estate more like someone attending cram school — A place to "supplement" his learning, understand his technique better, and tame more shikigami.
That also meant everyone except Naobito felt annoyed at him. Or rather—resentful of Toji.
How could a man born without cursed energy have a son who awakened the clan's supreme technique? They couldn't wrap their heads around it.
"Mm, be careful on your way."
Jinsuke watched the spiky-haired boy. If it weren't for Toji and himself protecting him, the Zenin clan might have already forced the kid to change his surname.
Then again, maybe not—there was also Gojo. This kid was really lucky, Jinsuke thought.
"Hey! Nephew, you're just saying goodbye to your uncle? What about your auntie?" Mai stood beside Jinsuke, hands on her hips, looking smugly at Megumi.
Originally, she and Maki were the ones at the bottom of the Zenin hierarchy — And now, a new "nephew" popped up out of nowhere? No way she was letting him ignore her seniority!
"Cheh, boring." Megumi pursed his lips, ignoring her childish antics as he turned and left with his backpack.
There was no way he was going to call someone his age "Auntie" Absolutely not!
"Ugh! Did you see that? He doesn't respect his elders at all!"
Mai stomped her foot, furious. She had finally found someone lower in status than her, and he turned out to be an uncooperative brat!
She grabbed onto Jinsuke's arm, pouting and whining to regain her lost dignity as an "aunt".
Jinsuke could only give a helpless smile. They were all just kids—he couldn't really take sides.
Mai, realizing her cousin wouldn't defend her, puffed her cheeks in anger and swore she wouldn't talk to him for three whole hours.
Knock, knock, knock.
Not long after Megumi left, someone knocked on the Zenin gate. Standing there was a tall woman dressed all in black, her long, icy-blue hair braided behind her—an unmistakable figure.
"Miss Mei Mei? What brings you here?" Jinsuke looked at the visitor in surprise. Don't tell him she came to make him pay for that dulled axe from before?She said he didn't need to compensate her, didn't she?
"Jinsuke, your weapon got damaged during that last battle, right? I came to help you repair it." Mei Mei's tone was calm, and she didn't look like she was lying.
After all, repaying someone who saved her life with just one axe didn't sit right with her. She had noticed his cursed tool had been broken, and since she had free time today, she decided to help him out.
"Huh—! How much will that cost? If it's expensive, I might not be able to afford it."
Jinsuke grimaced, remembering his broken Playful Cloud.
Repairing a special-grade cursed tool cost a fortune. He'd been putting it off, planning to let Maki fix it someday when she could afford it.
Seeing Mei Mei show up in person, he immediately thought of her reputation — The money-obsessed miser.
"Pfft!" Mei Mei couldn't help but laugh at his cautious look.
She hadn't expected him to be so wary of money. Was he also the stingy type? Well, he did take a lot of exorcism missions, so maybe it made sense.
"Are you that short on cash? If you really are, I can lend you some—but I'll be charging interest, of course." Her smile was playful.
Repairing weapons was free, but lending money always came with high interest. That was her rule.
"No, no need!" Jinsuke waved his hands quickly. He could borrow from anyone—but not this woman. His salary probably couldn't even cover her interest rates.
"Hahaha, relax! I'm kidding. Really though, give me your weapon. I'll have it good as new in five days—no charge."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Looking at her calm expression and sudden appearance, Jinsuke was momentarily dazed, then reluctantly handed her the broken Playful Cloud.
"All right then, I'll get it done. No shortcuts." Mei Mei took the staff and turned to leave, like she had come here for that one simple reason.
That slightly changed Jinsuke's impression of her. So she wasn't entirely a money-grubber—she knew gratitude, too.
"Oh, by the way—your hand-to-hand skills are impressive, right? We should spar sometime. No weapons." She called back as she walked away, as if remembering something.
Most of Mei Mei's strength came from physical technique, and Jinsuke's was far superior to hers. Maybe he could give her a few pointers—And if she got stronger, she could take tougher jobs, earn more money, and save even more!
Jinsuke found her words a little strange somehow…
"Who was that pretty lady?" Mai's curious voice snapped him back to reality.
At this stage, Mei Mei still had her hair down — no weird braid loop — so her beauty wasn't sealed away. Anyone with functioning eyes would recognize her as stunning.
"She's a sorcerer. Strong—and fond of money," Jinsuke said simply.
"So… is she your girlfriend?" Mai blinked her big round eyes, tilting her head.
Her cousin was old enough, and he still didn't have a girlfriend — she was starting to get worried!
Jinsuke froze. For some reason, Yuki's image flashed through his mind. He shook his head furiously.
"What are you thinking?!"
"Mai, are you itching for a beating?" He glared at her. A little girl worrying about his love life—was the world upside down?
"I just asked…" Mai pouted, looking hurt.
"No asking. Go train with Maki. You're so weak it's embarrassing. If you keep this up, when someone bullies you, you'll just end up crying alone."
Jinsuke sighed. Maybe it was time to adjust his image in her eyes a bit.
"Nooo, I don't wanna train! As long as you and sis are here, no one dares to bully me anyway!"
Mai immediately wrapped her arms around his leg, acting spoiled.
After years together, she had fully mastered the art of acting cute.At least with Jinsuke, that solved ninety percent of her problems.
The remaining ten percent? Those were things even he couldn't tolerate.