"Cursed Spirit, where are you?"
In a sewer dimly lit by old yellow lights.
Satoru and Suguru were wandering around, walking like someone with a slipped disc.
"Satoru, Cursed Spirits aren't puppies. They won't come out just because you call them."
"Then what should we do?"
"Search quietly. If we're too loud, we might scare it off."
"What is this, a rat? So lame."
Satoru straightened his back out of boredom, hands behind his head.
But unexpectedly, Satoru was right about one thing.
The Cursed Spirits here were genuinely frightened.
The terrifying Cursed Energy they unconsciously released when they first entered the sewer, mainly from being overwhelmed by the stench, had already sent the local spirits into panic.
The black-haired man, his eyes hidden, casually waved his hand and summoned a swarm of Cursed Spirits from the darkness.
On top of that, the oppressive energy radiating from that space revealed an overwhelming fear.
The white-haired one was just as terrifying. He casually threw out several blue spheres, saying the sewer stank and he needed to ventilate it.
At that moment, the Cursed Spirit had a clear premonition. If that blue sphere the white-haired man was swinging and then tossed to the ground hit it, it would die.
Right now, the only thought in the Cursed Spirit's mind was:
Run. Just run.
It couldn't stay here anymore.
Most Cursed Spirits are sedentary. It's rare for them to abandon their birthplace.
But today, Satoru and Suguru had successfully terrified a homebody Cursed Spirit into wanting to abandon its cozy nest.
The Cursed Spirit cautiously poked its head out to observe the surroundings.
The moment it peeked from the corner, it saw a white, cat-like head doing the exact same thing.
"Ah, found you."
"Gyaaah!"
The Cursed Spirit let out a strange, panicked shriek and immediately turned tail, fleeing desperately.
"Huh? Is this a race? Wait, I wanna join too."
And so, in this usually unvisited sewer, a bizarre sight unfolded.
A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, which had troubled many people and Jujutsu Sorcerers, was now fleeing for its life.
Behind it was a white-haired figure, sprinting with incredible speed, occasionally teleporting to scare the spirit even more.
All while flailing his arms and upper body like a cheerleader.
Behind both of them, Suguru sat cross-legged on top of a manta ray-shaped Cursed Spirit, propping his chin up with one hand as he watched, curious to see how long this Cursed Spirit could last.
Just then, his phone rang.
"Eichi? Aren't they also out on a mission?"
Surely they didn't need Satoru and him to help.
"Hello. What's up?"
Suguru supported his head with one hand and brought the phone to his ear with the other.
"How much longer will you be, Suguru?"
Eichi's voice came through.
"Hmm, probably a while."
Glancing at Satoru who was still playing around, Suguru gave a vague response.
Compared to staying up in the isolated Tokyo Jujutsu High campus, being out exorcising Cursed Spirits was more entertaining.
Given their power, there weren't many Cursed Spirits that could pose a threat to them.
They even had enough energy left afterward to go shopping or play video games.
Unlike regular Jujutsu Sorcerers, who often ended up exhausted or even needing healing after missions, the two of them had it easy.
"I see. Well, you should hurry back. Yaga-sensei has an important announcement this afternoon and wants everyone present."
"Got it. We'll be on time. Okay okay, bye-bye."
Suguru hung up.
"Satoru!"
"What's up, Suguru?"
Satoru turned back, still grinning mischievously.
"Eichi called. Yaga-sensei wants us to head back early."
"Huh? Again? So boring."
Satoru pouted, then activated Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue to teleport a short distance, suddenly appearing in front of the fleeing Cursed Spirit.
"A-tah."
Satoru let out a strange yell, then kicked the Cursed Spirit back.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue."
While the Cursed Spirit was still adjusting its posture mid-air, Satoru's Blue smashed directly into its body.
Having lost more than half of its form, the Cursed Spirit tumbled to the ground several times.
It finally came to a stop at Suguru's feet.
Cursed Spirit Manipulation activated.
The Cursed Spirit transformed into a spirit orb and was swallowed by Suguru.
The inventory-type Cursed Spirit he used for storage poked its head out and handed him a bottle of honey tea.
The more mature Suguru had already learned to bring his own tea.
"It's done. Let's head back."
Watching Suguru finish absorbing the spirit, Satoru, hands in his pockets, casually walked out of the sewer.
That afternoon.
All five first-year students of Tokyo Jujutsu High were seated in the classroom.
Medea hadn't planned on becoming a student at Tokyo Jujutsu High, but after taking an interest in its vast library, she applied to be a teacher.
Masamichi was fully supportive of this.
With backing from Masamichi, who was set to become the next principal, it was expected that Medea would officially be hired soon.
As for Emiya.
His case was a bit more complicated.
Emiya wasn't keen on going through high school again. He preferred taking on Cursed Spirit exorcism missions and cooking.
After enduring countless pleading expressions and cute antics from Satoru, and being stared at with expectation by Eichi, Artoria, Ieiri Shoko, and the others.
Emiya finally gave in.
Now, unless something came up, Emiya would be in charge of dinner.
In fact, Eichi had already started pestering Satoru to request a Special Grade Chef armband for Emiya.
If you won't give him a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer license, surely you won't be stingy with a chef certification, right?
"Suguru, this is for you."
Eichi handed him a small glass bottle filled with a light red liquid.
"What's this?"
Suguru examined the bottle. It looked like a red potion straight out of a game.
"A witch's potion."
"Oh."
Suguru looked genuinely surprised.
"Something that good? What's it do? Is there a curse inside?"
Compared to the intrigued Suguru, Satoru perked up instantly.
"A curse? If I had to say, yes, but it's a good one. A beneficial curse for Suguru."
"Oh? The witch's cursing Suguru? Could it be?"
Satoru immediately pictured two possible scenarios.
One, Suguru had offended Medea and she was taking revenge.
Two, Medea had taken a liking to Suguru and was trying to bind him with a curse.
Slap.
Eichi smacked Satoru on the head.
Then ruffled his white hair casually.
It's really smooth. What shampoo does he use? Not greasy at all.
"That bottle contains a potion that alters taste. About one milliliter changes taste for roughly a minute, with no side effects."
"Alters taste? You mean…"
"Yeah. Drink a bit with water before swallowing a Cursed Spirit orb."
"Thanks."
Suguru felt a warm sense of gratitude.
"Oh, right."
Eichi suddenly slung an arm around Suguru's shoulder and whispered in his ear.
"Next time Satoru eats Kikufuku, sneak a bit of this in."
Then he winked.
Suguru understood immediately, and a mischievous grin spread across his face.
(To be continued.)