"Junpei, are you willing to join Tokyo Jujutsu High and receive formal jujutsu education?"
Early the next morning, Nanami came to see Junpei again.
"...Do I have to join?"
Junpei hesitated. Joining Tokyo Jujutsu High meant becoming a jujutsu sorcerer.
Becoming a jujutsu sorcerer would make him Mahito's enemy.
Mahito was the first person Junpei had met at his lowest point who had been willing to reach out and help him.
Because of that, Junpei did not want to become Mahito's enemy.
However, with the little angel Yuji around, Junpei would soon realize Mahito's true nature once the emptiness in his heart was filled.
"It's fine if you don't join, but you need to understand the hidden rules of the jujutsu world, and you must not use jujutsu to cause trouble."
Nanami's face showed no emotion. He only explained calmly.
"Why won't Junpei come to Tokyo Jujutsu High? It definitely suits you, and don't you really hate your current school?"
Yuji looked at Junpei with a strange expression.
"Uh, I want to think about it a little longer."
Junpei scratched his head awkwardly. Yuji was a jujutsu sorcerer, while Mahito was a Cursed Spirit.
The two of them were enemies, yet Junpei was friends with both at the same time.
This left Junpei extremely conflicted.
"I understand. Then, next are the other tasks."
"What other tasks? Are there other Cursed Spirits here?"
Yuji once again copied Satoru's posture, sticking both hands into his pockets.
"No, it is still related to Junpei."
"Related to me?"
Junpei suddenly grew nervous deep down as well.
'What other tasks?'
As a movie enthusiast, Junpei instantly imagined more than a dozen movie plots.
For example, Nanami going to exorcise Mahito.
Or his relationship with Mahito being exposed.
Or because he had refused the invitation, he was judged as an enemy and eliminated.
Scene after scene flashed through Junpei's mind.
Junpei's heart grew more and more nervous.
"It seems I don't need to explain."
Nanami looked up at the window. A black car had already stopped at the entrance.
Suguru and Higuruma walked into the room with a displeased Mahito.
"Mahito!"
Splash.
Junpei stood up in surprise.
"Yo, Junpei. From now on, we'll be companions. Please take care of me."
Mahito casually placed his hand on Junpei's shoulder.
"Why, aren't you and..."
Junpei stopped himself in time. He remembered Mahito saying yesterday that he and the jujutsu sorcerers were enemies.
He had not expected to see him walking together with jujutsu sorcerers today.
This made Junpei's brain slow to process the situation.
"Well, to put it simply, I was captured."
"Captured?"
Junpei immediately grew nervous. Mahito had taken him on a tour of his experimental site.
The miserable appearances of countless victims there were still vivid in Junpei's memory.
Most importantly, Mahito had been captured right after Junpei left his base. Had he been followed?
Had he caused Mahito's capture?
"I'll explain this part."
Nanami, a mature and reliable adult man, took out the report he had submitted yesterday and the task summary Eichi had asked him to write.
"Special Grade Cursed Spirit Mahito, a curse born from humanity's hatred and fear of other humans.
Recently, this Cursed Spirit murdered a large number of ordinary people to explore his abilities. Later, in order to test the strength of those abilities, he actively lured jujutsu sorcerers to his base, where he was captured yesterday by the Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer Suguru."
As he said this, Nanami took out a map marked with many circles.
Nanami's explanation clarified only one thing.
They had not discovered Mahito's location by following Junpei. Mahito had brought it upon himself. Junpei did not need to blame himself.
Sure enough, after Nanami finished explaining, Junpei's expression improved significantly.
But the worry beneath it had not disappeared.
"Daijobu, Junpei. Maybe we'll be comrades-in-arms from now on."
Mahito patted Junpei's shoulder and said this.
After being absorbed and controlled by Suguru yesterday, Mahito had seen the terrifying army of Cursed Spirits inside Suguru's Cursed Spirit space.
He had also seen many Special Grade Cursed Spirits that stood out from the rest.
Mahito understood that, for now, he could not escape Suguru's grasp.
So, he decided to behave obediently for the time being. Before finding an opportunity to escape, he would disguise himself as Suguru's most capable assistant.
This person, whom he had casually reached out to help, could now serve as a tool to gain trust.
"Really!"
Junpei was overjoyed.
"That's right. I am now a Cursed Spirit under this Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer. It is similar to the relationship between you and your Shikigami."
Mahito explained with a smile.
"Alright, alright. You can talk about your matters later. Let's handle the main business first."
"Okay, you're the boss. I'll listen to you."
After Suguru spoke, Mahito made an okay gesture and retreated behind him.
"Nice to meet you, Yoshino-kun. My name is Suguru. Besides being a Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer, I also serve as a director of the Oriental Charity Foundation."
As he said this, Suguru took out his identification documents and photos from his previous charity work.
"May I ask if you need something from me?"
Although Junpei did not know what a Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer was, a director of a charity foundation was still a rare and important figure.
At the very least, he was an important figure Junpei would not normally encounter.
"It's like this, Yoshino-kun. When we were investigating the victims of this incident, we found that they had suffered a great deal of bullying. You are one of the victims, correct?"
Suguru smiled as he looked at the slightly nervous Junpei.
His highly persuasive voice and smile eased the tension in Junpei's heart.
"Yes."
"Do you know, Yoshino-kun, that in our country, the number of confirmed bullying incidents alone exceeds 680,000 each year? Every day, every moment, there are people suffering the same pain you experienced. That is why we hope you can step forward and become a banner against bullying."
Suguru extended his hand toward Junpei, like Amitabha reaching out to guide believers.
"Eh? Me, a banner?"
Junpei's mind went blank, too shocked to think.
He had never imagined that someone as ordinary, even as useless, as himself would be qualified to become a banner.
"That's right. We need you, and those students who are being bullied also need you, Yoshino-kun."
Suguru's voice was filled with a seductive power, as if inviting him to convert.
"They need me."
Junpei had never imagined that he could be this important, that he could be involved in such a major event, and even... become someone else's hope.
In the past, every time he had been bullied and powerless to resist, how much had he wished that someone would help him?
Thinking of this, Junpei made up his mind.
"I am willing."
When he looked up again, the timidity in Junpei's eyes had vanished, leaving only determination.
"Very good, Yoshino-kun. Next, we will discuss this with your guardian."
"Eh? But..."
Junpei hesitated. He did not want his only relative to worry about him, so he had never told his mother about the bullying.
"I already heard."
Nagi walked out from the corner of the stairs, and everyone could see the anger in her eyes.
When she looked at Junpei, that anger turned into heartache.
"Honestly, if you're being bullied, just tell me. Mom will always be on your side, Junpei."
Nagi hugged the thin, trembling Junpei.
"Mom, Mom."
Tears could not help falling from his eyes.
After all, Junpei was still only a teenager.
Suguru and the others waited silently beside the Yoshino mother and son.
Everyone present, except for Ieiri Kiyotaka and Higuruma, who had only recently become a jujutsu sorcerer, had noticed Nagi eavesdropping around the corner. That included Yuji.
Thinking about it, it was understandable. What mother would feel at ease letting her son share a room with someone who had broken into her house with a knife last night?
Even though the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Nagi was still uneasy.
"Tell me your plan."
Nagi turned around, her not-so-tall body subtly shielding Junpei behind her.
"Of course, this matter also requires your help."
Ieiri Kiyotaka took out a thick stack of documents at the right moment.
"Here is the evidence we have recently gathered regarding the large number of delinquent students, bullying incidents, and the school's inaction, or even complicity, at Rizakura High School. Next, Higuruma-san, a professional lawyer, will assist you in suing Rizakura High School.
Our foundation and other departments will cooperate in guiding public opinion, heavily publicize Rizakura High School as a typical case, and establish an anti-bullying task force for nationwide inspections..."
"Finally, after this incident concludes, we hope Yoshino-san can join the Oriental Charity Foundation."
Under Nagi's astonished gaze, Suguru took out a contract for the position of office director.
The terms of the contract were surprisingly concise, and the benefits were very generous.
"This is?"
"This incident may cause additional pressure on Yoshino-san's life and work. After comprehensively considering Yoshino-san's work abilities and personal circumstances, we have decided to invite you to join our foundation."
Eichi and Suguru's goal was to rectify the current campus environment, and during this period, Nagi and Junpei would undoubtedly face pressure from many sides.
When Eichi was working in his previous life, there had been a very kind leader who took good care of her subordinates. Because of work requirements, she was transferred to an office in a suburban area.
To make it easier to look after her daughter, she brought her daughter to the staff dormitory.
During the day, she enrolled her daughter in a kindergarten in a nearby village.
As a result, her daughter was bullied there. After they noticed something was wrong, they immediately questioned the kindergarten and called the police to retrieve the surveillance footage.
A few days later, various people, including the company's regional leader, the kindergarten principal, and local education department officials, all spoke with that leader, hoping she would withdraw the police report.
After seeing her daughter being bullied multiple times in the video, she insisted on neither withdrawing the report nor settling.
In the end, the kindergarten fired an intern teacher, and that leader also resigned not long afterward, changing companies to start over.
With this experience, Eichi made all preparations in advance.
From that leader, who was usually gentle and even a little timid,
but whose attitude became incredibly firm after her daughter was bullied, Eichi first witnessed what it meant for a woman to be gentle by nature, but fierce as a mother.
(To be continued.)