In a secret underground base in the suburbs of Kyoto.
Suguru was examining the futuristic base with great interest.
His first thought was that this person's infrastructure capabilities were impressive, almost on par with his own, Eichi's, and Satoru's.
It was just that his aesthetic sense was a bit lacking. If Eichi were to refine it, he might become a powerful asset for future film productions.
Because Satoru, who had an extremely efficient Reverse Cursed Technique, needed to return to Tokyo Jujutsu High for teaching duties,
Eichi had Suguru take over Satoru's role of guarding Kyoto and defending against Abe no Seimei.
He also had Suguru use the newly acquired Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Mahito, to help him subdue someone.
Click.
The door in front of Suguru opened automatically, revealing a spacious room several hundred square meters in size.
In the center of the room was a bathtub, and behind the bathtub was a tree-like structure made of countless pipes.
Other than that, there was nothing else in the room.
'Someone?'
Suguru carefully observed everything in the room.
'So that's it. All his mechanical Puppets are hidden in the pipes behind him.'
Suguru's gaze followed the pipes upward.
'The ceiling too.'
After surveying the situation inside, Suguru no longer hesitated and stepped forward to the bathtub.
"What, does a Special Grade adult also fear a small fry like me?"
Kokichi Muta's tone was calm, but his heart was extremely nervous.
Although his giant Puppet, Unit Zero, was already prepared underground, he still had no chance of winning against a Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer.
After all, Abe no Seimei had caused a huge disturbance in Kyoto after breaking the Seal a while ago.
As a student of Kyoto Jujutsu High, he had dispatched many small mechanical Puppets to scout the situation and had also witnessed the battles of Takako and Ryu.
That battle made him realize that his Unit Zero could temporarily achieve Special Grade-level Cursed Energy output.
But to truly fight a Special Grade, he was still too lacking in other aspects.
Not to mention Suguru, this Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer who was even stronger than Takako and Ryu.
However, Kokichi Muta knew that he had to meet him.
Because the other party already had evidence of his dealings with Cursed Spirits and Curse Users.
"You seem very nervous, Kokichi Muta."
Suguru showed a reassuring smile.
"It's only natural to be nervous the first time seeing a big shot like a Special Grade."
Kokichi Muta replied unhurriedly.
"Haven't you met several Special Grades already? Am I scarier than them?"
This made Kokichi Muta even more nervous.
He had indeed met other Special Grades, but almost all of them were Special Grade Cursed Spirits and Special Grade Curse Users.
He usually did not see Takako and Ryu. He had only secretly watched their battle from a distance a while ago.
"What do you want?"
Kokichi Muta decided not to drag it out any longer and asked directly.
Now that the evidence was in the other party's hands, he was at their mercy. Continuing to talk about irrelevant things would only make him suffer more.
"It seems Kokichi Muta is more cooperative than I thought."
Suguru tucked his hands into his wide sleeves, summoned a Cursed Spirit, sat on it, and brought his gaze to Kokichi Muta's eye level.
"First, tell me everything you can without violating any Binding Vows."
Suguru spoke with a relaxed expression.
"How do you plan to deal with me?"
Having already exposed his betrayal of Kyoto Jujutsu High, Kokichi knew it would be difficult for him to meet a good end.
But he still had his obsession, things he wanted to do, so he had to play all his cards well.
Kokichi's wish had always been simple. To have a healthy body, then live with her and grow old together.
"That depends on your attitude."
Suguru still wore that smiling expression.
But from Kokichi's perspective, Suguru's "squinting" action put immense pressure on him.
He could not discern Suguru's emotions and thoughts through his eyes.
Moreover, Suguru's "squinting" action resembled a hunter's focused gaze after spotting prey and aiming carefully.
"I can cooperate with you, but I want to establish a Binding Vow with you."
Unable to determine Suguru's thoughts, Kokichi could only ensure his safety through a Binding Vow that could be freely used but not violated.
"Alright."
The two parties discussed the terms of the Binding Vow.
Kokichi found that the situation was not quite what he had imagined.
Suguru was not here to deal with a traitor. Instead, it seemed he was here to recruit him.
Suguru asked Kokichi for a lot of mechanical Puppet technology, especially Cursed Energy storage technology.
Then he requested that Kokichi take a position in Tokyo after graduation, and in return, he would help Kokichi achieve his wish of having a normal body.
He also promised that he and Kasumi would live a life of comfort and abundance.
"Wait, what does this have to do with Kasumi?"
Kokichi's tone suddenly rose.
"Don't you know? Kasumi is Sasaki's Disciple.
And Sasaki is Eichi's Heroic Spirit at Tokyo Jujutsu High, so of course we know about her."
Suguru looked at Kokichi with amusement.
"This, this has nothing to do with her."
Kokichi tried hard to distance himself from Kasumi.
It was not that he had changed his mind, but everything was still unclear, and rashly involving Kasumi might cause her to be affected.
"Let me tell you a secret about Miwa, Kokichi Muta."
Suguru suddenly put his hands in his pockets and leaned closer to Kokichi.
Kokichi wanted to dodge, but the bathtub was too small for him to move.
"Actually..."
Kokichi tried hard to turn his head away, but his ears perked up against his will.
"Kasumi has someone she likes."
"Impossible!"
As soon as Suguru finished speaking, Kokichi excitedly stood up in the bathtub.
Then he lost his balance and fell back into the bathtub.
The intense pain made Kokichi gasp, but that was not what he was concerned about right now.
"Miwa and I are classmates. If she liked someone, there is no way I wouldn't know."
"But she likes the gentle Mechamaru."
"Huh?"
Kokichi's mind went blank for a moment.
"Didn't she prepare Valentine's Day chocolates for Mechamaru last year?"
"That was, that was..."
Kokichi remembered the batteries that his Puppet Mechamaru had received last year.
That's right, Kasumi had given him batteries.
Because Todo Aoi and the other boys were too troublesome from the girls' perspective, Mechamaru became the girls' trusted confidant and messenger.
Kasumi had even specifically prepared Valentine's Day chocolates for Mechamaru, although they were obligation chocolates.
For this, Kasumi went around asking about Mechamaru's preferences, and finally heard that Mechamaru was a Puppet, did not eat chocolate but ate batteries, and had a particular fondness for a certain brand of battery.
And then Kasumi believed it. She really believed it.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)