Amber, who had been waiting all along for Hanami and Jogo to appear, ended up spending a whole week with everyone in a rather unplanned, haphazard way.
During that week, the three second-year seniors returned one after another. After getting acquainted, everyone became fairly familiar with each other.
Amber's presence gave the three of them a sense of déjà vu, as if they had gone back a year to when they first faced Yuta Okkotsu—similarly gentle and shy in temperament, similarly granted special-grade status upon enrollment, and similarly accompanied by a cursed spirit you wouldn't want to mess with.
However, Amber was not only their junior but also a genuinely sweet girl, so everyone treated her far more gently than they had Yuta Okkotsu.
Unfortunately, no matter how gentle they were, that didn't mean they went easy on her training.
Once again knocking the sickle from the girl's hand, Maki kicked Amber aside, signaling the end of their spar.
"So impressive… Maki-senpai…"
Though she'd been kicked and sent flying several meters due to the force, Amber showed no sign of injury.
Her face only held admiration: "I felt like I was improving, but I still couldn't win against you, Senpai."
"Hah? Of course not. You're forbidden from using cursed energy to strengthen yourself, so in our bouts, my natural physical advantage takes over."
Maki wore a confident, easygoing smile: "It's because of my special physique."
That's what she said, but she was already starting to break a sweat.
Every living being in this world possesses cursed energy—some more, some less. But Maki, a human, had even less cursed energy than an average animal, all because of the "Heavenly Restriction."
Unlike ordinary "binding vows," which can be made voluntarily, a Heavenly Restriction is forcibly imposed on the body from birth.
The conditions sacrificed and the power gained through a Heavenly Restriction vary from person to person.
There are two opposite categories: "trading physical condition for cursed energy" and "trading cursed energy for physical strength."
And Maki had exchanged all her cursed energy for a powerful body.
...Or at least, that's how it should have been.
In the world of jujutsu, twins are considered extremely unlucky. Not only is there an intangible, unbreakable bond between them, but they also "split" their cursed energy.
Maki, who should have had no cursed energy at all, ended up with a tiny amount because she was a twin. Meanwhile, her twin sister Mai, who should have been like any ordinary person, ended up with low cursed energy as well.
Being unable to fully release her cursed energy meant Maki's physical potential was also suppressed. And because her cursed energy was divided, Mai was seen by the world as "defective."
But even so.
Relying solely on her physical abilities, Maki knew she could easily exorcise a grade 2 cursed spirit. Against a grade 1 cursed spirit, she might have a little trouble, but she could still win.
She could match a grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer with just her physical strength and combat skills! And yet now, she'd been pushed to the point of using underhanded tricks against a junior who'd only been training for five days and wasn't even using cursed energy to enhance her body.
In a few more days, would she even have room left to teach her?
Of course, Maki had no intention of saying any of this out loud. On the surface, she kept up that relaxed facade.
But Panda saw right through her act: "Amazing, Seele. You've only been here a short time, just five days of physical training, and you nearly pushed Maki to her limit."
"Ha? Why are you butting in? I've still got plenty of moves I haven't used!"
Unwilling to be exposed in front of her cute junior, Maki shot a glare at Panda.
That's what she said, but at this point, any remaining tricks wouldn't be game-changers—just surprise moves.
Panda, at least, gave her some face: "Even so, Seele's growth is seriously impressive."
"It's only because my seniors have been teaching me so tirelessly that I've been able to learn this quickly."
Amber didn't downplay her progress too much—that would just sound falsely modest.
In truth, she was a little surprised by her own improvement. In the previous world, her rapid progress with the Taixu Sword Qi made her think it was because of Fu Hua's body.
But now, with this happening again… could it be that she was actually a martial arts prodigy?
"I've been taught tirelessly too—almost to death!"
Nobara, who'd been lying on the ground like a corpse, couldn't hold back: "Panda-senpai really doesn't hold back."
"It's worth suffering a bit more during training if it means staying alive when real danger comes."
Panda scratched his furry head.
"I know that's the idea, but that's not what I wanted to hear…"
Nobara wasn't comforted. After all, everyone understood that logic.
"Well then… do you want to go to the cake shop together later? Seele exorcised a grade 1 cursed spirit yesterday and got a pretty good reward."
Amber walked over to Nobara, knelt on the grass beside her, and blocked the sun for her.
She gently placed a hand on Nobara's head, and a cool sensation quickly spread through her body.
The muscles that had been pushed to their limit during training rapidly regenerated, stronger than before, making the exhausted Nobara feel instantly revitalized.
"Ahhh! Without my Seele-chan, I'd be—over~!"
Feeling wonderfully refreshed all over, and touched by the girl's offer to treat her, Nobara immediately rolled over and flopped onto Amber's lap, nuzzling her head against her while shouting excitedly.
"Don't act so shamelessly in front of your junior."
Maki teased: "Even though you're in the same year, Seele's basically a middle schooler, you know."
"It's so nice… I wish I could wear clothes other than this uniform, like Seele does!"
Nobara paid no mind, only wanting to snuggle up to her personal savior, while also lamenting how tacky and ugly the school uniform was.
"You still have to wear the uniform. It does work as a defensive cursed tool, after all… even if it can't block cursed spirits, it still works like stab-proof clothing. If you don't like the design, you can always alter it yourself."
Maki didn't really care one way or another about how it looked.
Nobara knew the uniform had some defensive function, but it really was just "some." Against cursed spirits, this level of protection wasn't just slightly useful—it was basically useless.
Still, even though she teased Yuji about his plain style, she had enough self-awareness to know that when it came to fashion sense, she was still very much an apprentice. Letting herself alter the uniform would probably make it worse.
Taking another look at the well-fitted, lovely clothes Amber was wearing, Nobara sighed: "Forget it. Let's just think about what cake to have later."
"Let's invite Itadori-senpai and Fushiguro-senpai too."
Amber couldn't resist gently stroking Nobara's head, still resting on her lap, then turned to Maki: "Will you and the others join us, Maki-senpai?"
"No, I'm going to keep training with Panda for a while."
Maki shook her head.
Panda awkwardly pointed at himself: "Um… I'd like to come, though…"
"You can't even eat anything, so what's the point in going!"
Maki looked exasperated: "And you can't just show up in front of people looking like that."
"At least I could bond with everyone a little…"
Panda scratched his head again but didn't argue further.
"You two go on ahead. Inumaki and the other two went to buy drinks and haven't come back yet—they're probably still resting over there."
With that, Maki turned away, not looking back at the two.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.