On a summer afternoon, the three Kyoto Jujutsu High girls skipped ice cream and instead gathered around a table in a café. Not far away, an assistant supervisor who introduced himself as Tanabe sat in the corner, sipping ice water while reviewing the mission intel.
Momo Nishimiya leaned sideways against the table, lazily swirling honey into her milk coffee.
"There've been so many Cursed Spirits lately. We don't even have time to stroll through the market…"
Kasumi Miwa hesitated to ruin the heart-shaped latte art on her coffee. After taking several photos with her phone, she finally slid her straw down along the inside of the cup and took a careful sip from the bottom.
"Is it really okay for us to be like this?"
She glanced out the window. The street outside was quiet. The fading sunlight cast a soft, lingering warmth over the city.
"By the time we actually start the mission, it'll be nighttime, right?"
Mai Zenin shot a glance at Tanabe, who had just asked for more ice at the other table.
"When you're on a mission, don't rush. Being a Jujutsu Sorcerer means learning to steal moments of rest. You never know when there won't be a next time…"
"Peh, peh, peh!"
Momo Nishimiya hurriedly cut her off.
"Mai, why would you suddenly say something like that? Take it back!"
Mai Zenin simply shook her head and took a sip of her espresso, letting the bitterness spread across her tongue.
"I don't get why you're always so negative, Mai… Honestly, I kind of envy you."
Kasumi Miwa finished her drink, managing to leave the heart-shaped foam intact on the empty cup.
"Your family's rich. Mine's dirt poor, and I've got two younger brothers to support.
And at school, you've got Akira Zenin-sensei. Is he like an uncle? Or more like an older brother?"
"If you really want to label it… I guess technically he'd be my nephew."
"Huh?!"
"But in a big clan, relationships like that don't mean much. In terms of status, he's the designated next head of the clan. I'm just an ordinary Grade 3 Sorcerer. That's all.
And Akira Zenin-sensei… he's actually a pretty distant person."
Because of Akira Zenin's presence, Maki and Mai had at least once had a place they could call a refuge when they were young.
But the Zenin Clan was an old Jujutsu family steeped in tradition. Patriarchal values ran deep, and female Jujutsu Sorcerers were treated even more harshly.
How much pressure rested on Mai Zenin's shoulders was something only she truly understood.
Momo Nishimiya immediately jumped back into the conversation.
"Oh? So he's the brooding, gloomy type of handsome guy?"
Mai Zenin deliberately widened her eyes in mock realization.
"Oh~ So Momo actually likes older men?"
Momo Nishimiya frantically shook her head.
"Akira Zenin-sensei works as an idol. But as a life partner, he's a bit too cold…"
...
"Alright, girls. Unscheduled break's over."
Tanabe walked over, neatly stacked documents in hand, clapping sharply to get their attention.
His job was to assist Jujutsu Sorcerers on missions—collecting every piece of information available, thinking through every possible scenario, so the Sorcerers could focus solely on exorcising Cursed Spirits.
At the very least, so everyone could return safely.
He pointed outside.
At some point, the sun had completely set. Only the last trace of afterglow clung stubbornly to the edges of the buildings, like someone drowning and grasping for anything they could hold onto.
Tanabe sighed.
He had only meant to give them a short break. Seeing how exhausted Jujutsu Sorcerers were, he'd quietly shaved a bit of time from the schedule.
But one delay led to another, and the three students had ended up chatting for a full two hours.
"If we finish this mission, it'll already be close to midnight. If you still want to make it back to the dorms to sleep, we need to move now."
"Please wait!"
Tanabe turned to the blue-haired girl who had suddenly raised her hand.
"Is there a problem?"
Kasumi Miwa lowered her head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Well… we've been drinking this whole time and haven't actually had dinner yet…"
"…"
Tanabe let out another sigh. These students always managed to add to his workload in the strangest ways.
Mai Zenin stood up.
"It's fine. No need for Tanabe to worry. I'll just grab something from the convenience store nearby…"
"A convenience store?"
As if someone had flipped a switch, Kasumi Miwa suddenly looked much more energized.
"I know that place well. I'll go with you…"
Japan has an enormous number of convenience stores—on average, there's one every six hundred meters or so. Open twenty-four hours a day, they sell everything from daily necessities to food, magazines, copy services, and even utility bill payments.
The two girls walked into the nearest one. The clerk was a girl of average build and unremarkable appearance—the kind of person who might disappear one day without anyone noticing.
After greeting her, Mai Zenin was about to order a few meat buns when Kasumi Miwa stopped her.
She leaned close to Mai's ear.
"Mai, let me tell you something."
Kasumi Miwa pointed at the heated case holding the meat buns.
"Usually, the staff writes the expiration time in that corner. If you look carefully, you can buy meat buns at a super, super cheap price.
See that one? It's got two minutes left before the best-before time…"
Convenience stores offer all kinds of food—sushi, salads, vegetable tempura, oden, and plenty of microwave-ready items.
Most of them have best-before dates ranging from one to three days.
By regulation, expired food is supposed to be discarded.
But rules are rules, and reality is reality. In the spirit of avoiding waste, some stores sell "just expired" food at extremely low prices.
Of course, in most stores, that's actually more of an unofficial perk for the staff.
Mai Zenin looked at Kasumi Miwa with a helpless expression.
"You…"
She didn't finish her sentence. Seeing the light shining in Miwa's eyes—a quiet confidence and yearning for life built from small everyday things—she swallowed her words.
Under Miwa's guidance, Mai Zenin bought three "just expired" meat buns.
At the register, the clerk looked at them.
"Our oden is about to pass its best-before time too. Would you like a few servings?"
To be honest, Mai Zenin felt a little uncomfortable hearing that. No matter what, she was still a member of the Zenin Clan, and at the very least, the Zenin family had never deprived her of food.
She glanced at Kasumi Miwa again. The girl was clearly tempted by the "just expired" oden.
If she refused, it would feel like denying the way this girl lived her life.
What a silly girl. How does something freshly simmered "expire"? In the end, doesn't that just depend on what the clerk says?
"Alright then. You're open twenty-four hours, right? Can we come back in about two hours?"
The clerk smiled.
"Of course. I should still be on shift then…"