Mei Mei looked like she had no intention of stepping in, regardless of how irritating the current situation was.
’I actually prefer it this way. It‘s the perfect chance to demonstrate exactly how powerful I‘ve become.‘
Turning my back on the cursed spirits swarming toward us, I pulled Mei Mei with me as we slipped into the depths of the shadows.
"Oh my... what is this, Touya?"
"It‘s one of my techniques. I‘m utilizing the shadows. Unless it‘s a remarkably powerful attack, nothing can pierce through this space."
"To think the Ten Shadows Technique possessed such utility."
Mei Mei looked at me with genuine admiration before asking, "So? How do you plan to handle that many cursed spirits at once?"
"It‘s simple, really. I can pick them off one by one... or I can wipe them all out in a single stroke."
"And which have you chosen?"
"The latter."
While still concealed within the shadows, I pre-emptively formed the hand seal. The moment I released the shadow concealment, I immediately summoned the shikigami intended to end the encounter instantly.
"Max Elephant!"
From above, a massive elephant materialized, descending with the full weight of its physical mass rather than just its shadow form. Just before the impact, I scooped Mei Mei into my arms and leaped high into the air, avoiding the localized earthquake caused by the beast‘s arrival. The Land Shark cursed spirits—both those on the surface and those burrowed beneath—weren't so lucky.
"Skreeeee!"
The Land Sharks that had been leaping toward my previous position were crushed instantly by Max Elephant, reduced to nothingness under its sheer weight. Those hidden underground were forced to the surface, stunned by the violent seismic shock. I finished the dazed spirits with a high-pressure water jet from the elephant's trunk before dismissing the summon.
"Young Master Touya... are you refusing to put me down because you want an excuse to keep holding onto my waist?"
Mei Mei‘s playful voice snapped me back to reality. I realized I was still holding her bridal-style. Though a bit flustered, her persistent teasing made me feel a spark of defiance.
"And if I am? What would you do about it, Mei Mei?"
She seemed momentarily caught off guard by my blunt response, but a sly smirk quickly returned to her lips.
"If you want to keep holding me... I could let you do a lot more than just that once we return to the college."
I looked at the seductive gaze she was throwing my way and let out a long sigh, gently setting her back on her feet.
"You never let anyone have the last word, do you? Your jokes are far too wicked, Mei Mei."
She licked her lips, her eyes fixed on me as if I were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Oh? Isn't it Touya-kun who refuses to lose? Or are you simply refusing to stop touching me?"
"Mei Mei! Please, just stop..."
"Fufu... alright, alright. Regardless... you certainly went overboard, didn't you?"
Following her gaze, I surveyed the aftermath. It was a disaster. I hadn't realized it during the heat of the moment, but Max Elephant's summon had carved a massive crater right in the middle of the bamboo forest. Bamboo stalks were splintered and scattered everywhere.
"I suppose... I should be glad we put up a veil? What should we do about this, Mei Mei?"
"Who knows. At the very least, this area was already restricted from the public. For now, let's leave."
I walked with her toward the edge of the barrier. With a simple touch of her hand, the veil dissipated into nothingness.
Yuri, the auxiliary manager, was waiting for us.
"Oh! I'm glad to see you are both safe. Zenin-kun, Mei Mei-san."
"How long did it take?"
"I‘ve been waiting for about thirty minutes."
"It took longer than expected. We ended up causing some significant environmental damage during the fight."
"The bill will likely be sent to the college eventually. For now, you should both head back."
"Right. I‘m probably going to get a lecture from Yaga-sensei when we get back."
"Let's head out, Touya-kun."
Once things were settled, I boarded the car with Mei Mei and we set off for Jujutsu High. Halfway through the drive, I began to reflect on the mission.
"If a Grade 2 sorcerer had taken this, it definitely would have been dangerous. Each spirit was weak individually, but their numbers and their ability to hide underground would have been a nightmare if someone got surrounded."
"Exactly. This was never a mission a Grade 2 could easily handle. They certainly would have come back with injuries—at the very least."
"So the mission grade was measured incorrectly?"
"Yes. Blatantly so. Sending a freshman who just enrolled to a mission like this—even with a Zenin heir‘s talent and an escort—is a grave error."
"I see..."
"Touya-kun. I told you earlier that I don‘t trust the Higher-Ups."
"Yes, you did."
"Since we finished the mission, I‘ll tell you why. The Higher-Ups... they‘ve sent Grade 2 sorcerers to face Grade 1 spirits under the guise of 'Grade 2 missions.' They‘ve even sent a mixed team of Grade 1s and 2s to a Special Grade incident only for them to be wiped out entirely."
Mei Mei stared out the window with a strangely mournful look, as if she were recounting personal history.
"Is it... the seniors who were above us?"
She looked at me with surprised eyes before nodding slowly.
"You‘re a first-year. Utahime is a third-year. I‘m a fourth-year. Have you wondered where the second and fifth-year students are?"
"Are they all... dead?"
"In a way. There were three second-year students. They were children with bright futures. They encountered a Special Grade spirit on a mission and were slaughtered. The seniors who should have been fifth-years went on a mission together last year; one died, and the survivor quit the jujutsu world out of pure disillusionment."
I found myself unable to respond to that grim reality.
"Does that mean... the Higher-Ups take no responsibility? Do they just play it off as a clerical error in grading?"
"Who is there to punish them? They are the ones who treat sorcerers like pawns to be discarded at will."
Hearing her speak so matter-of-factly filled me with a sense of futility. I sighed deeply.
"That‘s too... it‘s unjust. Sending people to their deaths through their own negligence and then washing their hands of it... Sorcerers aren't a resource that just replenishes itself overnight."
"Touya-kun. Don't invest too much of your heart into this jujutsu world. You‘ll eventually sit in the seat of the Zenin Clan Head, but if you carry the weight of every single life, the only one who will break is you. I decided to assign a specific value to my work as a sorcerer. I simply work for that value."
"So that‘s why you‘re obsessed with money."
Mei Mei‘s obsession finally made sense. Without such a detached motivation, there was no reason to stay in this rotten system. I stared out the window, processing her words.
’Don't care about the people of the jujutsu world... That's impossible for me. Everyone around me is part of this world. I have to do something so they can do this work safely. To do that... I‘ll start by gathering evidence of the Higher-Ups' atrocities one by one.‘
Gather the evidence and expose them. And if that doesn't work... I‘ll tear the whole thing down. With that resolution, I closed my eyes. The influx of information and the day's events made me drift into a daze.
"Touya-kun. We‘ve arrived."
I must have fallen asleep. I opened my eyes at the sensation of Mei Mei‘s hand shaking my shoulder and stepped out of the car. The familiar gates of Jujutsu High stood before us. Before entering, I thanked the auxiliary manager who had worked so hard driving us back and forth.
"Yuri-san, thank you for the ride. You‘ve had a long day."
"I was just doing my job. You worked hard today, Zenin-kun. You too, Mei Mei-san."
Mei Mei offered a small nod of acknowledgement. As we started walking toward the school buildings, I called out over my shoulder.
"Next time we meet, please just call me Touya! Get home safely!"
Yuri gave a small, amused smile as we left her behind. As the buildings loomed closer, Mei Mei drifted nearer until she eventually linked her arm through mine.
"Mei Mei, what are you doing... what if someone sees?"
"Fufu... Isn't it you who would be in trouble if someone saw? You seem to have a lot of women around you."
"Where are all these women? Satoru is a childhood friend, and so is Utahime-neesan. They care about me, but it's not like that."
"What about that other girl? The one with the short hair. Was it... Ieiri?"
"Shoko...? I only met her yesterday..."
Mei Mei scrutinized my face before breaking into a grin.
"Did you know your face is turning red, Touya-kun?"
"It is not. You‘re seeing things."
Avoiding her gaze, I hurried into Yaga-sensei‘s office. He was engrossed in some paperwork but looked up as soon as we entered.
"Ah, you‘re back. Touya. Mei Mei. I take it nothing major happened, seeing as you both look unscathed."
"We‘re fine. But something 'major' did happen."
Yaga-sensei‘s expression hardened immediately.
"What happened? Report."
Just as I was about to speak, Mei Mei cut in.
"The type of cursed spirit was correct, but the quantity was completely wrong. We were told there was one, but there were dozens. If Touya-kun were an ordinary freshman, he would have been severely injured or killed. Of course, since I was there to prevent that, nothing happened."
"It happened again..."
Yaga-sensei spoke calmly, but he couldn't hide the way his fists trembled with rage.
"Regardless, I'm glad you‘re safe. Have you eaten? Satoru and Suguru returned before you. Go out and get some dinner. Take Shoko with you too. I‘ll apologize on behalf of the school for the grading error."
With that, Yaga-sensei dismissed us. As we walked out, I spoke jokingly to Mei Mei.
"So, in honor of my first successful mission, are you going to treat me to dinner, Mei Mei?"
’There's no way she actually will, though.‘
However, her answer caught me completely by surprise.
"For you, Touya-kun, I could buy anything. I wouldn't do it for the other kids, though."
I blinked, stunned by her response. "Wait, really? Why? You love money so much..."
"Isn't money earned specifically to be spent? And in your case... think of it as an investment. If there‘s a stock that is guaranteed to skyrocket, why wouldn't I invest? Think of it as me staking a claim early."
Her logic was cold and rational, yet strangely flustering.
"Haha... is that so? I‘m flattered."
We chatted as we walked back to the dorms. In the first-floor lobby, Suguru and Satoru were already there, showered and relaxed as if they‘d been back for ages.
"Suguru, your ability is kind of similar to Touya's. It's the concept of controlling spirits. If you gather powerful ones, you‘ll be unstoppable."
"Haha, maybe. But I doubt I can compare to the Ten Shadows. I haven't seen Touya's technique in action yet, so I can't say for sure."
I interrupted their conversation.
"Yo. Looks like your mission went well. Where‘s Shoko?"
Suguru greeted me warmly. "Oh, Touya. Glad to see you‘re in one piece. Good work today, Mei Mei-senpai. Shoko‘s in the infirmary. Already looking for Shoko the moment you get back? You really are something..."
"No, it‘s not like that! Yaga-sensei told us all to go out for dinner together. Don‘t make me out to be a creep. By the way, I don‘t see Utahime-neesan either."
"Iori-senpai went to shower. She‘s not out yet."
’Wait... why is Satoru being so quiet?‘
I looked at Satoru; she was staring at me with a look of pure disgust.
"Satoru? What‘s with that face?"
"You know, Touya... you seem to have a different woman with you every single day. Yesterday it was Utahime, today it‘s Mei Mei-san. You‘re literally a harem protagonist," she said, huffing and turning her head away.
"What?"
I realized Mei Mei was still clinging tightly to my arm.
"When did you even grab me? You were standing feet away a second ago!"
"I believe it was right when you were greeting your friends."
’So from the very beginning...‘
I recognized that smile on Mei Mei's face. That slight curl of the lips. That was the look of someone who had found a new toy to tease.
"I‘m starting to realize you just really enjoy messing with people, Mei Mei."
’And this time, Satoru is just the catalyst.‘
Just then, Shoko and Utahime-neesan descended the stairs together. Their reactions to Mei Mei clinging to me were polar opposites. Shoko looked at me with the pitying contempt one might show a hopeless philanderer, while Utahime sighed as if she had already figured out Mei Mei‘s game.
"Touya. I think I might have misjudged you."
"No, Shoko... this is just Mei Mei messing with me."
"'Mei Mei'? You‘ve already moved to first-name basis?"
"That‘s not... you know what, I‘m just going to stop talking..."
I sighed in defeat, and Utahime finally stepped in to defend me.
"Mei Mei-san, are you at it again? You‘re making things difficult for Touya."
"Utahime-neesan... help me. Shoko's eyes are actually painful."
Utahime chuckled. "Shoko knows it‘s a joke. Don't take it to heart."
’Does she really? Because that look does not say "I‘m joking."‘
Desperate to escape Shoko‘s judgmental gaze, I changed the subject.
"Anyway, Utahime-neesan, I didn't know Mei Mei was so timid. The place we went was a bit creepy, and she spent the whole time screaming and clinging to me. She didn't do a thing."
Utahime looked at me as if I had just said the sky was green. "What? There's no way Mei Mei-san was scared. Do you know how many missions I‘ve been on with her?"
"What? No way. She definitely..."
Utahime stared at me with pure pity. "She was just freeloading off your effort, you idiot."
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