"...I have a bad feeling about this."
Hearing this, Masamichi Yaga set down his embroidery, a trace of concern appearing on his face.
"Last year, Suguru Geto orchestrated the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons in both Tokyo and Kyoto. This year, he's resurfaced and stolen cursed objects stored at the school. It's highly likely he'll use them to cause another incident like the Night Parade."
"That does seem probable."
Roy nodded in agreement.
"However, his real name isn't Suguru Geto. It's Kenjaku."
"What are you talking about?"
Yaga's brow furrowed deeply.
"You came to discuss this with me because you want to prevent Suguru Geto from causing more unnecessary destruction, right? Whether for the sake of ordinary people or for Geto himself, you've already done more than enough as a teacher."
Roy then shifted the topic. "But the real Suguru Geto is already dead. What's inhabiting his body now is a thousand-year-old curse named Kenjaku... For details, you should ask Tengen. I'm actually surprised she hasn't told you about this. Has living for a millennium made her so timid?"
Yaga's tightly knit brows suddenly relaxed.
Only to tense again immediately.
If what Roy said was true, the situation might be even more complicated than he'd imagined.
"I didn't get any information from Hanami, but those guys have their own agenda. They'll definitely show themselves soon enough. We just need to prepare and wait."
"...That may be our only option. I'll verify the rest with Lord Tengen."
With a stern expression, Yaga stood up and hurried toward the depths of the school.
Roy left the principal's office, initially planning to return directly to his attic.
"Should thank Yaga for reminding me... almost forgot about this..."
A thought suddenly occurred to Roy, and he headed to the boys' dormitory attic.
In the dormitory, Megumi Fushiguro was doing his daily training—pulling a large stone while running laps around the dormitory, panting heavily.
"Megumi, pause the training. Come with me!"
"Go... out? Is there... huff... a mission?"
Megumi removed the ropes from his body, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"No, not a mission. I just remembered something."
Roy shook his head, his next words freezing Megumi in place.
"Your sister is still in a coma, right? Which hospital is she at? Take me there. I'll deal with the problem affecting her."
"...Can it really be fixed?"
Megumi's entire body stiffened as if plunged into an icy abyss.
Then, like grasping a lifeline, he looked at Roy with hopeful eyes. Though trying to maintain composure, his excitement was unmistakable.
"The reason she's in a coma is likely because she was chosen as a vessel and forcibly turned into an incarnation for an ancient sorcerer, just like Yuji."
Roy waved his hand, signaling him to hurry up and make preparations.
"If it were me, I should be able to separate her from the ancient sorcerer—though I should mention, this is my first attempt, so I'd say my confidence is only about seventy to eighty percent."
"That's enough!"
Megumi dashed into the dormitory.
He changed his clothes and was about to leave immediately, but Roy pinched his nose in disgust and kicked him into the bathroom.
After washing off the sweat as quickly as possible, he left Jujutsu High with Roy.
Megumi's sister, Fushiguro Tsumiki, wasn't his biological sister.
She became his stepsister after Fushiguro Toji took him into the Fushiguro household and remarried a woman with the Fushiguro surname, forming a blended family.
Though they were stepsiblings, their care for each other was just like that of blood siblings.
After Toji and Tsumiki's mother both vanished without a trace, it was Tsumiki who took care of their daily lives. She was gentle and kind, and her personality had a profound influence on Megumi's own. Tsumiki was Megumi's one and only taboo—utterly irreproachable.
But last April, shortly after Megumi entered his third year of middle school, Tsumiki suddenly fell into a coma, completely unconscious. Neither medical nor jujutsu methods could wake her.
Even Gojo Satoru was powerless against Tsumiki's condition.
To this day, Tsumiki has been in a coma for one year and five months.
Even if there was only a ten percent chance, Megumi would still try anything to wake Tsumiki up.
And now, Roy claimed to have a seventy to eighty percent chance.
Megumi knew Roy well—he wasn't the type to make baseless claims. If he said that, it meant his actual confidence was even higher than seventy to eighty percent!
Hospital.
The elevator doors opened, and Megumi hurried down the hallway to a certain hospital room.
It was a private room, with only the name "Fushiguro" written on the door.
As soon as he opened the door, a middle-aged man walked out toward him.
"Megumi?"
The man was holding a vase, as if about to change the water for the flowers, and froze when he saw Megumi.
"Here to visit Tsumiki?"
"Uncle Kong, you're here too."
Seeing him, some of the urgency faded from Megumi's expression. He bowed slightly.
"Thank you for always taking care of my sister."
"Don't mention it. I've got nothing better to do anyway."
The man named Kong laughed heartily, waving it off.
He looked to be around forty, dressed in an old-fashioned suit, tall and lean with deep-set eyes. His gaze seemed somewhat absentminded, yet carried the steadiness of someone who had weathered life's storms.
"And this is… could it be the legendary Special Grade, Roy?"
Kong caught sight of Roy behind Megumi and, after a closer look, couldn't hide his surprise.
"Yes, this is Roy-sensei."
Megumi stepped aside to let Roy come forward.
"Roy-sensei, this is Kong Shiu, Uncle Kong. He's been looking after Tsumiki and me for a long time. After I entered Jujutsu High, he's been the one handling communications with the hospital regarding Tsumiki's condition."
"Megumi has been in your care."
Kong Shiu gave Roy a slight bow, expressing his gratitude sincerely.
"Kong Shiu?"
Hearing the name, Roy instead looked at him with surprise, scrutinizing him for a moment.
"You know me?"
Seeing Roy's surprised expression, Kong Shiu was somewhat taken aback.
"I wouldn't say I know you, just that I've heard of you."
Roy composed his expression and smiled.
"When Fushiguro Toji worked as a mercenary, you were his contact, right?"
"After his death, you even took care of his son and adopted daughter? You're quite loyal!"
Roy had some impression of Kong Shiu.
Though vague, he remembered that at the end of the Culling Game, after Tsumiki was incarnated and awakened by the ancient sorcerer "Yorozu," Kong Shiu, who had been looking after Tsumiki, was killed by Yorozu.
Thinking back now, it seemed he only had a minor role, but Roy had a rather favorable impression of him, so he remembered the name. Meeting like this brought it all back to mind.