Chapter 158 – Reduced to Bodyguards
"Dad, what's really going on with the aliens?"
Inside the principal's office at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Gojo Kamui stood in front of the desk, staring at Gojo Satoru, who was leaning back in his chair with an air of complete nonchalance. Kamui's expression, however, was serious.
Instead of answering, Gojo Satoru casually changed the subject.
"Looks like today's mission wrapped up. So? Feeling any pressure?"
"Pressure?" Kamui frowned. "Why would I feel pressured?"
"Good. As long as you don't."
Gojo waved his hand lazily. "As for the alien situation, we adults are handling it. It's not something you kids need to worry about yet. Your job right now is simple—focus on becoming proper jujutsu sorcerers."
The concerns Kamui had been thinking about were, of course, already well understood by Gojo and the higher-ups of the jujutsu world.
The arrival of extraterrestrial life meant one thing very clearly:
another war was already on the horizon.
How large that war would be—and whether it would truly happen at all—depended entirely on the attitudes of both sides.
For now, the Simurian people genuinely appeared to be refugees, seeking coexistence with Earth's humans.
If things continued smoothly, and both sides exercised restraint, it might still be possible to reduce the probability of war to a minimum.
Kamui frowned.
"Aren't we already qualified jujutsu sorcerers?"
Their generation's strength was far beyond that of ordinary sorcerers. Was that still not enough?
Did they really need official ranks to be considered "qualified"?
"Becoming a sorcerer is easy," Gojo replied calmly.
"Becoming a qualified sorcerer is hard. You'll understand that someday."
He paused, then looked directly at his son.
"That said… there is something related to the aliens that you do need to handle."
Kamui's gaze sharpened instantly.
"What is it?"
Gojo Satoru smiled faintly.
"Marururia—also known as Ria, the new student who enrolled with you—is the daughter of the supreme leader of the Simurian people."
He leaned forward slightly.
"In other words… she's their princess."
"To demonstrate that they have no intention of starting a war, they entrusted this individual to us.
On one hand, she is meant to learn Earth's culture; on the other, she effectively serves as collateral—a living guarantee placed in our hands.
Your task is simple.
While Marururia is on Earth, no matter what happens, she must not come to harm while under our protection."
Gojo Satoru's expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
Since they were willing to personally hand over the daughter of their supreme leader, at the very least, their intentions appeared sincere—for now. Until the true nature of both sides was fully understood, this representative could not be allowed to suffer any mishap.
At present, Ria's existence served as a bridge between human civilization and alien civilization.
If that bridge were to collapse, everything that followed would become immeasurably harder.
"I see…"
Gojo Kamui fell silent for a moment, then nodded. He accepted what seemed like an extremely simple mission.
"Oh, right," Gojo Satoru added suddenly. "How strong is that Zen'in kid—Kaon?"
"Hm?"
Kamui looked puzzled. "She's pretty strong, I think. The curse user was taken down by her."
Recalling how Zen'in Kaon had defeated the curse user with a single punch, Kamui honestly didn't know how to evaluate her. He still had no idea what her cursed technique actually did.
"If she's not weak, then her safety shouldn't be a problem," Gojo said casually.
"But if she ever ends up in danger, you and Kaguya must prioritize saving her."
"…Is she an alien too?"
Kamui raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.
Wasn't she from the Zen'in family? Since when did she become an alien?
Gojo Satoru's mouth twitched. For a brief moment, he wondered whether his son had inherited only his talent—and not his brain.
"I'm just honoring a promise to an old friend."
"That's enough questions. Get out—I'm taking a nap."
Before Kamui could press further, Gojo waved him off, reclined his chair, and lay down without another word.
"…."
Kamui could only leave, full of unanswered questions.
Elsewhere, Okkotsu Kaguya received nearly the same explanation and returned to Jujutsu High equally confused.
And just like that, the two of them unknowingly became full-time bodyguards for Zen'in Kaon and Ria.
---
Meanwhile, at the Fushiguro household, Zen'in Kaon met more of her relatives.
"Sister Kurusu, you're back?"
Kaon greeted cheerfully as Kurusu entered with groceries.
She was supposed to call her sister-in-law, but Kurusu had insisted on "big sister" instead.
Before Kurusu could reply, another woman rushed forward.
"You must be Uncle's daughter—Kaon, right?"
She grabbed Kaon's hands excitedly. "You look just like him! I'm Fushiguro Tsumiki, your cousin. I even held you when you were little! I had a mission yesterday, so I couldn't meet you right away—sorry about that!"
Tsumiki's enthusiasm nearly overwhelmed Kaon.
"I-It's okay, big sister!"
"Tsumiki, don't scare her," Kurusu said with a soft laugh.
"I just missed her too much! Time really flies—Kaon's all grown up now. And Uncle too—why didn't he bring you back earlier?"
Once Tsumiki got started, she couldn't stop talking. Even Kaon—normally outgoing—was starting to struggle.
Standing behind her, Ria watched quietly, a trace of envy in her eyes.
She wished she could experience such a warm family bond.
But…
Given who she was, that was something she would never truly have.
"Kaon, go play with your friend," Tsumiki finally said.
"Kurusu and I will prepare dinner—we have to celebrate!"
"Thank you, Tsumiki-nee, Kurusu-nee!"
Freed at last, Kaon let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"I didn't expect Tsumiki-nee to be that enthusiastic. I'm not used to it."
"…I really envy that," Ria murmured, watching the two women leave.
"It's not that bad," Kaon replied. "I don't really remember meeting her before either. Maybe when I was little?"
She didn't dislike warm, kind, beautiful sisters at all.
"Ria… would you tell me about yourself?"
Kaon was perceptive enough to notice the unease in Ria's voice.
Ria didn't hide it.
"I have an older sister too. She's better than me in every way. My parents always favor her when it comes to important matters."
She paused, then continued softly.
"But my sister and I get along well. Originally, she was supposed to be the observer sent here. I volunteered instead—because I wanted to help her, help my people, and help our parents."
"After my sister persuaded them, our parents finally agreed to let me take her place."
"So… I want to truly understand humans. And I hope humans can understand us—and accept us."
Listening to her, Kaon smiled warmly.
"They will," she said gently.
"We'll make it happen—together."