"Young Master Eichi, here is your Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer certification."
Zen'in Shuji arrived early in the morning at Tokyo Jujutsu High and handed Eichi the new student ID that represented his status as a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.
"Understood."
The three of them had expected no obstacles in being recognized as Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers. With both the Gojo and Zen'in Families on the judging panel, the process was practically guaranteed.
The only one truly affected by this was Suguru.
The Kamo Family had made multiple attempts to recruit him into their own clan.
In the original story, it was understandable if only the Gojo Family had a Special Grade. But now, with Eichi added to the mix, two of the Big Three Families each had a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.
This put the Kamo Family under immense pressure.
In a way, a Special Grade was like a clan's calling card, a beacon for the entire Jujutsu World.
Their mere presence attracted attention from countless sorcerers.
After all, Jujutsu Sorcerers are drawn to strength.
When new sorcerers entered the field and heard of the three strongest, they would naturally look up to them. Then, their mentor would quietly say, "One of them comes from a common background, so keep working hard, young man."
The young man would ask, "Aren't they all from the Big Three Families?"
The mentor would reply, "The Kamo Family doesn't have a Special Grade."
That situation would be more awkward than losing a group battle. For the one left out, it would be humiliating.
"Also, this is an application submitted by the research institute."
"I see. They want to research methods of controlling Shikigami through cursed tools..."
Eichi lowered his gaze, falling into thought as he examined the research application in his hand.
After several years of research, the industrial enchantment method for imbuing weapons with Cursed Energy had been solved.
However, they found that even powerful weapons posed little threat to Advanced Cursed Spirits, especially since ordinary people could not become Jujutsu Sorcerers.
The difference in speed, strength, reaction time, and other metrics was too vast.
Heavy firepower wasn't viable either, since most Cursed Spirits appeared in urban areas.
The world's biotechnology also couldn't create superhumans like Captain America.
Eventually, their focus shifted to Shikigami, aiming to develop methods for ordinary people to control powerful Shikigami.
Unfortunately, progress was still lacking.
At that point, two ancient Jujutsu Sorcerer Families came into view.
The Isayama Family and the Tsuchimiya Family.
The Isayama Family possessed an ancestral cursed tool called shishiou. The wielder could summon a Grade 1 Shikigami, Ran Guren, to fight.
The Tsuchimiya Family, on the other hand, had sealed a Special Grade Cursed Spirit named Inugami Shiraei, which had been born from the sesshoseki.
However, unlike shishiou, which could consistently summon the Grade 1 Ran Guren for battle, the power of Inugami Shiraei varied depending on the user.
The first Head of the Tsuchimiya Family, who had sealed and controlled Inugami Shiraei, could fully unleash its power, allowing it to exhibit Special Grade strength.
But most of the descendants could only use it at a Grade 1 level.
Otherwise, Inugami Shiraei might break free of its seal.
"Make arrangements. I'll visit the Isayama and Tsuchimiya Families in a few days."
"Yes."
"Eichi-senpai!"
"Haibara, how's your recovery?"
"No problem at all! I'm already bouncing around."
There had been some initial skepticism when Kento Nanami and Haibara exorcised a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. But once the mission report confirmed that they'd had external assistance, no further questions were raised.
Nanami and Haibara had also received time off and generous compensation.
Jujutsu Sorcerers often faced life-and-death missions, but the benefits were decent.
"Where's Nanami?"
"Thanks for your concern. I've recovered."
Kento Nanami and Satoru, along with a few others, arrived together—a rare sight.
It had been several months since the five of them had gathered.
"Is it finally almost over?"
The peak period for Cursed Spirits was ending, and the students of Tokyo Jujutsu High could finally relax.
"It's a rare chance. Let's all go have some fun."
Satoru was especially eager.
Over the past few months, during the peak Cursed Spirit period, the three of them had barely gotten any rest, constantly traveling to exorcise Advanced Cursed Spirits.
Having been bored for so long, Satoru really wanted to cut loose and enjoy himself.
"Where should we go? Shopping?"
Eichi also wanted to unwind.
"No, shopping with Satoru is a nightmare."
Shoko immediately objected.
By regulation, Shoko needed a bodyguard when going out, and many of the students had taken turns in that role.
"Satoru, what did you do?"
Suguru looked at him curiously.
"Which time are you talking about?"
Which time... Suguru suddenly understood why Shoko was so adamant.
He glanced at Shoko, hoping she would explain.
"Sigh."
Shoko let out a deep sigh.
"One time, we went to the mall to buy cosmetics. I asked him which color looked better. He said they all looked equally ugly."
The mental image was so vivid that everyone nearly burst out laughing.
Shoko was naturally beautiful and didn't need makeup, but because of her frequent late-night treatment sessions, she often had dark circles.
So cosmetics were a necessity for her.
"They're all ugly anyway. Putting them on your face makes you look like a ghost."
Satoru didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said.
"No wonder you're still single."
Shoko rolled her eyes.
She loved watching drama, but she always pulled back before getting dragged into it.
That's why she didn't argue with Satoru.
Because once you got involved with Satoru, no matter the outcome, it would eventually turn into drama in her eyes.
Shoko enjoyed watching drama, but she had no intention of becoming the drama.
"How about a movie?"
Suguru smiled and changed the subject.
"No."
This time, Eichi objected.
"Satoru will be as noisy as a kid."
"It's more fun when everyone talks about the movie together. What's the point of sitting there like a zombie for two hours?"
Satoru didn't think there was anything wrong with his opinion, even as everyone looked at him.
"How about an amusement park? My sister has been wanting to go for a while, and I've saved up a lot recently, so I want to take her with me."
Haibara raised his hand and made a suggestion.
"An amusement park? Sounds good."
Amusement parks were large enough to accommodate everyone, and there were plenty of attractions to meet everyone's interests.
"But amusement parks must be packed right now."
It was currently summer vacation in Japan.
Tourist numbers surged at amusement parks every day.
"Yeah, I remember during this season, you have to queue for hours just to get on one ride."
Eichi remembered the horror of holiday travel spots.
Every time he went out during the holidays, all he could see was a sea of heads.
There was no joy in the experience.
"You don't have to worry about queues."
Satoru had been teasing Shoko for a while with no reaction and had lost interest.
"My family owns a pretty big amusement park. We can just go there."
His tone was calm, as if he were talking about some random street stall.
"Using the VIP entrance? Then we really won't have to wait."
"No need. I'll just tell them to clear out the entire park for tomorrow."
Even Eichi, who had significant assets himself, couldn't help wanting to smack Satoru and divide the property.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)