Chapter 80: The Cucumber Sword Princess
"Yukinoshita left this early?"
When Hikigaya Hachiman returned to his own floor from Nagasaki Soyo's home, he could tell from the shoes on the external rack that she had already departed.
Hachiman had intended to set up the clubroom with her this morning; after all, the items they needed for the club were still in the trunk of his car. However, today was an exam day, so they would have plenty of free time later; there was no need to rush this very moment.
Hachiman changed his clothes, grabbed his bag, and headed downstairs.
Looking at Nagasaki Soyo's current state, she should no longer be fixated on the past, nor would she harbor any unwarranted illusions regarding Sakiko. This could be considered "evening the score" with Yukinoshita.
After all, Yukinoshita had already resolved a request on her own, and Hachiman had semi-resolved his task before Mutsumi-chan even came to him with a request. The only issue was that Hachiman had merely moved Nagasaki Soyo onto another potential "landmine."
Since those three others also seemed to have things weighing on their hearts—but that "little potato" should be able to handle it, and besides, there was Soyo now, wasn't there? Now, the problem lay with Mutsumi. It was a confirmed fact that Mutsumi Wakaba had also become a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
The strange thing was that even though Mutsumi had awakened a Cursed Technique, she seemed unable to see Cursed Spirits.
Was it because that little bird hadn't fully awakened yet?
Hachiman felt he needed to test that little bird's abilities a bit. Based on his observation, that bird was definitely not just meant to be Mutsumi Wakaba's "mouthpiece," speaking on her behalf to deliver words that weren't so devastating to others' mental states.
What Hachiman wanted to do was stimulate the potential of that little bird; it would likely be extremely difficult for Mutsumi to try it alone. She had absolutely no concept of developing Jujutsu.
By the time Mutsumi Wakaba grew enough to see Cursed Spirits and react to them on her own, it would be far too late.
In the current world, the grade of Cursed Spirits was getting higher and higher, and incidents involving low-level Cursed Spirits were becoming rarer. This was because dangerous Cursed Spirits were increasing in number, and if a sorcerer's strength couldn't keep up, it wouldn't be strange for them to die in some forgotten corner.
In truth, Hachiman was quite willing to nurture sorcerers with potential. Because the stronger the sorcerers he cultivated became, the greater the strength available to oppose the "Xenos."
Hachiman had already tried; those damn Cursed Spirits could never be fully exterminated. As long as human malice existed, Cursed Spirits would never disappear, and powerful curses were being born every single minute and second.
Nurturing new sorcerers was like watching seedlings gradually become the strength to resist the aberrations. This was something that both Hayasaka and Mutsumi Wakaba had to go through.
Jujutsu isn't child's play. Having a body full of Cursed Energy naturally makes one a target for Cursed Spirit attacks; there is no escape.
Hachiman maintained his stance: for the weak, an awakened technique is absolutely not a blessing, but a curse. What Hachiman had to do was unearth the abilities hidden within these "rough diamonds."
Therefore, Hachiman planned to go downstairs first to conduct a proper field observation of Mutsumi Wakaba's technique.
Earlier, before Soyo became exasperated, she had told Mutsumi to wait for her downstairs so they could go to school together. Hachiman had just finished breakfast with Soyo, and it would take her some time to shower and change. This gave Hachiman plenty of time to approach Mutsumi.
Hachiman took the elevator straight down. The lobby of the luxury apartment was essentially no different from a hotel lobby. There were small tables and sofas for residents or tenants to rest temporarily, and there was even an open tea bar during working hours that provided coffee and other services.
If one wanted drinks or similar items, there were many vending machines in the first-floor lobby, selling not only beverages but also some instant ready-to-eat foods.
As soon as Hachiman walked out of the elevator, he saw Mutsumi Wakaba. This beautiful, pale-green-haired girl with delicate features was quite conspicuous in the crowd. The Tsukinomori uniform looked very cute, but Mutsumi's expression wasn't great.
Although it looked no different from her usual expressionless face, the dejection contained beneath that lack of expression was quite obvious.
And that little bird Hachiman was concerned about was circling around Mutsumi, its beak repeatedly chirping as if mocking her:
"Mutsumi is a dummy!
Mutsumi is a dummy!"
Seeing this, Hachiman couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly.
Mutsumi really was quite "dumb"—or rather, she was too straightforward. She would blurt out exactly what she was thinking without a second thought.
Mutsumi's words were completely unintentional. When Soyo had hugged her, she had genuinely smelled alcohol on Soyo. She didn't like the smell of alcohol, so she pointed out that Soyo "had a bit of a smell."
But what Mutsumi didn't know was that Soyo wasn't alone at home; there was also a boy there. To any girl, having "a smell" on them while being around a member of the opposite sex is quite unbearable. Not to mention, Miss Soyo was someone who paid particular attention to matching her fragrances.
Mutsumi's words immediately caused Soyo to overthink. No wonder he didn't want to stay and eat with her—did he, like Mutsumi, find her "smelly"? For any clean person, being rejected because they seemed "slovenly" is an unacceptable blow.
This resulted in Mutsumi being evicted from the home by an emotionally triggered Soyo, even though Mutsumi had only said about three sentences in total.
For the first two sentences, Mutsumi had completely followed the "adjustments" suggested by the parrot. The final sentence was a direct blurting out of her thoughts, which served as the fuse that completely detonated the "Soyo-bomb."
Mutsumi looked at the parrot saying "Mutsumi is so dumb," and her expression darkened further. In the past, people spoke of "parrots mimicking humans," but in her case, it had reversed—the human was learning from the parrot.
Mutsumi had learned to speak like the parrot, which had actually made Soyo feel much better, and Soyo had even praised her for being "good with words." This truly broke her heart.
What made Mutsumi feel most sad and desperate was that the words that got her kicked out by Soyo were the words she hadn't corrected through the little bird.
But for Mutsumi herself, she didn't know where she had gone wrong; she only knew she seemed to have made Soyo angry again.
"Hah..."
Mutsumi sighed and lowered her head. Even with the parrot nearby mocking her relentlessly, she didn't care. She was just so bad at talking.
But at that moment, Mutsumi suddenly noticed that the tiny, arrogant figure from a moment ago had suddenly tucked itself away like a frightened quail, hiding directly into her hair. Before, it had dared to poke its little head out, but now it didn't even dare to show itself.
"You're here again."
Mutsumi reached out to stroke the strange little bird, wondering why it was always so cowardly.
"Good morning, Mutsumi."
A familiar voice suddenly reached Mutsumi's ear. She turned her head and found it was Hachiman.
"Hachiman, why are you here?"
Mutsumi hadn't realized at all that Hachiman had been at Soyo's house earlier. Seeing a third friend besides Soyo and Sakiko so early in the morning was quite surprising.
"Here."
Hachiman handed a cucumber-flavored soda he had seen in the vending machine to Mutsumi as a consolation gift. Mutsumi looked quite dejected; then again, it made sense since she had been kicked out by her good friend Soyo.
Especially just now, in Hachiman's vision, Mutsumi looked as if she were about to "drop little pearls" (cry).
"I live here."
Hachiman didn't hide the fact and told Mutsumi that he lived in the building.
"What about you, Mutsumi? Why are you here?" Hachiman inquired, pretending he didn't know she had come to see Soyo.
Hearing that Hachiman also lived there, Mutsumi's mouth opened slightly in a small "o." So Hachiman and Soyo lived in the same building.
"To see a friend."
Nagasaki Soyo's state was much, much better than he had anticipated.
"Mutsumi, is this a pet you're keeping?" Hachiman steered the conversation directly toward his primary concern.
"Hachiman... can see it?"
Mutsumi raised her head to look at Hachiman. Previously, she had almost thought the little bird was something only she could see—a virtual projection of the world.
Mutsumi looked down at the green bird hiding in her hair. Then, as if sensing Hachiman's gaze, the previously arrogant bird didn't even dare to look, burying itself deep within her hair.
"Mutsumi, you probably remember the first time we met, right?"
When Hachiman first appeared before Mutsumi, he was holding a massive chainsword, leaping onto a fleeing First-Grade Cursed Spirit in a boarding-style maneuver.
"Mhm." Mutsumi nodded.
She still remembered being attacked by an unknown creature back then, falling into what could only be described as a desperate nightmare. It was Hachiman who saved her; the scene
was truly vivid in her memory. It was also Hachiman who told her that if there were things she couldn't resolve, she should try to rely on others.
"It's likely due to that Cursed Spirit attack; you've probably become a being like me."
Although Hachiman felt it was Soyo's fault, he let the Cursed Spirit take the blame; it would make Mutsumi feel better that way.
"Can you see this?"
Hachiman used his finger to trace the outline of a bird in the air. In Mutsumi's eyes, this outline shimmered with a red light.
"I see it," Mutsumi replied.
Even without the guidance of Hachiman's finger, a vivid, blood-red bird appeared in the air, circling freely and performing various wonderful and complex maneuvers. This magical sight caused Mutsumi's eyes to slowly widen.
In terms of appearance alone, it was actually similar to the shy parrot on her shoulder. Hachiman had specifically increased the Cursed Energy reaction to a level where Mutsumi, in her semi-awakened state, could see it with her naked eye.
"We call this power Cursed Energy. It's refined from the negative emotions within our bodies.
And this bird-like Cursed Energy entity is the effect of a Technique.
You now possess this power as well, though you might not be able to fully control it yet."
Even though Hachiman's demonstration only lasted a few seconds, it made the little bird on Mutsumi's shoulder shake like a sieve, completely unable to move. It had never seen such terrifying power; the entire bird was stunned with fear.
Hachiman simply reached out, and the little bird that had been hiding in the hair on Mutsumi's shoulder was snatched over by an irresistible force.
The shrinking bird landed directly in Hachiman's hand. The sensation of holding it was nearly identical to a living organism—fluffy, with a very delicate feather texture. Its internal structure was like a communicating vessel, directly linked to Mutsumi's Cursed Energy load.
In other words, although this bird looked small, it contained half of Mutsumi's Cursed Energy. Furthermore, it possessed a certain level of intelligence, knowing to submit to a power greater than its own.
This already distinguished it from Mei Mei's "Black Bird Manipulation." The crows Mei Mei controlled had their consciousnesses erased and were entirely under her command.
"This is your power, so there's no need for any worry or doubt."
Hachiman looked at Mutsumi.
"You now have the aptitude of a Jujutsu Sorcerer, but if handled poorly, that aptitude can bring about a fatal disaster."
Hachiman told her everything about the situations she might encounter in the future. He made her realize that if she didn't master this power properly, she might even become a target for swarms of Cursed Spirits.
Therefore, for the current Mutsumi, the most important task was to develop her technique. This bird, which seemed to exist for comic relief, was definitely not just for jokes; it surely held the core of Mutsumi's technique.
However, one cannot become fat with a single bite. Hachiman couldn't possibly expect Mutsumi to jump from not even being a Grade 4 sorcerer to a High-Grade sorcerer instantly.
Hachiman's reminder today was merely to help her draw out a bit of that technique's power. Should disaster befall Mutsumi, she wouldn't be left without any chance to resist.
"This might be a bit rough next."
Hachiman was going to stimulate the bird specifically, rather than Mutsumi. Because they were only linked by Cursed Energy and not by mind, he was simply simulating a dangerous situation.
A halo of eerie green Cursed Energy appeared in Hachiman's hand, directly enveloping the little bird.
To Mutsumi's surprise, when the previously lively bird was covered by the halo, it let out a sharp cry and collapsed directly on his palm, legs up in the air as if it were dead.
Hachiman, being experienced, knew the bird's little tricks—it was playing dead.
He increased the Cursed Energy output. Under Mutsumi's astonished gaze, after a flash of light passed over the bird, the entire creature decomposed into powder and restructured. Finally, it transformed directly into a longsword as emerald green as a cucumber, with small yellow flowers blooming on the hilt.
And Mutsumi could feel the effect of this longsword: [One Sword, Four Breaks]. It could deal True Damage to any perceived flaws or weaknesses.
Meanwhile, things weren't so fortunate on Yukinoshita's side.
Hachiman thought Yukino Yukinoshita had simply left early to reach school, but in reality, she had gone out at midnight—and had not yet returned.
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