Now then, moving over to the Jujutsu High training grounds.
As his classmates watched, Yuta Okkotsu was about to attempt something he had never even considered before.
"Okay, Yuta. Today, let's try calling Rika-chan on your own. It's fine, it's fine! I'm the strongest, and Naoya is about as strong as I am!"
It was only moments ago that Yuta had reflexively blurted out, "Are you sane?" to Gojo, who had proposed such a preposterous thing with total nonchalance.
From Yuta's perspective, Rika's power—the ability to easily snap a human like a twig and shove them into a locker—was something deeply terrifying. However, when he tried to explain this, the Zen'in sisters simply brushed him off. "Big sis can do that much too," Mai had said, only for Maki to retort, "Wait, Mai, you can do that too, can't you?"
'Is this place some kind of demonic territory for non-humans?' Yuta wondered internally. But since the two magical girls and the panda in his field of vision seemed to project an aura that said "Yes, and?" he was forced to give up on arguing.
And so, Yuta now focused his consciousness on the ring that was Rika's memento, speaking words he had never imagined he would say.
"C-Come out, Rika-chan...!"
"Whaaat is it, Yuuutaaa?"
"Um..."
"There's a weirdo here!"
"Wait, Rika-chan!?"
Ignoring Yuta's attempt to stop her, the manifested Rika scanned her surroundings and spotted Naoya. In an instant, she slammed a sledgehammer strike directly into the top of his head. A massive crack ripped through the earth at Naoya's feet with a deafening boom.
Yuta felt like he was going to throw up, imagining the absolute worst-case scenario—that he had finally committed murder through the impact—but the reality was vastly different from his imagination. He could only stare, eyes wide with shock.
"Rika-chan. Hitting me. While calling me. A weirdo. Is basically bullying. You're treating me. Like a cockroach. It hurts my feelings."
"Ugh! Cockroaches are gross! Die!"
"You really. Thought I was. A cockroach?"
"Her thought process is relatively simple... or maybe just childish? From what I've researched, her cause of death was head trauma from being run over, so that might have influenced her intelligence when she became a cursed spirit. Her cursed energy recovers without limit, making it effectively inexhaustible, and the technique she possesses is 'Copy'... Man, her catalog specs are insanely strong, aren't they, Rika-chan?"
"Shut uuuup!"
"Whoops. Careful, careful. ...How about it, Yuta! Think you can get Rika-chan to listen to you?"
"Eh, ah, Rika-chan, stop! Stop! Wait!"
"Yuuutaaa, but there's a weird thing here, let's kill it."
"I told you no! Why are you targeting Naoya-san so much, Rika-chan!?"
"Because, because, he's g-r-o-s-s!"
"Probably because of Naoya's cursed energy. Among the cursed energy wielded by sorcerers, there are some that take on specific properties. For various reasons, Naoya's cursed energy is 'dense with curses.' It has a sort of thick, slimy feel to it."
"I see, that makes sense. But still, calling someone's husband a cockroach is going a bit too far."
"Hie, I'm sorry! Um, well..."
"I'm Mai. Okkotsu-kun, sorry, but do you mind if I teach your girlfriend a little lesson?"
"A... a lesson...?"
"Basically, she's pissed off by a kid's verbal abuse and wants to punch her once."
The moment she said that, the outfit Mai Zen'in wore shifted from its black and crimson Gothic Lolita color scheme to a lovely pastel white and pink. With a transformation pose so graceful that even a first-timer like Yuta could see it was "refined," she capped it off with her transformation line: "Turning everyone's feelings into power! Magical Mai-chan, Make Up!"
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The boys' reactions were generally positive. Yuta went past the point of being stunned and started clapping, muttering an "Oh..." under his breath. Toge was actually mimicking the transformation pose with near-perfect accuracy, perhaps out of a sense of playfulness. Panda was shouting "Yo! Zen'in-ya!" like a Kabuki lead cheering from the gallery. Maki, likely used to the sight, looked at Rika with a teasing smirk. "You're in for it—Mai is scary when she's angry, you know?" Meanwhile, Naoya, the husband and actual cause of Mai's current state, was far too busy being pummeled by Rika to pay much attention.
When Satoru Gojo loudly declared, "Wow, that's cringe," the newly transformed Mai pointed at him. "Bad adults get punished too! ♡" She fired a pink beam of destructive light from her magic wand at Gojo. It was only then that Yuta finally began to grasp the situation—'Wait, can she actually do magical girl things!?' Rika also turned her attention to Mai, muttering, "Wow, what a painful person," and a duel naturally began between Mai and Rika.
The result was as follows.
"Mai-chan is. A Grade 1 sorcerer. After all. She can hold. Her own."
"Oh. Welcome back, Naoya. You were getting hit pretty hard, you okay?"
"I'm fine. If I harden myself. With cursed energy. Reinforcement. It's no big deal."
"I guess so. ...Rika-chan's total cursed energy is infinite, but her output isn't quite at that level. It also looks like she can't use her technique properly based on her will alone."
"At first glance. It looks like. Rika-chan has control. But I guess not. Surprisingly. She seems like. The devoted wife type."
"The type that walks three steps behind her husband and bows to him?"
"She might be. Like that. Underneath it all. It's just a hunch."
"Hmm. Well, from the perspective of Mai, who's currently throwing a fit over there, I guess they're two of a kind. You and Yuta both have it rough."
While Gojo, Naoya, and the other students watched idly, a catfight unfolded between the Queen of Curses and the Queen of Constraints. "I'll punish the bad girl who insults other people's husbands! ♡" Mai shouted, swinging the Magical Mai-chan Mace with a form that rivaled Sadaharu Oh as she struck Rika. Rika lunged back at Mai, screaming, "I don't care about anyone but Yuta! You're annoying, hag!"
The catfight continued for nearly an hour, with them hurling arguments back and forth like "A wife like that lowers her husband's status!" and "Yuta doesn't care about that!" followed by "I'm telling you, it lowers people's opinions of your husband!" and "Rika is the one who evaluates Yuta!"
Finally, Yuta gathered his courage and screamed, "Rika-chan! Um! Uh! It's not good to speak ill of other people!?"
Rika froze with a shocked "Eh?"—and in that moment of distraction, the mace connected perfectly. Mai claimed the victory. Ignoring the outcome of the fight, Rika immediately burst into tears and clung to Yuta, crying, "Please don't hate meee!"
"Well, the road ahead looks rocky, but we've confirmed that Rika Orimoto does indeed have a 'sense of self,' so that's a step forward. This was probably the first time Yuta kept Rika-chan out for so long, too. Let's take a break!"
With Gojo's authoritative word, the practical training session moved into a temporary intermission.
However, there was still plenty of time left in the afternoon classes. It seemed Yuta's busy day was far from over.
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