Chapter 125: The Ring
After finishing Megumi's training, the second person Ren sought out was Maki Zen'in.
She had just returned from an assignment.
"So? How did it go?" Ren asked with concern.
Like him, Maki had already begun the promotion process to become a Grade 1 sorcerer and had recently been carrying out missions alongside veteran Grade 1 sorcerers.
"It was awful!"
Maki shot him an annoyed look, raising an eyebrow.
"The guy I'm paired with is an old drunk. All he does is carry around a sake gourd and drink all day. He doesn't lift a finger, dumps every bit of work on me, and then has the nerve to call it 'evaluating my performance.'"
Ren chuckled awkwardly.
"Is it really that bad?"
"That bad? It's even worse."
She suddenly narrowed her eyes at him.
"By the way, why did you suddenly come looking for me?"
"Can't I visit you without a reason?"
Ren tilted his head.
"O-Of course you can..."
A faint blush spread across Maki's cheeks, and her voice grew quieter.
"But... we're at school..."
Seeing her shy expression, Ren couldn't help finding it amusing.
He deliberately stared at her for a few moments before getting straight to the point.
"I got you something."
As he spoke, he took out a small box wrapped in blue velvet.
"...What's that?"
The instant Maki saw the box resting quietly in his palm, her heart skipped a beat.
That shape...
That size...
There could only be one thing inside.
She slowly looked up at Ren.
He was gazing straight at her, his eyes steady and unwavering, as if he had no intention of giving her any room to escape.
T-This...
Could it be...
Ren opened the box.
Maki's body trembled.
Sure enough...
Nestled against the black velvet lining was a silver ring set with a jade-green gemstone, gleaming brilliantly beneath the afternoon sun.
She stared blankly at it for several long moments before slowly raising her head to look at him.
What... is this guy trying to do?
Is he... proposing to me?
We're still students! We're not even old enough to get married!
No... that's not even the point.
We're at school! In public!
She shook her head furiously.
No, that's not the issue either!
What am I even thinking?
She hurriedly chased those chaotic thoughts from her mind.
Still...
Wasn't this all happening a little too fast?
They had only just started dating.
She hadn't even begun thinking about marriage.
Of course...
She wasn't treating their relationship casually either.
But no matter how she looked at it...
Wasn't this rushing things?
Unconsciously, Maki lifted a finger to her lips and gently bit the tip of it.
"Come on."
Ren smiled.
"I'll put it on for you."
Maki immediately took a step backward.
He's really doing it?
And he's not even going to say anything first?
No confession? No asking? Is he seriously going to force the ring onto my finger?
I'm not that easy!
She didn't particularly care about extravagant ceremonies.
But...
A ceremony reflected a person's sincerity.
Just putting a ring on her finger without saying a word...
That was far too perfunctory!
At the very least...
He should kneel.
Say everything he's supposed to say.
Do everything properly.
Otherwise... otherwise... there's no way I'd even consider it!
"W-What are you doing?"
she asked, flustered.
"Putting the ring on you. What's wrong?"
"Don't... don't you think you're missing a few steps?"
"Huh?"
"If you're that reluctant..."
Ren looked at her utterly bewildered expression and sighed.
"Why don't you just put it on yourself?"
"...What?"
Maki's eyes flew open.
She looked ready to breathe fire.
No flowers.
No kneeling.
No confession.
Fine.
But now you're even making me put the ring on myself?
That's going too far!
"I..."
She slowly reached toward the ring.
Her voice became barely audible, her face crimson, while a shy smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.
"Don't you think... we're moving a little too fast...?"
"Not at all."
Ren grinned.
"It was just a lucky opportunity."
"...A lucky opportunity?"
Maki froze.
That's even worse!
What is this, 'The weather's nice today, so let's get married'?
How can anyone treat something like this so casually?!
She nearly stomped her foot in frustration.
"Yeah."
Ren continued enthusiastically.
"This isn't an ordinary ring."
"It's a spatial ring."
"...A spatial ring?"
The unfamiliar term made Maki blink.
Wait...
So this wasn't...
A proposal ring?
It was...
"...A cursed tool?"
she blurted out.
"Exactly."
Ren nodded.
"It's a cursed tool."
"I bought it at an underground black-market auction."
Then he lowered his voice.
"Keep it down."
"It's probably best if nobody finds out. I'm not even sure whether buying things from the underground market violates Jujutsu High's rules."
"Anyway..."
"This ring was crafted from a rare space-type cursed spirit."
"It contains an enormous storage dimension."
"You've always complained about having too many cursed tools and no practical way to carry them around."
"With this ring..."
"...you can store every single one of them inside."
Maki had once dumped an entire mountain of cursed tools into Ren's shadow when they were assigned to a mission together, claiming it was "weight training" for him.
But not long afterward, they had gone their separate ways again, and all those cursed tools ended up back with her.
More than once, Ren had caught her staring helplessly at the pile, frowning as she struggled to figure out how she was supposed to carry them all.
So the moment this ring appeared at the auction...
He had already decided he was buying it for her.
"What are you standing there for?"
Seeing the stunned expression on her face, Ren couldn't help wondering what she was hesitating over.
"So?"
"Are you putting it on yourself, or should I do it?"
Maki stood frozen for a long moment before finally coming back to her senses.
So... it wasn't an engagement ring.
It was a cursed tool...
For some reason...
A faint sense of disappointment welled up inside her.
But it was quickly overwhelmed by an even greater wave of joy and emotion.
"This..."
She gently bit her lip as she looked at him.
"It must have cost a fortune, didn't it?"
"It was a promise."
Ren smiled.
"Remember?"
"When we went to Echigo, I told you I'd get you a few cursed tools."
"B-But..."
She lowered her gaze.
"This is far too valuable..."
Besides...
Had that really been a promise?
She'd always thought he'd only been saying it casually, perhaps just to cheer her up.
Even if he really intended to give her a cursed tool someday, she'd imagined it would be something ordinary—a Grade 2 or Grade 3 tool at most.
But this ring...
One look was enough to tell it was extraordinarily expensive.
"It still isn't as valuable as its owner."
Ren looked straight into her eyes, his voice gentle.
Maki froze.
Before she could react, Ren gave up waiting.
He picked up the ring with one hand, took hold of hers with the other, and gently slipped it onto her finger.
Her hand instinctively shrank back ever so slightly.
It wasn't rejection.
It was simply the body's natural reaction to a sudden surge of emotion—like the reflexive twitch after touching a live wire.
A tingling sensation spread from her fingertip throughout her entire body.
Maki trembled.
Warmth and numbness flooded every inch of her.
"R-Ren..."
she whispered softly.
"Hm—"
Ren had barely looked up when—
Maki suddenly threw herself into his arms.
Her soft, delicate lips pressed firmly against his.
"W-Wait... mmph..."
Ren mumbled helplessly through the kiss.
"W-Weren't you the one who said..."
"...we're at school?"
Maki ignored him completely.
Wrapping both arms tightly around his waist, she held him close as her sweet, tender lips continued to claim his, refusing to let him pull away even for a moment.
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