Kento Nanami decisively hung up, stopping Satoru Gojo before his ego rose any higher. When it came time for a proper evaluation, though, he did not hold back and showed his reliability.
"This is one reason I was willing to return to the Jujutsu World. Here, individual strength is amplified, and capital is not always absolute. Both sides can restrain each other to a degree, though I still disagree with some of that person's methods. Order comes first, and on that point I agree with the higher-ups."
Akira understood Kento Nanami's beliefs well and wisely left it there. He did not say that order was never fixed, or that human history had seen many cycles of breaking and rebuilding it. He also kept his suspicions to himself, such as the possibility that Q was a dog raised by the higher-ups to do dirty work and take the blame.
When needed, such a group could be used to draw attention, then disbanded and later rebuilt. An anti-government organization surviving so long in the tightly controlled Jujutsu World already said enough. Satoru Gojo might have handed this matter to Kento Nanami and Akira precisely to avoid alerting certain people above.
After all, too many eyes were on Satoru Gojo, while Kento Nanami and Akira drew far less attention and were strong enough to handle it. One was the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer in the usual sense, a Grade One Jujutsu Sorcerer. The other was nominally Grade Four but already standing at the threshold of Special Grade.
Within the Jujutsu Sorcerer, "Special Grade" meant stepping beyond normal limits, which was why there were only four. Akira returned to the immediate problem. "Putting Gojo-sensei aside, how do we deal with this Q that has resurfaced? Everyone is dead, so we cannot follow any leads."
If they were alive, Akira could have asked Gardevoir to trace things back with psychic power. With that path blocked, only standard methods remained. "We let the police run big data checks, confirm identities, screen associates, and pull nearby surveillance. But the efficiency of the police in Japan is worrying. I wonder if Gojo-sensei could pressure them…"
"Akira." Kento Nanami's steady voice cut him off. "That is not something you should be thinking about. We are Jujutsu Sorcerer, not police, not forensic experts, not investigators."
"If we did everything ourselves, we would be exhausted to death," he continued. "Let professionals handle professional work. We only need to fight as Jujutsu Sorcerer. That is also a form of order."
The words hit Akira hard. Since transmigrating, he had lived in a kind of isolation, unable to speak freely about many things and forced to plan everything alone. Over time, he grew used to thinking through everything by himself and trying to cover all angles.
That brought praise for being reliable from Satoru Gojo and Kento Nanami, trust from his peers, and even jokes from Masamichi Yaga about having more time to drink tea and make dolls. But it also meant constant strain and the habit of taking on too much, a serious flaw in any workplace.
"I am sorry, Nanami-san," Akira said. "I was overthinking it. I will not do that again. If I slip up, please point it out."
"I will," Kento Nanami replied flatly. "Think as much as you like, just do not drag me into it. I will only do what is in my job description. Anything else has nothing to do with me, and the people above will not pay me a single extra yen."
A worker like Kento Nanami only wanted a peaceful life. When he added, "To be honest, what you do does not matter to me," Akira pretended not to hear and translated it in his head into a sharp tsundere complaint.
"Nanami-san, what should we do next?" Akira asked.
"Wait," Kento Nanami said. "Wait for the professionals to clean up, wait for them to investigate. Until we get further instructions, focus on practicing 'Black Flash'. Remember, no matter how strong we become, we are still human, not supermen."
The cohabitation of two men began.
It should be explained that after transmigrating, Akira had mostly lived with women. Back in the Kamo Clan, there were maids to take care of everything, and they did it properly. Just for that alone, his attitude toward the Kamo Clan could never be too hostile, since in his previous twenty-six years he had never enjoyed such Benefits.
After leaving home, Akira was female, and Gardevoir was female as well. Thanks to the System clearly showing gender tags, otherwise someone's mood would have been very awkward, especially at the thought of a Gardevoir with a thick root-like part. Just thinking about it made him click his tongue.
When he arrived at Tokyo Jujutsu High to live a group life, it turned out not much different from home. The people he was closest to were still not men, since among the first-year students besides Akira, Yuta Okkotsu arrived late, Toge Inumaki could not speak, Panda was not human, and Maki Zenin was female.
Because of that, Akira had not truly lived with a male Makoto for a long time.
This long-lost feeling was actually pretty great.
Do not misunderstand, he was a straight man through and through and had not changed in that regard. Still, talking man to man came with fewer restraints, especially since Akira and Kento Nanami shared a lot of common ground.
For example, both were working adults, both favored close combat, both were disciplined, and both belonged to the type who knew a bit of everything and made life more interesting that way.
Every morning without exception, they got up at six.
After that came an intense bout of physical sparring, blades clashing with enthusiasm. To be clear, Akira's Cursed Tools was a sword, while Kento Nanami's Cursed Tools was a chopper several dozen centimeters long. In Japan, blades and swords were not strictly distinguished, so calling it fencing was perfectly fine.
After morning training, Kento Nanami would brew coffee and make breakfast. Akira would go out to buy newspapers, then turn on the TV and switch it to NHK.
During breakfast, the two would browse the news while chatting about whatever came to mind. Astronomy, geography, international affairs, and philosophy all came up. It did not matter if they understood much, since chatting only required something to say.
Of course, what they talked about most was economics and how to make money.
After realizing that being a Jujutsu Sorcerer was miserable, Kento Nanami set himself a small goal. He wanted financial freedom, to drop all burdens and properly enjoy life. Even though he later found that working as a Jujutsu Sorcerer still paid better, that goal never changed.
By coincidence, this was also Akira's goal.
Both of them were the type willing to study and willing to act. It was like a meeting of equals, each finding the other a worthy match.
Kento Nanami taught Akira about venture capital, futures, and securities. In return, Akira talked about cryptocurrency, real estate, and where the next golden age would be, pointing toward the big direction in the Flower-Planting Nation.
This was not ordinary speculation.
Although they never said it out loud, both had already decided that even after their cohabitation ended, they would keep in close contact. Making a bit of money together sounded great to both of them.
That was true even though neither of them urgently craved financial freedom, and neither planned to retire anytime soon.
Within Japan, the Jujutsu World was quite separated from ordinary society. People like Akira and Kento Nanami who paid attention to the mundane world were actually a minority.