Mai and I ended up having a great time together.
She had never really had the chance to relax or have fun before, so a lot of things were new to her. She didn't know many games, and she hadn't watched many movies either. Still, that made the whole thing even more fun.
We had a small sleepover in Yuji's room.
We watched movies that existed only in this world, and honestly, that was the most exciting part for me. This universe had its own manga, anime, movies, games… even its own meme culture.
The differences fascinated me.
Some of the shows we watched were surprisingly good. None of the top-rated stuff here felt inferior to the entertainment from my past life.
If I had more time, I would have loved to explore all of it.
But eventually the night caught up to us.
Mai had fallen asleep beside me sometime during the third movie.
After she fell asleep, I closed the movie, and I also went to sleep.
The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the wind brushing against the window.
After waking up, I carefully slipped out of bed so I wouldn't wake her.
I wandered into the small kitchen attached to Yuji's room.
It wasn't big—just a tiny counter, a stove, a fridge, and a couple of pans that looked like they had never been used before.
I opened the fridge.
There were some eggs and sausages inside. Yuji hadn't been in this room for over two weeks, so I had to throw some things away. Still, the eggs looked fine.
Normally, eggs in Japan are pasteurized, but these ones came from Jujutsu High itself. They were surprisingly fresh.
I shrugged.
Good enough.
I started preparing pancake batter.
The quiet morning kitchen felt oddly peaceful. The sound of the whisk tapping the bowl and the faint sizzle of butter hitting the pan filled the room.
A few minutes later, the smell of pancakes drifted through the dorm.
Behind me, I heard movement.
Mai had woken up and was leaning against the doorway, still half asleep.
"Morning," I said.
"Morning," she replied, rubbing her eyes as she walked into the kitchen.
I slid the first pancake onto a plate.
"You've had pancakes before, right?"
She shook her head.
I blinked.
"Wait… seriously?"
Mai shrugged.
"Most sorcerer families are pretty traditional. Western food isn't really common for us."
That honestly made sense.
"Well," I said proudly, flipping another pancake, "you're about to love my cooking."
A few minutes later, we were sitting at the small table eating.
Mai's eyes widened after the first bite.
"These are good," she said quietly.
"Of course, I made them after all," I said cockily.
I couldn't help but smile.
Honestly… seeing her enjoy something this simple made me feel a little bad for her. So I pushed part of my own portion toward her.
She didn't refuse.
Just as we were finishing, the door suddenly opened.
Both of us turned.
Choso stood there, looking mildly surprised.
His eyes moved from Mai… to the pancakes… to me.
Then he walked inside.
"Ikuyo…" he said slowly. "Do you have any for me?"
He was grinning.
That grin...
I sighed dramatically.
"Fine. You can have the rest of mine."
Choso immediately sat down and devoured what was left of my plate.
If someone looked closely, they would have seen the tiny tear forming at the corner of my eye.
My pancakes…
Choso finished eating and leaned back in his chair.
"So…" he said casually, looking between us. "What are you two doing in Yuji's room?"
"We needed a place to hang out," I replied. "And this was the best option."
Choso nodded thoughtfully.
He and I had gotten pretty close recently. He treated me like a younger sister, and honestly… I liked that.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
"I… have a question."
"What kind of place is Italy?"
I blinked, I was surprised he asked this among all the things he could have asked.
"Are you worried about Yuji?" I replied with.
Choso nodded slowly.
"I have a bad feeling."
I thought about it for a moment before shrugging.
"He'll be fine. He'll probably spend most of his time eating pizza and walking around Roman ruins."
Choso still looked uneasy, but eventually he sighed.
"Perhaps I am overreacting."
After chatting for a bit longer, we eventually separated.
Mai decided she was finally going to talk properly with Maki and clear up all the misunderstandings between them.
That was honestly a big step for her.
Once they left, I checked the time. It was noon.
"November 15th…" I murmured.
In the original timeline, Kenjaku fought Yuki tomorrow.
But things had changed.
I doubted he would actually come now. We were too strong here, and the entire school had basically turned into a fortress.
I walked around the campus for a while.
Talismans hung everywhere. Barriers layered over barriers. Sorcerers moved through the grounds, reinforcing defenses.
Looking at it all made me laugh quietly.
"Why does this feel like the Hogwarts battle…"
A magical school preparing for war.
Every kid here had superpowers.
Yeah… pretty close.
As I kept walking, I spotted something unexpected.
Under one of the trees, Ryu, Yuta, and Shoko were sitting together.
They were smoking while talking casually.
When I saw Ryu, my body instinctively tensed. Memories of yesterday's beating flashed through my mind.
But Ryu noticed me and casually gestured for me to come over.
So I walked toward them.
Very. Very willingly.
As I approached, I looked at Yuta.
This group is corrupting my good boy… I swear it.
"Yo, Ikuyo," Ryu greeted.
My eye twitched slightly.
He beat me into the ground yesterday, and now he was greeting me like we were drinking buddies.
"Kita-san," Yuta said warmly.
Then Shoko looked up.
"So you're Ikuyo Kita."
"Ah… you must be Shoko-san."
She didn't waste any time.
"I heard you can use Reverse Cursed Technique. Can you output positive energy?"
Both Yuta and Ryu turned toward me with mild curiosity.
I blinked.
Why is she asking that…?
Does she want to help me train?
I felt strangely moved.
"Ah… I can. But I can't output a lot."
I made my hand glow slightly with positive energy.
Shoko's eyes lit up for the first time since I met her.
"Great!"
She leaned forward.
"Can you take over my hospital shift?"
Oh.
Ohh....
So that's what this was about.
Inside, I was dying.
Yuta and Ryu looked at me with sympathy.
"I… Shoko-san, I actually have hearing problems—ah, wait, I forgot I need to meet Yuki-san bye!"
I turned around and speed-walked away.
Behind me, I heard Shoko sigh.
"That didn't work…"
I kept walking at maximum walking speed.
Thank god I walked fast. I just dodged a bullet.
Now what should I do…
After thinking for a bit, I decided to look for Mai.
It didn't take long to find her.
She was sitting under a tree with Maki.
Mai's head was resting on Maki's shoulder, and both of them looked calm and relaxed.
I walked over and sat beside them.
They both greeted me warmly.
Apparently, they had made up.
Mai didn't even move from her position.
Her head was still resting on Maki.
Both of them had their eyes closed peacefully.
I looked at them.
…Why do I feel like a third wheel?
Ten minutes passed in silence.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.
"Maki-san…"
"What is it?" she replied bluntly.
"I… wanted to ask if you could help me with sword training."
Both twins immediately opened their eyes and looked at me.
Did I say something wrong…?
"Alright," Maki said simply.
"Oh."
Mai looked at me with a strangely sympathetic expression.
Why is she looking at me like that… Weird.
Four hours later.
GOD PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
Maki's wooden sword slammed into my shoulder again.
We were sparring.
Since Maki was physically stronger, I used just enough cursed energy to match her strength and reaction speed.
Same stats. Same conditions.
Which meant…
I was getting absolutely destroyed.
If I used my full cursed energy enhancement, I could overpower her easily.
But this wasn't about brute strength.
This was about skill.
And in that stat…
I was getting beaten left and right.
Badly. Very badly.
The only reason Maki could go this hard on me was that I had the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Which meant she had zero hesitation.
"Okay—okay—" I panted. "Enough… I can't take it anymore…"
Maki shrugged.
Meanwhile, Mai was sitting nearby, laughing after watching her friend get beaten up by her twin sister.
We sat down under the tree to rest.
And then suddenly—
Tengen appeared in front of me.
"Child of Flames."
"Megumi Fushiguro and Angel have arrived."
The moment I heard that, my brain switched on instantly.
All my exhaustion vanished.
I jumped to my feet.
"WHERE?!"
Tengen began leading the way.
I didn't wait.
I boosted myself with cursed energy and ran ahead.
I was the first to arrive.
"MEGUMI!!!"
I launched myself at him and knocked him straight to the ground.
"You're finally here! Do you have any idea how much I missed you?!"
Megumi looked up at me.
Instead of annoyance…
He smiled faintly.
"I'm here now," he said. "Besides, you were the one who planned for me to go."
"…Fair point."
I was still standing on top of him.
Then I noticed her.
Hana Kurusu.
She was staring at me with a dangerous expression.
She looked like she wanted to kill me.
Ah.
Megumi simp.
I quickly got off Megumi and walked toward her.
"You must be Hana-san."
I shook her hand.
"Let's get along, alright?"
I smiled brightly.
Hana immediately covered her eyes.
The Kita Aura was too powerful with this one.
All the anger she felt about me tackling Megumi and sitting on him disappeared instantly.
"I… yes," she replied weakly.
By now, more people were arriving.
Hakari and Kirara.
Then Yuta and Ryu.
Then Yuki and Choso.
Soon, everyone had gathered.
All of us looked at Hana expectantly.
We didn't waste any time.
We immediately brought her to the training grounds.
Tengen moved the back gate of the Prison Realm there.
Everything had already been prepared.
Hana and even Angel looked shocked by how quickly everything moved.
But they still stepped forward.
Angel activated her technique.
Jacob's Ladder
A giant golden cylinder enveloped the Prison Realm's back gate.
And in the next moment—
The strongest sorcerer of today… Was finally freed.
I looked at everyone and suddenly yelled.
THIS IS OUR VICTORY. WE WON.
Everyone looked at me like I was mad.
I was a little... but it doesn't matter.
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End of chapter.
MUHAHAHAA a cliff hanger enjoy.