He did not want to grow old but his age increased on its own.

It sounded detestable but that was how reality was.

Right now, being in one’s thirties was still considered young was one of the mainstream perspectives, but in reality, once his age crossed twenty five, he was called uncle by minors and the condition of his body started to worsen.

More specifically, the feeling of discomfort to his body did not go away for a while.

For example, his shoulders and neck ached, there was a constant buzzing in his mind and it felt like his gut kept turning itself over and over. Even though these were just minor symptoms, they kept accumulating till this day.

Normally, he never noticed anything when he was busy, but when he went into a state of relaxation, he could feel these symptoms that have resulted from exhaustion.

Ichiji Kiyotaka also encountered a similar situation.

“……sigh.”

During the exchange event, he was in charge of holding meetings with the Kyoto Branch as well as handling related administrative paperwork.

He also had to find a way to deal with the aftermath of the cursed spirits and cursed users who barged into the college, tallying the amount of damage they caused.

When there was a fall of manpower due to deaths or injuries of staff members, he had to prioritise finding suitable replacements as well as help manage the family members of the dead. When baseball equipment were required urgently, it fell to him to prepare those as well….

And so on….

In this hectic life of his, the next job that came up was to bring the first years to Saitama to carry out a mission to deal with the damage caused by cursed spirits—But the mission this time was passed to another auxiliary manager by the name of Nikita temporarily. And the investigation materials that was put together by Ichiji was also passed to the former.

Even since the exchange event started, the schedules of auxiliary managers were crammed full, but when there was an unexpected change to his job, Ichiji was also unable to take on another job at the last minute.

In the end, a period of emptiness that had not been around for a long time appeared.

“Ah—….”

This place was the office within the technical college.

Ichiji sat at his desk and made a sound of release.

When he thought back carefully, he was buried in work lately.

So when he suddenly had time to spare, he had no idea how to adjust to it.

If there were no urgent tasks at hand, Ichiji could just take a day off and go home, but he was not that good with having to take day offs on weekdays or days that were not national holidays.

Furthermore, amongst the Jujutsu Sorcerers, there were quite a few who could not keep up with the digital age.

For example, businesses that require the use of computers or internet for applications.

Once Ichiji thought about problems cropping up in this line of businesses during his day off and having to personally make calls to help these Sorcerers with their difficulties, he became anxious. After all, he understood very well that this type of people who say “I can’t use computers” have problems even with turning it on.

Blanking out in his seat was not going to help with anything so he brought his computer out of sleep mode.

Even with that said, he did not have any urgent tasks that he had to handle, so he only took a look at his emails and tidied up the information files on the desktop.

During this time, he also modified the file format of his commonly used files, checked whether the processing system that was used in their line of work was functioning normally as well as cleaned up the drawer he could not find time to organize.

After being busy for a while, he finally took a break and drank tea that was brewed from a teabag.

“….Wait, am I just giving myself something to do?”

In the end, he came to realisation about something.

To Ichiji, this was not a small blow.

From the start, he had always believed that he was busy due to the load of his work but now he realised he had nothing to do. He felt that he was such a pathetic person.

Ichiji knew that he had a strong sense of responsibility when it came to work.

However, if there was “only work left” in his life, if made him feel a bit…No, it was very worrying.

Even so, the Jujutsu Sorcerers were staking their lives on the front line, if the me who was part of backend support no matter where I went, it does not feel like an appropriate—

As he thought to this point, the top part of his stomach hurt as it cramped tightly.

“Ah.”

It was not as though I usually binge eat.

And it was not like I lost my appetite, it just felt like my organs have no energy and lately my body had always been like this.

Am I just too tired?

No, I am extremely tired.

Ichiji was truly fatigued but from how he first used a question to think, he knew that from last time, he was so buried in work that he was not even self-aware.

When he was free, he had to find something to do or he would not be able to pass this idle time away.

As a feeling of uneasiness persisted in his heart, he had to find a bunch of unimportant tasks and just kept going without stopping.

…This could not go on.

Ichiji believed that he had to think of a way to get away from this indescribable, or at least, could be considered negative state.

For example, he needed a change of pace.

“Ah, right.”

He hit the table with a thump and stood up.

If he had gastric pains then he should just see a doctor.

Ichiji, who had decided to consult a doctor, briefly tidied up his desk, locked up the cabinet containing important documents and then headed to the infirmary with a spring in his step.

*

“Your uncomfortable symptoms are a result of stress. I’ll prescribe a mild gastric medication for you.”

This was the clinic of the Tokyo Branch.

Ieri Shoko did a simple consultation and passed a packet of powdered medication to Ichiji.

It was another matter if it was a seriously ill patient who required a Reverse Cursed Technique—but within the realms of reason, a doctor’s job was just to diagnose while dispensing of medication was handled by pharmacists.

However, the place Ieri was working was a clinic

The facilities of the Jujutsu Technical College were far better than those of the average school, however the clinic was still a part of a school after all, so this medical facility still had to treat its patients while taking on the tasks of both diagnosing and dispensing in that order.

So the clinic, like any infirmary in a normal school, treated conditions like Ichiji’s not as illnesses but just as simple discomforts. So all he got were medications that could be obtained from retail outlets.

Even so, after the simple question and examination by Ieri, he felt his symptoms had become a lot better.

“Thank you, I feel a lot better.”

“In actual fact, there is nothing wrong with your insides so I’m just giving you some run of the mill gastric medications. That kind which you take just before drinking alcohol. If you need more, drug stores have them so you can standby some at home for a peace of mind.”

“It’s alright. I still feel that I should seek the opinion of professionals for matters of the body.”

“Is that so? You have the right attitude.”

Ichiji was sitting all prim and proper on the round chair with an extremely relaxed expression.

Now that he thought about it carefully, he was wound up all the time.

Sorcerers with an impatient personality would push the troublesome matters to him and those Sorcerers who were neurotic would make him extremely nervous.

Furthermore, sending those children on missions made him guilty while the higher ups would complain to him about Gojou and as for Gojou himself, he would cause trouble for Ichiji as frequently as breathing, acting recklessly.

While still being on this point, Ieri was, to Ichiji, an oasis for his soul.

Although she was abnormal in the way that she was also a Jujutsu Sorcerer, she was not unreasonable, she would not put people in a difficult position and would naturally think about others.

What Ichiji usually saw were Jujutsu Sorcerers who were out for blood and freaky curses, so to him, Ieri, with such a character, was a precious existence who was a delight to the eye and ears.

Even though she was a bit pale, she was definitely a beautiful woman with a mysterious charm.

The sluggish air around her added an aura of melancholy as well.

Furthermore, today, Ieri was especially considerate.

Usually, she would return to her own work once she was done with treatment but for some unknown reason, not only did she thoroughly ask about Ichiji’s condition, she also chatted with him for a while.

“Then, when I ran back to the college and switched on the computer, I realised that all the files have been formatted.”

“That’s truly a disaster.”

“That time, I was more frightened than being stared at by a Grade two cursed spirit….at the same time, I had a deep understanding on the importance of back up data. After all, being prepared would prevent a crisis.”

“Just like regularly making sure there’s a stock of blood for transfusion.”

“….Right, it’s sort of that kind of feeling.”

“But you’re not that busy anymore, are you? That’s good.”

“Yes yes, you could say that.”

Ichiji made a relatively vague reply.

Because he was too embarrassed to talk about what happened in detail. He could not say that he was not only just not busy, but he actually had a rare moment of having nothing to do so he came to Ieri’s clinic.

However, this world was taking care of Ichiji more than he himself had realised.

“Oh right, if you’re not busy then are you free tonight?”

“Eh?”

“I mean the night of today.”

“………eh?”

“Do you need to see an ear, nose and throat specialist?”

“Ah, no, I’m free, I’m free, I’m free, I’m free.”

“Why did you say it four times in a row?”

For an instant, Ichiji’s brain went blank so he was unable to process the words that transmitted through his ear drums.

However, his reaction was extremely normal. After all, Ieri’s question was completely out of his expectations. His reason told him “Wait, get your brain out of the gutter, don’t warp her intentions”, but he was unable to stop with his various fantasies.

One could not tell if Ieri had detected Ichiji’s inner turmoil but she showed a calm expression and switched the positions of her crossed legs.

“Great, you’re free. I thought I should ask you out for a few drinks once in a while so I thought of asking you out.”

“Go out, to drink?”

“Of course it’s just a few small cups, not something that would cause a burden to the stomach. But, your gastric pains aren’t due to a problem with the stomach itself. A change in pace would be better for the body, wouldn’t it?”

“Ye, yes, you’re right. Thanks for your invitation, I’ll definitely be there.”

“That’s a promise then. So you can head to Amakusa Bridge around six tonight then I’ll contact you to tell you which shop to go to.”

“O…Okay!”

Without noticing it, Ichiji had straightened his back to answer the question as though he was in a job interview.

When Ieri saw his reaction, she gave a slight smile and started to neaten up her medical records. This action seemed to be a silent hint, as though to say, “I should be getting back to my work.”

Ichiji got up quietly in order not to disturb her, bowed deeply and left the clinic.

“……Yes.”

Even though it was not some big matter, Ichiji still felt motivated.

Since he had a date with someone, he could not work overtime today.

However, Ichiji had no impending tasks so there was no need to work overtime but in order to be extra sure, he still rushed back to his desk and cleaned up some normal tasks.

*

“………There’s no mistake, it should be this store, right?”

It was 5:45 in the evening.

It was a fifteen minute walk after taking the metro to Amakusa station.

Ichiji walked through the colourful streets lit up by neon lights among the groups of the working class who were about to head home and finally found the name of the shop that Ieri had told him.

It was an eatery by the name of “Kotoribako”.

(T/N: It’s written as “Little bird box” but is also known as “The box which takes children away” (sounds the same in Japanese). A cursed item that made its way around Japan as an urban legend. If a dead infant was placed inside the box, one could curse women and children nearby to their deaths.)

As someone who worked in a job related to curses, just hearing the name of the store made him somehow lose his appetite.

“But….”

Ichiji raised his head to look at this store and he could not really label it as charming.

There were red lanterns at the shop front and there was a beer board erected on the ground that looked like it was supplied by a vendor. The door was only a thin sliding door.

Ichiji felt the weak expectation that had been expanding gradually in his heart before he reached this store quietly retreating.

“But, I’m still able to have a meal with just Ieri-san….”

A fantasy drifted into his head.

Speaking of which, Ichiji almost never had the chance to see Ieri in casual clothes. To him, seeing Ieri off her shift and not burying herself in the work of managing medication or dead bodies was extremely rare.

As though to forcefully restart his engine that was smoking, he took in a deep breath.

Two times, three times, he kept repeating this action of breathing deeply as though to exchange fresh air into his lungs.

Finally he prepared himself mentally and with a rattle, pushed open the sliding door to the store.

“Hi, Ichiji, you’re pretty slow.”

He closed the door.

A “clack” sound entered his ears.
Then he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his glasses.

Strange, the one who spoke was not Ieri in casual clothes but a silvered haired man with sunglasses.

Ichiji knew in his heart that if it was not his eyeballs that were afflicted with a curse then perhaps he was hit by some brain washing technique. The person before his eyes who was drinking honey dew soda from a large beer mug that had a handle looked like Gojo.

That should not be the case.

He came here today because Ieri invited him and definitely not because he wanted to go for a drink with Gojo. Furthermore, Gojo was an extreme lightweight, so there was no way he would appear in this place that looked like a pub.

Seems like his fatigue and over the top nervousness was causing hallucinations. That’s right, it had to be like that.

After Ichiji took another deep breath, he nervously slid open the sliding door.

“What are you doing?”

The person in front of him was without a doubt, Gojo.

Ichiji narrowed his eyes and showed an expression of displeasure.

“I’m the one who wants to ask you what you are doing? Gojo-san.”

“I came to this pub to challenge myself to only drinking non-alcoholic drinks and I can only go home when I get drunk.”

“Then you’re never going home for the rest of your life……”

“A self-challenge is only meaningful if you set some strict conditions, right? Ichiji, when you play video games, don’t you get delighted when your level goes up?”

“When I play video games, I don’t really commit myself to those kinds of challenges….”

“Ichiji, come on in, Gojo and I have already started drinking.”

“Ah, Ieri-san.”

Gojo sat at a four person table and diagonally across him was Ieri who had just finished a huge mug of beer.

From this scene, Ichiji more or less grasped the situation.

Today, there were a total of three people who came here to drink. Ichiji had the feeling that the beautiful, sweet fantasy within his heart shattered, making a noise.

However, this was reality.

Rather than Ieri proactively inviting him out for a date and both of them drinking alone, the scene in front of him was more likely something that would happen in reality.

Ichiji, under Gojo’s urging, gave a slight nod to greet her and at the same time, sat next to Gojo.

“In any case, here’s your first cup as a punishment.”

Ieri called a staff member over and a mug of draught beer naturally appeared in front Ichiji.

With a word of “Itadakimasu”, Ichiji lifted up the handle to the mug of beer and saw that Ieri also ordered a whiskey cocktail. However, he did not think any further on how many cups of alcohol the woman in front of him had before he arrived.

After that, ichiji glanced at Gojo and saw that there was honeydew soda, fries and fried wings in front of him. When a child was brought by their parents to an Izakaya, these were likely the dishes they would be able to stomach.

“Here, cheers.”

With a signal from Gojo, the glasses containing honeydew soda, draught beer and whiskey clinked against each other. This image of cups hitting each other was not harmonious at all.

Ieri opened up a relatively old looking paper menu and added more dishes.

“Braised small abalone, Tuna sashimi….and braised pork organs. Ichiji, do you want to get something?”

“Then I’ll have potato salad…”

“The chunky or the mashed kind?”

“The mashed kind….”

Ieri smoothly finished ordering the food items then elegantly picked up her glass and drank it.

At the same time, she ate the edamame that was placed on the table as well as what looked like an appetiser made out of stir fried burdock roots and the whiskey cocktail was drained in a blink of an eye, as quickly as students drinking soda on a summer’s day.

But what was most surprising was her complexion, even though Ieri looked as pale as she usually was, she did indeed finish a glass and had no signs of being drunk.

In Ichiji’s eyes, Ieri who had elegant actions and a large capacity for liquor was an extremely cool individual.

On the other hand, what Gojou was drinking was a non-alcoholic beverage so obviously, no matter how much he drunk, he would not be drunk.

“Ichiji, did you know? It’s said that the first person to put cucumbers in potato salad was Steven Spielberg.”

“Ah, is it? That’s the first I heard of it.”

“Yeah, I’m lying so this definitely is the first you heard of it.”

“Eh……?”

Gojo did not have any alcohol at all but his words were even more incoherent than a drunk who had drank so much that their words were just nonsense.

However, he usually talked like this when he wants to mess with Ichiji.

It was just that the banquet room had some kind of phenomenon where the ”atmosphere makes people drunk”, some people, who only had non-alcoholic drinks, become more excited than usual.

Putting aside that Ieri and Ichiji were with Gojo, there were also salarymen who just finished their shift within the store as well as middle aged men who seemed to drink as a form of pleasure. These people were vigorously drinking and this kind of atmosphere definitely had a change of making Gojo feel drunk. But in front of Ieri, Gojo was just an adult that made people feel bothered.

“Then, Ichiji, since we’re drinking already, let’s talk about the “Shounen Jump” issue for this week.”

“I, I don’t read it.”

“Are you kidding? There are humans in this world who have not read Jump? Then how about when you’re a student? What did you read growing up? It can’t be some anthology of Japanese poetry*?”

(T/N: Google Kokin Wakashu)

“Aren’t there any other options other than Japanese poetry?!”

“You scared me~ Then should we talk about baseball or we can even talk about politics?”

“This—-….?” Wouldn’t it be better not to talk about these two things? These are topics that would easily lead to fights when people are drinking.”

“I quite like Ishida Mitsunari but when Hideyoshi died, his performance in the political scene cannot be considered amazing.”

“I never thought you wanted to talk about politics during the Sengoku era…”

“Ichiji, we are not in a unique environment and this was all built on the grand politics of our forefathers.”

“You’re right about that.”

Ichiji thought for this person who wanted to turn the world of Jujutsu on its head, his persuasive powers was even more “fragile” than the skin of a Vietnamese spring roll. However, he did not have the courage to say the words within his heart.

“You, you admire Ishida Mitsunari?”

“Because that guy will brew tea that is not so scalding for me.”

(T/N: Legend says that Ishida Mitsunari gained the favour of Hideyoshi by brewing tea with particular technique)

“This is the first time I’ve seen anyone look at the generals from the Sengoku era as servants…”

“Then let’s talk about the battles during the crossing of eras. Who would be the strongest general. The one I have high praise for is Gojou Satoru.”

“I also feel that Gojou Satoru would emerge victorious….”

“Ah, but only Sugawara no Michizane would be a bit tough to handle.”

“Isn’t the person you mentioned a bit too famous….”

Gojou was just doing things at his own pace as usual but he was talking more than he normally did.

Ichiji felt that he would have problems playing along so he looked at Ieri—

“Since the tuna sashimi is served, then I should switch to drinking Seishu….Aniki, what sake do you recommend?”

“We have Hakkaisan.”

“Then I’ll order that.”

She had completely entered the drinking-till-she-dropped mode.

Ieri was the one who was in charge of choosing this shop and it seems like she was used to having drinks here. The way she spoke to the staff was like how a regular customer would and she seemed reliable as she did so.

“Ichiji, are you blanking out? Are you drinking?”

“Ah, no I’m not, I am drinking.”

“Great. When the braised dishes come here, you can just go all out and drink. The boss here has good culinary skills.”

“Hey, why are you praising me like that….Hey, go get that for Shoko-san.”

“No problem, Head Chef!”

Ieri just finished speaking and the boss who felt generous after getting praised gave his staff some kind of instruction. It seems like one can get rewarded for praising the boss.

However, what shocked Ichiji even more was that the boss naturally addressed Ieri as “Shoko-san”. He felt that the sound of “Shoko-san” sounded pleasing to the ears and felt a bit like saying it himself.

“Even though that staff is a rookie, he’s very orderly when doing things, pretty amazing don’t you think? I heard that he has four younger sisters who aren’t blood related to him so he took up a few jobs to earn money to let them go to university. Don’t you think that sounds like a plot out of a manga?”

“How did you even get that piece of information?”

“Even though I am a customer, when it comes to the amount of time spent in this shop, I am the senior.”

“I see…”

Seems like Ieri was not just any regular customer.

At the very least, she had frequented the store so often that she was even clear about the family background of the staff. Now Ichiji understood. No wonder the boss was so familiar with her that he could address her by name.

In a short while, the employee placed a small bowl with a brined dish and a tray that had a wooden box containing a small sake cup on the table. And the square wooden box and the sake cup was slanted such that it felt like the Seishu would spill out anytime.

“Ieri-san, your sake feels like it could spill out anytime.”

“This is part of this shop’s secret house special wine “Nishuu Takitsubo”. Usually the wooden box is used to contain the alcohol that spills out from the sake cup but this cup of mine also has the box filled up with alcohol.”

“In this case, isn’t that two cups worth of alcohol?”

“It’s really worth it, right?”

Whether it was worth it or not was still up for debate but what astonished Ichiji was that Ieri was able to finish that alcohol with ease, it was just that he could not get his thoughts out of his mouth.

“And this brined dish is….?”

“Shuto, “Shu” as in alcohol and “to” as in steal.”

“Shuto?”

(T/N: A pretty high grade dish that goes well with alcohol. But because it goes so well, people think their alcohol is being stolen, hence giving it this name.)

“This is made by pickling the guts of bonito……every time I praise the boss, I look forward to him giving this to me. You can try some.”

“Ah, thanks….”

“But it does not go well with beer.”

“Ah, in that case, then….”

“If you’re eating good side dishes then you need to drink alcohol that complements it. I recommend that you order Seishu and just treat your beer like water to cleanse your taste buds. Then I also want assorted cheese that goes well with this.”

“Ah, okay then I would like warm Seishu….”

Just as Ieri was sipping up her Seishu that felt like it was going to spill up from its cup with a “Siiiii….”, the alcohol that Ichiji ordered also reached its table. Obviously, he received the normal amount of alcohol.

Ieri waited for the staff to serve up the assorted cheese and then she matched the various plates of dishes together and with delight, taught Ichiji how to eat them.

“First put the Shuto on the cheese then after eating it, drink the Seishu immediately. Try it.”

Ichiji’s shoulders cowered a bit and he carefully picked up the Shuto that Ieri was strongly promoting.
“…………Ah, it’s delicious. It’s like drinking alcohol with pickled anchovies.”

“It’s nice isn’t it. Gojou, look, Ichiji knows.”

“Eh—I don’t understand putting pickled food on cheese and eating them together. I mean, if I really wanted to say it, cheese is considered a resident from the country of desserts, right? Now it feels like someone stole the cheese from the scone that it has been betrothed to and then brought to the nation of drunkards. Ichiji, am I right?”

“Eh, ah, right….?”

“Seriously, the lightweight is missing out on delicacies. This thing is so delicious, Ichiji, correct?”

“Since when did Shoko become this kind of person? Ichiji?”

Ieri used her chopsticks to pick up a thick piece of tuna sashimi and gulped down her alcohol while Gojou, on the other hand, ordered yet another mug of honeydew soda and at the same time was eating the after-meal dessert, strawberry ice cream.

Ichiji sipped his Seishu as he was pincered between a winebibber who was drinking enjoyably and an ultra sweets lover.

He felt that if he stayed on in this situation, his stomach was going to start acting up, but both the alcohol and the dishes were good, so all in all, he could be considered feeling happy.

“This shop’s dishes and alcohol are all praiseworthy.”

“Because I’m the one who recommended it. Also, perhaps it’s because many regulars tend to bring their children here to have a meal, so there are also non-alcoholic drinks and desserts that are available for ordering, so even Gojou doesn’t have to be worried that there’s nothing for him to eat.”

“Did you just treat me as a kid?”

“You are a big kid, aren’t you?”

Ichiji looked at the two who were bickering and reached his chopsticks to the braised organs that were on the table.

Just like what Ieri had guaranteed, it was extremely delicious.

The meat was braised till it was soft and easy to chew and the main condiment, miso, warmed people in the heart. There was also the taste of ginger within it. Even if one was not Ieri, as long as this dish was there, everyone would drink alcohol one cup after another.

The thick cuts of tuna could also be considered a high-grade dish and the thinly sliced perilla leaves on top of them added layers of taste. The small abalone braised in a sweet and spicy sauce also made it difficult to stop one’s chopsticks. From these few dishes, one would know that the culinary skills of this boss were amazing.

Ichiji welcomed a rare good mood.

As time passed slowly, he also became comfortably drunk.

However, he had the feeling that the more he drunk, the duller his body became.

“Ichiji, I suppose it’s been a while since you drunk alcohol, huh?”

“Eh?”

Ieri suddenly said something straight to the point and Ichiji thought back to how his life had been recently.

“Now that you mention it….that’s true. It might be because I haven’t drunk for a while so that’s while I’m buzzed after a few cups.”

At the same time Ichiji said that, Gojou placed his mug on the table, making a thud.

“Aren’t you just simply tired?”

“But I didn’t do any heavy work today.”
“You accumulated a lot of fatigue from last time.”

This time it was Ieri who cut in.

“There’s a saying that “Alcohol is the master of a hundred medications”, this is not just a superstition. It should be because your mood became good after drinking so once you’re relaxed, all the fatigue just exploded out in one go….Ichiji, when was the last time you had a day off?”

“Let me think….”

At least he did not have a day off since the exchange event started.

However, not having a day off was within expectations. After all, they encountered an unusual event that led to many people being sacrificed. On the contrary, today, he was actually free to the point it was unbelievable.

—Then how about before the exchange event?

“……Wait, how come I can’t think of when I did have a day off?”

“Didn’t I say so when I was treating you today? Your body’s discomforts are due to stress. And the stress I was referring to has nothing to do with your emotions but the accumulation of overwork and abusing your own body usually.”

“I remember that you have not taken a proper day off since around the beginning of July. And you never took any day off in the month of September.”

Gojou finished what he wanted to say and Ichiji thought back and realised that it was exactly as how Gojou said.

“I did indeed not take any day offs but it’s because there’s a lack of manpower at the college….”

“What silly words are you saying? If you don’t realise the limits of your own body and collapse from exhaustion then wouldn’t the manpower be even more insufficient? Think about it, how much work cannot be completed just because you’re not there?”

“……Eh?”

“Ichiji, the one who suggested to take you out for a drink today was actually Gojou.”

“What?!”

Ichiji was so shocked that any sense of drunkenness vanished and he looked at Gojou without thinking.

“But I was just thinking of letting you realise that you are too tired before you collapse. Ichji, you can cry your heart out from being moved.”

“I am more astonished than moved….”

Ichji drank a mouthful of warm alcohol to calm his emotions.

After that , his eyes moved from one edge of the table to the other and finally it stopped on the small surface of liquid left behind by leftover wine in the glasses. Ichiji’s own face was faintly reflected on it.

“Do I look that tired…?”

“When you were thinking of taking charge of investigating the cursed spirit in Saitama, I realised that you didn’t even realise how tired you were. That job belonged to Nikita in the first place, right?”

“I just thought that I was more familiar with Itadori-kun and the other two.”

“However, at that time, you were still handling the aftermath of the exchange event so there was no need for you to pile that job on yourself.”

“….You’re right.”

Ichiji shrugged his shoulders and thought that Gojou was on the mark.

“Ichiji, you’re feeling regretful about the incident at Satozakura High, am I right? Even though I only know about this from the reports and what Nanami told me.”

“When you say incident at Satozakura High, you mean….”

“You not stopping Yuuji.”

—His heartbeat slowed down for an instant.

Ichiji felt a chill crawl from his face that had grew warm from drinking and burrow into his back.

“That….that….”
With trembling hands, he pressed down on his glasses like he wanted to cover his mouth. He had gotten used to this feeling of panic. He had the same reaction when Gojou was pressing him for what happened at the youth detention centre.

However, Gojou’s attitude this time was not as reproachful of Ichiji as before.

“I understand what’s going once I heard the report of Yuuji fighting that cursed spirit that’s covered in stitches. Nanami is a stickler for regulations so he did not go into too much detail. But in the face of an enemy with twisted hobbies and was evil to the core, there was no way you would bring Yuuji there on your own accord. From the results, even though you helped Nanami quite a lot, this is all your own decision, right?”

“….In the end….I made the same mistake as what I did at the Youth detention centre…”

“That’s why you want to protect Yuuji from up close? You have so much disregard for your own life even I want to cry. But Yuuji is not the same child you have in mind, he’s no longer doing things in a tactless manner. Being overprotective and being concerned about someone are two different matters. If you do that, it will do no good to either you or Yuuji.”

Gojou tucked his middle finger behind his thumb and stretched his right arm out towards Ichji.

“You do not need to worry, the current Yuuji is lively.”

With a “pa”, a strong finger flick hit Ichiji’s forward head and his glasses and Ichiji himself shook.

After Ichji pressed on his reddening forehead, the pain slowly rose in half a beat. Under this stimulus of pain, his tear ducts that have already been weakened by the alcohol finally breached.

“…….Gojou sa——n.”

“Uwah, what the hell….you’re already at this age and you’re in so much tears from a finger flick to the forehead?”

“Ichiji might be the type to bawl when drunk.”

Ieri muttered as she ordered alcohol and Matsutake Dobin Mushi.

“I do not want to see a man shed~tears ~at~all~”

“Ichji, you can go home after finishing your drink here. Drink till your buzzed and have a good sleep then rest for another day tomorrow. In any case, you have no work for these few days, right?”

“Alright….I understand….”

Ichiji drank the Seishu that tasted off from his tears and wiped the corner of his eyes.

The three than tasted the Dobin Mushi and had chazuke made from the Matsutake Dobin Mushi and then ended this gathering early.

With a rare instant of positive emotions, Ichiji went back home across the neon light lit streets and when he reached home, he had a comfortable deep sleep.

Even though Gojou complained a lot, he was still dragged by Ieri to hop to another bar. About when they would drink until, it was still not set in stone.

*

After Ichiji returned to work after his break, he felt clear and refreshed.

His shoulders no longer ached, his head no longer hurt, he had a better appetite and his vision was clear.

He tried to recall the last time his body was in its best condition.

“Good morning.”

Even the voices of his colleagues who greeted him sounded different.

Ichiji felt that the air was fresh and the morning sun was even more dazzling than usual.

This could all be attributed to being able to take a proper break after so long but a larger portion was due to sweeping away the “haze” within his heart and most importantly, Gojou’s concern for him had an immediate effect that was better than expected.

Even though Gojou was self-centered, did whatever he wanted and had Spartan methods, he was still a teacher.

As a top Jujutsu Sorcerer, Gojou was extremely reliable and Ichiji’s own hard work was acknowledged by him, and in Ichiji’s opinion, this sense of sincerely had an immense power of motivation.

He just had to do things within the best of his abilities, do the things he should do, then he did not have to worry and did not have to regret.

From now on, he would just work hard on his part of the job.

Ichiji, who had made such a decision brought his good mood to his own desk—

“….Hm?”

Where’s the desk?

No, more accurately, at one glance, he could not tell that the desk in front of him was his own desk.

Because whether it was the desktop computer or the area other than the computer or the shape of the table itself have been buried under a mountain of documents.

With trembling hands, Ichiji unfolded the note that was placed on top of the documents.

It was Gojou’s handwriting.

–Please look at the USB drive for more details.

Ichiji nervously moved the files aside then switched on his computer then he entered a password to open the classified documents.

At that instant, a list of reminders typed by Gojou popped up.

1. Compile a list of organisations and individuals who can enter the Tokyo technical college freely.
2. Come up with a report on the known information so far about the attack on the exchange event with focus on the cursed users who were there.
3. Investigate thoroughly the media used to create the curtain used during the attack on the exchange event
4. Research a fail proof method of communication that can be used to transmit classified information that is resistant to cursed techniques and physical attacks from both our people and the enemies.
5. Contact the businesses who are in charge of maintenance and repairs of the college and designated staff members from the college to oversee their work.
6. Arrange the current budget available based on the fee that is required to finance the repairs of the college campus
7. Handle the environmental protection organisations who are applying to inspect the incident of the large-scale destruction of the forest.

8…….9……10…….11……..

“………..”

Ichji looked at his computer screen.

Then at the documents again.

And at his computer once more.

After that, just like a robot that had not been oiled, he turned his head with a stiff motion and looked at his colleague who was next to him

“Do you know….where Gojou-san is now….?”

“He’s on a business trip, something about having things to settle so he won’t be back in school for a few days.”

“Ah, I get it……”

Ichiji raised his head to look at endless clear sky outside the window.

—Yep, that’s right, he’s like that. He thought of a way to let me rest so when I’m back to usual productiveness, of course he would throw a whole bunch of work at me.

Somehow, it felt like Gojou’s figure was hiding behind the white clouds that were floating in the sky.

However, if I think about it another way, it’s because he trusts me that’s why he would give me so much work.

Ichiji smiled helplessly and thought that he should first neaten up the documents that have been haphazardly placed on this desk.

The ache in his neck and shoulders that have gone away rose from the ashes in a blink of an eye.