“Akira, just a passing Jujutsu Sorcerer. Exorcising Cursed Spirit is a good thing, but please finish the supporting work too, at least put up a Curtain first.” Part of the trio’s trouble came from Toge Inumaki’s Cursed Speech affecting Akira and Gardevoir and triggering backlash, but in the end, they had broken procedure.

  “That was an emergency,” Maki Zenin replied. “Our mission was to investigate a mysterious Jujutsu Sorcerer active in this area. We happened to discover a curse embryo hidden in this school. If we had not exorcised it in time, it would have grown even stronger.”

  Hearing that, Akira recalled that in volume 0 of Jujutsu Kaisen there was also a huge and powerful Cursed Spirit hiding in a school. That one had been unlucky enough to run into the prequel protagonist, the even more broken Yuta Okkotsu. Surely it could not be that much of a coincidence.

  If he remembered correctly, Maki Zenin had been on that mission too. Akira looked at Maki Zenin, and she looked back, pushing up the glasses on her nose with interest. He had no intention of hiding anything, since making contact with the Jujutsu world this way was part of his plan.

  “If you mean the activity of clearing urban legends, that was me.” “Why would you do that?” “Do you need a reason to exorcise Cursed Spirit?” “Do you not?”

  A man and a woman stared at each other. It was worth noting that the Kamo Clan had a hereditary habit of narrow eyes, which did nothing to detract from Akira’s looks.

  “Maki Zenin, he is your lifesaver,” Panda stepped in smoothly, preventing Maki Zenin from killing the conversation with blunt words. “Sorry about that. My companions mean no harm, we are just curious. Most Jujutsu Sorcerer are very self-centered and act with clear goals, for fame, money, or other reasons. Tokyo Jujutsu High needs to assess these things when an unregistered Jujutsu Sorcerer appears.”

  “I understand.” The wording was still not pleasant, but Akira knew Panda was speaking honestly.

  Jujutsu Sorcerer were users of Cursed Energy, born from negative emotions and working in constant danger. Without a firm sense of self, it was easy to go astray, either cursing oneself or becoming a Curse User who cursed others. Compared to lofty ideals, practical goals were easier to grasp and less likely to lead one astray, at least relatively speaking.

  That did not mean ideals were worthless, which was why those who devoted their lives to them, even at the cost of death, were so admirable. Unfortunately, most people could not do that, and Akira was no exception. His actions were still grounded in reality.

  “I also have clear goals,” Akira said. “Training my partner, and collecting some materials along the way.”

  He spread his hand, and Gardevoir obediently placed a crystal into his palm. Before the Road Roller marker, after using Magical Leaf, she had already retrieved the Z Pure Crystal. It was not a shard, but a complete Pure Crystal.

  Did that mean stronger Cursed Spirit had higher drop rates. From a game-style System perspective it made sense, but stronger enemies also meant greater risk. Sadly, it was still not psychic or fairy type, but dark type instead.

  A garbage mobile game System, confirmed. While Akira was distracted by the Z Pure Crystal, the trio was not looking at him at all, but at Gardevoir, the true main force behind exorcising the Cursed Spirit. Even with some preparation time, her three-hit chain that quickly killed a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit left these rookies stunned.

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  Maki Zenin opened her mouth several times, then stopped herself each time. She was straightforward but not foolish, and had no intention of provoking a pair capable of killing a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit so quickly. Seeing this, Akira chuckled quietly. “If you want to ask, just ask. It is fine.”

  “Then I will ask directly. What exactly is this lady. She is not human, and not like a Cursed Spirit either.” “And not like a cursed corpse like me,” Panda added. “Salmon,” Inumaki said, meaning yes.

  “That is my biggest secret, and it is not convenient to reveal it for now.” Akira deliberately kept some mystery. To be honest, he did not know how Pokémon should be classified in this world either, and neither he nor his mother Akemi Aki cared about race.

  “That answer is not very Jujutsu Sorcerer.” Maki Zenin was referring to revealing techniques through Jujutsu explanations to gain stronger effects. “I am not a mainstream Jujutsu Sorcerer,” Akira replied smoothly. “If there is nothing else, I will be going. Until we meet again.”

  “Sha,” a farewell sha from Gardevoir. Panda watched their backs and scratched his nose with a claw. “Feels like a good person. What do you think.”

  “Very strong, and smart in combat,” Maki Zenin said, staring at the Road Roller marker for a long time. “Back at Yoshiwara Shrine, I was not convinced. I did not expect the gap to be this big.” “Mentaiko,” Inumaki said, meaning be careful.

  “Sorry, Panda, Toge. I was the one who insisted on chasing this.” “No need to apologize. I agreed too,” Panda waved a paw. “Salmon roe,” Inumaki said, meaning yes, yes, yes.

  “Then let us head back. Even if that idiot teacher laughs at me, I will take it.” Maki Zenin felt fortunate to have such good companions. At first she thought they were strange, but after spending time together, they were truly good, and she hoped to be friends with them for life, even if she would never say it out loud.

  The sky cleared, and sunlight poured down. Akira pulled out the wedge, and the Curtain was lifted. Gardevoir glanced in the trio’s direction and let out two soft shasha sounds.

  Akira understood her thoughts. “You like them a lot, do you.” “Sha.” An expected yes, for a simple reason, because they were good people, bright and upright.

  “Do not worry, we will meet again soon,” he said. “But before that, I still have a few things to take care of.” The System interface in front of him had been open the whole time, and a brand new message had appeared, just like a beginner gift. Its thumbnail was an egg with a distinctive black-and-white pattern.

  The egg was, of course, a Pokémon egg. Even though Akira had already decided that his System was a trash System, he still felt that a design where eggs did not drop from killing monsters made perfect sense. Other worlds aside, in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, wild enemies were Cursed Spirit formed from curses, which had nothing to do with cute and charming Pokémon.

  If something really had to drop, then producing things like Gastly, Misdreavus, or Shuppet would be more reasonable, and Akira would have no choice but to walk the path of a “Ghost-type Master” forever. Fortunately, the trash System was at least reliable in this regard. The key to obtaining Pokémon was not Cursed Spirit but living beings, or more precisely, the three of them, including Maki Zenin.

  Akira had cleared so many areas without any reaction, yet something happened right when the three introduced themselves. A message appeared saying a Pokémon meme had been detected, conversion was in progress, and congratulations on obtaining a Pokémon egg. Thinking back to when the System first activated eight years ago, Akira formed a guess.

  Whether that guess was right or not would have to wait until the egg hatched. That was why Akira was in such a hurry to get home. According to the Pokémon worldview, artificial incubation required professional equipment and a full process, but the shameless System provided none of that, leaving Akira to rely on superstition and his understanding of Pokémon to piece together a desperate method.

  Talking to the egg and sleeping while holding it felt appropriate, since that was the core idea of Pokémon stories. As for Pokemon Journeys or One-Punch Man and things like built-in charm, he had not seen them. He came too early, and for him Sun and Moon was already the finale, so names like Goh meant nothing.