"By the way, how's Yukino doing at school recently?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Anything interesting happening at school?"
During dinner, Haruno kept chattering, peppering her younger sister with questions.
"..."
Yukino didn't respond at first. Something interesting? I could tell you, but would you even believe me?
After hesitating for a moment, Yukino finally broke her silence.
"Do you know about sorcerers?"
"!!!"
Haruno, who had been happy that Yukino was finally talking to her, suddenly froze at the unexpected question. Her expression shifted, becoming serious as she looked closely at Yukino.
"Where did you hear that word?"
"..."
As expected, her sister knew. Seeing Haruno's reaction, Yukino understood. Though their Yukinoshita family wasn't among the elite super-rich, they were still influential enough to know some hidden truths.
Noticing her younger sister's silence, Haruno became anxious.
"Yukino, I never told you about sorcerers because I didn't want to drag you into anything dangerous. Please, tell me where you heard that word."
How could Yukino know about the existence of sorcerers?
Just as Yukino had guessed, since she took over the family business early, Haruno had learned a little about sorcerers. Not a lot, but enough to know they were a group far beyond ordinary human power. Even the most powerful families had to be respectful around them.
Haruno had once personally witnessed a member of the Shinomiya family someone who was normally arrogant beyond belief act incredibly polite in front of a sorcerer. It was something she couldn't forget.
"Don't worry," Yukino reassured her older sister with a slight shake of her head. "This afternoon, I met a sorcerer at school."
"At school?" Haruno's frown deepened. Was there something happening at the school that required a sorcerer?
Though the timing seemed coincidental, it wasn't impossible.
"Sis, do you know what a special-grade sorcerer is?"
"Special grade?"
Haruno's confusion grew. What on earth had Yukino gotten involved in?
Shaking her head, Haruno explained what little she knew. "I don't know much about the specific rankings of sorcerers. From what I've heard, there are four levels: Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2, and Grade 1, with Grade 1 being the strongest. My mother once said that a Grade 1 sorcerer is practically a force beyond human authority."
A Grade 1 sorcerer was akin to humanity's ultimate weapon. In some cases, they were even more terrifying than any military power.
"Yukino, do you know who the sorcerer was?"
"..."
For some reason, Yukino didn't want her sister to know about Ryuji. Given Haruno's personality, if she found out, she'd definitely barge into his life without hesitation.
After a moment of silence, Yukino shook her head. "I don't know. He left quickly."
Haruno could tell her sister was hiding something, but seeing that Yukino didn't want to share more, she decided not to press further. Still, she was curious. Could it have been one of Yukino's classmates? She'd investigate further once she returned home.
"Now that we're done with dinner, you can head home."
Yukino placed her chopsticks down with finality.
"Hey!" Haruno looked shocked. "That's it? So fast?"
Realizing she was being kicked out, Haruno immediately pouted and began to act spoiled. "No, I want to stay a little longer! I don't want to go home yet!"
...
"Finally digested it!"
The next morning, Ryuji woke up, patting his stomach with satisfaction.
The feeling of fullness from devouring two cursed spirits had finally faded. Clenching his fists, he reveled in the surge of power coursing through him. It was a feeling he enjoyed being able to clearly sense his own growth in strength.
Ever since discovering the existence of cursed spirits, Ryuji's ambitions had extended beyond dealing with just urban legends and weird phenomena. Special-grade cursed spirits were rare, but the opportunities to hunt them were out there.
"With my current strength, I should be able to devour even stronger cursed spirits now," Ryuji thought confidently.
His Devouring ability's limitless potential was the source of his confidence.
Ryuji didn't need Rika or any other external power now. Even without her, just the prospect of devouring the four great disaster curses could provide unimaginable strength.
These disaster curses were born from the primal fears of humanity:
- Jogo: Born from the fear of volcanoes and the earth.
- Hanami: Born from the fear of forests.
- Dagon: Born from the fear of the ocean.
- Mahito: Born from the fear humans have of each other.
These four were the apex predators in the cursed spirit world. Devouring even one of them would grant a massive power boost to Ryuji.
This was why Ryuji's Devouring ability was so essential. Without it, he wouldn't even consider the possibility of targeting someone as powerful as Gojo Satoru.
"Tch, just thinking about it makes me greedy!"
But for now, Ryuji wasn't sure if these four disaster curses had even manifested yet, so he would have to be patient.
"Ryuji, it's time for school!"
Outside his door, Miko's voice called out. For the past few days, Miko had been living with Ryuji. At first, her mother had called frequently to check on her, but recently she had stopped, seemingly accepting their living arrangement.
"Coming!" Ryuji called back. His musings were interrupted as he quickly got dressed and stepped out of his room.
...
"Has Tobe still not come to school?"
In the morning classroom, Hayato looked around and frowned when he noticed Tobe was absent again.
"Maybe we should go visit his place after school?" he suggested, his concern for his friend showing.
"You go if you want," Yumiko replied coolly. "I'm not going."
Although Yumiko had slight interest in Hayato, she wasn't the type to put herself in uncomfortable situations. It wasn't her fault that Tobe had acted so poorly.
When Tobe had made a mistake, was it wrong for her to call him out on it?
Now that Tobe was hiding at home and refusing to come to school, was he trying to scare her? Yumiko didn't care one bit whether Tobe showed up again or not.