Frieren: — Chapter 91 - Stand Users Are Drawn to One Another

Himmel, Gojo Satoru, and the other teachers were getting headaches over the emergence of a new Special Grade Cursed Spirit.

Since Mahito could create "transfigured humans" as cruel bargaining chips to tie Himmel down, it meant he probably wouldn't kill those transfigured humans before formally engaging Himmel in battle.

Hostages are only useful alive, after all.

The problem was what came next. The moment Himmel was forced into a one-on-one trade with Mahito, it would be like a forced exchange on a chessboard, both pieces neutralized, and a massive hole torn in their overall combat strength.

Gojo Satoru's existence became the scale tipping everything.

Though, once everyone calmed down, they figured it would probably be fine.

Both Himmel and Gojo Satoru were the "Strongest," after all.

Even if the enemy could subdue Himmel, subduing Gojo Satoru was a different matter entirely.

So...

The sorcerers who collected their paychecks for doing nothing condensed a thousand thoughts into one.

We can just leave it to those two, right?

.......

The teachers' complicated soul-searching was, naturally, completely unknown to the students, especially the first-years. According to Jujutsu High's training curriculum, first-years weren't assigned anything too difficult. Even during Gojo, Geto, and Shoko's year, there had been plenty of time for group bonding.

After returning to school, Okkotsu received a warm welcome from his classmates.

"Hey! No way, Okkotsu! Did you just say hi to Hakari?"

The afternoon sun slanted diagonally across the classroom's long table. Zenin Maki leaned against the table's edge, spinning the short handle of a cursed tool in one hand, her striking face full of disbelief.

"Seriously? So there really is someone in this world who can get along with that guy."

"Haha."

Okkotsu sat properly in his chair and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's gotta be it, right — Yuta, you went and did it, didn't you? Pa~chi~nko~"

Panda nudged him with a sly grin.

"How much did you win?"

"I really didn't play!"

"Oh, no need to be coy~" Panda propped his round chin in his hand and leaned in close. "Humans are all the same. Unlike cute and sociable giant pandas, they always have to resort to the filthiest and most sordid things to satisfy their baser needs."

"Shut up, you stupid panda! Don't act like you're above it all — I haven't forgotten that time you and Inumaki stole my skirt and wore it!"

A merciless knuckle rap destroyed one young panda's dignity.

What a brutal woman.

"Grilled salmon mayonnaise."

"Inumaki-kun has been really talkative lately."

Okkotsu remarked with genuine admiration, having gradually learned to decode Inumaki's meaning.

...Hehe.

Okkotsu himself probably hadn't realized it. He was living inside the exact kind of time he had always longed for.

Connecting with others.

Passing ordinary days like this.

The laughter of boys and girls.

Something precious that must never be taken away...

The sunlight fell exactly right. Outside the window, the cicadas droned on in long, lazy waves. The ramune bottle at the corner of the desk was beaded with fine condensation, trembling slightly from the noise of their roughhousing.

Yeah. This was peak summer.

"Weather like this is perfect for transferring to a remote village deep in the mountains, arriving right when the local annual festival kicks off, and discovering the bizarre deaths and disappearances that happen every single year, then getting pulled into a death loop again and again, watching your friends lose their minds to paranoia and mysterious illness! Everyone saves each other across countless loops, and in the end, you all join hands to break free from fate itself!."

"What is this guy suddenly going on about."

The students looked toward the classroom doorway in unified deadpan. Gojo Satoru had appeared out of nowhere and was narrating a storyline with sweeping gestures and full dramatic commitment.

"Why would we transfer out right after we enrolled? And isn't that exactly the kind of curse incident we sorcerers are supposed to handle?"

"Oh, right~"

Gojo smacked his own head and immediately pretended nothing had happened.

"Hahaha, aw~ I just saw you all like that and got a little sentimental about how time changes people~ Mm, Gojo-sensei is getting up there in years too, you know, though nowhere near as ancient and musty as Himmel, hahaha!" He laughed with his hands on his hips.

"This guy is the worst," Maki said flatly.

"Yes, really the worst. What makes it worse is that he said all of that directly to my face."

"Mr. Himmel!"

From behind Gojo, Himmel squeezed through the doorway, looking resigned.

Then he saw the students, and his expression softened into a warm, relieved smile.

"Hello, everyone."

"Meeting's over?" Panda asked.

"Yes, we covered everything we needed to." Himmel nodded and walked toward the podium. "So, transfer aside for now, as a reward for finishing your mission, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

Himmel said it with the natural air of a homeroom teacher.

Maki raised her hand: "Amusement park."

Panda raised his hand: "Ueno Zoo."

Inumaki raised his hand: "Grilled conger eel."

Okkotsu scratched his cheek: "I'm fine with anything..."

Gojo raised his hand: "Deserted island."

The other four turned simultaneously to look at him. Somehow, at some point, Gojo had sat himself down in one of the student seats.

"Hmm... a deserted island is a bit much. And Inumaki-kun asking for a convenience store run is a little too ordinary. Panda, why would you want to go to a zoo?"

"I want to see my animal friends locked up."

What a dark panda!

"Kidding," Panda muttered.

"So that leaves the amusement park..." Himmel tilted his head. "I have to say, I wouldn't have expected Maki to be interested in a place like that."

"No, it's not..."

Everyone was looking at her. Maki went slightly red.

"...I don't want to go that badly. But that's just what you do for a victory celebration, right?"

She meant it completely.

Zenin Maki was not your average girl. The things her peers found exciting held no real appeal for her. Saying "amusement park" had been pure common sense, the obvious answer for the occasion.

"Alright."

Himmel clapped his hands.

"Then once these next few weeks are behind us and all of this is settled, we'll go to the amusement park. All of us together."

.......

After Himmel made that announcement, morale at Jujutsu High climbed steadily higher.

Aside from regular academic classes, there were Himmel's training sessions. Maki and the others had always been the hardworking type, and Okkotsu had recently begun to find his place in the group. What surprised everyone, though, was Rika.

Since the battle with Jogo, where she realized she couldn't properly protect Okkotsu, Rika had been even more withdrawn than after the time Himmel had beaten her into the ground. But she started showing up seriously to practical combat classes, and her rationality seemed to have recovered by several degrees.

It was a change nobody had seen coming. Not Himmel. Not even Okkotsu himself.

Unfortunately, Himmel had fallen into overtime mode tracking down Mahito's whereabouts, and could only guide the students when time allowed.

Everyone was busy with their own things.

And so time passed.

Just a few days later,

The Jujutsu High first-years received a new mission.

.......

"The client is a male, currently living with his grandfather."

"He hasn't suffered any serious harm so far. However, according to the client, he has been frequently dreaming about his deceased mother over the past few days."

"What's strangest is this, the client doesn't actually remember what his mother looked like. He can only tell upon waking, through some vague instinct, that the figure in the dream was his 'mother.'"

"He initially assumed it was ordinary grief. But recently, he has started hallucinating his mother's figure at home after school."

"He still can't make out her face. But the silhouette of her body, and the sound of her voice, are enough for him to know for certain..."

Assistant Supervisor Ijichi pushed his glasses up and continued carefully.

"Based on the residual taint at the location, the target should be a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. Theoretically Inumaki-kun could exorcise it alone, but given that it specializes in illusions, multi-person coordination is the safer approach."

"Also, the client is an ordinary person with no connection to Jujutsu. He has already witnessed the Cursed Spirit, however, so someone will need to accompany and assist him throughout. Please factor that in... Hm? Do you know each other?"

On the quiet residential street, a black sedan sat parked in front of a traditional Japanese wooden house, the kind of car that looked like it had been copy-pasted directly from the surrounding neighborhood.

The client stood in front of the house's entrance, staring at the arrivals with wide eyes.

He was a sturdy, soon-to-be high schooler with cherry-blossom-pink hair.

"Huh?! Okkotsu-senpai?"

"Huh?"

Okkotsu went equally wide-eyed, pointing back at the person standing in the doorway.

"Ita — Itadori-kun?!"

➤ Next: When High Schoolers Get Together, It’s Time for a Test of Courage