Chapter 148 — Zen'in Kaon
2036 — In a scenic tourist spot of a foreign country, a sea of flowers swayed in the wind as travelers snapped photos and laughed.
Three familiar figures stood before a camera, smiling brightly.
"Look here—3, 2, 1… cheese!"
Click!
"Perfect! Really nice—take a look."
The photographer proudly handed the freshly printed photo to the family.
"Thank you."
Yuki received it with satisfaction and nodded.
"This country really is a paradise for tourists. You two, come see—doesn't this one look great?"
Zen'in Shinsuke gave it a brief glance.
"…It's fine."
"Mommmmm," a long-haired girl puffed out her cheeks dramatically and clung to Yuki's arm.
"How many photos is that today? Can't we please eat first? I'm starving…"
It was impossible to tell how many pictures they had taken already. She looked like she might collapse at any moment.
Yuki looked at Shinsuke.
"What do you think?"
Shinsuke shrugged.
"Listen to Kaon. Let's eat first."
"Then it's decided! To lunch we go!" Yuki declared.
"Yesss! Dad is the best!"
Zen'in Kaon cheered, looping her arm through Shinsuke's.
Shinsuke couldn't help smiling faintly at her expression.
Hard to believe—
eighteen years had passed since the Shinjuku battle.
After that fight, he had spent a full month bedridden before recovering enough to walk.
Yuki had quit being a sorcerer entirely, tossing aside her old dream of eliminating cursed energy.
Living well as ordinary people became her new guiding principle.
A year later, Kaon was born.
A few years after that, the three of them began traveling the world.
Expensive?
Yes.
Enjoyable?
Insanely.
---
Lunch Break:
Inside a cozy restaurant, the family shared their meal when Yuki suddenly asked:
"By the way, Kaon—your studies are all finished now, right?"
Even while traveling the globe, she never allowed Kaon to slack on her education.
No study, no future—that part didn't change.
Kaon raised her hand dramatically.
"Dearest Mother, I officially graduated last month. You will no longer trick me into studying with any excuse!"
Based on normal standards, she was essentially at a high-school graduate level already.
"Ahem… I only wanted to ask whether you'd like to become a jujutsu sorcerer."
Yuki leaned in, voice soft but enticing, eyes serious.
Kaon froze—then her eyes sparkled.
"Mom… are you saying—you're finally letting me?!"
As the daughter of Yuki and Shinsuke, Kaon was naturally gifted:
born with cursed energy and even possessing an innate technique.
But her parents had deliberately kept her away from the jujutsu world.
Still, Kaon had long been fascinated.
After all, sorcerers were basically superpowered people—and outside of herself and her mother, she had never met a third one.
Yuki raised her phone, revealing a flight itinerary.
"We talked it over. Since you're that interested, we won't stop you anymore.
Your ticket is booked. Tomorrow, noon flight—your destination: Tokyo Jujutsu High.
That's where your journey begins."
"Surprised?"
"You're serious, Mom!?" Kaon shot to her feet.
She was finally going to enter the jujutsu world for real—something she'd dreamed of since childhood.
Because her parents left the sorcerer community long ago and travelled endlessly, Kaon had never met any sorcerers other than her mother.
She didn't even know sorcerer ranks.
Kaon suddenly narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Alright, you two—tell me the truth.
Are you trying to ship me off so you can enjoy a world tour as a couple?"
Shinsuke remained silent.
Yuki calmly raised the phone again, thumb hovering over the screen.
"If you don't want to go, I can refund the ticket."
"HEY HEY HEY—don't refund it! I'm going!
This young lady will become a world-saving sorcerer!
You two can enjoy your boring date trips—I refuse to be the third wheel!"
At only seventeen, Kaon had traveled to dozens of countries already.
But compared to stepping into the mysterious world of jujutsu?
Traveling suddenly seemed… dull.
"Kaon, you do have talent, but compared to the elite sorcerers at Tokyo High, you're still far behind.
Out there, keep a low profile.
And remember—always keep a trump card hidden."
Shinsuke suddenly spoke, passing on the greatest survival technique for life outside—
the Art of Staying Alive by Staying Low-Key.
"Once you enter the jujutsu world, you won't only face cursed spirits. You may also encounter dangerous sorcerers—evil ones. So remember this: stay calm. And unless it's absolutely necessary, never reveal your trump card."
"Yes, sir, Dad!"
Kaon clenched her fists, eyes burning with determination.
Even though her father wasn't a jujutsu sorcerer, surely he must have helped Mom in the past and knew quite a lot about the jujutsu world.
His advice had to be the distilled wisdom of generations of senior sorcerers!
Kaon silently engraved his words into her heart.
She had never actually interacted with other sorcerers, so she had no idea where her strength stood among them.
But with Dad's warning, she had some sense:
She was probably just a beginner.
Once she arrived in the jujutsu world, she must stay humble, keep her head down, work hard—
—then one day, in a critical moment, she would stun everyone with her brilliance.
"Mom, Dad, I'm full. I'm going back to the hotel to pack!"
With bubbling excitement she couldn't suppress, Kaon dashed off.
Watching her leave, Yuki chuckled and shook her head.
"Why did you say all that to her? With her current power, not many sorcerers her age could beat her.
And once she's in the jujutsu world, it's practically like she's returning home.
What danger could she possibly run into?"
Shinsuke smiled.
"Being cautious never hurts. Japan isn't exactly peaceful these days."
After the Shinjuku battle, the jujutsu world underwent a complete overhaul.
The old fossils were wiped out; the upper management was replaced; the system was reborn with new vitality.
Due to the Culling Game, sorcerers and cursed spirits had once become known to the public.
But afterward, Satoru Gojo and the others spent years suppressing information.
Now, after more than a decade of cleanup, jujutsu knowledge had once again become a closely guarded mystery—confined to Japan.
Foreign governments knew a little, but the general public remained unaware.
However, because multiple nations wanted to research cursed energy as a new power source, human trafficking in Japan had reached an all-time high.
"But don't worry," Shinsuke added lightly.
"I've already contacted some old friends over there in advance."
"Good."
Yuki let out a soft sigh of relief, her eyes brightening.
"Then we can finally enjoy some peaceful days."
Although they were in their forties and fifties, neither of them looked remotely close to that age—neither had a single strand of white hair.
Thanks to their strength, they aged slowly.
And now, at last, they could finally enjoy some well-earned time together.
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