"Gah! I... I see a wedding ring on her! Aoi! The hospital! Where is the nearest hospital?! The one for the brain!"
"C-Calm down. With my IQ of five hundred and thirty thousand, I have deduced that it is merely a fashion ring intended to ward off men."
"Riko, Aoi... don't you think you're being a bit rude to your master? It's a real wedding ring."
"What?! To who?!"
"Naoya. I mean, it's not like we're strangers, and I was getting a bit tired of people calling me a 'leftover woman' anyway."
"W-Who confessed to whom?!"
"It was Naoya, right after the meeting regarding the pacification of the Culling Game. Then we had a quick ceremony with Lord Naobito acting as a witness. Apparently, once the Culling Game is settled, we're going to have a lavish quadruple wedding for everyone."
"Hmm, it is difficult to believe, yet Naoya certainly does have a thing for large breasts... so I suppose it is not entirely impossible? Your chest is unnecessarily large, after all... and yet, something still feels off."
"It certainly aligns with his tastes, but... the timing is suspicious. I cannot imagine him as the type of man prone to the sentimentality of a 'commemorative marriage' in the middle of a crisis."
"Do you two actually respect me as your teacher or what?"
"I respect you as a sorcerer, but I am also quite repulsed that you would marry a man ten years your junior."
"Same here."
"Hey, keep rubbing in the age gap and I'm going to start crying."
The trio engaged in this banter—Aoi Todo, Riko Amanai, and Yuki Tsukumo—were currently preparing to enter the Hiroshima Colony. They had been waiting for Yuki, who had arrived late due to some business, and the moment the two students caught sight of the ring on her finger, they hadn't stopped badgering her.
However, the students' suspicion was well-founded. Even if Yuki was exactly Naoya's type, there was no reason to rush into a marriage now. Furthermore, the moment Naoya had received Naobito's blessing for the union, he had immediately departed for the Kagoshima Colony. It would be stranger not to suspect an ulterior motive.
And in truth, there was indeed more to the story.
---
"Marriage?! To me?! You're going to get yourself killed by Maki or Mai!"
It had happened shortly after the strategy meeting for the Culling Game had concluded. Late at night, Yuki Tsukumo had been invited to a Zen'in family villa by Naoya, and she had let out a cry of pure shock that ignored the lateness of the hour.
Of course, as Maki's mentor and someone who had been like a distant relative to Naoya's circle for a decade, she knew his reputation well. She knew the handsome man sitting before her was the object of desire for the beautiful twin sisters and was a known playboy who had already entered into an international marriage with a beauty from the Kenyan jujutsu society.
However, she also knew that Naoya Zen'in was, in his own way, a sincere man. That was why Yuki found his proposal—'Yuki, won't you marry me?'—completely incomprehensible.
"What's the big deal? What's one more person at this point? Besides, since it's you, we're already acquainted."
"No, no, no! That's definitely not normal! I mean, sure, I've felt your intense stares ever since we first met, but still!"
As she spoke, Yuki wasn't entirely without a clue. It was a well-known fact throughout the jujutsu world—spread primarily by Gojo and Geto—that Naoya had an obsession with large breasts. Yuki, for her part, was quite confident in that department.
In her youth, she'd had a sudden epiphany: If I use my mass manipulation to make my breasts weightless, they won't sag or bounce, so they won't hurt! She had put the idea into practice, and as an unexpected side effect of the reduced physical strain, they had grown quite large. Those twin peaks were often the target of envy from other women and desire from men.
Naoya had certainly been among those directing gazes of desire her way... but even so, the timing was wrong.
Behind his smirk and the casual shrug of his shoulders, she knew there had to be something else.
"A man can't help his instincts. Forgive me for a stray glance or two."
"Look, I know I'm a world-class beauty, so I'm not even mad about that—but what's the real story? Is there some significance to this marriage?"
When she pressed him, Naoya's smirk didn't fade, but his answer was blunt.
"It's insurance. For the worst-case scenario."
"The worst case... you mean if Ryomen Sukuna is far stronger than we anticipated?"
"The truth is, I came up with a certain 'trump card' back when I was a student. When I thought about what to do with the aftermath of using it, you were the only one who fit the bill, Yuki."
"...Why me? Well, if marriage is a condition, I suppose it makes sense."
"There's only one girl among the Special Grades, after all. That's just how it is. Plus, you have another side to you now, don't you? A face with a lot of influence."
"I see. Since I am now Tengen as well... Fine, I understand the gist of it. You can't tell me the details, I assume? I can make a few guesses based on that. But listen... a beauty like me is agreeing to marry you. Don't go making me a widow five minutes later, okay?"
"That's exactly why I'm setting the board like this. I'm not gonna die."
Yuki looked into Naoya's eyes. Even with the eyes of Tengen, which could see through all of creation, the depths of a human heart were difficult to grasp—yet there, she saw a flicker of genuine hope.
Sensing that, Yuki had declared her consent to Naobito. And so, by exchanging the ritual cups of the san-san-kudo, she had officially married into the Zen'in family.
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