Mei Mei suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, but it wasn't directed at the King of Curses before her; rather, it was directed at her past, at everything she had seen and heard along the way, at her entire life, and at her own desires.
"Let me ask you, Miss Mei Mei," Mahito asked softly. "Can you allow 'New Human' transformation to become a universal phenomenon?"
Can I allow it?
Mei Mei reached an answer almost without hesitation.
No!
Even if there were a possibility, even if it only required bowing her head and asking the King of Curses before her, even if this King of Curses agreed, even if, even if, even if, even if...
No matter how many reasons there were, or how easy the action.
She would not allow it.
Why?
Because if that happened—
"I wouldn't be able to make money anymore."
Mei Mei let out a breath, a bitter expression appearing on her face.
"I cannot betray my instincts; I cannot allow 'New Human' transformation to become widespread."
And there was an even deeper reason.
Currently, the "New Human" transformation was in her hands.
She had become the intermediary, which meant she held the lifeblood of everyone desiring eternal life, as well as the favors of these immortals.
Through these connections and favors, she could completely achieve a leap in social class.
Once she stood at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, wouldn't she look forward to eternal rule?
If she could rule eternally, would she still allow—
—other immortals to come and take a piece of her pie?
Even if she could endure it, even if she were noble and above it all.
What about the other immortals?
Would they allow it?
Mei Mei closed her eyes and then opened them again her gaze already returned to its usual calm.
She suddenly asked, "King of Curses, no offense intended, but I must ask—what kind of curse are you, exactly?"
"Humans, you know."
Mahito's smile was like a crescent moon, the curve of his lips resembling a demon's horns.
He said, "I am the manifestation of humanity's curse toward humanity."
The transaction was completed smoothly.
However, when Mei Mei left, she seemed lost in thought.
Ui Ui looked at his sister worriedly, not knowing what to do.
Kinji Hakari's expression was heavy.
Watching Mei Mei and Ui Ui leave, Kinji Hakari's heart was filled with complex emotions.
Although he had already begun the New Human transformation, he truly hadn't considered the consequences of the entire human race undergoing it.
If Mei Mei hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have realized it at all.
But now that Mei Mei had raised the point, he realized it too, only to find that even realizing it was useless.
It was just as Mahito had asked Mei Mei:
"Aren't you looking down on humans too much?"
He didn't know if the current Mahito could do it, but when Mahito truly ascended to the throne of a god, he would 100% be able to transform all of humanity into New Humans.
This was an indisputable fact.
But even if Mahito truly ascended and possessed that power, who would actually go and ask him to do so?
Most likely, anyone who dared to ask Mahito to transform all of humanity into New Humans would become the enemy of the world.
As the King of Curses, Mahito understood this point profoundly, which was why he proposed the path of the New Human without any concern.
Ultimately, it wasn't the Cursed Spirits that hindered human progress, but humans themselves.
How ironic, how... tragic.
Could curses really be eradicated?
Kinji Hakari watched Mei Mei and Ui Ui walk away, letting out a long sigh as if to vent all his frustrations.
Then, his back suddenly took a heavy hit.
Mahito slapped him on the back.
"What are you thinking about? Get ready for the next scene."
Kinji Hakari cast aside his gloom.
"Where are you planning to go?"
"I promised Kokichi-san that I wouldn't move against the Kyoto students because I didn't have a deep understanding of my Reverse Cursed Technique back then."
"But things are different now."
"I need to come into contact with as many Cursed Techniques as possible."
"To do that, I need to interact with the students of Kyoto Jujutsu High, but that would violate my promise to Kokichi-san."
Mahito gave a thumb-up, revealing his pearly white teeth.
"So, let's go work part-time!"
"Is there any necessary connection between those two things?"
Kinji Hakari was dumbfounded.
"I've heard, you know, that today is Takada-chan's autograph session," Mahito said proudly.
"Who's that?"
Kinji Hakari asked.
"An idol, an idol! An idol who's 1.8 meters tall!"
Mahito said.
"You, go and study current pop culture properly!"
"From today onward, you will no longer be affected by your lifespan."
"You will forever live at your current age until the Cursed Energy in the atmospheric cycle completely vanishes—literally living as long as the heavens."
"It's fine for now, but if you're still like this a hundred years later, you'll be looked down upon by young people and called an old fossil."
Mahito scolded,
"Look at Kenjaku; he's the model of immortality."
"Even though he's a genuine thousand-year-old fossil, he still keeps up with the topics of young people and even loves tokusatsu shows."
"At the very least, you should reach Kenjaku's level!"
"Reaching his level would actually be terrible," Kinji Hakari retorted.
"I wouldn't become like him even if I died."
"You've got spirit, looking down on Kenjaku like that," Mahito said.
"It's not his talent I look down on, but his personality."
"Before I met that guy, I thought my own personality was bad enough."
"I never expected a person's bottom line could actually reach Kenjaku's level."
"It really opened my eyes."
Kinji Hakari had a look of disgust on his face.
"That's just because you haven't seen enough."
"Go look at the international news; you'll feel a heartfelt admiration for the diversity of the human race," Mahito said with a chuckle.
(T/N: Lol most politicians are so evil they make Kenjaku look cute)
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