Watching Gojo leave, Fujino and Yuta couldn’t help but question if he was truly a teacher.

“He’s so unreliable...”

“Right? Well, whatever. Don’t worry—I won’t let us fail!” Fujino said confidently, flipping her hair with a grin.

“Hey, you two! Stop dawdling!” Maki snapped, pulling out her cursed tool. Seeing this, Fujino smirked and drew the blade she carried on her back.

In front of them stood three grotesque curses, each with a massive, eerie eye perched on its head.

“Ugh, so disgusting,” Fujino muttered. She always found curses stomach-turning no matter how many times she faced them.

“Well, that’s what curses are!” Maki replied tersely.

Suddenly, the three curses tore open their stomachs and lunged toward the group. Yuta panicked and turned to Maki and Fujino. “They’re coming! What do we do?!”

“Stop yelling!” Maki barked before charging forward. In a series of swift, elegant movements, she swung her cursed tool, striking down all three curses with precision.

“Yuta, remember this,” Fujino said calmly, “curses—especially the weaker ones—tend to cluster together.”

As she finished speaking, Fujino threw her blade toward Maki. Maki, unbothered, casually sidestepped, allowing the blade to pierce straight into the eye of a curse.

Before it could react, Fujino sprinted forward, leapt into the air, yanked her blade free, and delivered a clean slash that exorcised the curse completely.

“You’re right,” Maki commented as she observed Fujino land gracefully. “But humans are the same.”

“Wasn’t I so cool just now?!” Fujino said with a triumphant smile. “All right, let’s keep moving!” She turned to Yuta, excitedly waving her blade.

The trio ventured deeper into the school. The dark, oppressive atmosphere, coupled with the eerie silence, caused Yuta to break out in a cold sweat. Noticing his discomfort, Fujino slowed her pace to walk beside him.

“Don’t be so nervous, Yuta!” Fujino said cheerfully.

Yuta glanced at her. They were both first-years, yet she seemed so calm.

“Why aren’t you afraid, Fujino?”

“Huh?” Fujino was momentarily caught off guard by the question. She playfully tapped her chin as if in deep thought before responding, “Well, just imagine all these curses have secret crushes on you!”

“What kind of answer is that…?” Yuta couldn’t help but feel Fujino was as unreliable as Gojo. Fujino waved her hand dismissively. “Just kidding!”

“Honestly, I’m nervous too! But when I remind myself that we’re here to save people—that someone out there needs us—it makes it easier to ignore my own feelings.”

“Sometimes... Fujino, you really feel like an older sister,” Yuta murmured with admiration.

“Then just think of me as your big sister! I don’t mind!” Fujino winked at him playfully before running ahead to join Maki.

When Fujino caught up, Maki glanced at her curiously. “Do you feel it? The veil’s already in place, but there aren’t many curses around.”

“Maybe it’s because of Rika’s presence with Yuta?” Fujino suggested.

Maki pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned around and asked Yuta, “Hey, what’s your grade?”

Yuta looked completely confused. “English grade?”

“She means your sorcerer grade,” Fujino explained with a chuckle. “Let’s see... oh, found it!” Fujino rummaged through her pocket and pulled out her student ID.

Holding it up with one hand, she pointed to the “Grade 1” written on it with the other. “Look! I’m a Grade 1 sorcerer! Isn’t that super impressive? I bet you’ve both fallen for me, haven’t you?”

“Grade 1?!” Maki was so stunned that she couldn’t find the words to respond. But what shocked her even more was yet to come.