Future Yuji Itadori Joins the Chat Group

"Are you sisters? But your surnames seem to be different."

"We aren't biological sisters... Big Sister Elsa adopted me..."

Meili answered in a small voice.

She had been abandoned in the forest as a child and, due to her special constitution, was picked up by Witchbeasts and lived among them.

Later, Elsa brought her out and she joined the Assassin Organization alongside her, risking her life for 'Mother'.

Because she was young and had not been properly disciplined, she admired and yearned for Elsa, blindly longing for her way of life; thus, she mimicked Elsa's style and tone of voice.

Meili recounted her past in full detail, while Yuji Itadori narrowed his eyes slightly.

He noticed that when Meili mentioned the name 'Mother', a look of terror surfaced on her face.

It was just like before.

Was this why Meili was so worried about whether the mission was completed?

The Assassin Organization, and that 'Mother'—they were likely the masterminds behind all of this.

"Who is the client who hired you?"

"I—I don't know. Clients always contact Big Sister and the others directly. I just followed Big Sister here... My mission is different from hers; I wasn't hired."

"What is your mission?"

"Big Sister received a request to use any means necessary to stop that silver-haired big sister from participating in the Royal Selection. I was only assisting her with some cleanup work... except the mission failed..."

Meili looked up and stole a cautious glance at Yuji Itadori.

The reason Elsa's mission failed was because of the person in front of her.

After the mission failed, Elsa would surely face punishment from Mother.

Perhaps she would as well...

After looking for only half a second, she hurriedly lowered her head again.

"My mission was assigned by Mother... she told me to come here and create chaos."

"Create chaos? Why?"

"I don't know either..."

Meili shook her head; she didn't seem to be lying.

"I see. What kind of person is this Mother you speak of?"

"She..."

In an instant, Meili's face turned deathly pale, and her body couldn't stop shaking. For a long while, she couldn't speak.

"She... is terrifying..."

"Will you be punished after the mission fails?"

"Yes... she previously turned me into... many frogs..."

As Meili spoke, her voice couldn't help but choke up.

"Turned you into frogs?"

"Mother has a very horrifying ability... anyone she touches will be turned into various bizarrely shaped things by her... I even saw someone turned into a lump of flesh—"

The moment Meili spoke, she felt an incredibly terrifying aura emanate from the man in front of her.

Yuji Itadori, who had a peaceful expression earlier, now wore an exceptionally serious look.

The words Meili spoke were almost identical to a certain existence he knew.

Mahito.

Yuji Itadori could never forget what Mahito had done.

Yoshino Junpei, Nanami Kento... they had all fallen victim to Mahito's cruel hands.

Todo Aoi had lost a palm because of him.

Even Kugisaki Nobara was the same; although she was eventually saved, she had lost an eye forever.

One could say that Mahito's deeds were even more vile than Sukuna's.

Even though Yuji Itadori could say he had killed Mahito twice, he still hadn't forgotten that guy.

The moment he heard Meili's words, Mahito's face surfaced in Yuji Itadori's mind.

Could it be that Mahito has also come to this world?

Since the Chat Group exists, it isn't impossible.

Even if the person isn't Mahito, they are definitely an equally vile individual.

Such a person absolutely cannot be allowed to remain.

"I understand."

Yuji Itadori calmed his emotions and nodded. Then, he reached out and gently patted Meili's shoulder.

"You can rest easy from now on. As long as I'm here, that person won't hurt you, provided you don't do what you did before."

Yuji Itadori spoke to Meili with a serious expression.

Meili looked up somewhat blankly. For the first time, their eyes met for an extended period.

"Why... why protect me? I should count as your enemy..."

Meili didn't quite understand why Yuji Itadori was willing to protect her.

Moreover, she could sense that Yuji Itadori had never harbored any killing intent toward her.

Even during the battle earlier, it had been the same.

"You may have done something very wrong in the past, but I don't have the right to judge you, because I have also done things that can't be undone."

Yuji Itadori's gaze became deep.

"So, the only thing you can do now is not to repeat those mistakes. At the very least, you can do other things to make up for the errors you committed before."

Yuji Itadori knew that Meili was just a child after all; in a sense, she was originally a blank sheet of paper.

It was just that she had been stained black.

The person who made Meili become like this was the one who truly deserved to pay the price.

"Mm."

Meili nodded tremulously; she had no room for choice now.

"Want something to eat?"

Right then, Yuji Itadori took a bag of snacks from the Group Inventory and handed it to Meili. Since visiting Sato Kazuma's world, he had started carrying some snacks and drinks with him.

Meili had never seen such a thing before. She gave Yuji Itadori a worried look but eventually took it carefully and took a tentative bite—

"It's delicious!"

The two of them chatted while eating snacks, the previous tense atmosphere having completely vanished.

Before they knew it, the dark sky gradually turned gray, and light seemed ready to burst forth from the horizon.

"It's time to go."

Yuji Itadori stood up.

"Mm..."

Meili nodded.

...

The day was fully bright now, with bright sunlight pouring down.

Yuji Itadori brought Meili to the front of Roswaal's manor; this was the plan he had previously settled with Natsuki Subaru.

As Yuji Itadori reached the entrance, a young girl with short blue hair wearing a maid outfit appeared before them.

Her slightly baby-faced, youthful countenance was very cute, and the white stockings wrapping her thighs had a just-right amount of plumpness. The girl before him was undoubtedly a beauty.

Rem.

"Hello, may I ask if there is something you need?"

Seeing Yuji Itadori's unfamiliar face, Rem inquired politely.

She also recognized Meili's appearance; that was the child she had seen in the village yesterday.

"I'm a friend of Natsuki Subaru. I've come to visit Emilia and Roswaal."

Yuji Itadori said to Rem.

"My name is Yuji Itadori."