Chapter 47: Beatrice, Please Stop Talking!
"Lord Roswaal, please explain to us exactly what is going on!"
Emilia looked at Roswaal with a stern expression; for the first time, she found him utterly unrecognizable.
While Emilia was questioning Roswaal, a small, silvery-white figure floated freely in the air, its bright eyes scanning Yuji Itadori with an expression of intense curiosity.
Yuji Itadori studied the figure in return—it was a gray cat with a satchel slung over its shoulder, but its face bore an expression that belonged only to a human.
"Lia, is this the Yuji Itadori you mentioned?"
The cat smiled as it looked at Yuji Itadori.
"My name is Puck. I'm something of a father figure to Lia! Pleased to meet you!"
"Pleased to meet you."
Yuji Itadori gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
"I heard Lia talk about you before. It seems you already visited the Mansion once just now, but I was with Betty at the time and didn't see you. It's a pity I didn't get to meet you in the Royal Capital either, as it was quite late then."
As Puck spoke, his body spun a full circle in mid-air, yet his gaze remained fixed on Yuji Itadori.
He was Emilia's Contracted Spirit, guarding her side at all times.
Puck was originally one of the Four Great Spirits, but due to certain special reasons, the current Puck could only maintain this tiny form and could not manifest at night, instead residing within the crystal pendant on Emilia's chest.
"I didn't expect you to be so calm upon seeing me, Itadori. Have you had contact with Spirits before?"
Puck inquired curiously.
"Spirits? No, I've never seen one."
Yuji Itadori shook his head.
"But I have had contact with an existence similar to you."
"Oh? A similar existence?"
"But he isn't a cat; he's a Panda."
"Panda? What's that?"
Puck had never heard of a species called a Panda.
"It's also a cute animal," Yuji Itadori replied.
Panda-senpai was a Cursed Corpse created by Principal Yaga Masamichi.
A Cursed Corpse with a soul was no different from any other student.
Infusing a Cursed Corpse with a soul was something only Yaga Masamichi could do, but in the end, it seemed he was eliminated by the Jujutsu High Brass for that very reason.
As for Panda-senpai himself, he had been stored in the Cursed Warehouse as an ordinary Cursed Corpse until Yuji's appearance gave him the chance to see the light of day again.
The physical body is merely a vessel; the soul is the filler.
Right at that moment, an incredibly crisp and somewhat childish voice rang out from behind everyone.
"No matter how cute it is, it couldn't possibly surpass me~"
As Puck spoke, he struck a cute pose, appearing exceptionally confident in this regard.
However, he quickly adopted a serious demeanor and floated closer to Yuji Itadori, extending a soft little paw to lightly touch Yuji Itadori's hand.
Puck could achieve a degree of telepathy through contact, allowing him to sense the other party's surface-level thoughts and determine whether they were an enemy to himself or Emilia.
In Yuji Itadori's heart, there wasn't even a trace of malice; instead, he seemed to sincerely want to help Emilia and the others.
This was naturally a good thing for Puck; at the very least, it proved that Yuji Itadori was a trustworthy existence.
However, what Puck truly cared about was something else.
As a Great Spirit, Puck could sense and absorb the Mana of others.
And he could feel a terrifying power surging continuously within Yuji Itadori's body.
It wasn't Mana, but something similar in nature yet somehow different, like a raging tide constantly washing through Yuji Itadori's physical form.
This power was something even Puck could not comprehend.
Is this why Roswaal was crushed by Yuji Itadori?
Puck's body couldn't help but shiver for an instant.
Puck turned his head slightly. On the other side, Roswaal had stopped pretending and admitted that the matter with Elsa Granhiert (The Bowel Hunter) was related to him.
However, from beginning to end, Roswaal did not reveal his true objective, nor did he mention Natsuki Subaru's power to reset the world again. He simply repeated that he sincerely wished to support Emilia in ascending the throne.
"You lot are so noisy! You're annoying Betty to death! What on earth are you doing? You've interrupted Betty's time alone with her brother."
Right then, a crisp and somewhat childish voice rang out.
Following the sound of light footsteps, a young girl appeared before everyone.
She looked to be only about ten years old, with a tiny frame that seemed as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind, yet she carried an air of haughtiness and detachment that was completely at odds with her appearance.
She had soft, fluffy blonde hair tied into twin drills on either side of her head. Her face was youthful but very cute, and her eyes were like butterflies, as if they might take flight at any moment.
Beatrice—the other Great Spirit in Roswaal's Mansion. She regarded Puck as her brother and controlled the Forbidden Library connected to the Mansion, which housed almost all the Grimoires in the world—a place coveted by countless people.
At this moment, Beatrice had her arms crossed over her chest and lifted her small, round chin, her gaze sweeping over everyone before she asked again in an impatient tone:
"What's happening here? How did things get this messy? Roswaal, why do you look so pathetic?"
Beatrice's gaze moved away from Roswaal and finally focused on Yuji Itadori.
A completely unfamiliar face; she had never seen him before.
"Who is this idiot? He's the one who caused all this, right?"
Beatrice pouted slightly, observing the other party unblinkingly as if trying to confirm some piece of information.
"This is Senior Itadori, whom I mentioned before! Betty, stop talking nonsense!"
Hearing Beatrice call Yuji Itadori an idiot upon their first meeting made Natsuki Subaru frantic with worry.
He had already witnessed Yuji Itadori's strength.
Although in Natsuki Subaru's eyes, Yuji Itadori was a very helpful and gentle person, if he were to ever truly get angry, he could probably dispose of Betty effortlessly...
However, hearing Beatrice's words, no trace of anger appeared on Yuji Itadori's face.
On the contrary, Yuji Itadori kept his eyes on Beatrice with a peaceful gaze.
He had caught it—
Within Beatrice's colorful, butterfly-wing-like eyes, there seemed to be a hidden emotion.
It was an emotion somewhat similar to what he had felt before.