Future Yuji Itadori Joins the Chat Group

A flash of light passed, and Yuji Itadori brought Beatrice back to his original world.

Looking at the completely unfamiliar surroundings, Beatrice's eyes widened slightly.

They had been in the forest just moments ago, yet in the blink of an eye, they had arrived inside a room with a completely different style.

Beatrice recalled what Yuji Itadori had previously told her about the Chat Group and other worlds.

'Is this another world?'

Just then, a simple and honest-sounding voice came from behind them:

"Itadori, did you come back hungry?"

Panda-senpai scratched his belly as he looked at Yuji Itadori.

His gaze met Beatrice's.

Why had Itadori brought someone back with him?

Oh, no.

Maybe she was only a doll.

Itadori really did like things like that.

But in that case, wasn't this doll a little too lifelike?

She looked just like a living person.

"Yuji, is this also a Spirit?"

Beatrice wasn't surprised when she saw Panda. She merely pointed at him and asked Yuji Itadori.

Her first assumption was that Panda was a Spirit like Puck.

Unlike Beatrice, Panda was instantly dumbfounded and staggered several steps backward in fright.

"I-It can talk?! It can actually talk!"

"Could it be an Abrupt Cursed Corpse like me?!"

"And a humanoid one at that?!"

"What are you talking about?! What do you mean Betty can actually talk?! And what is a Cursed Corpse anyway?! More importantly, why are you so surprised to see Betty? Have you never seen a Spirit as adorable as Betty before?!"

Beatrice puffed out her cheeks indignantly and moved her small body closer to Yuji Itadori.

"Itadori, what's going on?"

"Betty and I formed a Contract, so I was able to bring her back with me."

Yuji Itadori explained.

"You could bring her back after forming a Contract… and she's a Spirit?"

"That's right."

Following Yuji Itadori's introduction, Beatrice proudly raised her chin slightly.

"This is my first time seeing a Spirit!"

Panda curiously sized Beatrice up, while she asked in return:

"Aren't you a Spirit?"

"I-I'm not. Strictly speaking, I'm a Cursed Corpse. There aren't any real Spirits in this world—only Cursed Spirits."

Panda shook his head.

"This is Panda-senpai. He's my senior."

"Senpai?"

Beatrice tilted her head, trying hard to process the information.

Yuji Itadori then gave Panda a general explanation of the situation, allowing him to finally understand what had happened.

"So basically, a Contracted Spirit can travel with you between different worlds, right?"

"That's right."

Yuji Itadori nodded.

At the same time, Yuji Itadori also received messages from the group.

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: Unsurrounded One, Itadori-senpai! How is Betty doing over there?! Was she completely stunned?!]

[Unsurrounded One: Quite the opposite. Betty is very calm.]

[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: What's going on? Is Betty the tsundere Great Spirit Subaru mentioned before?]

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: That's right.]

[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: ??? Why can she follow you back?!]

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: I didn't expect it either. Later, I looked through the Group Announcement sent when I joined, and it really was in there.]

[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Does it have to be a Spirit or Shikigami bound by a Contract? Do you think it's possible that a goddess under Contract would also count, so you could take her to another world and then leave her there?!]

[Jujutsu's Top PE Student: Why does that sound like abandoning a pet…]

[Only Love White-Haired Elves: Is Miss Betty also a Spirit? When there's a chance, Itadori-dono could bring her to visit our world. Frieren would probably be happy to see another of her kind!]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: What do you mean? You not only brought Betty out of the Forbidden Library, but also brought her into your own world?]

Just then, a message from the Purge King also appeared.

The Purge King rarely sent messages in the group and generally never took the initiative to participate in conversations. He would only occasionally appear to give a brief answer when someone mentioned him.

[Unsurrounded One: Mm.]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: That means you became that person for Betty, didn't you?]

[Unsurrounded One: That's right. Betty and I formed a Contract.]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: I see.]

The Purge King looked at the messages before him and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"At least another Betty has finally met her true person."

The Purge King let out a long breath that sounded like a sigh, while his gaze shifted toward the incomparably luxurious chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

He was also that person for Beatrice.

At least, that was the lie he had told Beatrice in the end.

The Purge King had experienced countless tragedies and betrayals in this world, and only Beatrice had truly been willing to help him unconditionally.

She had color, shining more brightly than anyone else.

The only thing the Purge King could do for Beatrice was deceive her by claiming that he was that person.

Then, he helped Beatrice find release.

The Purge King shook his head, unsure of exactly what he was feeling at that moment.

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: Huh? You became that person for Betty too?]

Natsuki Subaru was somewhat curious about what had happened between his other self and Beatrice.

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: More or less.]

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: What did you say to her?!]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: I directly told her that I was that person. That was all.]

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: You were that direct?!]

The Purge King had previously said that Emilia lived beside him, so Natsuki Subaru had subconsciously assumed that the Beatrice of that world did as well.

He didn't know that the other Beatrice was already gone.

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: Come to think of it, the misunderstanding between you and Ram has already been resolved, right? That's why Emilia and the others can stay with you.]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: No. Ram probably still wants to kill me even now—]

The Purge King turned his gaze in a certain direction, where an ordinary-looking bookshelf stood.

But behind the bookshelf was a hidden chamber.

No one other than Natsuki Subaru could open it.

The security outside the room was even no less stringent than Emilia's.

Someone as important as Emilia was inside, someone who could not be allowed to be destroyed—

The Oni girl named Ram.

The Purge King felt as though he could hear the constant scraping of chains beside his ears.

It was red.

A bloodlike red that yearned to kill him.

Yet it was precisely that intense killing intent, that killing intent which had never faded, that appeared incomparably vivid in the Purge King's eyes.

It was a color he could see with perfect clarity.

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: How could that be…]

[Only Love White-Haired Elves: She still misunderstands you even now?]

[Jujutsu's Top PE Student: That's… too… I don't even know how to describe it. Isn't there any crucial evidence that could prove your innocence?]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: No, but I probably don't need any anymore. Things are fine as they are now.]

Deep down, the Purge King instead hoped that Ram would continue hating him like this.

It was hatred that gave Ram color.

She must never fade.

Yet in everyone else's eyes, the Purge King's words sounded more like he had finally let go of the past.

[Only Love White-Haired Elves: Should you ever feel like it, you can call us over to chat and have a meal together.]

[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: Mm.]

After replying, the Purge King stopped speaking in the group.

[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Subaru, you've had a hard time too.]

[Witch of Envy's Runaway Fugitive: It was also thanks to Itadori-senpai…]

Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

Almost every crisis he had encountered had been resolved by Yuji Itadori. He himself had barely done anything.

But perhaps it was precisely because of that that he wouldn't go down a different path.

Natsuki Subaru didn't dare imagine how painful it would be if he went down the Purge King's path.

He would be doubted and distrusted by everyone else.

Even if he used Return by Death to help those around him survive a crisis, no one would remember anything he had done.

This Chat Group was like his anchor.

After chatting for a little while longer, Yuji Itadori closed the Chat Group.

Since Beatrice had come to this world, he naturally had to take her around and let her have a good look.

"Betty, how about we go out and look around? You just arrived here, so there must be plenty of places you've never seen before!"

Beatrice nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Itadori, where are you planning to take Betty?"

Panda seemed to think of something and asked curiously.

"I haven't decided on a plan yet. We'll just look around for now. It just so happens—"

"You aren't planning to take this child to play pachinko, are you?!"

"Your silence means yes, doesn't it?! Even if the age restriction has been relaxed now, taking such a small child to a place like that still wouldn't be right!"

"Betty isn't a child!!! Betty is already four hundred years old!"

As Beatrice spoke, she even snorted and made a heart gesture.

Panda stared blankly at Beatrice.

Didn't that make her look even more like a child?!

"Had Higuruma still been here, he probably would've immediately…"

"That's true. Even though Betty meets the age requirement, no one would believe it from her appearance. In that case, let's do something else."

Yuji Itadori gently rubbed his chin, a serious, contemplative expression appearing on his face.

Seeing Yuji Itadori like this, Panda smiled.

Yuji Itadori looked just like an old father taking care of a child for the first time.

This was good.

At the very least, Yuji Itadori smiled more often than before.

He seemed more like the Itadori Panda knew.

"Let's go watch a movie."

"Betty doesn't know what a movie is, but let's go!"

Meanwhile, at Jujutsu High School—

"Sorry for troubling you."

Although she said that, there wasn't the slightest hint of apology in her voice. A beautiful woman with her hair tied into a bun smiled as she carefully examined the object called a trembler that Okkotsu Tsurugi had brought back.

"This is something my sensei needs. After being away for a long time, he's finally coming back."

"Miyaguni-san's sensei? Isn't that your New Shadow Style sensei?"

Okkotsu Tsurugi asked curiously.

The woman before him was named Miyaguni Chiharu, one of the current higher-ups of the Jujutsu World. In appearance, she looked no different from a young girl.

However, according to rumors, her actual age might already be over forty.

"Not my New Shadow Style sensei, but the sensei who taught me Jujutsu."

Miyaguni answered.

"Is that so?"

"You didn't know? At my age, I can't remember who I've told what anymore—although I didn't study Jujutsu with him for long, he's a man extremely devoted to his wife. Husbands like that are rare nowadays."

The person Miyaguni Chiharu was speaking of was Todo Aoi.

Miyaguni Chiharu's heart had once been filled with a desire for battle and destruction. It was Todo Aoi who enabled her to control her emotions and embark on the path of a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

"Of course, aside from him, I have another sensei."

Miyaguni Chiharu sighed helplessly.

"Another one?"

"That guy caused quite a lot of trouble some time ago. He beat up both our side and the Simurians, then took responsibility for everything himself afterward. I had to try everything I could think of to explain things to the higher-ups."

"Miyaguni-san, are you also Itadori-senpai's disciple?"

"That's right, but I haven't seen him in a long time. The Jujutsu World couldn't find him no matter what we did before. Whenever he deliberately hides his tracks, he's completely impossible to locate. Yet at critical moments, he suddenly appears and resolves all sorts of trouble… Honestly, I have no idea what he's doing."

Miyaguni Chiharu shook her head. When conflict had nearly broken out between the two sides earlier, Yuji Itadori had intervened and knocked almost everyone unconscious with a single Piercing Blood—everyone except Miyaguni.

That had been their first reunion after a very long time apart.

"Um… Miyaguni-san, I might know what Itadori-senpai has been doing."

Okkotsu Tsurugi scratched his head, his expression somewhat hesitant as he struggled to decide how to explain it.

"Huh? You know?"

"Um… Itadori-senpai has probably been playing pachinko at the arcade lately. He seems extremely enthusiastic about it, and apparently, he's been playing for a long time."

"That's impossible…"

Miyaguni Chiharu frowned.

"How do you know?"

"Um… we met Itadori-senpai not long ago, and he even took us to play pachinko."

Miyaguni Chiharu's face was filled with confusion.

"How did you find him? We couldn't locate him no matter what we did before."

"Itadori-senpai came looking for us himself… and…"

Okkotsu Tsurugi swallowed, seemingly conflicted over whether he should say it.

"And what? Hurry up and tell me!"

"Um… Itadori-senpai said he actually never hid his whereabouts at all… He's been playing games at the arcade this whole time…"

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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.

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Shilling time!

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