Mirror Vacation

Gojo lay in Ren's office chair and ignored the owner beside him.

Light flared around Ren. His clothes changed into a white outfit, matching his slightly tanned skin with an effortless harmony.

"Gojo, how long do you plan to rest?"

Ren looked at his annoying expression and almost wanted to slap him.

"Ren, this chair is great. Can you make one for me?"

Gojo stretched like someone waking from a wonderful nap, eyes narrowed in satisfaction from the massage.

"Why are you here?"

Gojo grinned.

"Yesterday's battle. We won."

"And?"

"Those curses were strong, but they were clearly missing a leader." Gojo sat up. "I heard the name Shuten-doji from a few of them. I wanted to know whether you met him."

The question was polite in words only. His face clearly said he knew the answer.

"Yes," Ren said. "I already took him."

Gojo leaned back with an expression that said of course.

"Thanks. If Yaga-sensei knew a special-grade cursed spirit slipped into the city, I would be in trouble today."

Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Five million for helping you. That is not excessive, is it?"

Gojo dodged the topic immediately.

"Since you took him, you should know why they came, right? Such a big movement was not only for one finger, was it?"

He knew Spirit Dominion could read the thoughts and memories of bound spirits.

Ren threw him aside with a flicker of force and settled into his chair.

"That creature was only a pitiful fool misled by another curse."

Gojo looked unconvinced.

This battle had involved four special-grade cursed spirits, more than the number of special-grade sorcerers openly present in the jujutsu world.

If not for Gojo, Toji, and several others exceeding ordinary limits, the curse army might have wiped out the sorcerers there.

For humans, that would have been catastrophic.

Without sorcerers, ordinary people were fragile food before curses.

"Misled?" Gojo asked. "That sounds familiar."

"That one is already dead."

Gojo shrugged. When words like deception and misdirection appeared, it was difficult not to think of Falsehood.

"Still, from the current situation, the other side's target seems to be you," Gojo said. "You should be careful."

Ren's narrow eyes showed anticipation.

Coming for me?

His mouth lifted into the smile Gojo knew too well.

"So worrying was unnecessary," Gojo said. "I should worry for whoever is targeting you instead."

Then he pointed at the mirror.

"By the way, what is with that mirror?"

He raised it toward himself and now saw his own reflection.

"Just now I saw you sunbathing by the sea inside it."

Gojo gestured exaggeratedly, only stopping short of saying that he wanted to go in.

Ren snapped his fingers.

Ripples spread across the mirror.

"If you want to see it, go in."

Gojo did not hesitate. He reached in with one hand.

His entire body was sucked through the surface like a strand of noodles.

Before long, he came out again.

"Wow. This is amazing. Better than that forest domain."

The domain called Withering Prosperity looked like three ordinary forests on the surface. Through the Six Eyes, Gojo had seen dry earth below, without real life. The flowers and trees were only things created to drain vitality from the domain's interior.

That environment had felt disgusting.

Mirror World was different.

It differed from the real world, but its realism was strong and honest. In the short time he entered, Gojo had nearly explored the entire place. Aside from the boundary, it was almost like a real resort.

More importantly, outsiders could not find people inside.

That was important.

Since the sorcerers had been given time to rest, this was perfect for vacation.

"Ren, can I..."

"No."

The word cut him off.

Gojo clutched his chest dramatically.

"Such a good place, and you planned to keep it to yourself?"

"For vacation, twenty thousand yen a day."

"Deal."

That amount meant nothing to Gojo.

"Can I call a few more people?"

"As you like."

After getting permission, Gojo prepared to leave. He wanted to tell his friends and bring them for a few days of rest.

"Oh, right. I made a bet with Fushiguro earlier. I won, but afterward I felt it was not right."

He tossed a coin onto the desk.

"Give this back to him and tell him not to be so cheap next time."

The one-yen coin spun on the desk.

Ren looked at it and smiled faintly.

Those two really fought everywhere.

The coin flew into the wall above the refrigerator.

Toji took beer from that spot every time he came. He would see it.

Ren stretched.

Then he seemed to sense something. His eyes lifted toward empty space, and contempt passed through them.

Something hiding in the currents of time was not worthy of becoming his enemy.

In the elder's space, the elder watched the scene and smiled.

"Ren Zenin is impressive."

He was certain the final look in the picture had been directed at him.

This human could see through disturbances in time.

His earlier estimate had been too low.

"I told you he was powerful," Folly said.

It had recorded Ren Zenin's name when Ren began rising in the jujutsu world. That was not special treatment. Whenever a genius appeared, Folly noted the name in case its superiors later asked.

Other geniuses had limits.

Ren's limit remained unknown.

A terrifying thought settled in Folly's mind.

"Does he have some kind of Heavenly Restriction?"

The concept was simple on the surface. One lost something from birth and received compensation in return. Usually, the loss and gain were connected, but that was only a theory.

Possibilities churned through Folly's mind.

The tumors on its body moved wildly. Deep-blue liquid poured through tubes into its brain.

Nothing worked.

It could not infer anything.

No matter what it used as an explanation, Ren Zenin could not be that strong.

Folly's body slowly reddened. Its eyes began losing focus.

"Why? Why is he this strong?"

Blue cursed energy erupted from its body and spread outward like waves.

Space around it rippled.

If left alone, the energy might destroy the area.

"Foolish child."

The elder's voice carried a special rhythm. As it touched the scattered energy, it erased it completely.

The rippling walls of the space calmed.

Those two words struck Folly like thunder.

Its chest tightened.

It spat a mouthful of blue liquid. The red color slowly left its body.

"Thank you."

Folly wiped its mouth weakly and quietly cleaned away the liquid before it.

The elder saw the movement, but he did not mind.

"You think too much. Even if he is strong, how strong can he be?"

His voice was firm.

"He is only human. Once my domain is complete, he will not be a concern."

The words were confident.

Even so, he himself had admitted a condition: only after the domain was complete.

To Folly, that was already an extraordinary evaluation.

No other leader received that much respect from the elder.

"Exactly," Folly said. "He is only human."

Two days after the battle, reconstruction had begun in the destroyed city.

The official explanation was a major earthquake. Each household would receive relief funds according to registration, and those who had owned property would be assigned homes again after rebuilding.

With that arrangement, most people stopped complaining.

Some thugs tried to extort more.

They disappeared the next day.

Everyone understood without saying it aloud.

That morning, Ren's office was full.

"Handsome Ren, are we going to an island vacation today?"

Dorin stood before the desk, almost pressing her whole face toward Ren.

"Look at my swimsuit. Is it pretty?"

Koyuka stood to the side, blushing so hard she looked ready to cook. Her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes. She wanted to pull Dorin back but was afraid of making things worse, so she could only stand frozen.

Ren ignored Dorin and looked at the others.

"Ren," Geto said with a gentle smile, "I heard from Satoru that you have a good place for vacation."

"Mr. Ren," Yaga said from behind him, "I think work has been exhausting recently. I would like somewhere to relax."

Two half-height cursed corpses stood behind Yaga. One carried a barbecue grill. The other carried ingredients.

Their purpose was obvious.

Gojo glanced at his watch, waiting for someone.

Mei Mei's voice came from the door.

"Am I late?"

"No," Gojo said. "Right on time."

"Ren, begin. We are ready."

Before Ren answered, Toji appeared in the hallway with Megumi.

"What day is this? Why are there so many people?"

His eyes moved to Gojo.

"Blindfold, it had to be you. You dragged this crowd here to wreck the place?"

The tone was hostile, but there was no urge to kill. Insulting each other had become habit between them. It almost felt wrong if they met without it.

Every sorcerer present knew the Heavenly Tyrant.

Even without any obvious aura, they felt cold in their hearts.

Mei Mei looked at him with a different light in her eyes.

Her technique had reached a bottleneck. Continued training would bring only tiny improvement. She had almost prepared to remain at that level forever.

Then Toji appeared and showed her how terrifying the body could become.

Two blades had killed three special-grade cursed spirits.

If Gojo had not interfered, the fourth might have died under Toji's blade too.

The image had carved itself into her mind.

She had decided to train her body to the limit.

Seeing him here made her heart stir faintly.

If only he did not have a child.

Dorin, still performing, sensed the awkward air and looked back.

She saw a man with a child.

"Come here, little one. I have chocolate. Do you want some?"

Megumi sweated.

"No, thank you."

"Why are you so cool? If you copy Ren Zenin at this age, you will never get a girlfriend."

Toji and Gojo almost laughed.

The other sorcerers' expressions turned strange, and several faces flushed as they held back reactions.

"Dorin!" Koyuka cried. "Please stop talking."

Dorin finally realized what she had said and apologized again and again.

Ren held his forehead.

He was already tired of this group.

"Mirror World, open."

Ripples spread across the glass surface of the desk.

The next moment, the image inside became sea, island, and beach.

"Everyone, follow me."

Gojo took a small running start and jumped in. Fortunately, Ren's desk had no clutter on it, or he might have failed in a very undignified way.

Koyuka dragged Dorin in immediately. She did not want to remain in the office a moment longer.

The others followed, reaching into the glass and sliding through like noodles.

Ren snapped his fingers.

The desk returned to calm.

The office became quiet again.

Then an excited voice rang out.

"Boss, boss. Good news. The God-Descent Project has advanced. The cursed spirit we created can now fully contain its cursed energy."

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