"Transfer student? Like me?"
Hearing this, Yuji's eyes immediately lit up, his face breaking into a simple-minded grin as if he'd found a comrade.
"You transferred during spring break, she's transferring after the school year started. Theoretically, they're completely different."
Megumi rolled his eyes at Yuji, his gaze focusing intently on Hitori Gotoh as he scrutinized her from head to toe. The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed.
"Awesome, it's a girl!"
The most excited among the three was Nobara.
She immediately cheered and rushed toward Hitori with an enthusiastic smile.
"You're Hitori-chan, right? We'll be classmates from now on, nice to meet you! By the way, how old are you? Were you originally a first-year? Wow, your skin is so pale, what brand of cosmetics do you use for skincare?"
Her barrage of enthusiastic welcoming questions bombarded Hitori like rapid-fire cannon shots.
Hitori felt like she'd accidentally wandered onto a battlefield where she stood alone and defenseless, with shells flying toward her threatening to blast her to smithereens.
"B-bad news! It's a normie! Normie energy levels skyrocketing! Major crisis!"
Hitori's scalp prickled as if she were watching a horror movie, shrinking back in panic and unease.
"Dammit, give me back my peaceful summer vacation spent alone! Give me back my quiet home paradise!"
It's July!
We just started summer vacation not long ago!
After enduring several months of school and completing an entire semester, she thought she could finally be free—only to be suddenly transferred to some cult-like school just days later!
Where's her vacation?
What happened to her month-and-a-half-long break?
Where did that huge vacation suddenly disappear to?
I wanna die!
She had no idea what her uncle Kiyotaka was up to when he suddenly showed up, but after her parents had a long heart-to-heart talk with him that night, they were convinced. Without further discussion, they arranged her transfer and repeatedly emphasized that she must study hard at the new school.
No one knew how panicked she felt inside!
Transferring means all her previous social connections are useless now, right? Doesn't it mean she has to start all over with new relationships at the new school? What if cliques have already formed?
Hitori was freaking out. Last night before bed, she was still worrying about what to do if her new classmates ostracized her, so anxious she couldn't sleep.
But then it occurred to her.
She didn't really have any social connections in her original class anyway—her interactions with classmates might as well not exist.
Transferring or not, it probably made no difference.
She couldn't fit into any of the class cliques either.
With that realization, she peacefully fell asleep.
Until today, when she entered this new school.
There are so few people in the class!
Aside from her, there are only three others!
This is amazing!
This means she'll have plenty of personal space, no need to worry about fitting into any groups or being ostracized, right?
...Or maybe not.
With fewer people, it indeed meant more personal space, but it also meant she would stand out glaringly. In a large class, she could play ostrich and hide from things, but in a place with so few people, even if she pretended to be an ostrich, she'd still be painfully visible—there was simply nowhere to hide!
In this state of panic and unease, she met the new teacher.
Huh, so it was him!
She recognized the white-haired young man.
She never expected he was the one who arranged her transfer.
She shouldn't have given him those two tickets back then!
And the classmates—each one was even more bizarre!
One was fighting a moving wooden puppet on a log, another was pulling a half-person-sized boulder like an ox or horse. No matter how you looked at it, these two were terrifying, absolute brutes!
She thought the last girl might be quieter, but no—she was a social butterfly. No, worse, she was the terrifying type who thrived on attention!
Hitori instinctively used the towering Roy as a shield, hiding behind him and peeking out with only her trembling eyes, fearfully watching the three in front of her.
The orange-haired girl was an attention-seeker.
The brown-haired boy seemed simple-minded and probably easier to get along with—she swore by her years of school experience that this type was definitely part of the popular crowd!
In her daily life at school, where no one spoke to her, she dedicated herself to observing the personalities of every clique in class, practicing and role-playing scenarios in her head, hoping it might come in handy if she ever made friends someday.
Though it never proved useful in the end, don't underestimate her experience!
And that black-haired boy… Uwah, he was staring straight at her!
His expression was cold, his eyes full of disdain, his brows furrowed as if he was deeply dissatisfied with her!
Nobara watched as Hitori darted behind Roy like a startled puppy, leaving only her fearful eyes visible, and felt a pang of frustration.
She turned to Yuji and Megumi, weakly pointing at herself.
"Do I look scary?"
"Scary? I don't think so, but you are definitely weird."
"Do you have zero self-awareness about your personality?"
"You two have no right to say that! Especially you, Yuji—what gives you the right to call anyone weird?!"
Nobara's face instantly flushed red as she kicked Yuji.
Megumi silently distanced himself from the two.
His gaze settled on the pink-haired girl behind Roy.
Compared to those two, he was more concerned about this Hitori Gotoh.
"Teacher, is she really transferring into Jujutsu High?"
He looked at Roy, his eyes filled with clear confusion and disapproval.
"It's true. I've already spoken to the principal—it's a done deal."
Roy's eyes shifted from Hitori to meet Megumi's gaze, giving a firm answer.
"...I don't get it."
Megumi's brows remained tightly knit. He stared at Hitori, his eyes full of restrained dissatisfaction, his expression clouded with incomprehension.
"No matter how you look at it, she's just an ordinary girl. Forget about combat ability—her mentality alone is a huge issue, right? A jujutsu sorcerer has to fight cursed spirits. She doesn't even seem capable of mustering the will to fight, let alone holding a conversation. How could she possibly handle this kind of work?"
"And if she dies fighting cursed spirits in the future, who will take responsibility for that?"
Die?!
Fighting cursed spirits?
People can die from this?
Hitori shuddered, startled, shrinking behind Roy like an ostrich, every cell in her body screaming with fear.
"As expected of Megumi, always so thorough!"
Roy didn't mind the sharpness in Megumi's words. Instead, he praised his all-encompassing way of thinking.
"To answer your question—first, if she doesn't attend Jujutsu High, she'll end up harming more people in the future, just like Yuta Okkotsu. That should make it clear enough for you."
As for why Bocchi, from a slice-of-life world like Bocchi the Rock!, had ended up like Yuta Okkotsu—Roy had no clue. For now, the only solution was to bring her into Jujutsu High, teach her to control her cursed energy, and prevent her from unintentionally hurting others in the future.
"Second, I believe I'm a fairly competent teacher."
Roy adjusted his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses flashing with seriousness.
"As a teacher, I take responsibility for all my students—not just Bocchi, Megumi, but also you, Yuji, and Nobara. Every single one. I'll do everything in my power to ensure none of you die. Is that answer sufficient?"
The training field had fallen silent at some point.
Even Yuji and Nobara, who had been roughhousing earlier, quieted down. They exchanged glances, lowering the hands that had been pinching each other's cheeks and the feet that had been aiming for sensitive areas, their expressions softening into warm smiles.
"...That's enough. I have nothing more to say."
Megumi was stunned for a moment before letting out a wry laugh and raising his hands in surrender.
Even Bocchi-chan momentarily forgot her fear, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Roy.
That was so cool!
Gotta remember that!
I have to remember that line—it might come in handy for looking cool someday!
"Alright, that's all I had to say. Get back to training! That conversation just wasted ten minutes, so you'll have to make up for it. We'll extend the school day by ten minutes."
"Oh, come on!"
"You're the one who called us over in the first place!"
"Does keeping us late make you a good teacher? No way, I refuse to accept that!"
"Anyone who keeps complaining gets an extra twenty minutes."
Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara scattered like startled birds, returning to their positions and throwing themselves back into the intense training.
Only Roy and Hitori remained.
"U-um…"
Hitori hesitated for a long moment before finally mustering her courage.
"Will I... have to fight too... in the future...?"
She was starting to piece things together.
Nijika's uncle didn't seem like a cult leader, and this didn't seem like a cult headquarters.
Just watching those two boys train—what kind of cult would push people's bodies to such extremes? Their training was way too intense.
She had somehow stumbled into some unbelievable world!
Her heart was pounding with nervousness, feeling both exhilarated and terrified that she might not be cut out for this.
"You don't necessarily have to fight."
Seeing the uncertainty in Bocchi-chan's expression, Roy knew she was overwhelmed with doubt and quickly reassured her.
"The jujutsu world also has a role called an assistant supervisor—someone who supports sorcerers without engaging in combat. Like Ijichi Kiyotaka, whom you know. If you really don't want to fight, you can just be an assistant supervisor like him."
"And if you don't even want to stay in the jujutsu world, I can help you return to the ordinary world. After all, I only enrolled you so you could learn to control your power. I'm not forcing you to become a sorcerer."
"But—are you really satisfied with just that?"
Roy's voice suddenly lowered as he spoke.
A bewitching smile spread across his face as he leaned in close to Bocchi-chan's ear, whispering words that stirred her heart.
"Don't you want to show off in front of your classmates and friends?"
"Think about it—one day, while chatting with your friends, a luxurious car suddenly pulls up beside you. A few imposing men in black rush out, fall to their knees before you, and cry out, 'Lady Gotou, we can't do this without you!' Then, with a look of exasperation, you sigh and say, 'Honestly, you're hopeless,' before bidding your stunned friends farewell, stepping into the car, and driving off without a backward glance… How's that? Doesn't it sound thrilling?"
Wait, is that scenario too tame?
Maybe I should change the luxury car to a helicopter!
Oh, never mind—looks like it's not needed.
Roy turned to Bocchi-chan.
She was staring up at the sky with a silly grin plastered on her face.
Her expression was like that of a shut-in secretly watching a romance anime in the dead of night—utterly unable to suppress her giddy smile.
Lost in Roy's vivid storytelling, Bocchi-chan had completely immersed herself in the fantasy.
So cool!
I'm so cool!
If word of this spread, her popularity would skyrocket, and tons of people would be clamoring to be her friend!
Ah, what a dilemma—who should she choose as friends then?
She'd be a true social butterfly!
"Okay, I'll become a jujutsu sorcerer!"
Gotou Hitori sprang to her feet with determination, her entire being radiating excitement for the scene she'd just imagined, every cell in her body brimming with fighting spirit!
"Excellent! That's the enthusiasm I like to see!"
Roy nodded approvingly.
This kid was so straightforward.
At her age, it was all too easy to tell what was on her mind.
"Ah, but… can I skip their kind of training?"
Her gaze flickered toward Yuji and Megumi's training session, and just like that, her newfound motivation deflated like a punctured balloon. Pouting pitifully, she looked up at Roy.
…The fact that her enthusiasm lasted mere seconds was also a major problem.
"Don't worry, your training will be different from theirs."
Roy sighed softly. Well, he'd brought this trouble upon himself—might as well see it through to the end.
"They undergo that kind of training because it's the only way they can fight, or because close combat is their biggest weakness. You're not at that stage yet—your training begins with mastering cursed energy."
So she wasn't at that stage yet?
Thank goodness!
Then she'd start with the basics. When she eventually reached that stage, she'd just make a run for it!
After all, learning even a little would be enough to make her popular in the ordinary world, right?
No matter what, from this moment on, Hitori was going to strive to become one of the cool kids!
But Bocchi-chan failed to realize one thing.
Roy had only said her training hadn't reached that stage yet.
He never said the initial stage would be easy.
"No! This is terrifying! I don't want to be a jujutsu sorcerer anymore—I want to go home!"
Half an hour later.
The cursed energy control training had barely begun when Hitori burst into tears, banging on the door in a desperate attempt to escape the room.
Behind her, shadowy figures swayed like ghosts floating midair, while a horrifyingly realistic bisected corpse lay in the corner.
An eerie wind howled everywhere, carrying an inexplicable chill from nowhere.
Hitori swore she'd never seen a haunted house this realistic in her life!
Her uncontrollable cursed energy writhed like black flames, gradually coalescing into a wobbly, slug-like cursed spirit.
"This is the friendliest cursed energy control training there is. You'll get used to it!"