Chapter 16: The Long First Night (II) (Patreon)

Chapter 16: The Long First Night (2)

...

Satoru Anjouin had quite a few things he wanted to ask.

"There's a lot I want to ask. First — why was former Vice President Nagumo demoted to General Affairs Officer? Was it because he pushed too many students to withdraw?"

Manabu Horikita blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing his red eyes, then gave a small nod.

"Ngh..." Suzune Horikita, clutching her injured arm, pushed herself up.

Even though she could be a bit one-track-minded, she knew better than to interrupt her brother's conversation with someone else right now.

"So that means the number of students in a class comes with some kind of extra reward, doesn't it?"

Otherwise, simply expelling students from his own class shouldn't have been able to threaten the position of Nagumo Miyabi, who had awakened Blood Manipulation — even if it meant fewer jujutsu sorcerers among the second-years by graduation.

But according to the intel Class A had gathered so far, although the second- and third-years had awakened their cursed energy one or two weeks earlier, the number of those who had awakened actual techniques still wasn't large.

Under those circumstances, a dozen-odd jujutsu sorcerers still weren't worth as much as Nagumo Miyabi and his Blood Manipulation.

"That's right. Starting this year, for every graduating class, the 'School' grants the administration a certain number of slots based on each class's headcount, letting them place their own people into this school."

"..."

Hearing Manabu's answer, Anjouin finally understood the real reason Nagumo Miyabi had been knocked down.

He'd definitely made plenty of enemies this time — those slots were clearly something that could be traded away for benefits from various parties.

At the same time, Manabu's words confirmed something for him.

"So that means the current freshman roster is decided by the 'School' itself, and the administration can't meddle with it however it likes, right?"

"Correct." Manabu's eyes showed a flicker of appreciation.

Anjouin felt a bit exasperated — and the number of slots granted was definitely small.

"Calculated at four slots per class — if a class loses a member and drops to thirty-nine students, that becomes three slots," Manabu added the detail.

"If I remember right, in his first year, former Vice President Nagumo expelled something like eleven students from his own class just to secure his rule."

"..." Manabu's expression looked strained.

At first, he'd genuinely admired Nagumo Miyabi for figuring out the school's rules so soon after enrolling.

But he hadn't expected the guy to take an inch and run a mile — not only kicking out anyone who opposed him, but trying to control the entire grade so he could squeeze points directly out of the school.

Such an overly stable rule had also driven competition between second-year classes down to almost nothing.

That went against Advanced Nurturing High School's founding principle of 'strength above all.'

"...Sounds like the second-years are in for some excitement now."

The pressure Nagumo Miyabi had built up was probably about to backfire on him in the worst way. If he hadn't happened to awaken Blood Manipulation and gained the Kamo family's backing, he wouldn't just have been kicked out of the student council — the other classes might have banded together and forced him out on the spot.

Still, he'd probably manage to graduate smoothly now — though that was likely as far as it would go.

"So, next question — does Senior Horikita have any plans for his future?"

"Oh?"

Manabu seemed a little surprised that this question was actually about him.

"If you'd asked before, it would have been getting into a good national university."

Guessing roughly what Anjouin was getting at, Manabu answered plainly, without hedging.

"I don't intend to interfere with other students' choices. Even if the jujutsu world tries to court them, as long as the terms are right, I doubt they'd refuse."

"Surely Senior Horikita doesn't think the state can really afford to ignore Advanced Nurturing High School students who become jujutsu sorcerers. Just as the 'School' and the administration aren't on the same side, the student council and the administration aren't either."

Anjouin looked at Manabu and spoke earnestly.

"I think you'd be perfect stepping up as the representative of us sorcerers from Advanced Nurturing High School."

"So that's what you've been angling for," Manabu said, looking as though he'd seen through it all along.

In a way, every student who graduated from Advanced Nurturing High School was destined to carry the school's brand, and it was hard to avoid getting tangled up with the factions behind it.

"I think it suits you well. And I've heard from someone I know that the jujutsu world's 'Strongest' will soon become this school's principal."

"...That Satoru Gojo?"

Having awakened the Gojo family's Limitless, Manabu had taken a keen interest in Satoru Gojo ever since finishing the jujutsu world's orientation course.

"Compared to the Kijima Faction, being on Satoru Gojo's side isn't a bad thing."

Anjouin spread his hands and smiled.

Sure, Satoru Gojo's personality had plenty of issues — but stack him up against the rotten higher-ups running the jujutsu world, or the equally garbage higher-ups running the island nation, and you'd realize... you might as well make Chika Fujiwara a cabinet minister.

Manabu fell silent despite himself, and Anjouin went on.

"Senior Horikita, you've been protecting your sister this whole time, haven't you? So which would you rather follow — politicians who care more about their own interests, or Satoru Gojo, who actually wants to change the system?"

"Let's shelve this topic for now."

Manabu cut Anjouin off before he could continue.

"I know your jujutsu world took a heavy blow and now wants to win over Advanced Nurturing High School students, but don't bring that kind of scheming in here."

Seeing that Manabu had cut him off, Anjouin spread his hands again — his usual little-bear shrug.

Lies never hurt anyone. The truth does.

Cursed energy was a convenient kind of resource, and jujutsu sorcerers were a special kind of asset.

And the island nation's Cabinet Secretariat had never truly ruled this land — above them stood two bigger daddies.

One was the zaibatsu. The other was America.

Manabu didn't want to picture his sister being wheeled onto an operating table.

A curse slipped out of him under his breath.

"Fuck!"

The outburst startled Suzune Horikita, who had never once seen her brother lose his composure.

After all, once Anjouin had laid it all bare, Manabu had to admit he was staring down a plate of curry-flavored crap next to a plate of crap-flavored curry, and being made to choose between them —

At that, Anjouin flashed a mischievous grin.

Manabu had a good, responsible nature — he definitely didn't want to see his classmates, his juniors, or even his own sister end up in a miserable situation.

Especially since, next year, a certain 'Brainpan' character would go give a speech before the UN to top officials from multiple countries, prompting several nations to send in armies to hunt jujutsu sorcerers.

That would drag other nations' militaries into the already thrilling, high-stakes Culling Game.

As for other countries' incursions, the island nation's Cabinet Secretariat basically said, "Whatever makes you happy, Daddy."

Anjouin himself still had three more years to spend at Advanced Nurturing High School, but Manabu would graduate next year. If the strongest Student Council President the school had ever had went into ordinary politics, he wouldn't be able to save this island nation — let alone save the jujutsu sorcerers.

So, better to team up with Satoru Gojo instead.

When it came down to it, Satoru Gojo was still a bit indecisive. If he'd taken out the jujutsu world's higher-ups sooner, his companions wouldn't have been picked off one by one after he got schemed into sealing.

The reason Gojo hadn't acted was less about restraint and more that he knew he wasn't cut out to lead the jujutsu world.

He was the 'Strongest' — but being the 'Strongest' didn't mean he understood politics, or how to build a proper system. That was exactly why he wanted to be a teacher, why he wanted to raise the next generation.

And conveniently, here at Classroom of the Elite, there happened to be a cheat-tier student council president about to graduate.

"Your personality is even worse than I imagined."

"That's pretty normal. Jujutsu sorcerers are just a bunch of people good at lying, always wearing a different mask."

Anjouin kept a straight face and went on talking nonsense.

"Even in decline, you're still part of the jujutsu world, huh?"

"I hope that mindset of yours brings you the result you're hoping for."

Yes, yes — the Anjouin family had indeed fallen on hard times, but they'd once been part of the jujutsu world.

Anjouin kept smiling, still looking easygoing as ever.

Manabu glanced at his sister, who looked utterly lost, and shook his head helplessly. He didn't want to drag her into this dirty fight.

In a way, this school would be a safe place for the next three years.

The 'Strongest' was about to become Advanced Nurturing High School's principal.

And Advanced Nurturing High School was cut off from the outside world.

Even though the administration's staff were closely tied to the Cabinet Secretariat's factions, the power to manage students within this school rested in the student council's hands.

His own year, and Nagumo Miyabi's year, might be too late to benefit — but this year's freshmen could receive a full three years of training at Advanced Nurturing High School.

"That's all. I've got nothing more to say to you on this."

Anjouin's second question had clearly hit a nerve, and Manabu had no desire to keep talking about it.

"Sorry for the trouble, Senior Horikita. Actually, I've still got quite a few suggestions..."

But before he could finish, Manabu was suddenly right beside him.

In that instant, he'd crossed the five or six meters between them.

Every hair on Anjouin's body stood on end.

"In the end, jujutsu sorcerers speak with strength."

"Haah..." Anjouin decisively threw up both hands, grimacing as he surrendered. "I give up."

"I'm currently a Semi-Grade 1 sorcerer."

With that, Manabu paid no more attention to either him or his sister, and simply walked off.

That left Anjouin standing there open-mouthed, and Suzune Horikita startled by her brother's display.

"Damn, what a monster."

"The second- and third-years really are only one or two weeks ahead of us, huh."

Anjouin didn't think Manabu was lying — and that was exactly why he found the man's strength so absurd.

In the jujutsu world, sorcerers were ranked across seven grades. Starting from the lowest, Grade 4, they rose in order through Grade 3, Semi-Grade 2, Grade 2, Semi-Grade 1, Grade 1, and finally Special Grade.

In practice, Special Grade wasn't really a rank in the normal sense — it was a category reserved for sorcerers who couldn't be properly measured. Grade 1 was the true peak of the system.

"Your brother's basically a superhuman."

Anjouin said, needling the dazed little brat standing next to him.

"Huh?"

Suzune's brain had short-circuited, and only now did it finally reboot. She'd thought she was catching up to her brother, but now it was clear the gap between them had only grown wider.

Anjouin could read her state at a glance, and it left even him a little stunned.

"Wait, no way — don't tell me you don't even realize you're at Jujutsu High right now? Do you even know what a jujutsu sorcerer is?"

Seeing his shocked expression, Suzune seemed to snap into a stress response, shouting back, worked up.

"Of course I know!"

"It's basically a job like the fire department — pretty dangerous, fighting unknown creatures, saving ordinary citizens."

Suzune's description wasn't wrong — it was practically word-for-word what the interviewer had told the students back at that earlier interview — but as an explanation of what a jujutsu sorcerer actually was, it was still much too shallow.

Even though jujutsu sorcerers had gone by other names in ancient times — onmyoji, shrine priests, and the like — at their core, it was simply a profession built on wielding violence.

Those willing to follow the established order were called jujutsu sorcerers; those who wanted to do as they pleased were called curse users.

And fundamentally, there was no difference between the two.