In front of the main gate of Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, participants from both curse schools officially met, filling the air with tension between them.
The Zenin sisters, Zenin Maki and Zenin Mai, were the first to face off. Their gazes collided, with one expressionless, unreadable, while the other smirked with a hint of mockery in her eyes.
"A mechanical robot?" Panda noticed the figure across, wearing the curse school uniform, with a head and skin exposed that had a wooden mechanical appearance, and tilted his head, saying, "Is it a curse corpse like me?"
The mechanical robot across had a noticeable reaction to this statement.
"My name is Mechamaru," the other said coldly to Panda, "Donāt lump me together with you."
The entity known as Mechamaru, his voice sounded more like that of a curse corpse compared to Panda.
The voice, as if it came out of a radio, combined with a cold texture, didnāt sound at all like a living entity.
However, Mechamaru was filled with rejection towards Pandaās suggestion, showing his distaste for the term "curse corpse."
"Although Mechamaru is a curse corpse, heās not like you, Panda."
These words came from one of the two girls standing next to Mechamaru.
The girl was quite small, with blonde hair and blue eyes, sporting two broom-like braids shot upwards, holding a broom in her hand, looking like a witch from abroad.
"Eh?" Kugisaki Nobara exclaimed in wonder, "Does the Capital City School admit middle school students?"
"Who are you calling a middle school student?!" The blonde girl exploded suddenly, shouting angrily, "Iām Nishimiya Momo! A third-year student at Kyoto Prefectural Curse High School! Iām your senior! You rude person!"
Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College didnāt have any third-year students participating this year, and this was something the Kyoto Prefectural Curse High School couldnāt possibly not know.
Therefore, even though she didnāt know Kugisaki Nobara, Nishimiya Momo was certain the other was of a lower grade than her.
"No way, no way?"
Kugisaki Nobara was dumbfounded.
"Is she really our senior?"
Even Itadori Yuji couldnāt quite believe this fact.
"Itās true."
The other girl standing beside Mechamaru spoke up.
"Momo is a third-year student, one year ahead of me."
The girl who said this was much taller than Nishimiya Momo. Her curse school uniform had been altered to look like a professional suit, highly fitted, with a Japanese sword on her waist, giving the first impression of a highly competent female bodyguard. If it werenāt for her long blue hair and delicate appearance, she might have seemed quite heroic.
"By the way, my name is Miwa Kasumi, a second-year student at Kyoto Prefectural Curse High School."
In other words, she was in the same grade as Zenin Maki and others.
The Kyoto Prefectural Curse High School had sent traditional second and third-year students to participate in the exchange meeting, totaling six people, three from each grade.
The second-year students were Zenin Mai, Miwa Kasumi, and Mechamaru.
As for the third-year students, besides Nishimiya Momo, who was glaring furiously at Kugisaki Nobara, there were two others.
One of them was bare-chested, with defined muscles, resembling a martial artist. The other had transformed their curse school uniform into a shrine priest style, appearing like a priest.
Among these two, the latter spoke first.
"You did participate in this yearās exchange meeting, Fushiguro."
The other immediately looked at Fushiguro Megumi.
"...Kamo-senpai."
Fushiguro Megumi also looked at him, speaking in a deep voice.
Next to him, Reiger suddenly became intrigued.
"Kamo?"
This surname was not ordinary in the world of sorcery.
Because, this was the surname of the last of the great Three Sorcery Families.
Gojo, Zenin, Kamo... These three families are the elite three Great Sorcerer Families in the world of sorcery, known as the Three Elite Families.
So, this priest-like person is a descendant of the Kamo Family?
As Reiger pondered, perhaps noticing his thoughts, Fushiguro Megumi quietly introduced him in a low voice.
"He is Kamo Noritoshi-senpai, the next Family Head of the Kamo Family, one of the Three Elite Families in the world of sorcery. He has inherited the Kamo Familyās ancestral spellāthe Red Blood Manipulation, and is a quasi-First Grade Curse Mage like Inumaki-senpai."
Hearing this, Reiger nodded slightly, indicating his understanding.
And Kamo Noritoshi seemed to have also noticed Reiger, squinting his eyes at the plain white uniform he wore.
"You must be Reiger Brillhaut, the Special Grade Curse Involved, right?"
Kamo Noritoshiās words made everyone present turn their gaze towards Reiger.
In fact, they had already noticed Reiger.
It couldnāt be helped, Reigerās white uniform was too eye-catching amidst the black uniforms of the curse school, impossible not to notice.
The purpose of the white uniform was to remind others that this person was a problematic figure.
The Kyoto School didnāt focus on Reiger immediately only because each had their own figures they were interested in.
Zenin Mai, naturally, had some grudges with Zenin Maki.
Nishimiya Momo initially observed Reiger, but was quickly infuriated by Kugisaki Nobara.
Miwa Kasumi had been secretly watching Reiger, and after being noticed by Reiger, appeared embarrassed and at a loss.
Mechamaru wasnāt in a pleasant mood due to Pandaās presence and words.
Kamo Noritoshiās first approached Fushiguro Megumi likely because Fushiguro Megumi inherited Zenin Familyās Shadow Techniques.
Now, Kamo Noritoshi spoke first to Reiger, and naturally, everyone else shifted their attention away from whom they were originally focused on to Reiger.
"...Is it him?"
Mechamaru whispered.
"He looks pretty unremarkable. Is he really special-grade?"
There was a hint of sarcasm in Zenin Maiās words.
"First-year..."
Nishimiya Momo seemed a bit intimidated by Reiger.
"Just like the rumor about Okkotsu Yuta, evaluated as special-grade upon entry, wearing a white uniform, and... looking kind of handsome."
Miwa Kasumi stared at Reiger and suddenly felt a bit shy.
As for Kamo Noritoshi, he examined Reiger with scrutinizing eyes.
In such a situation, Reiger spoke very calmly under everyoneās gaze.
"Iām Reiger Brillhaut, pleased to meet you."
As soon as he finished speaking, none of the people from the Kyoto school responded.
They seemed to be contemplating the attitude they should take towards Reiger.
Only the last person, a burly man bare-chested and dressed like a martial artist, broke the silence.
Although this person hadnāt spoken yet, his presence was the strongest, even Kamo Noritoshi, an elite novice curse mage from a prestigious background, couldnāt outshine him.
He hadnāt spoken not because he was the silent type.
Unlike the others, he stared directly at Reiger from the start, as if trying to see through something, his gaze full of aggression.
At this moment, this person pushed aside his schoolmates and stepped forward.
"I originally thought you were like Okkotsu, strong but spineless. Now I see I was wrong."
The person grinned, his smile appearing quite fierce.
"Todo Aoi..."
All the people around Reiger were taken aback by his overwhelming presence, while Fushiguro Megumi spoke his name with a heavy expression.
Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara immediately reacted to this name.
"Heās Todo Aoi?"
Itadori Yuji couldnāt help but look towards him.
He and Kugisaki Nobara were familiar with the name.
Two months ago, when it was confirmed theyād participate in the Kyoto Sister Schools Exchange Event, Fushiguro Megumi had already mentioned this personās existence to them.
Todo Aoi, third-year student at the Kyoto Prefectural Curse High School, the ace of the Kyoto school, a bona fide first-grade curse mage.
He once exorcised a special-grade curse spirit and five first-grade curse spirits during a mission, incredibly powerful; even though he was still a student, he was stronger and more famous than over ninety percent of mages in the world of sorcery.
There are only five special-grade mages, and excluding them, the highest rank in the world of sorcery is first-grade.
Todo Aoi is one of the first-grade mages just below the five special-grade ones, even Gojo Satoru has praised him endlessly.
"I see, so youāre Todo?"
Reiger had, of course, heard of him as well.
Mainly because Gojo Satoru kept going on about how the Kyoto school also had a junior he thought highly of.
"Aoi is really strong, you know? If you donāt step in, even combining every first and second-year might not be able to beat him."
These were Gojo Satoruās own words.
According to him, without Okkotsu Yuta last year, the outcome of the exchange event might indeed have been uncertain for Tokyo High.
"It seems youāve heard of me, then we can talk easily."
Todo Aoi looked down at Reiger, his body slowly lowering.
"āāāā!"
Seeing Todo Aoi like this, not only did the people from Tokyo school, like Itadori Yuji, change their expressions, but even those from the Kyoto school, like Kamo Noritoshi, did as well.
Because this was clearly an aggressive posture.
"Are you going to make a move now?"
Reiger hadnāt expected him to be so eager, slightly raising an eyebrow.
To this, Todo Aoi said:
"Whether I make a move depends on how you answer my next question." Todo Aoi stared at Reiger, his demeanor like an imposing brown bear, and said aggressively, "I have a question for you."
For some reason, upon hearing this, Reiger felt a bit strange.
(Iām pretty sure something like this happened in the original story... and it was pretty funny.)
This was the thought that crossed Reigerās mind.
Then, Todo Aoiās words perfectly confirmed this thought.
"I ask you..."
Todo Aoi kept his eyes fixed on Reiger, loudly questioning him.
"What kind of women do you like?"