She thought of Inumaki. Even she knew that cursed speech was dangerous. If she had to defend herself against the one-two punch of Koizumi’s immense strength and Tsurube’s cursed speech, the situation was dire indeed.
“Yes.” Tsurube answered. “But my people ain’t like the vaunted Inumaki family. We ain’t as strong or versatile. Even with an amplifier, we barely compare, so don’t worry.”
“Amplifier?” Kugisaki asked.
“I gave you my card, right? It’s made from an ancient cursed tree called tsurube-oroshi. It’s connected to the cursed seal on my tongue. Likewise, the wallpaper covering every bit of this room consists of seals made from a single tree. It all functions as my tongue. I put a ton of effort into its construction. It’s a barrier almost exactly like a domain. As for my cursed speech …”
That was when Kugisaki, whose thoughts had been fuzzy, realized that the danger was mounting, because Tsurube was disclosing his cursed technique. Even worse, he was disclosing his cursed technique as a cursed speech user. Kugisaki’s warrior instincts were on high alert—she knew she shouldn’t listen, but she couldn’t move her hands to plug her ears.
As Kugisaki’s alarm increased, Tsurube uttered the key words: “My cursed speech is inconvenient but simple. You simply have to believe what I say.”
Now Kugisaki realized the situation was as bad as it could be. Tsurube’s cursed speech merely gave words credibility. However, combining that with the disclosure of his cursed technique had a synergistic effect. The Binding Vow required him to reveal his ability as interlocked with his cursed speech, thereby compelling belief, and that was powerful.
Kugisaki was compelled to believe even his explanation of her compulsion to believe; what’s more, the seals that covered the room amplified that effect. Layer upon layer put her at a disadvantage. How much had he made her believe before she woke up? What suggestions had he given her? She had no way of knowing.
“Don’t worry,” Tsurube said. “You just gotta listen like a good girl. You do that, and I won’t hurt ya.”
“And yet you’ve tied me up,” she said.
“Seriously, you gotta believe me,” Tsurube went on. “And you do, right? You already believe me.”
Tsurube’s cursed speech compelled her to believe him when he stated that she believed him. She felt like she was going crazy.
“Just chill,” he said. “I ain’t gonna take your life. But I want you to tell me something about Jujutsu High, where you go to school.”
“How do you know I’m a high school student?” she asked.
“Well, guys like me have a network,” he responded. “So I know that three new first-years just enrolled, and that there’s a loser grade 3 newb, and what they all look like. We know that much. I buy the info, then get more details about Jujutsu High from small-time rookie sorcerers. It’s my business.”
“Oh …”
Kugisaki wondered if Tsurube and his network had connections to curse users involved with special grade cursed spirits, but decided that was unlikely. A group like that would be able to infiltrate Jujutsu High, so there would be no need to resort to such circuitous ways of gathering information. Even so, she wanted to avoid telling them anything about school: its layout, the nature of the barrier that protected it, information about staff. Jujutsu High was the locus of the sorcerers’ activities, a place for developing combat strength. She didn’t want to reveal even the slightest piece of information to anyone who was so clearly opposed to Jujutsu High.
Before Tsurube’s cursed speech completely demolished her judgment and she told them whatever they asked, she needed to enact a countermeasure. At the very least, she needed to take action while she was still capable of formulating such thoughts. She considered that biting through her own tongue might eventually be necessary.
Or maybe I need to do that now, before I lose all sense of myself and forget who Nobara Kugisaki is, she thought.
Just as she was solidifying her resolve, a loud sound—wham!—came from outside the room.
“Hunh?” Tsurube grunted.
The sound distracted Kugisaki’s opponents, presenting her with a momentary opportunity. But she couldn’t even stand up; all she could do was grind her teeth.
Tsurube thought for a moment, then issued an order to Koizumi. “Was that a mouse? Go take a look,” he directed. “This girl won’t cause us any trouble for a while. You can handle bullets and stuff, though, so it’s safer for you.”
“S-sure,” Koizumi agreed, creeping toward the door. He was so big that he’d have to stoop to fit through it. He turned the doorknob, bent double, and stuck out his head.
“Sleep,” a voice said.
“What?”
It was the last thing Koizumi said before his massive form collapsed like a tranquilized bear or a marionette whose strings had been cut. He sprawled by the door, now looking like a giant doorstop.
Before Kugisaki could grasp what was happening, a figure jumped into the room and launched toward Tsurube. Tsurube blocked a hand chop that flew at his face but not the fist that jabbed his solar plexus an instant later. A dull sound rang out.
“Guh … Agh!” Tsurube cried out. His body folded and he collapsed.
Kugisaki couldn’t clearly see what was happening because of her position on the floor and the glare from the setting sun, but she realized right away who had forced his way in.
“Inumaki Senpai?” she asked.
“Salmon,” he replied. Then he closed his collar, hiding his mouth’s cursed seal, and turned to face her. “Kelp.”
“That’s not very reassuring,” she said.
“Salmon roe.”
“Just kidding. Thanks.”
“Salmon, salmon.”
Inumaki used the knife Tsurube had been using on his cigar to cut Kugisaki’s ropes. Her skin hurt where the rope had chafed, but she was able to struggle to her feet.
She considered asking Inumaki why he had come, but of course he wouldn’t be able to explain. She decided to use her own head. She figured the reason was pretty simple: Inumaki was a semi-grade 1 sorcerer on a solo mission. When he had encountered Kugisaki walking around alone in the city, he had tried to warn her about something. Shortly thereafter, she had fallen into the enemy’s hands. Inumaki had been targeting Tsurube the whole time.
Kugisaki couldn’t help but wish that she had simply listened to Inumaki’s warning. But how was she supposed to understand when the only words he said were rice-ball ingredients? Well, she could at least try to remember that fish flakes and mustard leaf didn’t have very bright connotations.
“We gotta escape,” she said. “But we should tie up those sham recruiters first.”
“Salmon,” Inumaki said.
“I guess ‘salmon’ sorta expresses agreement?” she guessed.
“Salmon,” he responded.
“That’s so simple … yet so hard to—Watch out!!”
“Salted fish roe?” he asked.
A large figure appeared behind him. Koizumi had woken from Inumaki’s cursed speech and risen from the floor. Inumaki immediately tried to free his mouth, but Koizumi’s fist was already coming down.
“Get out of the way,” Kugisaki shouted.
She shot forward like a bullet, thrusting her senpai aside and heading straight for Koizumi. The goliath was already on the move, but Kugisaki was faster. Without her hammer, she couldn’t use her Straw Doll technique, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight.
In fact, she was all too accustomed to fighting larger opponents. Silently thanking Panda, Kugisaki threw her full weight into an elbow jab to Koizumi’s solar plexus. It worked, maybe a little too well.
“Huh?” Kugisaki was surprised at how easily Koizumi went down. His stomach muscles hadn’t even tensed—he just fell as if he had had no intention of defending himself. Kugisaki’s puzzlement quickly turned into alarm. At the sound of violent coughing, Kugisaki turned to see Tsurube. He was on his feet and glaring at her as he stepped on Inumaki, who had fallen and was clutching his throat.
“Inumaki Senpai?!” Kugisaki exclaimed.
“Damn brats wanna go causin’ trouble, eh?!” Tsurube shouted.
His face no longer wore the smirk it had moments ago. His bulging eyes were full of malice. His tongue, forked like a snake’s, peeked from his mouth, which bore the patterns of a cursed seal.
“Koizumi is a decoy,” he explained. “I gave him a command so that even if he loses consciousness, he wakes up a given period of time later. That’s how I was able to take down this meddler. I always have a backup plan.”
“What did you do to Inumaki?!” Kugisaki demanded.
“The Inumaki family is well-known, and I was able to ascertain that one of their cursed speech users is at Jujutsu High,” Tsurube answered. “So of course I took precautions.”
Koizumi picked up a wet cloth that had fallen to the floor and flourished it.
Tsurube said, “It’s a kind of homemade tear gas, like mace. Cursed speech users have ways of defending against each other’s cursed speech. Especially a strong cursed speech user. Uttering just one word puts pressure on the throat. It’s instantaneous.”
“Huh?” Kugisaki said. “Inumaki wouldn’t fall for that so easily!”
“I owe it to you, Kugisaki,” Tsurube said. “He’s your senpai, so when he saw an unknown object flying at you, he didn’t hesitate to leap to your defense. He’s such a caring guy.”
Something inside Kugisaki snapped. Anger over her own carelessness made her blood boil, driving away all thought. She had just doubled the trouble she caused Inumaki.