Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

"Megumi, why are you running away?" Gojo Satoru brought his face close, and no matter how much the sea urchin head struggled, it was absolutely impossible for it to break through his Haya Gojo's big hand.

Yeah, that feels good.

Gojo Satoru leaned back in his chair, finally satisfied.

Upon receiving the message, Shoko walked over from the other end of the corridor carrying several plates of cut fruit, her white coat draped over her shoulders, the sleeves hanging loosely.

"Just eating desserts won't do, let's have some fruit."

She bent down and placed the plate at a height that the children could reach, then patted Zhenyi's head. "If you feel unwell, you can come to me, or to that older sister from earlier. We are both doctors."

Riko, hands on her hips, corrected her: "I'm not just a doctor! I'm a battlefield medic!"

Three grown men stood in a row, leaning against the railing at the edge of the training field, watching this scene.

Duanmu Yan crossed his arms, Xia Youjie leaned against a tree, and Wutiao Wu finally moved back from the bench.

After a while, Xia Youjie suddenly turned his head to look at Duanmu Yan and asked in a flat tone, "Duanmu, have you told Teacher Ye'e about this?"

Duanmu Yan froze, his arms crossed. He remained silent for a moment.

Xia Youjie rubbed his forehead: "I knew it."

……

Tokyo Jujutsu High School, Principal's Office.

Night Moth Masamichi held a teacup and leaned back in his chair.

The tea was neither too hot nor too cold, just right for drinking.

Haibara's shouts could be faintly heard from the playground outside the window. They were far away and not noisy, which made the office seem even quieter.

There are now eight students in the higher vocational college, and three of them are top-level students.

He finally survived the toughest days and raised those three little rascals to adulthood.

Thinking of this, he gazed at the tea leaves floating in his cup and couldn't help but shed tears of emotion.

Who knows? Those mischievous kids are now all top-tier sorcerers, able to help him mentor new students. He doesn't have to worry about everything now, which allows him to free up his energy to pursue his lifelong goal: developing a new type of cursed skeleton that can move freely.

However, his remark did not last long, because the door opened.

Duanmu Yan walked in with a smile on his face, holding a freshly printed document in his hand.

Night Moth Zhengdao stared at the smile on Duanmu Yan's face, his pupils shrinking slightly.

That smile must be from guilt, right? It must be from guilt!

He had seen that expression far too many times in the past year, and each time it meant trouble.

Duanmu Yan stopped and placed the document neatly in front of Ye'e Zhengdao. "Um... Ye'e-sensei, I'm here to apply for the right to use a space."

Masamichi Yagami lowered his head expressionlessly. The document's title was boldly displayed: "Regarding the Establishment of a Kindergarten at the Tokyo Jujutsu High School."

Signed by: Duanmu Yan, Wutiao Wu, and Xia Youjie (joint application).

His eyelids twitched.

Establish a kindergarten within the college.

It's still within the Spellcasting Specialization.

Kindergarten? A sorcery college?

These two words are perfectly normal on their own, but when combined, the words create a truly magical effect.

He looked up from the documents and stared at Duanmu Yan.

Duanmu Yan maintained that guilty smile.

"Duanmu... are you serious?"

Night Moth Masakado frowned and placed the teacup on the corner of the table.

Now is not the time for leisurely tea tasting.

Duanmu Yan stopped smiling, straightened up, and nodded seriously: "Yes, Teacher Ye'e, we are mature adults now, and I think we can make certain decisions."

"You guys are so mature, what the hell?!"

Chapter 145 Working Together

"You guys are so mature, what are you talking about?!"

Moth Lord slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "The three of you clearly still need to take care of yourselves, yet you want to learn how to take care of children? You have no idea how tiring it is to look after children! The hardships and suffering involved... are beyond what someone your age can bear!"

He didn't mention the sweetness in the details because Gojo Satoru had stolen and eaten it all.

Duanmu Yan did not refute, but simply stood there, waiting for Teacher Ye'e to finish venting her anger.

Seeing how straight he stood even while being scolded, Ye'e Zhengdao sighed heavily, leaned back in his chair, and raised his hand to his forehead.

“Even if I approve it, who will take care of those children? Jie should have brought back the two girls this time, right? I remember you and Wu adopted four or six children, which was twice as difficult as what I went through back then.”

The most agonizing days he spoke of were naturally the current cohort. Duanmu Yan, Wutiao Wu, and Xia Youjie—the strongest lineup in the history of the Spellcasting Academy, and also among the best at causing destruction.

Only Shoko was somewhat spared the trouble; he found it hard to believe that these three demon kings could take good care of several little ones.

If he can't handle it, will he have to go and comfort the child again?

Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

Duanmu Yan puffed out his chest and confidently gave the answer: "Teacher, you don't need to worry about that. Jie has already decided to be a full-time stay-at-home dad."

The moth's righteous way of thinking came to a halt.

"what?"

He hasn't retired yet, but Xia Youjie, a top-level sorcerer in his prime, has already retired?

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the large characters of the document titled "Regarding the Establishment of a Kindergarten at the Tokyo Jujutsu High School."

Words are truly amazing.

Nevertheless, he eventually signed it.

After all, they are my students, so I'll just spoil them.

…………

The summer of 2007 seemed exceptionally hot; cicadas chirped from morning till night in the treetops, and the grass beside the training field curled up from the sun.

But for Xia Youjie, this summer was exceptionally sweet.

"Wow, Master Natsuyu, help me comb my hair!" Nanako ran over with a small comb in hand, squatted down in front of him, looked up at him with expectant eyes.

Xia Youjie took the comb and gently gathered her hair in his hands.

He no longer wears his hair in a bun; his long hair is draped over his shoulders, complementing his plain-colored bathrobe, making him look much gentler than before.

"Of course. Is Mimiko coming too?"

"Yes! I want Master Natsume to help me comb my hair too!" Mimiko ran over with her Teru Teru Bozu in her arms, obediently sat down next to Nanako, and straightened her back.

While Xia Youjie was combing Cai Cai Zi's hair, he watched as Mei Mei Zi placed the Teru Teru Bozu on her lap, her little hands adjusting the string on it, and she was muttering something to herself.

The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the cicadas were chirping louder and louder, but the room was very quiet.

There was a knock on the door, and Maki and Mai ran in hand in hand, followed by Fushiguro Megumi, who was pushed in by her older sister. The children quickly started making a ruckus, while Fushiguro Megumi remained aloof, sitting in the corner and flipping through her homework.

After combing her hair, Nanako looked up and asked curiously, "Why didn't Lord Duanmu and Lord Gojo come today?"

Xia Youjie's gaze drifted to the window, and he smiled gently: "They're busy building a kindergarten for you."

Behind the college teaching building, everyone except Xia Youjie, who stayed behind to look after the child, was present.

A small house is supposed to be built on this vacant lot in the future. Right now, it's still full of weeds and pebbles, and no one is idle.

"Ten-Stroke Spell!"

Nanami brandished his magical implements, the blades slicing through the trees in front of him, splitting them in two. After chopping one tree, he moved on to the next.

Haibara slammed her fist into the ground, sending the flying wood into the air.

Gojo Satoru stood in the distance, poking at a blue ball with his fingertip.

The gravity of the sky pulled the scattered wood together and neatly stacked it at his feet.

He was carrying a plastic bag from a convenience store in his other hand, and after finishing a batch of timber, he would lower his head and pop a piece of candy into his mouth.

Duanmu Yan switched to Tuonaduo and conjured wind blades in his hands.

The logs were brought before him, and in a few quick movements, they were split into evenly sized planks with smooth cuts, requiring no second planing.

Ijichi squatted on a nearby rock, his pencil flying across his notebook as he counted: "This batch is 196 planks! We're still 1,804 planks short of our target!"

He pushed up his glasses, pointed to the checklist in his notebook, and after counting, looked up and shouted into the distance, "The timber team can speed things up a bit more! The splitting speed here is already catching up!"

Shoko and Riko sat in the shade of a tree, with a first-aid kit and two large jugs of ice water at their feet.

This is a rare scene of the entire college group working together as one. Normally, to get this group of people together to do the same thing, at least one of the top-level experts would have to be sealed away.

Who would have thought that this was all just to build a kindergarten?

An hour later, the last cart of timber was brought over and stacked. Iji shouted, "Seniors! We have enough timber!"

In an instant, everyone changed into construction site gear and put on safety helmets.

All of them were bright yellow, except for Duanmu Yan's, which was white.

He ordered Ichiji: "Go check the progress of the furniture procurement."

"Yes, Senior Duanmu!" Yi Dizhi took off running towards the main gate, dialing the furniture company's number as he ran.

Duanmu Yan turned around and looked at the group of guys behind him, covered in sawdust and sweat.

Nanami was inspecting the saw, Haibara jumped around a couple of times to loosen up, Gojo Satoru was trying to use Ao to suck a glass of ice water over, and Shoko moved the pot of ice water half an inch behind her.

He pushed up the brim of his hard hat and raised his voice: "Then let's have a proper, exciting construction project!"

"Oh—!" everyone shouted in unison.

Nanami didn't shout, but he was the first to carry a bundle of wood.

Soon after, the blueprints were laid out on a makeshift wooden table, and a group of people gathered around in a half-circle, staring at each other.