"I'm of one heart and mind with the Traveler. What I say is what the Traveler means. Right?"
The Traveler glanced at her without saying a word.
Maki Zen'in rubbed her forehead.
Alright, she'd just run into two weirdos.
She drew her wooden sword and said,
"Well then, let's begin."
Paimon looked at Maki with hesitation.
"Traveler, maybe… maybe don't use a weapon, okay? Otherwise, it's like… totally bullying her."
Hearing that, Limine nodded and put her weapon away.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! I heard that! Are you looking down on me!?"
Paimon quickly explained,
"Sorry, Paimon didn't mean to look down on you.
It's not like Paimon is targeting you specifically. What Paimon mean is—everyone here… is just a bunch of little ants."
"Little ants…? You little runt, you'll pay for what you said!"
"Ahh! It wasn't Paimon! The Traveler told Paimon to say it! Paimon is just the spokesperson!"
"…Paimon!"
Panda scratched his head and said,
"I'm an ant? Huh. But I actually kinda like eating ants sometimes."
"Ants on a tree," muttered Inumaki.
"No more talking—take this!"
Not knowing the full extent of Lumine's strength, Maki only used 70% of her power.
But even what she thought was a solid strike was effortlessly dodged by Lumine.
"She dodged? No… I definitely hit her body just now. What's going on!?"
Maki kept launching attacks, while Paimon just kicked back and watched the show.
"Nope, doesn't look good, little ant. Your attacks can't even touch the Traveler."
"So weak, just so weak. Is this all you've got?"
"Shut up already! You're driving me crazy!!"
Panda chimed in,
"Paimon, where'd you get that popcorn and soda? Can you share some with us?"
"Mmm… of course!"
"Paimon-senpai, we want some too!"
"We want some!"
Fushiguro Megumi fell silent.
…Was he seriously the only normal person in this entire school?
"How long are you planning to just keep dodging like that?"
Paimon said, "Haven't you figured it out yet? It's not that the Traveler wants to dodge—it's just that you're too weak. The Traveler's afraid of one-shotting you, so she's holding back."
"Oh? Then I really want to see that!"
As she spoke, Maki suddenly threw her sheath thirty centimeters to the side of Paimon.
The sheath stabbed deep—thirty centimeters—into the wall of a nearby building.
"Paimon is sorry! Paimon was wrong! Please forgive Paimon!!"
"Hmph, as long as you know your mistake."
Panda patted Paimon on the shoulder.
"Paimon, we cursed corpses can't be so spineless, you know. In times like this—even if you get beat up or even killed—you must never back down! In fact, in this situation, you should do what I would!"
He raised a middle finger.
"Paimon don't want to die!!"
Seeing all this unfold, Lumine finally raised her hand.
"Oh? So you've finally decided to make a move?"
"My smaller skills are a bit rigid. They're not great against nimble opponents like you. So next, I'll just go straight for my ultimate."
Itadori Yuji panicked.
"Big Sis, no way—you're gonna kill her!? She's our classmate!"
"It's fine. I'll purposely aim a little off."
"Oh, okay then. No problem."
Maki yelled in frustration, "You guys are seriously underestimating me!!"
"Watch out!" Lumine launched her ultimate.
Maki's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
"No way… A cursed technique this strong? And—it's so fast!"
She had no time to react. She could only watch as the storm hurtled toward… roughly three meters to her side.
"Eh?"
POOF!!
Suddenly, a figure hidden in the bushes was blasted out by the storm, sent flying through the air.
"Oww… that hurt…"
Everyone froze, dark lines forming on their faces.
"Gojo-sensei, what were you doing?"
Gojo Satoru looked totally drained, a smear of blood on the corner of his mouth.
"Ugh… that hurt… I'm dying… I won't get up unless someone pays me a thousand gold coins…"
Paimon deadpanned,
"Paimon knew you were shameless… but Paimon didn't think you could be this spectacularly shameless."
Even Lumine couldn't hold it in anymore. If she weren't sure she'd lose, she would've marched over and smacked the guy herself.
"Ahem, well, since you all noticed, I guess there's no point hiding it anymore. You guys keep chatting—I'm just here to grab something. I'm heading out now."
Gojo Satoru rushed back into the room, grabbed a hammer, and then—whoosh—flew off.
"Eh? He flew?? Gojo-sensei can fly?" Yuji asked in a daze.
"Standard operation. For Gojo-sensei, this kind of thing is just common sense."
"Okay then..."
Suddenly, Nobara Kugisaki said, "Wait a sec—that looked like my hammer! Who said you could take my stuff without permission, you bastard!!"
On the other side, Maki Zenin stood frozen for a second, then said boldly, "Alright, I admit defeat."
"Wow, that was a little too straightforward," someone muttered.
"No choice. That move just now was terrifying. I believe now—you really do have the power to take down a Special Grade Curse."
Panda blinked and muttered, "So basically, this blonde girl's junior is actually our senior, in terms of strength?"
"Gah..."
"Ugh..."
"Bonito flakes..."
"If only Yuta-senpai were here..."
Paimon flew up to sit on Panda's head and pointed smugly at Maki.
"Oho~ who was it that was acting all smug just now? Now that you've seen how strong we are, how about calling us senpai, hmm?"
A big cross mark popped up on Maki's forehead.
"You little shrimp, don't get so full of yourself! She's the one who beat me, not you!"
"We're one in body and spirit! If the Traveler beat you, that means Paimon beat you too!"
"You—arghhh! Too infuriating!"
Lumine muttered to herself, "Has Paimon been acting a bit… full of herself lately?"
Zephyr nodded. "Yeah, she's been getting a bit cocky ever since that time she helped defeat the Special Grade Curse."
"Just emergency food…" someone muttered.
Then Zephyr called out, "Paimon, come here."
Paimon instantly straightened up.
"Y-Yes! Lord Zephyr, what can I do for you, sir?"
Maki frowned.
"Zephyr? I thought her name was Lumine… Don't tell me that damn teacher gave us a fake name?"
Fushiguro Megumi explained, "Not exactly. You could say Lumine has two personalities. The one speaking now is her alternate persona."
"I see, a dual personality. Rare, but not unheard of."
He added, "Also… you all should probably get used to it. Sometimes Lumine will do things that are totally inexplicable…"
Everyone looked a bit confused but didn't question further.
Maki clapped her hands.
"Alright everyone, come here. I've got something important to tell you."
"What is it?"
"This is really important. In fact, you could say it's the whole reason we're here today."
Panda chimed in,
"We want you guys to participate in the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event."
//END
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