That summer was a chaotic one. Maybe it was because of last year's frequent disasters, but cursed spirits swarmed like maggots, appearing one after another.
Consciousness slowly sank into the ocean. Sunlight filtered through the water, and from beneath the surface, the waves shimmered beautifully.
Exorcise, absorb, repeat.
Exorcise.
Absorb.
Repeat.
No one else knew the taste of cursed spirits. It was like swallowing a rag soaked in vomit.
Exorcise, absorb.
What I saw wasn't rare—it was the ugly reality that everyone knew. I was aware of this, yet I still chose to be a jujutsu sorcerer and help others.
From that day on, I kept telling myself this.
"Geto..."
Consciousness sank deeper, past where the sunlight could reach. Darkness stretched endlessly around me, and the crushing pressure of the deep sea closed in from all sides. A suffocating feeling, like an unseen undercurrent, spread through my entire body.
"Geto!"
"—!?"
Suguru Geto jolted awake, sitting up in bed with a startled expression.
His eyes took in the familiar wooden floor of the Jujutsu High dormitory. The air was filled with the faint scent of air freshener—most likely because Gojo and Shoko had been drinking in his room last night. That idiot Gojo had thrown up all over the place, and they had sprayed the room to cover the sour stench.
The air conditioner hummed as it cooled the room, while warm sunlight streamed through the window. Tiny dust particles drifted lazily in the light.
"Geto!!!"
An impatient shout rang from outside the window. Geto turned his head, still dazed, only to be greeted by the sight of a tuft of white hair.
Gojo Satoru was upside down, his head facing downward and feet pointing up, with his arms spread out. He was pressed against the window of the room, his handsome face full of grievance.
"Satoru?" Geto Suguru rubbed his temples, got out of bed, and walked over to open the window. A wave of hot summer air rushed in.
"What's going on? Did you sleep too much? I've been calling you for ages, and you didn't respond." Gojo Satoru flipped over and landed on the floor, leaning against the window frame. "Or are you hungover? By the way, your face doesn't look too good."
The black-haired boy, his hair loose, had slight bags under his eyes and dark circles on his face.
"Nothing much… just having a hard time dealing with the summer heat." Geto Suguru shook his head and was about to close the window.
Gojo Satoru stopped him from shutting it, flipped himself inside, and landed in the room.
With the window closed, the room became cool again.
"So, what is it? If it's a mission, you can handle it alone, right?" Geto Suguru started freshening up.
"You really are half-asleep." Gojo Satoru sounded certain. "Weren't you the one who said we should go and properly thank that Hayashizaki guy?"
At the mention of this, the white-haired boy's expression became reluctant.
Even though he had made up his mind while still tipsy last night, thinking about it now still annoyed him.
"Oh, right, that did happen." Geto Suguru paused slightly while washing his face, suddenly remembering.
Once he was done, instead of wearing his Jujutsu High uniform, he changed into light summer clothes. The two of them left the school, headed to the nearest station, and boarded a train to Chiba.
On the way, they bought some gifts as a token of appreciation. Soon, they arrived near the Yukinoshita residence.
"Speaking of which, the Yukinoshita family name seems pretty important in Chiba," Gojo Satoru said as he examined the walls surrounding the estate.
Hmm… Not as grand as my own family's, but close.
"The Yukinoshita family runs a well-known real estate company here. Mr. Yukinoshita is also a current member of the prefectural assembly," Geto Suguru explained. "But they're nothing compared to the Gojo clan, one of the Three Great Families."
"That's true."
Aside from Yukinoshita Haruno being a sorcerer, the Yukinoshita family was just a wealthy local household, nothing significant in the Jujutsu world. This kind of information was easy to find.
Well, except for Yukinoshita Haruno… and Hayashizaki inside her.
"So basically, we just need to say thank you, right?" Gojo Satoru said casually.
"You need to be sincere. At least make sure they feel properly appreciated," Geto Suguru reminded him. "Don't get all grumpy when we're there."
"I know, I know. As long as Yukinoshita Haruno is happy, that's all that matters. That guy is stuck inside someone else's body anyway, so thanking Yukinoshita is basically the same as thanking him." Gojo Satoru waved it off.
That was how he convinced himself last night.
"Well, as long as you understand." Geto Suguru sighed. He knew his best friend well—he might say things like that, but deep down, he did feel grateful… even if only a little.
But sometimes, he could be unbelievably stubborn—what people call being a tsundere.
Shoko once commented on this before: "When a guy acts tsundere, it's just plain annoying."
"Didn't ask for your opinion."
The white-haired boy muttered as he grabbed onto the wall of the Yukinoshita estate, getting ready to climb over.
But just as he was about to jump down on the other side, someone yanked him back by his belt.
"Use the front gate properly," Geto Suguru said with a blank expression.
A moment later, the doorbell at the main entrance of the Yukinoshita residence rang.
After waiting for a while, they saw an elegant woman approach. She wore a deep purple kimono embroidered with irises, paired with white tabi socks and wooden sandals.
"May I ask who you are?" Yukinoshita's mother asked with a puzzled look.
"Good day, ma'am. I'm Geto Suguru, and this is Gojo Satoru. We're friends of Yukinoshita Haruno, and we came to visit her." Before his friend could say anything inappropriate, Geto Suguru stepped forward politely, bowed slightly, and handed over the gift bag. "This is a small token of appreciation."
Actually, Suguru Geto was overthinking it.
No matter what, Gojo Satoru was still the young master of the Gojo family. In formal settings where etiquette mattered, he would still act with the grace and manners expected of a noble.
But since he was always running his mouth and acting carefree, that image had already stuck in everyone's minds. Suguru Geto couldn't help but stay on guard.
"Oh my, that's very polite of you… Please, both of you, come in."
Although she was a bit puzzled as to why her eldest daughter was acquainted with these two boys, who were clearly not her peers, their proper manners left a good first impression on Yukinoshita's mother, who had the grace of a traditional Japanese lady.
After inviting them inside, Yukinoshita's mother led Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto to the guest tea room.
"Please wait here for a moment. I'll go call Haruno."
She poured them some hot tea and set down a plate of snacks for them before getting up to fetch Yukinoshita Haruno.
Not long after, Haruno appeared, dressed in casual home clothes. She walked in barefoot, wearing pink slippers, her steps light and quick.
Seeing Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto, the short-haired girl suddenly understood. "Ah, I was wondering why I had visitors today. So it's you two—that makes sense."
She casually walked over to them, kicked off her slippers, and sat down cross-legged. After grabbing a cookie from behind her and popping it into her mouth, she finally asked, "So, what's up this time?"
"Oh, you're here for 'Demon-kun' again, aren't you?"
"Demon-kun? Ah, you mean Mr. Hayashizaki." Suguru Geto chuckled. "Yes, but not exactly."
"We came to say thank you."
"Thank you?" Yukinoshita Haruno tilted her head and thought for a moment before realizing what he meant. "Oh, you mean for that time when you came to ask Demon-kun for advice?"
The moment she recalled the gruesome scene of Gojo Satoru getting his chest torn open, she shuddered. She still had nightmares about it from time to time. And now, they actually came all this way just to say thank you?
Could it be that these two had some… peculiar tastes?
While secretly judging them in her mind, the short-haired girl said, "Well, if you're here to thank someone, shouldn't you be thanking Demon-kun? Though, I haven't seen him around much lately. Maybe he's sleeping because summer makes people lazy."
"No, no, no, that won't be necessary." Seeing that she was about to call Hayashizaki, Gojo Satoru, who had been munching on cookies, quickly stopped her. "Since you and that guy are basically… in the same situation, thanking you is the same as thanking him, right?"
Gojo Satoru tried to convince her to accept this logic.
After thinking for a moment, Yukinoshita Haruno figured what he said wasn't entirely wrong. So, she nodded without hesitation. "You've got a point! So, how do you plan to thank me?"
"We brought a gift. But if you have something you want to do or something you want, we can make that happen too."
"Something I want to do, huh…"
The short-haired girl fell into thought.
To be honest, there wasn't really anything specific she wanted to do. The freedom she had longed for seemed to have already been casually granted by Demon-kun. She had even found a temporary interest in music.
Right now, Yukinoshita Haruno was in a sort of peaceful state of mind.
She hadn't even left the house much during the past two weeks of summer vacation. Aside from sending a clone to attend the lessons her mother arranged for her, she spent her days playing the guitar and reading at home—completely carefree.
"…Ah, maybe going out for a bit wouldn't be a bad idea."
Muttering to herself, Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly remembered the time she was forced to camp at the base of the High School of Sorcery.
"Let's go to the beach." She made up her mind and said it aloud.
"Eh?" x2
Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto both froze in surprise.
…
An hour and a half later, the Yukinoshita household had two more familiar guests.
Amanai Riko and Kuroi Misato sat properly on the futon. Riko seemed a little nervous, probably because it was her first time visiting a friend's house, while Kuroi, as a maid, maintained a professional demeanor.
Luckily, with a certain white-haired boy around, Gojo Satoru eased Riko's nerves with just one sentence.
"Why did you call this little brat over?"
"Huh!?"
The middle school girl, as always, wearing her white headband, instantly flared up like an angry little beast, glaring fiercely at Gojo Satoru.
"Why shouldn't I be here? My relationship with Haruno is obviously better than yours! You're the one who shouldn't be here!" Amanai Riko pointed at the white-haired boy in frustration.
She had a point, and Gojo Satoru couldn't argue back. He could only stick out his tongue playfully.
Feeling victorious, Riko grinned proudly and scooted a little closer to Yukinoshita Haruno, showing off their close bond.
But when Haruno suddenly reached out and pulled her into a hug, Riko's cute little face turned bright red in seconds, as if a kettle had started boiling.
"Riko-chan, did you guys go to Okinawa last time?" Yukinoshita Haruno asked with a warm smile.
"Yeah! It was so much fun!"
The moment the topic of their trip came up, Riko completely forgot her embarrassment and started counting on her fingers.
"We swam at the beach, had a barbecue, went rafting, and visited the aquarium..."
"And I ended up camping on those stone steps for two days, just waiting for you guys to finish having fun and come back."
Just as she was excitedly sharing her memories, a slightly chilly voice interrupted.
Riko froze on the spot. She slowly turned her head and saw her kind and gentle Haruno. Though her eyes still curved into a smile, there was no warmth on her face.
"Uh..."
"Just kidding~"
Seeing Riko's stiff expression, Haruno finally broke into a bright smile and playfully pinched her cheek.
"Since we had such a rough time camping in front of Jujutsu High last time, we need to make up for it this time," Haruno said, turning to the two boys sitting across from her. "You guys are paying for everything, right?"
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Gojo Satoru patted his chest confidently.
...
Since Riko and Gojo's last trip was to Okinawa, they decided to go somewhere different this time.
After some discussion, they chose Hokkaido for a two-day beach getaway.
Without any delay, they set a time, booked their flight for tonight, and went home to pack.
Of course, Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru didn't bother packing. They were traveling light—if they needed anything, they'd just buy it when they got there.
Yukinoshita Haruno was already at home, so the only ones who actually needed to pack were Amanai Riko and her personal maid, Kuroi Misato.
They arranged for a driver to take the two of them back and forth, and dinner was set to be a gathering at Haruno's house.
When Yukinoshita's father returned home after a long day of work, expecting a quiet family dinner, he was caught off guard by the lively scene in his house.
After understanding the situation, he simply smiled and joined in the conversation.
For some reason, Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru could sense a faint hostility coming from Yukinoshita Haruno's father.
After dinner, the group headed to Chiba Airport together and boarded a flight to Hokkaido.
With a slight shake and the roar of the engines, the plane slowly lifted into the sky.
Geto Suguru gazed out at the flickering city lights outside the window, his mind wandering. Sleepiness crept over him, and before long, he closed his eyes.
…
Title: The Witch's Speedrun Guide
Synopsis:
In her third year in this steam-powered world, Sharl gained the ability to simulate the past and future.
The lives she simulated became a game where she could do anything, good or bad. After countless simulations, reality itself became a speedrun challenge.
Churches, potions, mutations, old gods, witches, and sealed artifacts—none of these had anything to do with her. Sharl was just an ordinary girl who wanted a peaceful life.
She was simply good at eliminating threats before they even had a chance to grow.
---
You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu