"I'm so full~" Nobara Kugisaki rubbed her stomach and burped. When she noticed the others looking at her, she blushed a little—clearly, she had eaten too much.
Maki Zenin wasn't much better off. In fact, she had eaten even more than Nobara, as this was her first time trying Hayashi's cooking. It was so good that she had eaten too much without realizing it.
The others had also eaten plenty, but compared to these two, they had been a bit more restrained. Nevertheless, everyone was in a satisfied state.
Hayashi noticed that Fushiguro Megumi and Nobara seemed much stronger now compared to before he left. At least their mindset was completely adjusted—they were no longer depressed over Itadori Yuji's death, and instead, had become more driven.
"Hey, Hayashi, what have you been up to lately? You weren't doing anything shady, were you?" Nobara teased, now that she was full and content.
Hayashi chuckled, stood up, and replied, "Not much, just earning a bit of money to support myself. Oh, and I brought some snacks for everyone."
With that, Hayashi walked to the corner of the room, where a black cloth was covering something. He pulled it back to reveal a stack of gift boxes.
"What are these?" Panda-senpai curiously eyed the neatly wrapped boxes.
"These are gifts I bought for you all. They aren't expensive, but don't look down on them," Hayashi said as he handed a box to each person.
"Wow, the new guy really knows how to get on our good side," Maki smirked as she opened the box to find an assortment of snacks.
"Sushi, Kikufuku, Takoyaki, instant ramen!" Nobara called out, recognizing her favorite foods.
These were essentially snack gift boxes, but Hayashi had specifically gone to several places to collect all the items and package them together in a gift box. The concept of a "snack gift box" didn't exist here yet, so he had to assemble them himself.
It seemed the effort was well-received.
"Who are those other boxes for?" Nobara asked, noticing a few more boxes in the corner that hadn't been handed out.
"Oh, those are for Gojo-sensei and the principal," Hayashi replied. He had also prepared one for Itadori Yuji, but since the food needed to be eaten quickly, it would spoil if left too long.
"I'm full," Fushiguro said suddenly, standing up and leaving the kitchen.
"Fushiguro, you didn't take your snacks," Hayashi called after him, but Fushiguro didn't respond.
"Don't worry about it. I'll take it to him later," Nobara said, understanding what Fushiguro was going through. A little over a month ago, Itadori Yuji had been eating, chatting, and joking with them. Now, they would never see him again. Naturally, this brought back memories of Yuji for Fushiguro.
Hayashi hadn't expected Fushiguro to be so sentimental. Despite his cold exterior, he was actually someone with a warm heart—someone who was sharp with his words but soft on the inside.
Nobara was also like that. She never held back with her words, but deep down, she was very aware of the situation.
With the meal finished, the three second-year seniors were very pleased with Hayashi. Not only was he a great cook, but he also knew how to win people over with gifts. Well, it wasn't really bribery—it was more about building goodwill.
After the meal, Hayashi took a stroll around the school. One advantage of this place was how close it was to nature. The grounds were vast, making it a great place to take a walk, and the air was very fresh.
Fushiguro was sitting quietly by himself on a large stone. Hayashi happened to have something he wanted to ask, so he approached him.
Fushiguro noticed Hayashi coming over but kept his gaze on the moon. Tonight, the moon was full, and its light was soft.
"Fushiguro, I have a question I'd like to ask you," Hayashi said, standing below the stone and looking up at Fushiguro.
"If you have a question, just ask. I'll answer what I can."
"Alright, here it is." Hayashi's face was serious as he asked, "Does our Jujutsu High have a place specifically for learning jujutsu? Like, a room where there are many jujutsu techniques to study?"
"You want to learn jujutsu?" Fushiguro looked at Hayashi in surprise. "Based on your current strength, you shouldn't be asking something like this."
Hayashi was confused. "What do you mean? Is there something wrong with wanting to learn?"
Fushiguro gave Hayashi a serious look and realized he genuinely didn't know, so he explained, "Learning jujutsu depends on your innate talent and bloodline. There are many jujutsu techniques, but not everyone can learn them. For most people, their path is determined from birth, and it's almost impossible to learn new techniques later on."
"For example, I use the Ten Shadows Technique, one of the inherited techniques of the Zen'in family. Most of these techniques involve shikigami, so I have a natural talent in this area. Another factor is bloodline inheritance, which can't be imitated by others. Similarly, others have unique understandings of various jujutsu techniques. So while there are many jujutsu techniques, you can't just learn them as you wish. That's why the school doesn't encourage students to independently study jujutsu. Instead, they prefer students to gain experience through missions and develop their own jujutsu talents, advancing their existing techniques."
Hayashi knew that learning jujutsu required talent, but he didn't think it was completely impossible to learn. After all, wasn't the school a place to teach jujutsu?
"Jujutsu High does teach jujutsu, but it's up to your talent and ability to learn. Others can't interfere. Some people may never be able to learn certain techniques, while others can use their bloodline talents to build a successful jujutsu career."
"But I don't mean to discourage you. Jujutsu is mostly innate, and techniques are usually abilities you're born with. These are called 'innate techniques.' However, having an innate technique doesn't guarantee you'll be able to use it. Using a technique also requires the right brain structure for a sorcerer. And having the brain structure and sufficient cursed energy doesn't mean you'll definitely have an innate technique."
Fushiguro doubted Hayashi would fully understand the complexity of this, but he added, "The school's Jujutsu Library is open. If you want to go, just register, and you can study the techniques there."
"You could've just said that from the start! I thought I couldn't learn anything," Hayashi laughed. As long as he could access the jujutsu techniques, that was good enough. What he feared was being denied the opportunity to even look. Although Fushiguro had explained a lot, it still left Hayashi a bit confused—learning jujutsu seemed difficult. No wonder there were so few sorcerers in the world; it was all tied to bloodlines and talent.
Fushiguro didn't seem to mind what Hayashi had said. Most of the jujutsu in the Jujutsu Library were meant to be observed rather than learned. It was nearly impossible to actually master them unless one had exceptional talent and comprehension. Otherwise, they were just meant for broadening one's knowledge.
"By the way, Fushiguro, when does that exchange event start?" Hayashi was more concerned about the timing, though it seemed like the timeline of this world was longer than expected.
"There's still some time. We need to focus on training in the meantime if we want to win the competition," Fushiguro said with determination in his eyes. He wanted to grow stronger—only by becoming stronger could he protect the people he cared about.
"Well, in that case, I'll head to the Jujutsu Library to check out some techniques and then go out again." Hayashi grinned. Since there was time, he planned to make the most of it.
"You're going out again? Aren't you going to train with us?" Fushiguro looked at Hayashi in confusion. What was going on in this guy's head? Did he really think he could learn jujutsu just by visiting the library? And why was he planning to leave at a time like this? What was he thinking?