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[Cheat] Chapter 64: The Unfair World and Growing Stronger
🕑 Added 2025-04-14 16:15:06 +0000 UTC"How about this—you come with us. Go see it for yourself. See what the curses have done, and what Mahito has done. Then, tell me your answer, okay?"
Junpei was silent for a long time before he said, "Alright."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Why are you so nice to me?"
"Huh???" Zephyr’s head was filled with question marks.
"I mean, well, look—you guys are jujutsu sorcerers, and I’m on Mahito’s side. But you haven’t tried to arrest me or hurt me, and you haven’t badmouthed me either.
Earlier, in the supermarket, when you saw me spying on you, you didn’t do anything to me. Why are you treating me so well?"
Zephyr rubbed his forehead. This counts as being good to someone? Has the word 'good' become so cheap nowadays?
"Junpei, your school life must’ve been rough, huh?"
"Eh? How do you know that?!" Junpei was stunned.
"I just know. Anyway, it’s getting late. Mind if we crash at your place for dinner?"
"Eh, at my house?"
"You don't want to?"
"No, it’s not that I don’t want to... It’s just a little sudden."
"It’s fine. You’ll get used to this kind of sudden stuff. There’ll be a lot more from now on."
The group walked slowly. Along the way, Junpei learned a lot about jujutsu sorcerers and curses from Zephyr, and deep down, he began to realize that Mahito might not be in the right.
Still, he’d learned everything from Mahito, and part of him still hoped that maybe Mahito wasn’t that bad after all.
Just like that, they returned to Junpei’s home, still a bit dazed. Suddenly, they saw someone sitting outside the door.
"Yoshino, where have you been?"
"This won’t do—you’re skipping school like this."
"Who’s that?"
"My teacher from outside school…"
The chubby man said, "Did you hear? Sayama, Nishimura, and Honda passed away. You were close with them, right?
You didn’t have any other friends, and they used to hang out with you all the time, didn’t they? Yet you didn’t even attend their funerals. What’s wrong with you, kid…"
Junpei’s expression instantly shifted from calm to twisted and angry. Close with them? Me and them? That’s insane, totally insane.
In his mind, Mahito’s face flashedMaybe… I should just kill him…
Zephyr kicked him.
"Oww—ouch, Miss Lumine, what was that for?!"
Zephyr said flatly, "Don’t let anger and hatred cloud your mind. People should control their emotions, not be controlled by them."
Junpei took a deep breath. "...You're right. You’re absolutely right."
But the chubby teacher kept chattering away: "Yoshino, is this your friend? Or maybe your sister? That won’t do. You have to handle sibling relationships properly."
"Wha!?"
Zephyr snapped, "You blind or what, you fat idiot? Wanna see if I beat your face in?"
"So scary, so scary... Yoshino, is your sister a delinquent…?"
"Ugh…"
Zephyr took a deep breath. "Forget it. Let’s not bother with him. Junpei, let’s go eat out."
"Eh… okay."
"Oi—hey, are you even listening to me…?"
…
On the way, Zephyr was visibly annoyed.
Junpei walked with his head down, silent.
"What are you thinking about? Why aren’t you saying anything?"
"Mr. Zephyr, can I ask you something? Do you think that when people commit crimes, the law will punish them?"
"Of course."
"Really? Then does that mean every bad person who does something wrong will always be punished by the law?"
If Gojo Satoru were here, he’d probably launch into a long speech full of life philosophy.
Zephyr paused for a moment, then chose honesty.
"No... not always."
"Why? Why do some people get punished for their crimes, while others can just walk away? Why is that? Isn’t the law supposed to be fair and just, punishing all criminals equally?"
Zephyr let out a sigh and said, "The essence of the law is good. But laws are made and enforced by people. And as long as people are involved, there will always be injustice."
"Why? Why? That means bad people get to live freely out there, while the ones who are bullied just have to accept it and suffer?
And if the bullied fight back, they might even get punished by the law if they’re unlucky. Mr. Zephyr, don’t you think... isn’t that just ridiculous?"
"Yeah. It is ridiculous. But that’s the kind of world we live in."
He didn’t sugarcoat it—he told Junpei the raw truth about how the world works.
"……"
Junpei was silent for a long while before he finally said,
"Mr. Zephyr, I’ll tell you the truth. Those people—my classmates—they were killed by Mahito.
I didn’t kill them, but I’ve had thoughts... I wanted to kill them. With all my heart.
Does that make me... wrong?"
Junpei, normally a quiet and well-behaved student, was the kind of kid teachers loved. But at school, he was often bullied—beaten up frequently, and even had cigarette burns scarred into his forehead.
He asked with a heart full of despair. If Zephyr were to say "yes, it’s wrong," that answer might drive them apart, maybe even push Junpei further down the wrong path.
“What’s wrong about it?”
“Huh?”
“An eye for an eye—how else do you repay kindness?”
“Eh?”
"If just thinking about it makes you guilty... then honestly, there wouldn’t be a single good person left in this world."
Zephyr said, “Humans are emotional creatures. We feel happiness, sadness, anger, hatred—that’s all perfectly normal.”
“But just because you think it, doesn’t mean you should act on it.”
“If you kill someone, the police will come for you. If you hurt others through curses, people who stand for justice will come for you too.”
“Ending up in prison for life—or even dying—just because of someone else’s wrongdoing... don’t you think that’s a huge loss for you?”
“I…”
For the first time, Junpei felt truly seen—recognized by someone who didn’t tell him he was wrong.
“I… I want to change. What should I do?”
“It’s simple. Get stronger. Strengthen your fists—or your status.”
“Huh? Get stronger… What do you mean?”
He could understand strengthening his fists, but what did it mean to strengthen his status?
“First, physical strength is easy to grasp, right? They bullied you because you were weaker than them.
But if someone like Mike Tyson were in your shoes, do you think they’d dare bully him? No way. They’d be too scared.
“And status? That’s even simpler. If you were the chief of police, or the mayor, or a high-ranking official in the jujutsu world—would you fear those few ordinary people? Of course not.
Would they dare to bully you? Definitely not.
“See? It’s simple. And a lot better than killing someone.
If you kill someone, you have to run, hide, and live with the weight on your conscience.
But if you gain either of the two things I just mentioned, you could solve your problems easily—without losing yourself.”
Paimon chimed in, “Aren’t you supposed to be guiding him back to the right path? Why are your suggestions so shady? Especially that last one.”
“Shady? Just imagine—what if you were the president of the country?”
“The president of the country…” Paimon drifted into fantasy.
She imagined endless feasts every day, gaming after dinner, no more running around on dangerous adventures with the Traveler. A nice soak in the hot spring every night before bed. She could even order the Traveler to massage her legs.
And if the Traveler refused? Heh—“Your sister’s in my hands. Who knows what might happen to her if you don’t obey?”
Looking at the Traveler kneeling and worshipping her, Paimon couldn’t help but get excited.
“I wanna be president!!”
“You’re dreaming.”
“What I meant by gaining power,” Zephyr said, “is being able to protect yourself better—not to abuse that power.”
He turned to Junpei.
At that moment, it was as if Junpei had suddenly seen everything clearly. A spark of understanding lit up in his eyes—he looked like a completely different person.
“I know what I need to do now. Thank you, Mr. Zephyr.”
“You’re welcome.”
//END
