The airport.
After more than twenty hours of flying, we had finally arrived at our destination.
[Morocco — Mohammed V International Airport]
We were in Morocco now.
"This is my first time traveling abroad!!!"
"Well, we’re here on a mission, so try to restrain yourself, okay?"
"Yes, Daisuke!"
Just as I was stretching out my stiff body after the long flight, I heard familiar words in this unfamiliar foreign country.
A bald Black man with a powerfully built physique.
Could this be the guide who was supposed to meet us when we arrived...?
"Is Zenin Daisuke hereee~~?"
Miguel Odu.
A Black sorcerer who had taken part in the 2017 jujutsu terrorist attack, the Hyakki Yagyo, as a member of Geto’s faction, and was endlessly reassessed for having "tied down Gojo Satoru’s feet."
"Ooh! Found you!"
He started trudging over the moment our eyes met. What was he, a Pokémon?
Up close, his build was incredible. This body was fairly tall too, but Black people’s physicality really was—
"You’re not thinking something racist right now, are you? Like, ‘Of course he’s huge because he’s Black’?"
"Eek."
"Honestly, Gojo Satoru is the same. You Japanese sorcerers... There are scrawny Black people too. I built this body through my own effort, so I’d appreciate it if you refrained from making offensive remarks."
"Says the guy who speaks Japanese that well but looked for me using a ridiculous accent. We’re both guilty here!"
"Pfft, fair enough. My name is Miguel Odu. I was informed of your names beforehand, so there’s no need for introductions. You must be tired, so I’ll take you to your accommodations first."
Minami and I followed Miguel out of the airport and into a taxi headed for our lodging.
Minami must have been exhausted too, because she was out cold less than five minutes after getting into the taxi.
As I slumped in the taxi and watched the scenery outside gradually change, I could not help recalling how I had ended up all the way in Morocco.
The thing I had asked Gojo Satoru for after Itadori’s revival.
It was this: "I want to carry out my Grade 1 promotion mission with someone Gojo Satoru recommends."
The reason was to intervene in the incident involving Mahito, the special-grade cursed spirit whom Itadori would encounter alongside Grade 1 sorcerer Nanami.
Even in the original story, Mahito had nearly been exorcised by Itadori and Nanami working together. If I joined them, we should be able to exorcise him for certain.
I had also figured I could coast through the Grade 1 evaluation mission by lending a little assistance at the end.
But it would have looked strange if I had directly named Kento Nanami and Itadori and said I wanted to tag along on their secret assignment, so I phrased it indirectly like that.
Besides, I thought that, as far as Grade 1 sorcerers who could oversee my promotion mission went, there probably was no one more suitable than Kento Nanami.
Then, not long afterward, I received word that my promotion mission had been decided.
"Oh, Daisuke. Do you have a passport?"
"I do. Why are you asking?"
"Your Grade 1 evaluation mission has been decided. They need manpower over there, so we’ve decided to send you."
"Excuse me?"
A passport? Over there? They needed manpower?
No, no. A mission naturally came about because manpower was needed, but what did my passport have to do with—
"Your assignment is Morocco, Africa. Apparently, traces of a curse user who fled overseas have been found there♪"
"Urk."
"Yuta should be there already, so it won’t be too difficult~"
And that was how, before I knew it, I had been shipped here by plane.
"Mmm... mngh..."
"No, why are you drooling...?"
My shoulder had started to feel damp, and sure enough, Minami was asleep with drool running from her mouth. Seriously, someone could carry her off and she would never notice.
After taking out a handkerchief and wiping the corner of Minami’s mouth, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
"Hm. Isn’t she more like a daughter than a wife...?"
If Minami herself had heard that, she would have shot upright and cried, "But I’m your wife!?" Instead, I gave myself over to drowsiness as well.
-
[Mission Overview]
Curse user, Furutani Ryota.
Thirty-five years old. He had worked as a sorcerer in Tokyo for over ten years.
The technique recorded in Jujutsu High’s database is [Thirst Quenching by Thinking of Plums]. Its effect is to expend cursed energy to duplicate food. It was highly regarded because it increased the odds of survival on long-term missions where one was likely to become isolated.
Due to its nature, he worked in pairs with other sorcerers and focused on support rather than fighting himself. His inherent combat ability was not high, but his contributions in completing numerous Grade 1 missions alongside other sorcerers were recognized, earning him a promotion from Grade 3 to Semi-Grade 1.
Then, during a mission three years ago, his technique went out of control. He became delirious and fell into becoming a curse user. He has since fled overseas, and—
"What does it mean that his technique went out of control? Did some infinite food-duplication bug kick in?"
"Ah, that part? His technique uses cursed energy to duplicate food. But the food is ultimately made of curses, so if ordinary people consume it, they become poisoned by the curse. Sorcerers can withstand it with their own cursed energy and still take in calories from it as food.
"But that only applies when they do not consume too much. During a mission three years ago, he was isolated alone in a cursed spirit’s domain for three months. The only food he ate during that time was food duplicated by his own technique."
Okkotsu’s explanation gave me a rough understanding of the situation.
"Still, it was his own technique. Didn’t he know it was dangerous?"
"You don’t know until you experience it. Hunger, that is."
Miguel spoke with an oddly sympathetic look in his eyes.
Since Miguel was from Africa, it seemed he had memories of growing up without enough to eat.
"Anyway, I’ll continue the briefing."
"Yes, Okkotsu."
—His movements afterward could not be confirmed, but traces of him were found in southern Europe.
He had been feeding food duplicated with his own power to local non-sorcerers. Every victim who consumed his food suffered curse-induced corrosion and entered a delirious state.
One final notable detail—
—It has been confirmed that he calls himself ‘Nohara Hiroshi.’
?
What the hell is Crayon Shin-chan Drift supposed to be now?
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