"Sōjun, what are you doing? No, don't—Sōjun..."
"..."
Sōjun Minamoto said nothing, silently stuffing the cotton back into Panda's body. He stitched the plush fabric shut, leaving behind a neat vertical seam. With a smooth swipe across the soft belly, he fluffed the fur back into place, and the seam vanished completely.
He looked at Panda, gave a satisfied nod, and patted the springy stomach.
"All done. You can get up now."
He hadn't done anything brutal—just opened Panda up for a bit of research.
As long as the three cores were intact, the outer plush was like clothing—easily replaceable. Nothing too difficult for Sōjun Minamoto.
Masamichi Yaga hadn't been lying.
Panda was unique—an unexpected creation. Right now, there wasn't a second fully autonomous Cursed Corpse. Even if there was, it wouldn't be comparable.
Just like there are differences in talent among sorcerers, Panda's Cursed Energy, intelligence, and ability to learn were all quite impressive.
"If you cut me open again, I'm telling Yaga," Panda grumbled, scooting his round body toward the table's edge. His feet dangled off, tapping the air below, unable to reach the floor.
His legs were just too short.
Sōjun Minamoto grabbed him by the scruff, lifted him, and gently set him on the ground.
"Thanks," Panda said politely, then bowed his head to examine his belly.
Well-mannered.
Sōjun Minamoto smiled, jotting down notes in his research log as he teased offhandedly,
"Pandas who tattle don't grow tall."
Panda froze, paw still on his stomach. He looked up at Sōjun Minamoto, studying him carefully, then asked suspiciously,
"Sōjun, are you lying to me again?"
"..."
Sōjun Minamoto put down his pen, brought Panda over to the wall, and had him stand up straight. He pressed a hand to the top of Panda's head, slid it over to the wall, and marked a horizontal line with his pen.
"See for yourself. Isn't it a bit taller than yesterday?"
Panda looked at the lines drawn on the wall. His was indeed the highest.
He nodded seriously.
"Sōjun, I misjudged you."
"It's fine. Just say sorry."
"Sorry."
Sōjun Minamoto nodded and sent him off to play.
This Panda... it was hard to say whether he was mature or just naïve.
He was clearly in a stage of exploring the world for the first time, and maybe because of whatever Yaga had taught him, he acted like a child in some ways and surprisingly mature in others.
There was something about Panda's thoughts that defied human logic.
Still, he was oddly obsessed with his height. Why, though?
Sōjun Minamoto watched Panda flipping through a picture book in the corner of the room. Aside from the appearance, he was no different from a child—actually, more well-behaved and thoughtful than most.
So... was Panda technically human?
Probably?
Sōjun Minamoto wasn't entirely sure.
At least, the soul was still human—for now—and it was in the middle of adapting to the body. From what he could observe, Panda's self-awareness was tilting toward the panda side.
He noted the details but didn't interfere.
A newly born soul should be allowed to grow naturally. There was no point in trying to mold it into something else.
That wasn't something Sōjun Minamoto would ever do.
Panda had been staying with him for several days. No tantrums, no complaints. He just read or played with toys quietly. No eating, drinking, or bathroom needs either. Incredibly low-maintenance.
At first, Sōjun had thought Yaga's request to watch over Panda would be a hassle, but it turned out all he needed was to provide a safe space—nothing more.
Yaga would be busy for a while, dealing with matters at Jujutsu High and the Jujutsu Headquarters.
Leaving Panda here—it meant something.
And Sōjun Minamoto was interested in Panda, too.
After a few days of study, he'd naturally come into contact with the other two souls within him.
One was an older brother—the Gorilla core. Focused on power and explosive speed. But the energy consumption was high, and at Panda's current stage, he couldn't maintain that form for long.
The other was an older sister—the Triceratops core. A shy soul who mostly watched Sōjun Minamoto quietly from within. He'd only spoken with her a few times and had never seen her true form.
That form also consumed too much Cursed Energy. The sister was the strongest of the three, surpassing even the brother in speed and strength, but Panda couldn't transform into her state yet.
The standard Panda form was the most balanced—low consumption, stable in strength, Cursed Energy, and soul. It was also the form most favored by his brother and sister.
The Cursed Corpse core was somewhat like a Cursed Energy source, but semi-physical.
Sōjun Minamoto, with his experience, had opened it up and taken a look.
The core was made from a Cursed Object—not surprising. But the material...
He studied the softly glowing core sphere. The curse traits were clear, but the material was barely mid-Grade 2, nowhere near Grade 1.
That would limit Panda's potential. He wouldn't reach beyond Grade 1.
Of course, Yaga hadn't intended for Panda to be a combat-type, so he didn't prioritize high-end materials. Grade 2 was already considered quite good.
But Sōjun Minamoto had decided—it was time for an upgrade.
Beyond the core, there were plenty of other things to change.
He looked at Panda.
Essentially, it was just a plush shell stuffed with cotton. Take away the three cores, and it was no different from any toy you'd find in a store. It didn't even count as a real Cursed Object.
Yaga treated Panda like his own child, so Sōjun didn't feel it was right to change the outward appearance on a whim. But the materials? That, he could work on.
It would take some careful design. He was starting to get excited—just how far could Panda go?
Knock knock knock.
The knocking echoed through the room, but Sōjun Minamoto didn't pause his sketching.
"Sōjun," Panda called out.
"Go get the door," Sōjun replied.
"Oh."
Pattering footsteps followed, then the sound of the door opening.
And then—silence.
Sōjun glanced toward the entrance and saw a woman standing at the doorway, quietly studying Panda.
Panda stood there letting her look, calmly sizing her up in return.
The woman offered a gentle smile and bent down, just about to speak—only for Panda to turn and patter right back into the living room.
She straightened up, still smiling, and followed. Upon seeing Sōjun Minamoto, she bowed politely.
"Minamoto-sama."
Sōjun gave a slight nod. She was a stranger—probably someone sent by the Jujutsu Headquarters.
He gestured for her to sit, then told Panda, "Make some tea."
Panda blinked in confusion. "Why me?"
"Because you're the youngest."
"Oh."
Panda obediently brought back a cup of tea and placed it next to Sōjun.
Sōjun pointed at the table. "There. Not here, dummy."
Panda carried it over and set it down.
The woman sat neatly at the tea table, gave the room a quick once-over, then focused back on Panda. Seeing his naive and unworldly demeanor, her eyes lit up for a second—then quickly returned to normal.
She pulled out a voice recorder and looked at Sōjun.
He understood immediately—this was about the old principal. He nodded.
She flipped the switch and placed the recorder on the table, sitting up straight.
"Minamoto-sama, I'm here to confirm some details regarding the late principal."
As expected, Sōjun gestured for her to continue.
"You were present at the scene. Did you not detect the Cursed Spirit beforehand?"
"It was pretty far off. I didn't expect a Cursed Spirit to actually cause trouble at Jujutsu High." Sōjun kept his pen moving, still working on design notes for Panda's upgrade.
"The Barrier only withstood three attacks—why was it so easy for you to repair afterward?"
"The daily defense level is only that strong. A Cursed Spirit could breach it quickly, and I could fix it just as easily. They just took advantage of our lowered guard."
The woman continued asking a few more standard, procedural questions. Sōjun answered each one with minimal fuss.
Then, just as she was about to leave, she seemed to remember something.
"Minamoto-sama, the order from above—there's a request to bring Panda back for observation for a few days?"
"No, that won't be happening."
Sōjun set his pen down, looked up, and gave her a faint smile.
"R-right... I'll report that honestly."
She murmured a few soft words to Panda, then finally left.
Sōjun watched her back as she departed, lost in thought.
"She wanted to kidnap me," Panda muttered.
"It's fine. If you're really that easy to kidnap, then maybe you should be."
A big question mark spread across Panda's face. He clearly didn't get the roundabout logic.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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