The walk home from the department store wasn't all that bad.

There weren't a lot of people walking around, so just avoiding the occasional police patrol by ducking into the alley had me going into uptown without much of a fuss.

The moment I came back, I was greeted by the sight of an empty penthouse suite. All two floors of fine wood and steel, coming together to make a statement of luxury and refinement with its collection of antique paintings, shelves filled to the brim with old books, religious mementos, and even the occasional weapon or two displayed on the walls of the place.

Normally, even at this time of the day, I'd see Azazel sitting on that ratty old recliner of his, Pinot Noir in hand as he peruses some old tome from his collection.

But, he wasn't here.

He left four days ago to go on a business trip. Grigori business, he told me. The man just handed me his black card, told me to have fun, and left.

Fair enough, I guess. I had to leave for work quite a lot back in the day, so whatever gets food on the table's fine by me.

Taking off my bloodied shirt, I headed straight for the shower. I didn't take that long, I just needed to get the grime off before I head to bed and sleep. So, I quickly threw on one of the shirts in my dresser and a pair of boxers before I crashed into the bed, opening my stats to see the fruit of my labor before I slept.

Loading system_version 1.0…

Finn Tsukigawa

General Information

Challenge Rating: C-

Race: Human

Titles: N/A

Age: 16

Statistics

Remaining SP: 1

STR: D (0)

AGI: D (0)

CON: C (0)

LUK: D (—)

MANA: E (0)

CE: A (—)

Active Effects

•N/A.

Skills

•Language: Italian A

•Cooking Proficiency C

•Cold Resistance E

•Language: Japanese C

Abilities

Deus Ex Machina (2/5 pulls left)

- The night is dark and full of terrors. And as a user of the system, you know this far better than most. To help you survive, the system has granted you access to Deus Ex Machina, allowing you to obtain one (1) randomized object, ability, skill, or entity that may help you with your current predicament, with the results being affected by your LUK stat. Deus Ex Machina is non-renewable, but more uses can be obtained by doing missions.

Inventory

Max Weight: 200kg.

•Kukri (0.5kg.)

There were a lot of changes to my status. My Challenge Rating changed, for one. I didn't know what that did, but judging from the context, it was probably some weird placeholder for levels or some shit. But without some form of appraisal, I wouldn't be able to make much use of it without a baseline to base my shit off of.

But the free SP and the fresh charge of Deus Ex Machina? The stat point, I invested into strength almost immediately. I was on the level of an athlete already when it came to endurance, so anything that would get me to that level when it comes to my ability to punch and lift things was something I'd go for immediately.

But the gacha was something I was a bit hesitant about. I kinda lucked out when I got Cursed Energy, and at a surprisingly high amount too if I interpreted my CE stat correctly, but most of the time, Deus Ex Machina was more trouble than what it was worth. Hell, I couldn't even use Cursed Energy yet.

It was just too random. There weren't even any actual banners for this shit, so I was gonna be rolling blind even if I did use it. Shit's more exploitative than even the rings I used to fight in.

Still, while the rewards for the quest may be quite shitty if you think about it, rolling the wheel of fortune provided by Deus Ex Machina wasn't all that bad. There weren't any actual penalties when it came to using it, it just used up a charge from my admittedly-small tank.

At least, that was what I thought, hoping to at least find some use out of the gacha before I went to sleep.

I once pulled Summer Suzuka in FGO by pulling a fucking Hail Mary at twelve in the morning, so don't judge me.

Anyway, I mumbled 'Deus Ex Machina' then closed my eyes; ignoring the system alert that flashed as soon as I did so.

Whatever I got, I could deal with in the morning.

System Alert!

Activating Deus Ex Machina…

You've gained a Follower Contract. Please standby…

I tried to go to sleep almost immediately, hoping to get some rest after my eventful night in that department store before I eventually had to go right back the next day.

System Alert!

Familiar Contract, established! Mai Zenin has joined you.

I definitely didn't expect to wake up with a gun pressed right into my temple the morning after.

"Rise and shine. Before I blow your head off."

The cold and slightly husky voice of an irate Mai Zenin, dressed in the all-black uniform of Jujutsu High, shook me out of my slumber far more efficiently than any other alarm clock on the planet.

"Climb onboard and you can blow me as much as you want." I mumbled.

There were plenty of allusions towards her looks in the series that hinted at how beautiful she was, but goddamn was I not expecting this. She was gorgeous, like a top runway model or some shit, with killer curves locked behind that tightly-fitting all-black ensemble she chose to wear as part of Kyoto Jujutsu High. Her short hair combined with her narrowed eyes made her seem like a Japanese sword; a work of art yet still razor-sharp and ready to cut whoever approached.

Mai was definitely ready to do just that. She thumbed the hammer of her revolver down, remaining impassive as she did so.

I wasn't really afraid though.

The mere fact she was threatening me for information told me she wouldn't pull that trigger until I gave her what she needed.

While she held a pretty good set of cards in her hands, it wasn't perfect. All I had to do was to play until she fumbled the ball.

"So, you probably want me to explain?" I smiled.

"Make it short and sweet." She sneered.

The appearance of another floating table just by the edge of my field of view assuaged my concerns.

System Reminder!

Followers, while bound to follow your orders, are not slaves. Treat each other with respect.

"—So, to clarify. You have the ability to live life like some character from a video game, plus you can randomly summon things somehow without using Cursed Energy."

"Yep."

"And in order for you to summon said things, you have to do missions for some game system."

"Yep."

"And after dealing with some giant albino member of the Kamo clan, you somehow summoned me into some alternate version of Heisei-era Japan where demons and angels run around and people with magic fight each other from behind the scenes and now you're asking me to help you."

"I wouldn't put it that way, but sure."

Mai slammed her fist down onto the dining table.

After waking up at gunpoint, I told her the shit that's been going on with me and how she ended up getting here, and we ended up in the dining room since it was time for me to have breakfast anyway.

She didn't like what she heard.

"...hey. Are you messing with me? Who am I kidding? You're messing with me." She said, glowering as she gazed at me with contempt.

"Look, Mai—" I began, but she quickly interrupted me.

"Zenin-san. We're not close. How presumptuous of you."

"Fine, Zenin then. I'm sorry. I really am. But I don't know what else to tell you. I've told it to you straight, no bullshit. I can't just tell you what you want to hear." I said, trying to explain the best I could.

Honestly, I didn't really know much about her. I died before taking the plunge and reading the manga, so while I did know some of the bullshit that was happening in the most recent chapters because it was impossible to get away from spoilers these days, I didn't know what had happened to the other characters that weren't Gojo, Yuji, or Sukuna.

Mai Zenin wasn't even a part of the main cast. She was a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer, barely stronger than a regular human, and her main skillset involved creating bullets out of Cursed Energy. She wasn't given much of the spotlight.

I haven't told her about any of that meta stuff though. Hell, I haven't even told Azazel that.

I wasn't looking forward to dealing with existential bullshit like that, and I didn't know how.

"Have you ever tried sending something back?"

"No, but—"

"Then try it. Your useless mother must've taught you the value of perseverance, no?"

I blinked.

"...look, lady." I sighed.

Was this how people working in retail feel every single day?

A building sense of frustration, tempered only by the fact that any attempt to return the favor would result in even more problems down the line?

I wasn't some antisocial isekai protagonist, I could talk to a girl without having to fixate on her funbags, but I didn't even know what to say to that curveball.

"If you can't even do the bare minimum by doing research and experimenting on your Cursed Technique, you're not even a third-rate sorcerer. What a useless pile of trash." She scoffed, pacing to and fro.

I kinda got why she felt that way, but she was beginning to piss me off.

First, she put a gun to my head. Then, while I was trying to help her, she stood up and started doing this shit?

Right after I had to deal with almost dying to some monster last night? Right after I had to go to some dangerous place for no fucking reason but to preserve my lifeline to this place?

Guess what, I was also ripped from my own world after I died without even knowing why. I didn't even have the luxury of having someone explain all this for me. I was just lucky enough to pique the interest of Azazel. And we had to figure all this shit out together.

Fuck her.

Fuck this shit.

Fuck the system, fuck the quest, fuck it.

"First off, shut up. Wanna know how I know I ain't using a Cursed Technique? Here. Deus Ex Machina."

Right on cue, the floating blue table showed up, and judging from her widening eyes, she saw it too.

System Alert!

Activating Deus Ex Machina…

You've gained "Onikiri & Ubadachi"!

I set the paired daisho from Dark Souls on the table, setting them aside.

"Does that look like a Cursed Technique to you? What the fuck do you even know about research?" I fired back. "Hell, the fuck do you even know about me? I know this is a shitty situation for you, but cut the attitude before I do it for you."

She seemed taken aback. Like this was the first time some shit like this happened to her.

Well, unlike her classmates, I wasn't gonna take her shit lying down just to preserve some illusion of order and courtesy. It wasn't in my personality, and I just wasn't raised that way.

I ain't Japanese.

I ain't Japanese despite having had one for a parent. I was American. I ain't gonna delude myself into thinking I'm not. They were beautiful people in a beautiful, if flawed, country with thousands of years of history, but I ain't raised in the same values they were. I respect their culture, but I wasn't gonna sit there and take it just so I could avoid hashing some shit out.

"I don't know what kind of bullshit you've gone through, but at the same time, you don't know what I've had to deal with. I'm more than willing to help you figure shit out, but the least you can do is not be such a fucking dick about it." I said.

"I ain't no sorcerer. I ain't gonna do anything to you. I didn't summon you on purpose. Hell, if you want, you can fuck right off and leave. But before you do, calm your tits and let's figure the rest of this shit out after breakfast."

I stood up, leaving the stunned Jujutsu sorcerer as I went to the kitchen.

She looked lost. Like she didn't know what to do.

And honestly, I could relate.

I promised to myself I was going to get stronger, but for what? If I wanted to be safe, I could just leave all this system shit behind and move to a prefecture where I wouldn't have to deal with DxD's main plot. I had a temporary goal in the form of the Dungeon, but after that, I genuinely didn't know what I was gonna do.

But that was where the differences ended. I didn't need to go back. My family was all squared away. I didn't have many friends to miss. I wasn't dating anyone, nor did I have kids.

But Mai probably had a whole life back in her version of Kyoto.

I told her the truth because I felt like she at least deserved to know why and how I ripped her out of my life. It was the bare fucking minimum.

I wasn't expecting her to fucking pull her hair back and blow me like I was her master just for doing that, but the least she could do was be civil.

"Jam or syrup?" I called out, asking my new guest.

"...jam, if you have it." She said back almost listlessly.

What a fucking heretic. Jam on pancakes was a sin.

After I calmed down and we both had breakfast, I stepped out of Azazel's penthouse.

I didn't really have anything I needed to do outside the house.

I didn't need to buy more supplies. Since I didn't have a time limit with the Dungeon, I was gonna do a simple recon run just to scope shit out. I definitely didn't need a weapon either, considering I still had my kukri and the Onikiri and Ubadachi, and I definitely didn't need something to help me get in considering I already broke into the place through the side door.

But what I did need was Cursed Energy. Or, to be more precise, how to use it.

I knew I had a lot of it. The system gave me a rating of A in Cursed Energy, but at this rate, except for my ability to see its traces, it was basically just a decoration on my status screen.

But I couldn't bring myself to ask Mai to teach me. She still kinda pissed me off, and while I get why she reacted the way she did, I'd rather let her brood over her situation than have to deal with learning under someone who couldn't even concentrate.

So, I started walking around.

What Mai said still bugged me. Research was something I could do with the System, but not Deus Ex Machina. Partly because I was an idiot who got easily riled up, using the ability's already-limited charges like they were going outta style, but also because even Azazel couldn't figure it out when he was looking into it.

He said it didn't involve magic or science. Deus Ex Machina made reality bend over just to bring shit into existence, rewriting universal laws and overwriting even my own existence to give me abilities and skills.

It was a show of power he'd only seen once, he said, before he clammed up.

I didn't wanna ask him anymore after that.

I knew firsthand people had shit they just didn't wanna talk about. Especially when it came to their parents.

—I kept on walking, heading straight for the manga cafe where I first met Hanakai.

Truthfully, I wasn't expecting anything to happen. I just wanted to distract myself.

I didn't think the Sitri Peerage would be coming for me in broad daylight.

Standing with her back straight and her heterochromic eyes pointed sharply into my own, the vice-president of Kuoh's Student Council blocked my way to the door.

Tsubaki Shinra was a quintessential Japanese beauty, much like Mai was. But whereas Mai's beauty seemed more like a sword, hers felt more like the camellias she had been named after. She was graceful, with proportional features on a small face, her black hair hanging far beyond her shoulders and resting close to where her ass would be; her bottom-rimmed glasses low and almost shining under the sun.

She seemed like a respectable young lady, someone I probably would've never met back when I was alive. But goddamn were her titties big.

I've said this once before, and I'd say it to all that would care to listen, whoever designed the Kuoh uniform for girls must've been on something. A fucking corset, paired with that short of a skirt? I wasn't condoning Issei's behavior and I was all for wearing whatever the fuck you want, but even I'd agree that the uniform was needlessly sexy.

With Tsubaki wearing it, it just made her prodigious boobs look even bigger.

"—Finn Tsukigawa, I presume?" She asked, her voice clear as a bell.

"Who's asking?" I responded, hoping to buy myself more time.

I looked left and right.

My avenues of escape were still there. It wasn't like she could make a scene with all these people around us. She was completely alone too.

"My name is Shinra Tsubaki, Vice President of Kuoh Academy's Student Council. I humbly ask for a minute of your time."

She said she was humbly asking, but that definitely wasn't the case.

She stood with her left foot slightly forward, her right just behind. Her shoulders seemed relaxed, but her eyes were the same as mine.

Moving. Analyzing. Looking for ways to dismantle me in multiple different ways.

She hadn't taken up a guard with her arms, but she was ready to go the moment I tried something.

I couldn't say I had a lot of confidence when it came to beating her. I wasn't the type to take risks like that if I didn't have to.

I wasn't prepared. I didn't have a lot of information.

But most of all, my instincts were telling me not to start shit for now, not when I was basically powerless. I didn't have anything concrete, I haven't fought her yet, but I had the sinking feeling she'd probably put me in my place without so much as breaking a sweat.

She gave off the same sense of dread, the same pit in my stomach, as that white Cursed Spirit back in the department store. The same feeling of trepidation I felt when the Cartels came knocking.

"I'm sorry, but nah. I ain't a student of Kuoh. I'm gonna have to say no." I said, mirroring her subtle stance but with my right foot forward and my left foot back.

We haven't done anything. Not yet.

But we were in the same combat posture. Both ready to move at a moment's notice.

Now, if we only had guns, then it would really be like the old days. I've had to deal with shit like this for years, considering I was part of the boss's security detail and his go-to gopher.

Tsubaki's eyes narrowed, but she made no further moves.

It looked like she was just here to talk.

She didn't want to fight. But that didn't mean I could just drop my guard.

Slowly, I relaxed, but still, I kept my posture.

"...I'm afraid I would have to insist, considering one of my underclassmen was injured last night."

Injured? Was this some plot Ishibumi did in one of those extra volumes?

"I'm sorry to hear that, but what's that gotta do with me?" I responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Hanakai Momo almost died last night in the Rokuonji Department Store. The same building you broke into."

I stopped.

"What?"

AN: Well, turns out the chapter I was writing got a little too big, so I decided to split it into two. Shit was getting a bit too late for my liking. Expect to see more familiar faces in the next one. Also, we ain't done with the department store yet, so expect more action and shit in the next few chapters.

Thanks, guys!