Curse Returns: Eight Extraordinary Skills? I lack nothing.

Time passed quickly. As the sun set, the training field was covered with messy footprints.

When Kusakabe announced its disbandment, Itajiro sat on the ground, his chest heaving violently. Wild Rose put the nails back in her pocket, counting them one by one, her fingers trembling slightly.

Shunpei leaned against the steps, still clutching the wooden sword in his hand, his knuckles white. Fukuro Megumi sheathed his sword at his waist, his hand steady, his breathing still unsteady.

Dongtang turned and walked towards the exit of the training field.

“East Hall.” Yuuto emerged from the edge of the bamboo grove.

Dongtang stopped, turned to the side, and glanced at Youren.

What is your opinion of Japanese knotweed?

Dongtang was silent for a moment, as if he was choosing his words carefully, but finally gave a fairly fair assessment: "His physical attributes are top-notch, and his combat instincts are also good. But his technique is too rough; he relies entirely on talent. If he doesn't make up for this weakness as soon as possible, he will have a hard time when he encounters truly strong opponents in the future."

Yuuto did not respond.

Dongtang turned and left the training ground, his footsteps echoing on the stone path before quickly disappearing into the depths of the bamboo forest. Youren stood there, watching the figures still packing up their equipment on the training ground.

Kusakabe stuffed the unlit cigarette back into the pack, turned around and walked towards him, stopping in front of Yuuto with his fingers in his trench coat pockets and his face expressionless.

"Maki's second awakening is only a matter of time. Todo's physical training is also sufficient. Their foundation is not bad. The only drawback is that they have not experienced life and death. On a real battlefield, they cannot survive entirely on their own."

Kusakabe left. Yuuto watched the figure in the light brown trench coat disappear into the shadows of the administration building before turning his gaze away.

Tiger Rod walked over from the training field, his face bruised and battered, his lip cut, but his eyes shone brightly. He showed no sign of defeat or being overwhelmed, but rather an excitement that showed no signs of waning fighting spirit.

"Mr. Kasuga, shall we continue tomorrow?"

“Continue,” Yuuto said.

Itajō grinned, turned, and walked away. Junpei followed behind, nodding slightly to Yūto, his steps light. Nobara stood up from the steps, tied the bag of nails tightly, nodded to Yūto, said nothing, and followed. Fushiguro Megumi was the last to leave, her sword already sheathed, her steps steady. She paused as she passed Yūto, turning her head slightly.

"Mr. Kasuga."

"Ah."

Fushiguro Megumi paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts or confirming something. "That Toudou, did he train like this before?"

"almost."

Fushiguro Megumi didn't ask any more questions and turned to leave.

As night fell completely, Yuuto stood alone on the roof of the administration building.

He didn't turn on the lights; the moonlight outlined the building with a blurry silver edge. One by one, the windows of the dormitory buildings in the distance went out, while the corridor lights remained on, a dim yellow, like a thin ribbon wrapped around the middle of the complex.

Gojo Satoru came up the stairs, carrying two cans of beer, and handed one to him. "Can't sleep?"

Yuuto took it, but didn't open it; he just held it in his hand. The surface of the aluminum can was cool, with a thin layer of condensation on it.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now! (The rest of the text is incomplete and appears to be a fragment of a

Gojo Satoru opened his can of beer, took a sip, leaned against the railing, and looked up at the sky. The moon was round, the clouds were thin, and moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, spreading like scattered silver across the ground.

"The feast was over, the bamboo sheath was bent, the bamboo was covered ...

“He won’t give us time,” Yuuto said.

Gojo Satoru didn't reply. Moonlight fell into his azure eyes, like two pieces of polished glass. "So we'll make our move first, before they're ready."

Yuuto opened the beer can and took a sip. It was bitter; he didn't like it, but he didn't put it down.

The following morning, Yuuto received an encrypted email from the Spellcasting Alliance. The sender was Nanami Kento, the newly appointed head of external affairs in the General Headquarters.

The email was short and concise: "The European Federation of Sorcerers has extended an invitation to establish a formal diplomatic channel with the General Alliance of Sorcerers. They will be sending a delegation to Japan next week for a three-day visit. The General Alliance requires your presence to receive them."

After reading the email, Yuuto placed his phone on the table. A short while later, the phone rang.

"Kasuga-kun, did you receive the email?" Nanami Kento's voice came through the receiver, as steady as ever.

"Received it. Why me?"

“They named names,” Nanami said. “They have intelligence about you in Europe. They know you are the fourth seat of the Sword-Wielding Institute, and they also know about your achievements in the Matsue Incident, the Gosegawa Incident, and Shibuya.”

Yuuto fell silent, and Nanami continued, "This visit is not just a diplomatic formality; they want to discuss substantive matters. You are aware of the situation in the European sorcery community. The sorcerer associations of various countries are acting independently, and the cursed spirit disasters are getting worse every day. They need a unified external liaison, and the Sorcery Alliance is currently the most suitable for them."

Yuuto didn't answer immediately, and asked the most crucial question: "Who is coming?"

“The British representative is George Westminster, president of the London Association. The French representative is Jean-Luc Molière, honorary president of the Paris Academy of Arts. Germany and Italy will also send representatives.” Nanami flipped through the list. “The caliber is quite high.”

Yuu switched the phone to her other ear and walked to the window. The osmanthus tree outside was in bloom, its delicate golden petals swaying gently in the morning breeze. "When do I leave?"

"A private plane will take you from Tokyo the day after tomorrow."

When news of the devastation in Switzerland arrived, the European sorcery world was practically in complete disarray; no one could stop the knight on the white horse. Now they finally remembered to unite.

The following day, Yuto went to the archives at the Kyoto school.

Kasumi Miwa was sitting at a long table organizing documents, with several thick stacks of folders piled up in front of her. She was holding a pen and writing something on a form.

She wore a black suit jacket from Kyoto School, with a white shirt underneath and a narrow black tie. Her long, sky-blue hair was tied in a low ponytail, with a few stray strands falling down her forehead and swaying slightly in the air conditioning.

The day before departure, Youren stood in the dormitory corridor, looking at the other freshmen.

Itadori was doing sit-ups, Junpei was leaning against the wall doing leg stretches, and Nobara was doing arm strength training with a hammer. Fushiguro Megumi wasn't there; she'd probably been called away by Gojo Satoru, but it was unclear whether it was for training or something else.

Yuuto didn't disturb them and turned to leave.

He went to Maki's dorm room. The door was open, and Maki was sitting at the table wiping a lighter. Hearing a knock, she looked up.

"Enter."

Yuuto walked in and sat down opposite her. Maki put down the rag and placed the firecracker on the table. "Is something the matter?"

"I'm going to Europe next week, so please keep an eye on things in Kyoto."

Maki didn't ask why, and simply nodded. "Where's Toudou?"

"He and Kusakabe are enough to mentor the new students."

"Row."

Yuuto stood up to leave when Maki suddenly spoke up. "Thanks for the last one."

Yuuto turned around and looked at her. "What are you thanking me for?"

"Let me see what I lack." Maki lowered her head, her gaze falling on the blade of Feng Huo's sword. Her face was reflected on the blade, long, cold, and expressionless.

Yuuto didn't reply, and pushed the door open and left.

In the evening, Yuuto returned to his residence, where Kyō was squatting in the living room packing her luggage. Her suitcase was spread out on the floor, crammed with clothes, snacks, toiletries, and other miscellaneous items.

"What are you doing?" Yuuto asked.

Qiong looked up at him, her reddish-brown eyes meeting his. "I'm going too."

"Go to Europe?"

"Ah."

Yu Ren squatted down and took out the extra snacks from his suitcase, placing them on the coffee table. "I'm going on a business trip, not for vacation."

"Then I'll go too." Qiong stuffed the snacks back into her hands.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds. There was a light in Qiong's eyes, not stubbornness, but something he didn't want to delve into.

“…Reduce luggage by half,” Yuuto said.

Qiong's lips curled up slightly as she lowered her head to reorganize her suitcase.

The plane travels at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

Outside the window stretched an endless expanse of clouds, sunlight filtering through the gaps and bathing the cabin in a warm orange hue. Yuu leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, listening to the rustling of magazines turning and Miwa Kasumi occasionally asking the flight attendant if they wanted a refill of tea.

Nanami walked over from business class and sat down in the empty seat next to Yuuto, holding a document in his hand. He handed the document to Yuuto.

"This is the preliminary agenda provided by the other party. Please take a look."

Yuuto took it and opened it.

On the first day, they arrived in London and attended a welcome dinner. On the second day, they held closed-door talks to discuss potential cooperation in areas such as training in sorcery personnel, intelligence sharing, and responding to sorcery-related disasters. On the third day, they visited the London Association headquarters and signed a memorandum of understanding.

“The key point of the talks,” Nanami pointed to one of the lines, “is that they want to use the Alliance’s intelligence network.”

"Borrow it?" Yuuto raised his eyes.

“The sorcerer associations of various European countries operate independently, and their intelligence systems are not interconnected. After the Pale Knight disappeared from Switzerland, none of them knew where he went.” Qi Hai paused. “They hope that the Alliance can help them establish a unified intelligence-sharing system.”

Yuuto closed the file. "This is something outside the Tianyuan Barrier; there's only so much we can do to help."

“So you need to go and negotiate,” Qi Hai said. “You are the fourth seat of the Sword-Wielding Academy, so you have the authority to make the decision.”

Yuuto handed the document back to Nanami and turned his gaze to the window.

The clouds drifted slowly beneath the wings, and the cabin lights reflected a soft glow on the metal panels, making one feel drowsy.

Qiong had already fallen asleep leaning back in her chair, the magazine having slipped to her side.

Kasumi Miwa leaned over from the back seat, glanced at Sora, then at Yuuto, and quietly asked if he wanted a blanket.

Yuuto shook his head.

Qiong's eyelashes were long, casting a small fan-shaped shadow under his eyelids, and his breathing was light and even. He picked up the magazine that had slipped from his eyelids, closed it, and placed it in the storage compartment next to his seat.

Eleven hours later, the plane landed at London Heathrow Airport.

It was a cloudy day, with low-hanging gray clouds and fine rain being whipped up by the wind and pattering against the glass curtain wall of the terminal building.

Yuuto walked down the gangway, followed by Sora, with Miwa Kasumi bringing up the rear. The three of them crossed the corridor and entered the arrival hall.

Several people were standing at the arrival gate. The leader was a white man in his fifties with neatly combed silver-gray hair and wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit.

He saw Youren, quickly walked up to him, and extended his hand.

“Mr. Kasuga, welcome to London.” The tone was heavily accented with British mannerisms.

George Westminster, President of the London Association. Behind him stood a woman in her early thirties, with long, dark brown hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing a beige trench coat, and with sharp eyes.

Jean-Luc Molière, honorary director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers (ENS). He was accompanied by several people, all dressed formally and with serious expressions.

Yuuto shook hands with each of them. "It's an honor to meet you."

Westminster gestured for them to proceed. The group walked through the airport terminal and got into a row of black cars parked at the entrance. Sora and Kasumi sat in the back, while Yuuto sat in the front passenger seat.

London outside the car window was gloomy, the Thames River shimmered with a leaden gray luster, and occasionally a few pigeons would skim across the river and disappear behind the buildings on the opposite bank.

The buildings on both sides of the street are old and solemn, red double-decker buses travel along the street, and the telephone booths on the roadside are painted bright red, which are particularly eye-catching in the gray weather.