449 -443- Idiot never gets sick

Tsuchimikado family, main residence.

In one of the rooms, Natsume lay in the futon on the tatami mat, her face flushed, breathing heavily, and covered in sweat, looking weak and feeble. Rozen and the young boy who had called him were present.

"Natsume is dying," the boy said.

Hearing these words, Rozen couldn't help but feel his heart race with panic. He hurriedly entered the room and saw Natsume lying there, appearing to be in pain.

However, upon seeing Natsume in this state, Rozen didn't hesitate and immediately turned towards the young boy in front of him, delivering a heavy punch.

"Thud!"

The punch landed, and the boy was knocked over onto the floor.

"That hurts...!" the boy protested, clutching his cheek.

"What are you doing? Akikan!" the boy protested in frustration.

But...

"Do you even dare to ask why?" Rozen looked down at the boy with narrowed eyes.

Upon closer inspection, the boy had an ordinary appearance and exuded an air of mediocrity, like a wild child who plays everyday. He wasn't mischievous or sulky, but full of vitality, making it seem like he could run out to play at any moment. He was truly a child at heart.

This young boy was Tsuchimikado Harutora, the only son of the Tsuchimikado branch family and Natsume's adoptive brother.

Tsuchimikado Harutora.

Tsuchimikado Natsume.

Tsuchimikado Akikan.

These three were the heirs of the modern Tsuchimikado clan. They had often met and played together since their childhood and had maintained good relations.

Of course, when they say they played together, it was more like Harutora would pester Rozen to play with him whenever he visited the main house.

Rozen would reluctantly accompany him, and Natsume would often get dragged into the mix, resulting in the three of them playing together.

However, compared to her older brother Harutora, Natsume clung more to Rozen. The reason behind this might be that Harutora's playfulness didn't consider Natsume's status as a girl.

Rozen, on the other hand, would occasionally wear a bored expression and intervene to prevent Harutora's excessive antics, which made Natsume appreciative of his presence.

This time was no different. Although it wasn't about playing, Rozen, as always, stopped Harutora from making exaggerated remarks.

"What do you mean Natsume is dying?" Rozen said, "She's just sick. You almost scared me to death."

That's right, Natsume was sick.

As soon as Rozen entered the room and saw her condition, he used his Spirit Vision to sense the spiritual energy within her body and noticed her condition.

Naturally, this had nothing to do with the word "dying" in any way.

However, Harutora had blurted out such words without thinking, which had startled Rozen greatly. It was no wonder he had to deliver a punch to let off steam.

To this, Harutora could only try to defend himself.

"I... I heard my old man say that getting sick is a very scary thing. If you're not careful, you might die. Compared to that, the physical condition caused by jujutsu is nothing," Harutora argued.

Speaking of which, it's necessary to mention Harutora and Natsume's father. While he was a descendant of the Tsuchimikado branch family, he had also held the position of Mystical Investigator in the Onmyo Agency in the past.

The Mystical Investigator, whose full title is "Mystical Criminal Investigation Inspector," is an Onmyoji directly affiliated with the Onmyou Agency.

Speaking of the Onmyou Agency, it's an organization that follows the principles of Onmyoudou, dealing with exorcising spiritual calamities and monitoring jujutsu users across the nation.

Its headquarters are located near Shinjuku, and it's said to have evolved from the Onmyou Bureau, which was once led by the Tsuchimikado clan.

Their main responsibilities include exorcising spiritual calamities and conducting investigations related to jujutsu crimes, especially those involving humans.

Harutora and Natsume's father used to be Mystical Investigator in the Onmyou Agency. They were both highly skilled and considered elite Onmyoji with professional qualifications.

Since jujutsu is regarded as a dangerous and mysterious phenomenon for ordinary people, the general impression of Onmyoji isn't that great.

Moreover, some individuals misuse jujutsu for criminal purposes. Therefore, practicing jujutsu outside the agency without proper credentials is prohibited.

It's somewhat similar to police officers needing a firearm license. Unless you're a certified professional Onmyoji, you can't legally possess jujutsu abilities.

However, their father had long retired from the agency and now lived a secluded life in the countryside as an Onmyou Doctor. He specialized in treating various physical anomalies caused by jujutsu.

Considering all this, Harutora might have picked up such words from his father, the Onmyou Doctor. But Rozen still had something to say about Harutora's exaggerated reaction.

"If getting sick means you'll die, then you should be dead many times over by now," Rozen rolled his eyes, remarking, "Haven't you ever caught a cold?"

To this question, Harutora gave quite a straightforward answer.

"No, never," Harutora replied cheerfully, "I didn't when I was a kid, and I haven't fallen ill ever since I can remember."

"Is that so?" Rozen was briefly dumbfounded, and then he looked at Harutora with a somewhat pitiful expression.

"What... What's with that look?" Harutora suddenly felt a bit uneasy and annoyed. "Why are you giving me that kind of look?"

"Nothing," Rozen shook his head and sighed, "I just didn't expect that the saying of 'idiots never gets sick' is real, that's all."

Upon hearing this, Harutora finally caught on.

"I see, so an Idiot never gets sick... Wait a minute, are you calling me an idiot?"

By the time Harutora realized his mistake, Rozen had already dismissed him and approached Natsume.

"Akikan...?" Natsume seemed to sense someone approaching her.

She struggled to open her eyes and gazed at Rozen with a pair of hazy eyes, red cheeks, exuding an sick aura.

Rozen sigh and crouched down in front of Natsume.

"You've been pushing yourself too hard," he scolded as soon as he spoke.

There was no other way.

The reason Natsume became like this was largely due to the imbalance in her spiritual energy.

"It must be because you forced yourself to use jujutsu and extracted spiritual energy excessively, which led to this situation," Rozen directly pointed out the reason for Natsume's illness.

After all, it had been mentioned before that spiritual energy was closely related to one's vitality. If there were issues with it, it would naturally affect the body.

And Natsume had previously declared her intention to learn jujutsu, so Rozen had a pretty good guess as to why she had fallen ill.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Natsume lowered her head dejectedly.

"It's okay; just be more careful in the future," Rozen reassured her, patting Natsume's head. He continued, "Rest well now, and I'll have your dad come to check on you later. He'll help balance your spiritual energy, and you should be on the road to recovery by tomorrow, alright?"

"Yes... I understand," Natsume nodded hastily.

Satisfied with her response, Rozen smiled, then stood up.

"Alright, get some good rest. I'll leave for now."

With that, Rozen grabbed the somewhat bewildered Harutora from the side and dragged him out of the room.

Meanwhile, Natsume, upon seeing Rozen, seemed to completely relax and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.