-89- The location of the token

"Alright."

Sitting on the ground in the bushes, Rozen spoke as if nothing had happened.

"What should we do next?"

Rozen's nonchalant demeanor immediately elicited protests.

"Why did you hit me as if nothing happened!? What's the reason for that?" Akabane Raishin protested, holding his face.

Unfortunately, Rozen completely ignored Akabane Raishin and continued to look at Domon Hinowa, Kamo Subaru, and Yuge Mutsura.

"Now, why are you all here?—This question doesn't even need to be asked, and I can guess some of the reasons."

Rozen questioned the three.

"But do you have a way to continue staying here?"

It was not a question, but rather a challenge.

"Not to mention that your lady is quite fragile and not suitable for wandering in a place like this. Even for the two of you, if you didn't bring the tools for invocation your 'Onmyojutsu' is practically useless here, making it very dangerous to wander around, you know?"

Rozen reminded them kindly.

Unlike the Akabane clan, who had switched to 'Puppetry Arts', the entire power of the Izanagi Family's techniques lay in 'Onmyōjutsu'. Without the ability to use 'Onmyōjutsu', it would be like Rozen losing his 'Summoning Arts', rendering him practically powerless.

Rozen was fine since he could still rely on 'Telekinesis', 'Spiritual Vision', 'Rigid Bpdy', 'Magic Resistance', and 'Heaven's Eye' abilities to handle low-level Shikigami. But it might not be the same for Domon Hinowa, Kamo Subaru, and Yuge Mutsura, as they may not have learned all the eight technique.

In such a situation, how could they continue to roam around here?

Rozen's question was met with this response:

"That's our business and has nothing to do with you."

Kamo Subaru responded with hostility, not backing down.

Even Yuge Mutsura pointed at Akabane Raishin and spoke up.

"If this guy can wander around here, why can't we?"

There was no way to refute this statement.

Originally, Akabane Raishin couldn't wander around in a place like this, but he came in anyway, so why couldn't others?

However, Rozen wasn't particularly worried about Akabane Raishin.

Because...

"Don't be fooled by his appearance; he's actually quite clever. As long as he doesn't go too deep and encounters higher level Shikigami, there shouldn't be any major issues."

Rozen said these words in a casual tone.

It was the truth.

Despite Akabane Raishin's stubborn and rebellious appearance, he had a clever mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't have immediately seized Rozen's weakness and dragged him out of the room, wandering around the Izanagi Clan's base.

Therefore, even in this forbidden place, with his level of cunning, there shouldn't be any major problems.

"The same goes for what happened just now. While you were all panicking, Raishin was using stones to throw at those lower-level Shikigami, delaying their movements. Otherwise, you would have been bitten all over."

Rozen bluntly stated, leaving Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura speechless.

Domon Hinowa seemed to remember the scene just now, and her face turned pale at the thought of those wild dogs leaping at her.

In contrast, Akabane Raishin seemed indifferent.

"Aren't they just a bunch of wild dogs? Anyone can deal with them, right?"

Akabane Raishin spoke nonchalantly.

This wild kid didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Alright." Rozen shrugged and said, "Since you all say so, then hurry up and act individually to find the tokens and end this so-called trial."

Rozen deliberately imitated the way Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura spoke, which visibly infuriated them.

At that moment, Akabane Raishin unexpectedly spoke up.

"How about we search for the tokens together?"

Akabane Raishin's suggestion surprised everyone.

"Together?" Both Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura were taken aback.

"Together?" Even Domon Hinowa was stunned.

Even Rozen couldn't believe that Akabane Raishin would come up with such a suggestion, and he blinked in surprise.

What was this guy planning to do now?

In fact, Akabane Raishin's idea was straightforward.

"Since even those monsters are here, it's better if we join forces, right? The more people, the stronger our fighting power, isn't it?"

Akabane Raishin straightforwardly gave his reason.

This didn't sit well with Kamo Subaru.

"Are you kidding me?" Kamo Subaru said displeased, "There's only one token. If we find it together, who will it belong to?"

This was the most fundamental issue.

If everyone wanted to obtain the token, the question of ownership would be the biggest obstacle to cooperating.

However, Kamo Subaru didn't know that neither Rozen nor Akabane Raishin cared about obtaining the token.

In other words, the question of ownership was the least important for Rozen and Akabane Raishin.

So, Akabane Raishin replied, "Well, let's worry about that after we find the token. We don't even know where it is right now."

Akabane Raishin's response sounded somewhat dismissive.

But it had to be said that this question was indeed quite difficult.

"Where did the head of the family put the token?"

Kamo Subaru was frustrated.

"The forbidden land is so vast. How are we supposed to find the token when we don't even know what it looks like?"

Yuge Wutsura also voiced his doubts.

Then...

"This problem isn't actually that hard to solve."

Rozen interjected perfectly.

"Not hard to solve?"

Akabane Raishin, Yuge Mutsura, and Kamo Subaru all looked at Rozen.

Rozen shrugged and spoke nonchalantly, "Just like you said, the forbidden land is so vast that it's like a fool's errand to search for an unknown token scattered somewhere on the ground. The head of the Izanagi Clan wouldn't casually toss the token around for us to search everywhere, right?"

In other words...

"The token must have been placed somewhere, and we'll find it when we stumble upon it." Rozen turned to ask Yuge Mutsura and Kamo Subaru, "Are there any distinctive places in this forbidden land?"

Hearing this, Yuge Mutsura and Kamo Subaru immediately brightened up.

"That's right!" Kamo Subaru exclaimed, "I remember the elders mentioning that there's a shrine at the center of the forbidden land!"

"I've heard that too!" Yuge Mutsura nodded repeatedly, "Could it be that the token is in that shrine?"

It wasn't Rozen who confirmed their words but rather Akabane Raishin.

"Let's go and check it out. Then we'll know," Akabane Raishin concisely proposed.

"You'll go, right, Narugami?" Kamo Subaru smiled at Rozen.

Looking at Kamo Subaru's demeanor, Rozen squinted and smiled back.

"Of course."

Rozen gave this reply.

Two individuals who didn't want the token were simultaneously deciding to go to the shrine and exchanged insincere smiles.

Completely unaware, nearby, Domon Hinowa was silently observing everything, her face showing a trace of doubt.