-588- What does that have to do with me?

"————"

When the entire reception room fell silent again, the initially heavy atmosphere started to subtly shift.

Kurahashi Genji gazed only at Rozen, his eyes filled with a steadfast sense of duty.

Miyachi Iwao remained silent, hiding both his gaze and expression, saying nothing.

Soma Takiko looked at Rozen with great anticipation and nervousness, seemingly awaiting his response.

As for Yashamaru and Kumomaru, both of them seemed somewhat invigorated by Kurahashi Genji's heartfelt words. One had a smile filled with aggression, the other relaxed their expression.

All these individuals were now watching Rozen.

Under the scrutiny of everyone, Rozen lowered his eyelids.

It had to be said that Kurahashi Genji's theories were not entirely baseless.

Not only did the Yin and Yang principles need to harmonize in the path of Onmyoudou, where there's Yin, there must also be Yang. In whatever endeavor, persisting with a one-sided approach was futile.

If there's only righteousness and no evil, people would become desensitized to crises, become stagnant, and no longer strive or develop due to not feeling the tension and pressure.

If one was too forceful and didn't yield where needed, the ultimate result would be brittle and easily broken.

Viewing it from the standpoint of the jujutsu world, without the significant spiritual disasters of the past, the Onmyou Agency wouldn't have been established, and the jujutsu world would have been abandoned. Ultimately, it would have been gradually replaced by the emerging sciences, leading to its complete disappearance.

Though it might sound a bit negative, the reason the Onmyou Agency could be established and Onmyouji could continue to exist in this world was because of the major spiritual disasters left by Yakou. They sounded the alarm for the world, making people realize the importance of jujutsu and leading to the resulting outcomes.

Therefore, sometimes, the occurrence of disasters wasn't entirely a bad thing. Viewing it from a different angle, changing the perspective, its role was entirely different.

This was the 'Yin' aspect of the Yin and Yang principles.

Without this 'Yin' aspect, even if the Onmyou Agency wanted to stand from a 'Yang' standpoint to help the public, they wouldn't be able to do so.

Hence, Kurahashi Genji said that without the Yin, the Yang was meaningless, and without the Yang, the Yang would ultimately become insufficient. This was the meaning behind his words.

Since the Kurahashi family is the most prominent in the jujutsu world, tasked with maintaining the balance between Yin and Yang and promoting the advancement of the jujutsu realm, it's not difficult to understand why Kurahashi Genji would align himself with the Soma family, offering them a convenient path and merging their interests.

In Kurahashi Genji's perspective, the terrifying spiritual disasters caused by Yashamaru and Kumomaru were perhaps meaningful. Through these two disasters, the importance of the Onmyou Agency to the world would increase. Whether it's the more frequent exorcism of spiritual disasters or the continuous occurrence of magical crimes, the power of the Onmyou Agency would be needed.

With this situation, Kurahashi Genji could maneuver, leveraging these events to expand the influence and position of the Onmyou Agency, solidifying the presence of the jujutsu world. This would allow Onmyouji and jujutsu users to coexist and thrive in the world.

On the other hand, if the Soma family's goal is divine descent, involving the most mysterious and pinnacle domain of jujutsu, then for the advancement of the jujutsu realm, it seemed natural for Kurahashi Genji to align with them.

As for the sacrifices made during this period, they were all considered necessary for the development of the jujutsu world. For these individuals, sacrifices were insignificant in pursuit of the jujutsu realm's development and the thousand-year-old aspiration.

This is the concept of "Yin."

Currently, the Kurahashi family and the Soma family intend to support Tsuchimikado to become the king, supporting Rozen to become the king. With his exceptional talents, akin to Yakou in the past, they aim to bring development to the magical world. This represents their prepared "Yang."

Yin and Yang complement each other, coming together to form the path of Yin and Yang.

However,

"Do the Director know about what you've been doing?" Rozen suddenly posed this question.

Upon hearing this, Kurahashi Genji's steadfast gaze showed a slight wavering for the first time.

Seeing this, Rozen continued to inquire mercilessly.

"I mean, do you think your actions are known by my school's director, your mother, Kurahashi Miyo, the stargazer?"

Rozen revealed an imposing demeanor.

In response, Kurahashi Genji finally fell into silence.

After a moment, Kurahashi Genji spoke in his usual expressionless manner.

"My mother is not a member of the Kurahashi family."

This statement informed Rozen that Kurahashi Miyo was completely unaware of everything Kurahashi Genji had been doing behind the scenes.

Kurahashi Miyo was in the dark.

Otherwise, this stargazer would never watch her own son commit these actions, would she?

"Is that so?" Rozen nodded, showing no surprise.

Then, Rozen raised another question.

"What about your precious daughter, Kurahashi Kyoko?"

Rozen finally brought up this question.

This time, Kurahashi Genji seemed to have anticipated that Rozen would ask this question, and his gaze remained unwavering.

"My daughter is now forbidden from going out."

Kurahashi Genji said in a plain tone.

"I see," Rozen nodded again and understood.

"No wonder we haven't seen her lately."

After the "Jou-i Saihara" incident, Kyoko was taken away by the Kurahashi family as soon as she woke up, without Rozen ever seeing her again.

Perhaps it was because Kurahashi Genji already knew at that time that Rozen was not the reincarnation of Yakou but still wanted to take action, deliberately taking Kyoko away, preventing her from getting involved in these matters, right?

Because Kurahashi Genji knew.

"If your daughter knew about these things, she probably wouldn't easily agree and would stand against you. So you had to do this, right?"

Rozen didn't respond to Kurahashi Genji's invitation; instead, he said this.

The meaning behind this was something anyone could grasp.

"It seems you've refused," Kurahashi Genji affirmed indifferently.

But this was something that didn't need to be considered, right?

"What path of Yin and Yang, what advancement of the jujutsu realm—what does that have to do with me?" Rozen responded without a hint of doubt.

"I'll say it again: I'd rather die than build my success on the sacrifices of others."

This was Rozen's choice.

It's not because Rozen is particularly righteous or great; it's simply because he absolutely won't do what he despises, what he detests, what disgusts him the most.

After all, once upon a time, Rozen was the sacrificial lamb born for success in the eyes of others.

So, Kurahashi Genji fell into complete silence, and Miyachi Iwao remained silent as well. Even Yashamaru and Kumomaru had serious expressions and ceased speaking.

There was only one person who seemed unable to accept it.

"Why?"

Soma Takiko shouted at Rozen as if feeling betrayed.

"Why would you refuse? I thought you would understand us!"

However, this was nothing more than wishful thinking.

"You clearly have talent, already walking ahead of us. Why? Why!?"

Soma Takiko's emotions seemed overly stirred, causing cracks to appear in Yashamaru and Kumomaru.

"Princess."

"Please calm down."

Yashamaru and Kumomaru stepped forward to appease her.

Kurahashi Genji, on the other hand, spoke coldly.

"Iwao, take Tsuchimikado Akikan to the dungeon for detention."

With these words, Kurahashi Genji left.

Miyachi Iwao then approached and sighed at Rozen.

"Come with me, Tsuchimikado."

After saying this, Miyachi Iwao led Rozen away.

"Why...why..."

In the reception room, only Soma Takiko's sorrowful, despondent, and gloomy voice echoed, taking a long time to settle.