-452- What do you mean it won't happen?

"Splash!"

Accompanied by the sound of clear water, a stone was thrown into the pond, creating ripples.

In the courtyard of the Tsuchimikado residence, Kurahashi Kyouko stood there, tossing stones into the pond as if venting her frustration and disappointment.

At this moment, Kurahashi Kyouko's little face lacked the arrogance she had displayed earlier.

There was no sense of superiority, only a deep sense of vexation.

Wearing this expression, she mumbled while throwing stones into the water.

"What's up with him..."

"Acting all high and mighty..."

"Who does he think he is?"

"I just can't stand it..."

Words like these kept flowing from Kurahashi Kyouko's lips, indicating just how upset she was feeling.

The person responsible for Kurahashi Kyouko's sour mood was none other than Rozen.

"Sigh..."

Thinking back to the recent jujutsu combat, Kurahashi Kyouko finally stopped her murmurs and let out a sigh of frustration.

As the only daughter of the Kurahashi family, Kurahashi Kyouko was undoubtedly the heiress of a prestigious lineage, and she was considered the heiress among heiresses. One could even liken her to a princess.

In fact, due to her lineage, Kurahashi Kyouko had always been treated like a princess by those around her.

The family's servants would indulge her every whim, and other children from different families would orbit around her like stars.

All of this, although it didn't make Kurahashi Kyouko develop a spoiled or arrogant personality, did make her strong-willed.

She naturally accepted her elevated status and never questioned her nobility.

However, as Kurahashi Kyouko grew older, she gradually became aware of something. Her proud family, despite being an esteemed lineage and the top family in the world of jujutsu, was, in fact, a branch family of another.

That family was the Tsuchimikado clan.

Within the main Tsuchimikado family, there was a boy her age.

Kurahashi Kyouko slowly began to learn of this situation. Although her grandmother and father hadn't shown it, she could tell from the attitudes of other relatives that the Tsuchimikado family had fallen out of favor.

They were considered a declining, marginalized main family, and the members of her own family often resorted to underhanded tactics, taking every opportunity to ridicule and insult the Tsuchimikado clan.

However, based on the reactions of her family members, Kurahashi Kyouko unconsciously understood something.

It was only when they acknowledged the Tsuchimikado family as inferior that these senseless insults would surface.

People within her family resorted to belittling the Tsuchimikado family to accentuate their own power.

It was an expression of their fear of the Tsuchimikado family. After all, no matter how much they had fallen, the Tsuchimikado family was the main family of the Kurahashi clan, and this fact couldn't be denied.

Naturally, even someone treated like a princess in her family would be considered inferior in front of the child from the main family.

This made Kurahashi Kyouko harbor feelings of unease towards the Tsuchimikado family. She felt a sense of discontent but couldn't do anything about it, considering the imposing and distant nature of this family.

Therefore, when Kurahashi Genji suggested that they visit the main branch of the family to meet the relatives, Kurahashi Kyouko had an instinctive urge to refuse.

However, her constant need to appear strong in front of others prevented her from showing weakness in front of strangers.

Consequently, Kurahashi Kyouko had no choice but to grit her teeth and go along with it.

In other words, Kurahashi Kyouko wasn't actually arrogant; she simply put up a front of strength and refused to appear weak in front of the younger generation from the main branch.

This was why, in Rozen's presence, she displayed an attitude of superiority and even openly provoked him.

However, at this moment, Kurahashi Kyouko had completely lost the courage to challenge Rozen. Recalling the fantastic jujutsu combat they had just experienced, she was repeatedly amazed.

Although she didn't have a clear understanding of her father's strength, she knew he was at the pinnacle of this country, with only a few individuals who could be compared to him. She had always taken great pride in him.

In this context, Kurahashi Kyouko had never considered the possibility of engaging in a jujutsu combat with her father; it was merely a vague goal for the future.

She aspired to become a powerful onmyouji like her father one day, but that was something for the distant future.

Currently, she couldn't even imagine herself having an equal match against her father.

However, this boy had accomplished just that.

He was the same age as her, but he could already use jujutsu, freely manipulate the five elements of spiritual energy, and create various forms.

Even though he was just a child, he could compete with her father on an equal footing until finally admitting defeat.

The sight of jujutsu symbols floating in the air, the immense jutsuryoku sweeping through the space, and the various forms related to metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and more dancing wildly within the training ground had deeply imprinted itself into Kurahashi Kyouko's young mind.

Just the thought that one of the participants in creating such a scene was her proud father, while the other was a child from the Tsuchimikado family, whom she regarded as an "enemy," made Kurahashi Kyouko feel extremely unwilling.

"What's so impressive about it?"

Kurahashi Kyouko exclaimed as she forcefully tossed the stone in her hand.

"I will learn powerful jujutsu in the future, and then I'll be able to defeat him thoroughly."

Kurahashi Kyouko grumbled with determination.

However, on the other hand, her rational side reminded Kurahashi Kyouko that when she learned jujutsu, Rozen would become even more powerful. By then, would her father even be a match for him?

"No... that's not going to happen!"

Kurahashi Kyouko exclaimed, trying to reassure herself.

Unbeknownst to her, there was someone already behind her.

And then...

"What do you mean it won't happen?" A sudden voice sounded coldly behind Kurahashi Kyouko.

"Yah!"

Kurahashi Kyouko was immediately startled and let out a scream. She had a very cute reaction, quite surprising.

However, this cute reaction couldn't change anything because in front of Kurahashi Kyouko was a pond.

Startled by the scream, she lost her balance and fell face-first into the water.

"Splash!"

Accompanied by a splash of water, Kurahashi Kyouko fell into the water, creating ripples.

"Help... help me!" Kurahashi Kyouko, who had fallen into the water, panicked and struggled desperately while crying out.

It seemed like she couldn't swim.

However, faced with this life-threatening situation, the one who caused it all had a rather speechless expression and spoke.

"Why are you asking for help? The water in the pond doesn't even reach your chest. Could you really drown in this?"

Hearing these somewhat sarcastic words, Kurahashi Kyouko suddenly realized that her feet were firmly planted on the bottom of the pond, and the water level just reached her chest.

She had actually been screaming for help in this situation?

As she thought about it, Kurahashi Kyouko's face turned bright red due to embarrassment, and she wished she could just sink to the bottom of the water.

When Kurahashi Kyouko finally lifted her head and looked towards the edge of the pond, the sight of the person who had been responsible for her predicament left her momentarily stunned, and then she became furious.

"It's you!!!" She exclaimed in utter frustration.

Listening to Kurahashi Kyouko's infuriated tone, Rozen responded with an innocent smile.