-462- The announcement

"Ugh..."

Inside the barrier formed by the protective charms, Natsume made a distressed sound, struggling to get up from the ground, breathing heavily.

As the protective barrier around Natsume dissipated, Rozen approached her and looked at Natsume, who was still catching her breath, and scolded her.

"Really, you were too reckless, weren't you?"

It was a bit reckless indeed.

Indeed, Hekireki had remarkable power, and it was a formidable shikigami. Its assistance was evident for Natsume. But controlling lightning was already a difficult task.

The difficulty of controlling Hekireki was even higher. Despite Natsume giving her all, she released lightning so recklessly. Wasn't this a bit too reckless?

Not to mention, Hekireki was known for its high Jujutsu energy consumption. Natsume had nearly depleted her Jujutsu energy by being so reckless. It was no wonder she was breathing so heavily.

In this situation, Rozen couldn't help but reprimand Natsume.

However...

"...Do you even have the right to say that to me, Akikan?"

Natsume looked at Rozen and then glanced at Hokuto, lazily frolicking in mid-air, showing her frustration.

"To think you summoned Hokuto. Isn't that against the rules?"

While Hekireki was indeed a special guardian shikigami, it was an man-made creation, not a shikigami to be commanded. However, it was still a high-level shikigami. If it were sold in the industry, it could fetch an astronomical price.

However, Hekireki was at most special, while Hokuto was a genuine, rare, and powerful shikigami.

In the present world, there were very few, possibly only one, true dragon remaining.

This kind of shikigami, if one delved into its history, could be traced back to Abe no Seimei's era, and perhaps even further back.

In other words, Hokuto is a shikigami left by Abe no Seimei, guarding the Tsuchimikado family for a millennium. It's a divine beast passed down from one generation to the next within the Tsuchimikado family, and its formidable nature can be easily imagined.

Ever since inheriting Hokuto many years ago, Rozen's strength had undergone a complete transformation. Even without considering his Jujutsu abilities, just summoning Hokuto was enough to overpower everything.

According to Tsuchimikado Takahiro and Tsuchimikado Chizuru, not even a professional Onmyouji would stand a chance against Hokuto.

Generally, obtaining such a powerful shikigami is one thing, but being able to control and unleash its full power is another unknown factor. In the Tsuchimikado family's history, many couldn't fully utilize Hokuto's power. It shows how challenging it is to control Hokuto in battle.

However, Rozen seemed as if he were destined to be the master of shikigami. Not only could he command Hokuto skillfully, but he also had a good rapport with Hokuto.

He made Hokuto obey him completely, and when necessary, he could channel a large amount of Jujutsu energy to Hokuto, greatly enhancing its power—an awe-inspiring feat.

Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi once made Rozen fully unleash Hokuto's power, allowing Hokuto to battle.

That time, Natsume wasn't at the main residence, so she didn't witness the situation.

However, according to Tsuchimikado Takahiro and Tsuchimikado Chizuru, the final result was like this.

"The protective barrier of the Jujutsu practice ground was completely destroyed."

"Even the foundation was damaged, almost causing the practice ground to collapse. It's truly unbelievable."

Tsuchimikado Takahiro and Tsuchimikado Chizuru sighed in amazement.

It's said that after that incident, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi remained silent for a long time and no longer paid attention to Rozen's strength. He only focused on imparting his Jujutsu knowledge.

From this, it's evident how immensely powerful Hokuto's abilities are under Rozen's command.

Therefore, it was absolutely against the rules to summon Hokuto.

"Dad also said that if you summon Hokuto, even a professional Onmyouji might not be your match. And now you've summoned Hokuto, you're just being too cheeky."

Natsume said, a bit sulky.

To this, Rozen could only rub his nose and shrug.

"There's no way. Since you brought out Auntie's shikigami, if I didn't summon Hokuto, winning would have been difficult."

That was the truth.

If he didn't summon Hokuto, given Rozen's Jujutsu prowess, it wouldn't be easy to win against Natsume, who summoned Hekireki.

Natsume, who inherited the Jujutsu and shikigami from Tsuchimikado Chizuru, was formidable. Even compared to professional Onmyouji, she wasn't inferior.

At least, a regular Onmyouji who only passed "Onmyodou third class" wouldn't be Natsume's match.

Faced with Natsume's abilities, Rozen had no choice but to summon Hokuto to win decisively.

Of course, this is under the condition of using only Jujutsu.

If Rozen were to use methods other than Jujutsu or summon the remaining shikigami, winning would probably be much easier.

After all, after decades of rigorous training, Rozen still didn't know how strong he would be in a full-fledged battle.

Rozen only knew...

"If we were to go back to Chaldea now, it would surely surprise Mash and Big Bro.

That's the only certainty Rozen had.

At this moment...

"Anyway, you should rest and replenish the consumed spiritual energy."

Rozen said to Natsume like this, then looked up at the sky.

"Hokuto, come back for now."

Upon hearing this, Hokuto seemed a bit dissatisfied, but obediently followed Rozen's command, transforming its body into radiant particles and disappearing into the air.

Rozen then supported Natsume, whose face was a little red, perhaps due to exhaustion or for some other reason, and prepared to sit in a corner of the Jujutsu practice ground to rest.

Just then...

"Chirp chirp chirp...!"

A sparrow flew in through the window, fluttering around in front of Rozen and Natsume.

Seeing this, Rozen and Natsume stopped in their tracks simultaneously.

"Is this... Uncle's shikigami?"

Natsume was a bit surprised.

Rozen frowned, then relaxed.

"It seems Father has something for us."

Rozen said this with a somewhat indifferent tone.

The relationship between Rozen and Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, if not bad, certainly wasn't good.

"Akikan...?"

Natsume called Rozen with a hint of worry.

"I'm fine."

Rozen's face regained its casual and smiling expression. He patted Natsume's head.

"Let's go and see what he wants."

Rozen suggested.

"Okay..."

Natsume didn't resist Rozen's affectionate actions. Her face turned red again, and she silently nodded, displaying an obedient demeanor towards Rozen.

So, after Natsume's spiritual energy had recovered a bit, Rozen and Natsume left the Jujutsu practice ground together, following the sparrow shikigami, and arrived at the Kikyoukan.

...

Tsuchimikado household,

At this moment, inside Kikyoukan, not only were Rozen and Natsume, who were summoned, present, but also Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Tsuchimikado Takahiro, and Tsuchimikado Chizuru, the trio.

When Rozen and Natsume arrived here and sat on the floor, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi calmly announced some news.

Hearing this news, both Rozen and Natsume were stunned.

This is what Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi said.

"Now that you've graduated from junior high school, starting this year, you will attend the Onmyo Academy."

That's what Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi said.