Before anyone realized it, Natsume had finished her explanation.
However, the oppressive silence lingered, growing even heavier.
Natsume and Suzuka both looked at Kyouko.
Rozen also quietly observed her.
At some point, Kyouko had wrapped her arms around herself as if she were freezing, her face pale.
"Father… how could he…?"
She could only utter such trembling words.
Her father, the head of the Kurahashi family, hailed as the greatest Onmyoji of the current era and the de facto leader of the jujutsu world, had actually conspired with the Souma family to orchestrate the spiritual disaster terror attacks. He even intended to complete the miracle of divine descent at the cost of the citizens' lives?
This kind of thing…
"I know you don't want to believe it." Natsume softened her tone as if trying to comfort Kyouko, but still chose to state the truth plainly. "But think carefully. Haven't there been many strange actions from the Onmyo Agency ever since Akikan returned?"
That… was indeed true.
Looking back, the Onmyo Agency's actions had been incredibly suspicious.
For instance, their reckless pursuit of Rozen had been excessive.
Even if Rozen was a highly dangerous jujutsu criminal, the way they arrested him—by sealing Onmyo Academy with a barrier without any regard for the safety of the students—was abnormal. Instead of evacuating the students beforehand, they had merely directed them to take shelter in the underground jujutsu training hall.
Moreover, when Rozen and Kyouko were in the hotel, the Onmyo Agency's sudden attack had come so abruptly that they directly blew up the hotel room, disregarding the safety of the people inside. That, too, was highly abnormal.
Additionally, in their attempt to capture Rozen, they manipulated Tokyo's entire spiritual leyline to construct a massive barrier formation—a strategy that was not only incredibly dangerous but also absurdly excessive. Was it really necessary to involve an entire city just to capture one jujutsu criminal?
Everything about their actions was just too unnatural.
And on top of that, Rozen had already pointed out that the Souma family was working with the Onmyo Agency. Kyouko had personally witnessed how dangerous Souma Takiko was—just losing control of her emotions had caused a massive chain reaction of spiritual disasters. Someone this dangerous was now openly acting alongside the Onmyo Agency—wasn't that proof enough of something sinister?
And when Kyouko thought about it, her father himself had been acting strangely.
For example, in the past year and a half, the atmosphere between her father and grandmother had become much more strained and tense. When interacting with family, he showed little emotion and only spoke when absolutely necessary. He was also frequently absent from home and had been overly fixated on the movements of the Tsuchimikado family.
Furthermore, after Rozen was labeled a jujutsu criminal, her father had explicitly ordered her to sever ties with him, claiming that they no longer belonged to the same world. Was that truly necessary?
All of these were signs.
They were, without a doubt, proof.
In other words…
"You all were actually innocent, weren't you? You were framed by my father, which is why you were labeled jujutsu criminals and arrested by the Onmyo Agency?"
Kyouko looked at everyone.
However, Rozen shook his head.
"I've already said this before. That part is absolutely true," Rozen replied. "I did break taboos. I performed forbidden rituals so dangerous that this city and even the entire nation were on the brink of an unimaginable crisis. That's a fact, and I won't deny it."
Therefore, when it came to being a jujutsu criminal, Rozen had no intention of making excuses.
"But now, the Kurahashi family and the Souma family are planning to do the exact same thing as me and Harutora's past selves. Without a doubt, they too belong to the Yin faction of jujutsu—the greatest darkness within the jujutsu world."
In other words, if Rozen was guilty, then the Kurahashi and Souma families were equally guilty—if not worse.
Naturally, Harutora was also guilty. His past self had been the greatest sinner in the jujutsu world, and in this life, he had become a full-fledged terrorist.
"This will be a complete black-on-black battle—the only true 'white' might just be the Onmyo Agency's Onmyoji who are merely following your father's orders," Rozen said, locking eyes with Kyouko. "If you regret this, there's still time. I can dissolve the contract and restore your freedom."
Unlike absolute contracts, which could never be broken, the shikigami contract that Rozen had personally developed could be undone—but only if he, the contract's initiator, chose to break it himself.
Rozen was giving Kyouko the choice once more.
"Do you want to follow me and become a jujutsu criminal, opposing your father?"
"Or do you want to stand by your father's side and assist him in achieving his divine descent?"
"Or perhaps, would you rather return to your grandmother and take shelter with her, simply observing everything unfold from afar?"
"The decision is yours."
Rozen's words echoed in Kyouko's ears.
"I…"
Kyouko fell into silence.
Just as Rozen expected her to struggle with this decision—
Kyouko made her choice surprisingly quickly.
"…I didn't expect things to turn out this way, but I had already decided—I want to become your shikigami and face everything alongside you."
Kyouko clenched her hands in front of her chest, lifted her gaze, and looked at Rozen.
"Even before all this, as a Star Gazer, my intuition had already told me that by staying by your side, I would be able to witness the truth and the changes that unfold. Since that's the case, I choose to trust myself—to trust in my Star and in the light of your Star as well."
Kyouko had once said that Rozen's celestial fate was dazzling—brighter than anything she had ever seen.
Therefore, she chose to believe that someone with such an extraordinary destiny must be on the right path.
"I will go with you all to Kanda Myojin Shrine." Kyouko took a deep breath. "Even though I know my abilities are the weakest among everyone here and that I won't be of much help, as a Star Gazer, I must witness everything."
At that moment, a subtle but distinct aura emerged from Kyouko.
It was an aura of detachment, akin to a Buddha who had freed themselves from worldly conflicts and desires—untouched by distractions and illusions.
Perhaps, this was the ideal mindset of a true Star Gazer.
After all, both Kurahashi Miyo and Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi had also acted as detached observers, merely guiding events from the outside rather than interfering directly.
Natsume and Suzuka were both taken aback by this transformation in Kyouko.
Even Rozen looked at her in a new light, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"Don't worry. You're my shikigami. I'll make sure to protect you so you survive the battlefield."
Saying this, Rozen's gaze swept across the three girls.
"Now, while we still have time, get ready."
"Tomorrow, we attack Kanda Myojin Shrine."
Hearing this, Natsume, Suzuka, and Kyouko all nodded firmly.