"Uncle... also practices stargazing?"
Natsume exclaimed, filled with surprise. Even Rozen, taken aback, gazed at Kurahashi Miyo, only recovering once he was certain she wasn't being untruthful.
Takahiro Tsuchimikado possessed the ability of Hoshi Utau?
This was entirely normal. Due to the incomplete development of his brain during the transition through the "gate" to another world and his infancy, memories couldn't be received.
In other words, during infancy, Rozen was no different from anyone else. He would simply cry while lying in the cradle. It wasn't until around the age of two, when his brain had matured relatively well, that memories began to slowly return, allowing him to recall who he really was.
Since Rozen started understanding things, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi had been solely focused on exploring his jujutsu abilities, imparting the knowledge of the Tsuchimikado family to him. He had never mentioned anything beyond that.
In essence, Rozen had very little understanding of Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi as a person. Not only Rozen, but even Natsume and Harutora had never heard from Tsuchimikado Takahiro or Tsuchimikado Chizuru about Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi's past.
So, whether it was Rozen or Natsume, they both were perplexed by the revelation of Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi possessing the ability of Hoshi Utau.
Therefore, Rozen could only remain silent, not knowing what to say.
Looking at Rozen in this way, Kurahashi Miyo seemed to understand what had happened and spoke with a somewhat helpless tone.
"The head of the family has always been reserved, never expressing himself easily, hence the choice to live in seclusion in the countryside."
Just as Kurahashi Miyo said, as the current head of the Tsuchimikado family, even if the family had declined, if Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi had any ambitions, he would have chosen to exhibit his abilities prominently in the Onmyo Agency or Tokyo, making every effort to revive the family.
However, in reality, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi chose to live in seclusion in the countryside, showing no interest in being a professional Onmyoji, nor did he display any intent to revitalize the family.
He simply quietly taught Rozen and passed down the knowledge of the Tsuchimikado family for him to inherit.
Initially, Rozen thought Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi had no interest in this aspect and thus chose this path.
However, now that it seemed Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi was also a Hoshi Utau ability user, there might be some difficult-to-discuss reasons behind his choices. Perhaps he had learned something crucial about the future through stargazing, leading him to choose this path.
Various thoughts crossed Rozen's mind, but in the end, he shook his head.
(Forget it, his choices don't have much to do with me.)
While Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi had shown kindness to Rozen by nurturing him, beyond that, they lacked any other emotional connection.
Regardless of Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi's intentions, if he didn't plan to interact with Rozen as a father, Rozen didn't want to involve himself too much.
Rozen just needed to focus on doing his best.
This was the current state of their relationship, leaving Rozen without much motivation to do anything specific about it.
However, Rozen could somewhat guess Kurahashi Miyo's intentions, why she had summoned him here.
"Is it because of 'that rumor,' Director?"
Rozen proactively shifted the topic and smiled at Kurahashi Miyo.
"That rumor..."
Natsume's expression immediately darkened.
Tsuchimikado Akikan was the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou.
This kind of rumor had already begun when Rozen hadn't even started school. When he did start, it became widely known, causing people to avoid him.
But that was just an ordinary school in the countryside. At most, the students avoided Rozen and nothing beyond that.
However, here was different.
This was Onmyo Academy, a world where immature Onmyoji gathered, a professional Onmyoji training institution recognized by the Onmyo Agency.
Arriving here, Rozen had officially stepped into the world of Onmyoji and would attract attention due to the rumors of being the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou.
After all, Tsuchimikado Yakou was an unavoidable figure in the world of jujutsu. He was the main cause of the frequent spiritual disasters in modern times, and also the father of modern Onmyoji. No matter if it was in a good or bad sense, his existence could not be ignored by practitioners.
In this situation, Rozen, being rumored to be the reincarnation of such a figure, would similarly become a target, whether in a good or bad sense.
In the past, Kurahashi Genji had taken action to observe Rozen and came to a conclusion, leading to his actions.
Now, Kurahashi Miyo was doing the same.
Rozen made this judgment.
In fact, Rozen's judgment was mostly correct.
Kurahashi Miyo did indeed want to meet Rozen and determine whether he was the reincarnation of Yakou based on "that rumor."
However, Kurahashi Miyo's method of observation was different.
She didn't need to engage in verbal exchanges with Rozen or have a jujutsu battle with him. She simply needed to meet him to reach a rough conclusion.
Because...
"Yakou was a person of whimsy, loving gatherings and having an extreme passion and talent for jujutsu, yet he had a similar interest in other enjoyable things," Kurahashi Miyo suddenly began to recount.
"Director?"
Natsume couldn't help but feel confused.
"You..."
Rozen also frowned.
But Kurahashi Miyo continued, regardless, speaking to herself.
"Modern people only know him as a great Onmyoji and consider him a genius in history. However, aside from his talent, Yakou had many troublesome aspects."
"When conflicts arose in front of him, he would approach because he found it interesting."
"When injustice occurred in front of him, he would feel indignant and meddle in."
"Despite being the head of the Tsuchimikado family, he was never interested in political matters, only in researching jujutsu."
"Even after becoming the head of the Onmyo Bureau, Yakou never cared about administration. He would leave all affairs to shikigami. He cared about outstanding talents but was more fond of troubling issues, because he himself was of that type."
Kurahashi Miyo spoke with a nostalgic tone, recounting each of these details.
This made Rozen and Natsume understand the past.
Kurahashi Miyo knew Tsuchimikado Yakou.
It didn't mean knowing the historical Tsuchimikado Yakou but truly encountering that kind of person.
"At that time, I was just a little girl, not even a member of the Kurahashi family yet. But Yakou noticed my Hoshi Utau power and had the Kurahashi family adopt me, showing me favor and nurturing me."
Kurahashi Miyo turned her gaze to Rozen, like seeing an old acquaintance, and smiled kindly.
"Although I've said so much, I just wanted to say this."
"Akikan, I don't know if you are Yakou's reincarnation. After all, my Hoshi Utau is starting to decline, and I can only see some things vaguely."
"But you really resemble Yakou... very much..."
Kurahashi Miyo's tone sounded extremely ethereal, leaving Rozen at a loss for words.