I don't want to be an elf!

He had already prepared a pistol and aimed it at the girl in front of him, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"boom--!"

The bullet was aimed at his head, but the opponent dodged it by slightly tilting his head.

The lead bullet grazed Kotori Itsuka's ear, leaving a faint scratch.

However, the team leader did not have the chance to fire a second shot.

Kotori Itsuka raised her fist and thrust it upwards, and the team leader felt a tremendous force coming from her chin.

With a crisp cracking sound, he was sent flying into the air before he could even let out a scream.

Then, he fell heavily to the ground, convulsed a few times, and lost consciousness.

"ghost......"

Among the other hidden members, one with sharp eyes noticed that Kotori Itsuka's ears were burning with tiny flames.

Within those flames, the scratches were miraculously healed in a mere instant.

"How can it be!"

The other members also gasped in surprise.

This inhuman speed of self-healing is something no human being could possess.

Even a scratch couldn't possibly heal so quickly.

In this world, there is only one creature capable of such a rapid self-healing process.

ghost.

But if the other party really is a ghost, why would it stand unharmed in the sun?

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Kotori Itsuka, hidden behind her mask, revealed a triumphant smile.

She deliberately didn't activate the shield of her divine armor so that these people would mistake her for a ghost.

Otherwise, let alone 20th-century firearms, even 21st-century missiles would not have been able to penetrate the A-level Divine Might Armor.

"If you are willing to give up resistance, I can let you suffer less."

The girl who blocked the way clapped her fists as if she had just swatted away a fly.

However, not a single person laid down their weapon.

Seeing this, the girl couldn't help but sigh.

"However, it seems that you have all chosen the thankless and difficult path."

----------

----------

Three minutes later.

All ten members of the hidden team, including the leader, were found unconscious around the prison van.

Although he didn't die, he definitely won't wake up anytime soon.

Kotori Itsuka took off the demon mask she had casually bought from a roadside stall, and looking at the mess on the ground, she couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

"As expected, it's much easier to play the role of Kurokoto."

In the original work, Kotori Itsuka is mostly divided into two personalities, namely the so-called Black Kotori and White Kotori.

The way to distinguish between the two is also very simple: just look at the color of the headband on her head to know which state she is in.

However, Kotori Itsuka is not a dual personality in the traditional sense like Yoshino Himegawa, nor is she like the Yamai sisters.

If I had to put it in perspective, Black and White Koto are two personas of Kotoru Itsuka.

When she is an ordinary person, Kotori Itsuka wears the persona of the innocent and pure Shirokotori.

However, when she is at work, Kotori Itsuka puts on the mask of the sharp-tongued and sadistic Kotori Kuro.

In front of her older brother, Rengoku Kyojuro, she plays the role of Hakukotori, a clingy and crybaby girl.

But in this situation, it's clear that Kurokotori is about to make her appearance.

Compared to the clingy and crybaby "little sister" personality, the decisive "commander" personality is obviously easier for the girl to play.

Yesterday, when she was acting cute in front of Rengoku Kyojuro, she had to suppress the urge to dig three bedrooms and a living room out of her toes to play the role of Shirokotari well.

"After all, Kotori is one of the few battle-type spirits, and I haven't drawn any powerful battle-type abilities yet." Kotori Itsuka muttered to herself, "If I can play the role of Kotori well and draw a battle-type talent, then a little bit of shame is nothing."

Then, she looked toward her real target for this carjacking trip.

The Kitchen Brothers and Sisters.

The steel prison cart and cage were like paper in front of her, easily broken in half.

As she stepped into the prison cell on the prison cart, she stomped on Tanjiro Kamado's ashen face.

"Hey, time to get up."

The wooden clogs wiggled a few times on the boy's face, making Tanjiro Kamado's eyelids twitch.

The distinct pain brought some clarity to his muddled consciousness.

Under Kotori Itsuka's constant stimulation, Tanjiro Kamado finally opened his eyes.

"here it is......"

The physical pain, sluggish thinking, and the girl stepping on his face made it difficult for him to understand his situation for a moment.

However, as his last memories before falling into a coma gradually surfaced in his mind, his foolish expression suddenly changed.

"Nezuko, where's Nezuko?!"

"Don't worry, it's right beside you."

Looking in the direction where Kotori Itsuka was gesturing, Tanjiro Kamado then noticed that his wooden box was lying quietly in another corner of the prison cart.

He could feel his sister, who had turned into a demon but was still connected by blood, sleeping inside.

Then, the panicked expression on his face relaxed a little.

On Spider Mountain, Nezuko's identity as a demon is exposed, attracting the attention of the Demon Slayer Corps.

His senior apprentice, Giyu Tomioka, even drew his sword against his own colleagues to protect him and his sister, just to buy him time to escape.

But in the end, they were both caught.

Just moments before their execution, the Demon Slayer Corps members on Spider Mountain received orders from their leader to bring them back to the temporary headquarters in Tokyo for trial, thus saving their lives.

Having figured out the cause and effect, Tanjiro Kamado's relaxed expression stiffened again.

"I can explain it. Nezuko may be a demon, but she doesn't eat people!"

Tanjiro Kamado naturally assumed the girl before him was an important member of the Demon Slayer Corps, thinking the so-called trial had begun, and hurriedly explained, "Although this sounds absurd, but..."

"Stop, stop, stop."

Kotori Itsuka raised her index finger to interrupt his long-winded speech, saying somewhat impatiently, "I'm not interested in listening to you, and you don't need to explain anything to me."

"But......"

Tanjiro Kamado's face grew even paler.

Just when he thought his sister was about to be executed, Kotori Itsuka continued to explain, "Because I am not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps."

"You...you're not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?" Tanjiro Kamado was taken aback. "But wasn't I sent for trial?"

"Yes, I stopped them halfway through."

Kotori Itsuka pointed to the Hidden members lying haphazardly on the ground around her and said calmly, "These are the members of the Demon Slayer Corps."

"what......"

Tanjiro Kamado's brain short-circuited.

Although I didn't understand what had happened, the fact was that I had been rescued.

With his life no longer in danger, Tanjiro Kamado immediately sat up and solemnly performed a proper dogeza (a deep bow) in gratitude to the person who saved him and his sister: "Thank you so much for saving my sister and my lives."

"You're welcome."

"Excuse me, what is your name?"

"We'll talk about names later. My saving you wasn't entirely without conditions."

"I completely understand. You can take anything I have," Tanjiro Kamado said sincerely. "But if it's money... I haven't been in the Demon Slayer Corps for very long. I was arrested as a traitor before I even received my first month's salary, so money probably won't meet your expectations. But I can pay with my body!"

Kotori Itsuka gave him a silent look.

Although she knew that "paying with one's body" meant paying with one's labor, it still sounded a bit awkward.

However, considering that this guy's purity is comparable to that of Shirokoto, we'll let it slide for now.

"Perfect timing, I do need some manpower to help with things, which is actually why I saved you and your sister."

Kotori Itsuka took a lollipop out of the pocket of her Kamui Spirit Armor, put it in her mouth, and asked in a cool tone.

"Would you be willing to sign a contract with me and become a member of Ratatosk?"

Chapter Four: The Two-in-One Code of Conduct of Ratatosk

The conversation unfolded in a way that caught someone who had just woken up from a coma completely off guard.

Kotori Itsuka's decisive actions completely surprised Tanjiro Kamado.

The two had only been together for less than a minute when the topic of conversation turned to joining each other's organizations.

"La, Lato..."

Tanjiro Kamado struggled to keep up and stammered, "Lato what? Sorry, the name is a bit of a mouthful."

"Ratatosk, a term derived from Western mythology, means..."

Kotori Itsuka read it again, but then felt that explaining it would be too troublesome, so she asked directly, "In short, the reason I saved you is to bring you into my organization. Are you willing?"

"Is your organization an enemy of the Demon Slayer Corps?"

“No, at least I don’t think so,” Kotori Itsuka said. “I’m not on the side of humans, nor am I on the side of demons. I just think that the war between humans and demons has lasted too long, and it’s time to end this farce.”