Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

The two little ones sat side by side on the cherry blossom tree.

Petals drifted down from time to time, landing on their hair and shoulders.

"Brother, what were you thinking about while you were sitting in the tree?"

"I wasn't thinking about anything... I was just waiting for my sister."

"Won't my brother get bored?"

"Won't."

Why?

"Because... waiting for my sister isn't boring."

Yukina tilted her head and glanced at him, then chuckled.

"My brother is so nice."

Lei didn't say anything, but quietly moved his body a little closer to her.

Their sleeves touched.

Suddenly remembering something, Xue Nai took out the ball of cotton thread from her bosom.

"Look, brother! The teacher praised my spider flip! He said it was excellent!"

She held the spider up to her face with a proud expression.

Lei looked down at the knotted thread, which was indeed much neater than it had been that morning, and nodded seriously.

"My sister has made progress."

"whee."

Xue Nai carefully tucked the spider back into her clothes, then tilted her head back.

"Brother," she suddenly spoke, "can we climb trees together more often from now on?"

"Yes, of course."

Yukina happily swung her legs, causing the branches to tremble gently, and another shower of petals fell.

Under the tree, the puppy, who had woken up at some point, tilted its head back and looked at the two small figures close together in the tree. It tilted its head in confusion, then lay back down in its bed and continued to sleep.

Anyway, the owner is fine.

That white-haired two-legged creature... isn't so bad after all.

*

The night in Yoshiwara's geisha district is always like this.

Lanterns hung from the eaves, and candlelight bathed the entire street in an ambiguous warm color.

The sounds of string music, singing, and laughter drifted from behind the paper doors of the teahouses, and the mingled scents of cosmetics and wine floated in the night breeze.

Muzan, dressed in a woman's kimono, sat in front of a dressing mirror. He had recently infiltrated the place as a female geisha.

Disguise was easy for him.

He needed information about the Blue Spider Lily, and these foolish humans could conveniently run around and gather information for him during the day.

The Yoshiwara area was the territory where the Gyutaro siblings lived.

Muzan was fairly satisfied with Gyutaro.

His twisted yet tenacious will to survive, and his ruthless hunting of Demon Slayer Corps scum, earned him high praise.

As for his sister...

Muzan silently commented in his mind: Good-looking, but not very bright.

However, for ghosts, as long as they are obedient and can kill, it doesn't matter whether they are smart or not.

The sound of the door being pushed open interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, newbie, I'm talking to you—"

The teahouse proprietress, her face powdered, walked in, fanning herself, her brows furrowed, and looked Muzan up and down as he dressed up as a geisha.

Those shrewd eyes had already scanned the face in the mirror several times.

"You've been here for a while now, haven't you? You don't study the shamisen properly, and you don't practice your dancing properly either. All you do is sit there and daydream all day. What's the use of being good-looking? When customers ask you to perform, what are you going to show them? We don't keep idle people here."

Muzan raised his crimson eyes and glanced at her indifferently.

The woman kept babbling on, even poking his shoulder: "You're not saying anything again? Who do you think you are? The Emperor's princess? Who are you trying to impress with that high and mighty attitude—"

Before he could finish speaking...

"Click."

The finger poking into his shoulder, along with his entire hand, suddenly exploded.

The proprietress's eyes widened, but before she could scream, she found herself completely unable to move.

"Who gave you permission... to boss me around?"

Muzan turned his head slightly, his beautiful face expressionless, only his crimson pupils glancing at her in the dim candlelight.

"Since that's the case, then go and die."

She wanted to beg for mercy, but only a hoarse, guttural sound came from her throat.

The next instant, her head exploded.

Muzan disgustedly brushed off the spot the woman had just touched, then stood up, drops of blood dripping down his clothes.

I've been here for several days now.

Nothing was gained.

Those humans brought back nothing but useless information.

It's all useless.

He glanced down at the bloodstains on his clothes, his brow furrowing.

These clothes are dirty; I need to change them.

...Just come back in a few days with a different identity.

With a slight thought, his figure disappeared into the night of Yoshiwara.

Infinite City.

After changing into clean new clothes, Muzan stood in the room for a moment.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered that idiot.

It feels like two or three days have passed since I finally got over the fatigue.

He's been busy with intelligence gathering these past few days and hasn't checked on the situation there.

That idiot, so cowardly and clumsy, he probably wouldn't even dare to speak if he met a strange ghost...

just in case……

Muzan's brow furrowed even more.

A moment later, he closed his eyes, and his consciousness, guided by the flow of blood, quietly probed into Yukina's memories.

Then he saw it.

...?

That idiot, and Lei, sat side by side on the tatami mat.

She was holding a plush tiger in her arms and was bringing it closer to Lei.

The rag doll's tiger paw bobbed and poked at my tired arm, making noises like, "Awooo—! Awooo—! Brother, run! The tiger's coming to eat you!"

He paused for a second, then looked down at the plush tiger, and then at her.

He reached out and carefully poked the tiger's head.

"Awooo!" Xue Nai cried out in pain for the doll, pulling the tiger tightly into her arms. "Ah! Brother killed the tiger! That's amazing!"

Exhausted, he smiled and his lips curled up.

Looking at other memories, one is that the mud pit in the courtyard has been ruined again, with one person squatting on the ground, their little hands covered in mud, kneading mud, while the other is responsible for scooping water from the small bucket next to them and pouring it out little by little.

Or the two little devils climb up the tree and sit side by side playing cat's cradle.

……

Muzan opened his eyes.

The corners of his mouth had turned down without him noticing.

He stared at the ugly graffiti on the wall of his room, which some idiot had called "the most handsome dad and the cutest self," and remained silent for a very long time.

and so.

These last two or three days.

Is this how they live?

Playing with rag dolls, digging in the mud, playing cat's cradle, feeding the dog.

They were laughing so happily.

He calls me "brother" so naturally.

That idiot.

He looked away expressionlessly, his fingers unconsciously tightening.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

He brought the exhaustion upon himself.

I just wanted that idiot to have a companion, so he wouldn't spend all his time hanging out with someone like Doma who has mental issues.

Things are fine now...

pretty good.

He closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and his aura was colder than usual.

Good.