Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

Yukina walked sullenly through the empty corridor.

The sense of loss in my heart, like a small gray cloud, kept floating above my head.

"Daddy~"

"Daddy, Daddy~ Are you there?"

There was complete silence on the other end; there was no response.

After waiting for a while, there was still no movement.

Xue Nai felt even more aggrieved.

"Bad dad..."

Muzan, who was just about to return: ?

"Oh? So you don't have a father now."

Xuena: "..."

She completely ignored this typical angry remark from a father and immediately seized the opportunity to poke him again:

"Daddy, Daddy, can Xue Nai come to you now? Just for a little while..."

Silence fell again on the other end.

Unable to get a response, Yukina stood alone in the empty corridor, blinking her eyes repeatedly.

My dad isn't paying attention to me either?

Nobody's paying attention to me, sob sob sob...

She tried hard to lift her head and suppress the bitter feeling.

But my eyes still started to burn uncontrollably.

Immediately afterwards, a perfectly round tear rolled down her cheek without warning, landing on the edge of the papers she was holding, leaving a small, dark, damp stain.

Muzan was dealing with other matters and thought that after that stupid child complained, he would continue to bombard him with "Daddy, Daddy" as before.

He waited for the annoying noise to start again.

However, the expected harassment did not occur.

After a brief silence, a low sob could be heard from the other end.

Muzan's brow twitched, and he pressed his fingers against his temples.

next second.

"Nakime, bring her here."

"Yes, sir."

Nakime's response came immediately, without any doubt.

After only a moment's thought, she realized who Muzan was referring to.

The coordinates of all that exists in the Infinite City are under her control.

In just a moment, Yukina sensed familiar fluctuations in the surrounding space.

She thought her father was annoyed by her and had Nakime teleport her back.

She quickly wiped the tears from her face haphazardly with the back of her hand, sniffed, and tried to straighten her small body.

I'm ready to return to the empty courtyard.

Although there was no one else there, there was Hanako, Koma, and other doll friends, and there was also a swing to play with...

Actually, being alone as a ghost isn't so bad...

She tried to reassure herself while waiting for the situation to stabilize.

However, when the surrounding scenery became clear, what came into view was not the familiar cherry blossom tree.

Instead, it was a familiar Japanese-style room.

And there was Muzan, who was sitting upright in a chair in the center, resting his chin on one hand, his eyes coldly sweeping over her.

"Dad... Dad?"

Yukina froze, her eyes wide with surprise and lingering tears.

She blinked in disbelief, then quickly turned her head to look around.

It really is here, Dad!

Dad is definitely the best!

"dad--!"

The overwhelming joy instantly washed away all her grievances and self-pity. She even forgot that she had just been crying and took off running straight toward Muzan.

She buried her face in his chest, her little hands gripping his clothes tightly, her head pressed against his chest, rubbing against him forcefully.

Muzan looked down at the furry black head that had suddenly attacked him.

He suppressed the urge to immediately throw the troublesome little thing away, his brow furrowing slightly.

It wasn't until he felt the small body in his arms trembling uncontrollably, sobbing slightly, that he belatedly realized:

This idiot seems to be really crying, and hasn't completely stopped.

"Stop crying."

He grabbed Yukina by the back of her collar with little gentleness, lifted her from his arms, and made her stand up.

Xue Nai had stopped wanting to cry, but when her father lifted her up, tears started welling up in her eyes again.

Upon hearing her father's command, she quickly took a deep breath, her little face puffing up slightly, trying her best to hold back the remaining tears.

All that remained were a pair of wet, red eyes, pitifully gazing at Muzan.

Muzan scrutinized her expressionlessly for a few seconds, his gaze lingering on her moist eyes and cheeks.

Then, he reached out and pulled a small handkerchief from the lining of her kimono, and put it in her hand.

"Wipe it clean."

He gave the order, while glancing down at the fabric of his clothes that had just been rubbed against.

Very well, it's dirty again.

Xue Nai took the handkerchief and then remembered that she had a handkerchief with her.

I was so upset just now that I forgot to use it and stupidly wiped it with the back of my hand...

She carefully placed the crumpled papers she had been clutching tightly on the table next to Muzan and smoothed them out.

Then, she picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped her face.

Muzan's gaze followed her movements and landed on those few pieces of paper.

The top is covered with hiragana and katakana characters.

It is the basic Japanese syllabary (hiragana and katakana).

This instantly reminded him of some unpleasant things that had happened not long ago.

Today, he checked on the teaching situation on Kokushibo's side through the blood connection.

Of course, it wasn't out of curiosity about how stupid that idiot would be on his first learning experience; it was purely to confirm whether Kokushibo was carrying out orders and whether that idiot had caused any new trouble.

The teaching process seemed to be going fairly smoothly, and that idiot's learning speed... was barely beyond redemption.

But who can tell him why that face suddenly flashed into Kokushibo's memory without warning?

Even if he were to transform into a child, he would recognize that face at first glance!

That monster, Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

Even after hundreds of years, even just a fleeting glimpse of his juvenile form was enough to set off alarm bells in his mind.

Kokushibo, that idiot!

Even after hundreds of years, the image of that monster still lingers in my mind!

That's absolutely idiotic!

I simply can't understand it!

"Dad, I've learned everything the teacher taught me today..."

Yukina wiped her face dry, and her eyes, now sparkling again, looked at Muzan.

After all, they are just children; their emotions are like summer showers—they come and go quickly.

The urge to show one's progress to the most important person quickly overwhelmed everything else.

Seeing her father's gaze fixed on her academic achievements, she felt this was a good opportunity.

However, as she spoke, she noticed that her father's expression had not softened but had become even more gloomy.

His eyes were fixed on the void, but his focus seemed to be neither on himself nor on the papers.

"dad?"

She called out again tentatively, took a small step forward, and waved her little hand gently in front of Muzan's eyes, trying to get his attention. "Daddy! Are you listening to Yukina?"

Muzan snapped out of his daze, a hint of displeasure in his expression.

"The sound was so faint, like a mosquito's buzz, who could hear it?" he scoffed.

Yukina blinked.

She was speaking quite loudly just now…

And Dad was clearly watching us...