Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

Yukina thought for two seconds.

It seems that deceiving yourself is really not very useful.

This time, she had some experience and things went much more smoothly.

Almost the instant her thoughts focused, a familiar feeling gathered at her fingertips.

A faint blue light appeared and grew rapidly. The delicate blue spider lily bloomed once again on her fingertips, its radiance shimmering.

Muzan changed his actions almost the instant the flower solidified.

He released his grip on her collar, instead holding her firmly in his arms, adjusting his position so he could get a closer look at the flower.

Yukina was a little confused by her father's sudden embrace, but her attention was soon drawn to the faintly glowing flower on her fingertip.

She mimicked Muzan, bringing her little head closer and widening her eyes to observe curiously.

It turns out that when you look at it up close, the veins on the petals are so fine, and the halo even moves slightly.

"Dad, do you think my flowers are pretty too?"

She turned her head, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

This laugh seemed very provocative to Muzan.

pretty?

More than just beautiful!

This is the very symbol he has been searching for for centuries.

Muzan pushed her face towards him.

He still didn't understand.

Why?

Why is it that this idiot's Blood Demon Art form is a unique blue spider lily?

And he, Muzan Kibutsuji, is the perfect ultimate being except for sunlight, the source of power, the progenitor of demons, yet his Blood Demon Art isn't even that...

However, along with this displeasure, several other emotions welled up within him.

Fortunately...

Thank goodness it was this idiot.

It's much more acceptable to him than to let him discover that some ghost beyond his control possesses this form.

Unaware of his complicated feelings, Xue Nai continued seriously, "Daddy, my flowers can eat people too!"

"I know you're not allowed to laugh."

"Hey, why? Daddy, why can't I laugh?"

Muzan felt he had been provoked again. "No reason why, I said you're not allowed to laugh, and that means you're not allowed to laugh."

Yukina paused for a moment, then covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled, "Um, okay."

Muzan: "...?"

Forget it, arguing with this brat is a waste of energy.

Anyway, he had already clearly seen the shape of the flower.

If I want to see it again later, I can just have this idiot conjure it up again anytime.

Then, an idea quickly took shape in his mind.

When we hold the Upper Moon meeting next time, we might as well let the other demons see the form of this Blood Demon Art.

Maybe this can stimulate those useless people, making them use their rusty brains more when searching for the real blue spider lily, and provide some more useful clues.

While he was pondering these things, Yukina in his arms had already drifted off to other things.

She remembered the little yellow dog in that dimly lit alley in Osaka, whimpering helplessly in the direction they had disappeared.

Her mind was in such a mess that she forgot to ask her father to bring the puppy back too.

She was worried that she was really broken and couldn't even take care of herself, let alone the puppy.

Now that she knows she's not broken and that Blood Demon Arts isn't such a scary thing, that thought in her mind started to stir again.

That little dog... those naughty kids said it was a stray dog, that it had no family, and that it was thin and small.

If I can bring it back, I can play with it myself.

We can play ball together.

She can also be a teacher to puppies...

The more she thought about it, the better she felt the idea was; it felt like tiny claws were gently scratching at her heart, making her feel itchy.

"dad,"

Yukina tilted her head up, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Muzan.

"Would you like to... get a puppy? A small, fluffy one, which can even help guard the house!"

Muzan didn't even lift his eyelids, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He could tell what this idiot was up to as soon as he heard it.

"I! Don't! Want to!"

Undeterred, Yukina persisted, trying to describe the wonderful qualities of puppies: "But... puppies are really cute, they wag their tails, they bark, and we can play together..."

"I don't have the habit of eating dog food."

Muzan interrupted her persuasion, adding in a harsh tone, "However, you could ask Doma; he might eat it."

"ah?!"

Xue Nai was shocked, her eyes wide open.

Uncle Doma... he actually eats dogs?

Dogs are so cute!

Seeing that her cuteness offensive and her companions' recommendations were ineffective, Yukina decided to unleash her ultimate weapon—acting cute and pitiful.

She immediately wrapped her little arms around Wuzan's neck, pressed her face against the crook of his neck, and drew out her voice, filled with immense grievance:

"Daddy~~~ Please... Actually, it's Yukina who wants to keep a ghost. It's so boring being a ghost all by herself... No ghost to play with... Waaah, Yukina is so pitiful..."

She had originally intended to feign distress to gain sympathy, but as she spoke, she remembered that all she had in her daily life were silent dolls and an empty courtyard...

The grievance felt incredibly real; his eyes quickly reddened, his voice became nasal, and tears were about to fall.

Muzan sensed the familiar prelude to that chilling cry.

"Don't you dare cry on me!"

"Dad, is it really not allowed?"

Yukina held back her tears, but couldn't help raising her small face to look at him with a heartbroken expression.

Muzan's brow twitched at her appearance, and he was about to say something more when Nakime, who had been standing by, timely intervened:

"Lord Muzan, it's already daylight outside, the sun has risen."

Sunlight.

It is a realm that ghosts can never set foot in.

Without any hesitation, Muzan immediately made a decision: get rid of this hot potato first.

"You," he tapped Yukina's forehead with his finger, "it's time to learn to read. Kokushibo should be waiting for you already."

He never mentioned the puppy again, as if the conversation had never happened, and immediately turned the topic back to the important matter at hand.

Then, he put Yukina down from his arms and let her stand on the floor, while he took a step back to create some distance between them.

"If you really want that stray dog,"

"After you finish your classes today, go ask Kokushibo yourself. If he's free and willing to go through this pointless waste of time with you..."

"That's your business, it has nothing to do with me. Now, I need to take care of important matters."

Having said that, he didn't even give Xue Nai a chance to speak again, turning around and walking into the depths of the corridor, his figure quickly disappearing into the shadows, leaving only the last syllable lingering in the air:

"Nakime, make sure she goes to find Kokushibo."

"Yes, Lord Muzan."

Muzan's figure vanished completely.

He successfully and gracefully passed this extremely troublesome matter on to Kokushibo, who was in charge of teaching.

As for how Kokushibo will handle it?

That was not within his consideration.

Partners are meant to handle trouble.

Xue Nai stood there, looking in the direction her father had disappeared, and blinked.

Although Dad didn't agree, he didn't seem to say it was impossible either.

This idea instantly lifted her spirits considerably.

She turned her head and looked at Nakime beside her expectantly: "Nakime-neechan, what Daddy means is... I can go to Teacher, and then Teacher might take me to find the puppy, right?"

Nakime looked at her brightening eyes and calmly nodded: "Lord Muzan's order is that after you finish today's studies, you should ask Lord Kokushibo on your own."

"That's great!"

Yukina let out a small cheer, instantly forgetting her earlier grievances.

She grabbed Nakime's hand and shook it, "Nakime-neechan, please take me to my teacher! I need to finish my studies quickly so I can go find the puppy!"

As for Kokushibo, he was completely unaware of the extracurricular activities he was about to face.