Demon Slayer: I am a Demon

Chapter 107 A Stranger's Sudden Words of Concern (3/4)

Tanjiro raised his axe, roared, and charged into the room.

He thought he was about to face a life-or-death battle with a demon, but the scene before him almost made Tanjiro's brain shut down on the spot.

Tanjiro had assumed that his mother and sister would be brutally murdered by demons, and he could even picture heartbreaking scenes in his mind. But the situation before him left him speechless and at a loss for what to do.

The mother was busy by the hearth, and the faint aroma of food wafted from it. The younger sister, Mi Douzi, was kneeling peacefully on the mat, looking well. A man sat quietly in the main seat, sipping his tea gently, while a very delicate girl stayed beside him.

Everything in the room seemed peaceful and serene, completely different from what Tanjiro had expected.

My mother was unharmed, my sister was unharmed, and everyone is fine.

At this moment, Tanjiro even felt as if he had returned to the time when his father was still alive. Perhaps it was because he was too tired, or perhaps it was the sudden reversal, but for a moment, Tanjiro even superimposed the figure of the man in front of him with that of his father.

When my father was still alive, our home was like this. After finishing his work, he would sit in the house drinking tea, my mother would be busy in the room, and my sister would stay by his side. We were really happy back then.

But at this moment, the man sitting there was not his father, but—

A ghost.

The ghost took a small sip of tea, nodded to him as he entered, and spoke gently:

Tanjiro is back.

He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was raising the axe.

Just like his father, he was gentle, unlike a demon.

Tanjiro, axe raised high, was momentarily at a loss, and finally, somewhat flustered, lowered the axe: "You—you head—"

He was about to say "ghost," but then stopped and asked nervously, "How did you get into my house?"

"Come and take a look."

Su Mu spoke gently, then pointed to the seat next to him: "Come and sit down."

Tanjiro, still holding the axe, hesitated.

"What, you think you can kill me with an axe? Or do you want to try and kill me again?"

Su Mu toyed with the teacup in his hand, looking at Tanjiro with amusement.

Hearing Su Mu say this, Tanjiro relaxed a bit, immediately threw his axe aside, and then knelt down next to Su Mu.

As soon as he sat down, Tanjiro couldn't wait to ask, "What are you doing at my house?"

Su Mu didn't answer Tanjiro's question. Instead, he picked up the teapot and poured Tanjiro a cup of tea: "You've been running so fast, you must be thirsty. Have some water."

Tanjiro was at a loss as to what to do about the demon's attitude.

It's fair to say that they never imagined they would be facing such a seemingly gentle ghost.

He almost stiffly accepted the teacup, hesitated for a moment, and then drank it down in one gulp.

"Tanjiro looks exhausted after a long day."

Su Mu sighed, "With Tanjiro gone, the entire burden of the family rests on your shoulders. It's a huge responsibility. Tanjiro must be exhausted."

The demon's words made Tanjiro purse his lips tightly. These days, he had been working hard for this family, not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and he was willing to do it no matter how hard it was.

But suddenly a stranger showed concern for me.

Or rather, it's still a ghost that cares.

Suddenly—suddenly I was so moved that I wanted to cry.

Even if he suffers a lot of fatigue and pain, he will not utter a sound or shed a tear. No matter what he encounters, Tanjiro feels that he can grit his teeth and bear it. But a word of concern from a complete stranger, no, a demon, suddenly makes him feel a bellyful of grievances being released, and he suddenly seems to break down.

Tanjiro almost immediately raised his head to avoid actually shedding tears.

The boy's feigned stubbornness was amusing.

"What exactly do you want?"

After a while, feeling that he had recovered somewhat, Tanjiro spoke again, but unknowingly, his voice was much less hostile than at the beginning.

"There's no rush."

Su Mu shook his head, then looked at Kui Zhi, who was standing by the hearth looking at him with some concern, and asked with a smile, "Madam Kui Zhi, is the food ready?"

"Okay, all done."

Kamado Aoi said something in a somewhat flustered manner.

"Then please have Mrs. Kui Zhi bring some over first."

"Uh—okay."

Zaomen Kuizhi hurriedly ladled a bowl of chicken from a small pot and walked over quickly, then respectfully handed it to Su Mu with both hands.

Su Mu reached out and took it, then handed it to Tanjiro: "You must be starving by now, let's eat first."

Tanjiro clearly hadn't expected a demon to hand him this bowl of chicken, and it was the first time he'd encountered such a situation, leaving him quite at a loss.

Tanjiro would find it more acceptable if a demon smashed the bowl on the ground or on his head; that's the kind of thing a demon would do.

But the gentle appearance of the demon before him left Tanjiro somewhat at a loss.

At this moment, Su Mu pushed the bowl towards Tanjiro again. Tanjiro seemed to come to his senses and carefully took it, but did not eat it.

"Madam Kuizhi, please bring up all the food. Midouzi, go and invite your younger siblings in so we can all eat together."

Su Mu then turned and instructed Ni Douzi and Zao Men Kui Zhi.

Perhaps because of the continuous issuing of orders, everyone had become accustomed to the ghost's commands and immediately went down.

Kōmon Kui quickly brought out the prepared food, and Mizuko brought in her younger brother and sister, who looked terrified.

It seemed as if this ghost had truly become the master of the house.

The children knew that Su Mu was a ghost before they came in, and they were a little scared. But as the smell of food wafted out of the room, everyone's eyes fell on the food.

For the Zao family, who were struggling to make ends meet, it had been a long time since they had been able to cook a chicken meal. Everyone swallowed hard without realizing it.

However, the children were really well-educated by Kamado Hime, and they were all very well-behaved even when faced with terrifying demons or delicious food that they longed for.

"Eat it all."

Su Mu spoke gently.

The children glanced at their mother hesitantly.

Kamado Aoi looked up cautiously at the ghost again, and seeing the ghost nod gently, she relaxed slightly and immediately arranged for the children to sit down and eat together.

Su Mu simply picked up a chicken leg and gave it to Kanao, then asked Kamado Aoi, "Do you have any sake?"

Yes, yes.

The kneeling Kamado Aoi immediately stood up, quite understanding: "I—I'll go get it right away."

Soon, a pot of wine was brought over. It didn't look like any good wine, but Su Mu didn't care. He poured himself a cup and, seeing that everyone was looking at him, smiled gently and said, "Eat."

Everyone then immediately began to eat.

Perhaps seeing her mother, her older sister Nezuko, and her older brother Tanjiro, and the demons seeming quite gentle, Hanako, Takeo, and Shigeru are all happily eating. It's been a long time since they've eaten meat, and everyone seems to enjoy it.

Tanjiro held the bowl in both hands, watching his younger brother and sister eat with relish, and seeing everyone gathered around to eat together. For a moment, he felt somewhat dazed.

It seems like a very, very long time has passed since a family could sit together and enjoy delicious food.

And now, everyone is happily sitting together again, only with one more thing—

A terrifying ghost.

Actually—perhaps—

Not so————

terrible.

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