Demon Slayer: The Naruto Hashira is a pure villain!

Chapter 81 I thought you were genuinely stupid, but it turns out you were just pretending.

Sanemi glanced at the stove, where Kuang Jin was squatting in front of it, starting a fire, while Granny Akiyama was chopping ingredients with her back to them.

Great, nobody's paying attention here, you can talk now!

Moving a chair, Sanemi closed the distance between himself and Yayoi, while lowering his voice.

"Grandma Qiushan is the grandmother of Brother Qiushan."

"..."

I was all prepared to hear a shocking and outrageous ethical scandal, but I never expected that Sanemi would pull such a horrific stunt for himself.

“I also know that the old woman’s son’s surname is Akiyama,” Yayoi retorted to Sanemi, sounding annoyed.

Unexpectedly, Sanemi appeared genuinely shocked.

"how do you know?"

Well, he really is stupid.

Yayoi no longer wanted to have any expectations of Sanemi and automatically compared him to Inoue Jiro under Momoyama.

It's alright, at least this one knows to run home when it rains, that's enough.

She raised her hand and ruffled Sanemi's white hair, her eyes full of loving affection as if she were looking at a fool. "It's alright, being a little slow is fine too, as long as you're obedient."

No, what does this have to do with anything?

Sanemi's eyes became more insightful because of Yayoi's remarks, which were completely unrelated to the topic.

"Stop touching me..." Sanemi raised his hand and pressed Yayoi's hand down from above his head, then quickly glanced at the stove.

Fortunately, Kuang Jin didn't see it, otherwise he would have nagged me for a long time.

Sanemi's ear tips turned bright red, and worried that Yayoi's hand would continue to cause trouble, so she did not let go immediately.

Unable to get a whole melon, Yayoi was as anxious as a badger wandering aimlessly in a melon patch. Without even pulling her hand away, she asked Sanemi:

"Who is this Brother Qiushan you're talking about?"

“Grandma Akiyama’s grandson.” Honest Sanemi explained the family relationship to Yayoi.

Even the slow-witted Yayoi could tell that Sanemi was deliberately beating around the bush. She pulled her hands away and pinched Sanemi's cheeks, pulling them apart.

"Tsk, if you keep pretending to be stupid, I'll beat you up."

"I made a mistake... I made a mistake..." Sanemi pleaded incoherently.

"If you know you're wrong, just say so. If you keep beating around the bush, I'll..."

“Just kill me.” Sanemi replied, covering his slightly swollen cheek.

"As for Brother Akiyama's name... I think it's something like Yun."

"Qiu Shan Tingyun?"

"Huh? It seems so. Yayoi, how did you know?"

"I guessed," Yayoi blurted out.

No wonder the surname Akiyama felt so familiar. I met a swordsman with the surname Akiyama the first time I participated in the selection. He was quite powerful. It's just that I didn't want to become a slave so early back then, otherwise I would have been in the same class as him.

"Go on."

“I’m not familiar with Brother Qiushan, and we’ve never even met. I only learned about him from Kuang Jin little by little.”

Sanemi organized the little bit of information he knew into useful details and shared it with Yayoi.

"Brother Akiyama is Kuang Jin's senior brother and has taken good care of him. When Kuang Jin was very young, his parents were killed by demons. The Flame Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps arrived in time to save his life. After that, he lived with Granny Akiyama."

"Akiyama Tōun is dead, isn't he?" Yayoi, annoyed by Sanemi's rambling, directly stated her conjecture.

"Shh—" Sanemi put his index finger to his lips and glanced in the direction of Granny Akiyama.

She was still processing the ingredients, seemingly oblivious to the conversation.

That's true, Grandma Akiyama is so old, how could her hearing be so good?

"Don't say such things in front of Granny Akiyama." Sanemi reminded Yayoi, "Brother Akiyama was Granny Akiyama's only relative in this world. Kurokichi was worried that Granny Akiyama wouldn't be able to accept the news of Brother Akiyama's death, so he never told Granny Akiyama."

Do you come here often?

Seeing how familiar Kurokin and Granny Akiyama seemed, Yayoi spoke up.

Sanemi recalled, "It wasn't very often, but it came at least once a month."

"What if Kuang Jin doesn't survive this time?"

"Then I will visit Grandma Akiyama myself."

“She does recognize you, she keeps calling you Kuang Jin.” Yayoi looked at Sanemi and remembered that at the door, Granny Akiyama kept calling Sanemi Kuang Jin.

“Then I’ll be called Kuang Jin in this room, if that will make Granny Akiyama accept me,” Sanemi said with a smile.

That smiling face made Yayoi feel... a little stupid.

Yayoi couldn't understand why this guy would say something like that; it was incredibly stupid.

"What are you talking about?" Kuang Jin's amused voice came from behind Shimi, who was already feeling guilty and jumped in fright.

"Nothing, I was just asking if the beef stew made by Granny Shimi Akiyama is really that delicious." Yayoi lied without thinking, and the lie just came out without batting an eye.

"Absolutely delicious! Yayoi, you'll never forget it after just one bite," Kuang Jin assured him, patting his chest.

Yayoi made up an excuse on the spot; she didn't really care whether it tasted good or not. Now, all Yayoi wanted to know was—

"When can we eat? If not, just stuff two pieces of tofu into my mouth. I'm really starving."

"I'm sorry... I haven't been very hospitable, young lady..."

Grandma Akiyama, leaning on her cane, walked unsteadily to Yayoi's side and apologized.

"Alright, alright, Grandma, please sit here and rest for a while. I'll get the pot ready and bring it over right away."

Worried that Yayoi might clash with Granny Akiyama, Kuang Jin spoke up before Yayoi could say anything.

She kept giving Sanemi meaningful glances: Don't let Yayoi curse Akiyama along with her.

Sanemi slapped his forehead in exasperation: Is this something I can do?

Kuang Jin moved quickly and soon returned to the dining table with Grandma Qiushan's secret hot pot base and ingredients.

At that time, Granny Akiyama held Yayoi's hand and kept talking. Unusually, Yayoi did not pull away. Although her face was very sour, she was still listening to Granny Akiyama's rambling.

"Girl, you're so thin. You need to eat more and rest more. Don't work too hard. When you're out and about, you need to learn to take good care of yourself."

"Yes, I understand, Grandma... Granny Akiyama."

Kuang Jin carried things onto the table one trip after another, secretly giving a thumbs-up to Shimi who came to help.

[Well, Sanemi, I didn't expect you could actually persuade Yayoi.]

[...How can I tell you for you to believe me? This isn't because you listened to my advice at all!]

Finally, a steaming hot pot of beef was placed in front of her, and Yayoi finally saw the delicious and juicy premium Wagyu beef and tofu soaked in broth that Kuang Jin had described.

"Okay, you can eat now."

Kuang Jin, who had been holding his chopsticks and waiting for the clock to speak, suddenly plunged his chopsticks into the pot after hearing the words.

Following Kuang Jin's advice, the first bite should be taken before your mouth is contaminated by other ingredients. You should taste the tofu that has absorbed the broth and the flavors of the other ingredients.

After one bite, just as Kuang Jin had said, my tongue could no longer taste any other food.

Yes, it's hot.

You can't rush things.

Chapter 82 Don't think of me as so noble; I just crave meat.

"Eat slowly, it's very hot."

Sanemi guessed that Yayoi had burned herself just like when she first ate this kind of beef hot pot, and handed Yayoi a glass of water.

"Thank you."

Yayoi took the cup and drank a mouthful of water without any warning, her face flushed with emotion.

"Are you trying to make sure my tongue dies soon enough?"

"what?"

Yayoi didn't say anything more. She held the cup by the rim with one hand, and with the other hand she flattened Sanemi's right hand, placing the cup in Sanemi's palm. Then she held Sanemi's right hand with both hands, not giving him any chance to escape.

"Did you feel it?"

"Hmm, it's very hot." Sanemi said somewhat awkwardly.

Unexpectedly, while Kuang Jin was cooking rice, he also boiled all the water in the kettle.

They are quite diligent.

Could you please let me know in advance next time?

“No,” Yayoi released Sanemi’s hand, wagged her index finger at Sanemi, and corrected him, “I’m making you feel my anger.”

"You can drink this water yourself, don't put it in front of me and annoy me."

After saying that, Yayoi charged at the beef hot pot again.

Remember to blow on it before eating, and enjoy it with rice.

I have to say, maybe it was because I was really hungry, but this dish was exceptionally delicious.

"I told you it was delicious, didn't I?" Seeing that Yayoi, who was visiting for the first time, was enjoying her meal, Kuang Jin felt quite pleased with himself.

Grandma Akiyama is known for her excellent cooking skills. If Akiyama had survived, the Akiyama family restaurant, which never opened, would have been incredibly popular.

"Ah."

Yayoi, her mouth stuffed full, responded without even looking up.

Grandma Akiyama sat at the dining table, not touching her chopsticks, but looking at Yayoi, who was enjoying her meal, with a loving expression.