Grrrrgle.
From Rui's embraced stomach came a pitiful sound, like that of a newborn puppy.
"……I'm sorry."
At the sound from his own stomach, Rui bowed his head awkwardly.
If we were ordinary humans, it would have been just a warm, laughable grumble. But remembering what could fill this child's stomach made it hard to laugh.
"I tried to endure, but I'm just too hungry…… I know I shouldn't kill people……. I really know that now……!"
There's a small village near this mountain foothill. If Rui hadn't met me, he probably would have headed there.
If a demon's cannibalistic impulse were simple enough to overcome with just a "hold back," how nice that would be.
Knowing it's not, I couldn't say anything. But I also couldn't let him eat people.
Then there's only one thing I can do.
"Rui, can you close your eyes for a moment?"
"……? Okay."
Confirming that Rui obediently followed, I grabbed my left arm with my right hand.
Deep breath. Exhale, inhale, hold, then put strength into my right hand── snap, the left arm severed from the shoulder.
At the smell of blood spreading around, Rui broke the instruction and opened his eyes wide. And the moment he saw it, Rui's pupils instantly narrowed.
"It might not taste good, but endure with this."
"Bro, your arm!"
"It's fine because I'm a demon. Look, it grew back right away, didn't it?"
Demons eat each other. The demons on Mt. Fujikasane endured their hunger that way too.
Although the flesh of their kind is said to have a disgustingly terrible taste, no other method came to mind in this situation.
I apologized in my heart to Rui, whose face had turned pale and was covered in saliva and cold sweat, for being a lousy big bro.
"I'll definitely make a medicine to turn you back into a human someday. Then let's go back to the house where our aunt and uncle are."
The moment he heard that, Rui's eyes sparkled. Expectation flashed in his purple eyes.
"……Are Dad and Mom alive?"
"They're alive."
On the way here, I stopped by the village briefly. Since I couldn't go alone without Rui, I only heard rumors lightly, but if that's true, both of them are alive.
Although they suffered severe injuries, they were saved by a doctor who happened to be passing by, so I heard.
"So let's endure until then. Stop attacking humans from now on. Let's not accumulate any more sins. And someday, let's go back together with me. Okay?"
There was no guarantee that we could live like before if we returned. Even knowing that, I wanted to send Rui back to that house, to the embrace of our aunt and uncle.
If I hadn't left home, this probably wouldn't have happened.
"……Okay."
Nodding and looking up at me, Rui seemed a bit anxious, but his determined fingertips firmly accepted my arm.
・
・
・
After that, we headed to the old house on the mountain that Rui guided me to. Rui said he had been living there after parting with me and introduced a child he was living with. It was a girl much younger than Rui.
Rui called that child 'Mom.' It seemed like a role decided in play-pretend. That child, who had forgotten her own name after becoming a demon, was called that by Rui.
By the way, I also participated in the play-pretend. 'Mom' wanted to make me the 'Dad' role, but because Rui insisted "Bro's role is Bro!" my role was decided as 'Bro.'
Thus, 'Mom' became a single mother raising two children. Quite a challenging family environment.
Before I came, Rui and that child had been living by eating the corpses of humans who threw themselves off the cliff. According to 'Mom,' this place was a suicide spot where such people occasionally came.
'Mom,' being a weak demon, couldn't hunt people directly, so it seemed she had been wandering such suicide spots to survive. She had been chased away by other demons at her previous dwelling and had drifted into this mountain just before Rui arrived.
Hearing that story, the ethics within me wavered a bit.
Killing humans to eat them is definitely wrong…… but is eating humans who took their own lives also wrong?
After thinking for a while, I concluded it was okay. After all, if left alone, they'd become food for beasts. Then it's no different for Rui and them to eat them. I'm sorry to the people being eaten, but I'll give the bones a proper burial, so I hoped they'd overlook this much.
And if that still doesn't quell the hunger, I can give them my arm.
If we do that, these children won't attack humans. If they hide quietly, the Demon Slayer Corps' hands won't reach here either.
I need to find the Blue Spider Lily quickly to make the medicine. I want to turn Rui back into a human, and I want to turn 'Mom' back too.
Although I hadn't known the girl for long, after just a brief conversation, I sincerely wished for that.
'Mom' seemed to have been a demon for a long time, but her inner self remained sadly childlike.
Was it wrong to want to restore the proper human age to this child who had lived an abnormally long time?
But researching medicine eventually requires money.
I needed a patron. And there was only one person who could support me.
"(Hello, Lord Muzan.)"
"(You, don't make me laugh!)"
"(Whoa, scary. Why are you getting genuinely angry from the start?)"
"(You told me to leave a message after the beep sound, but where the hell did you sell off that beep sound?!)"
"(You were waiting for that? Lord Muzan is so honest.)"
No wonder it was quiet; that was the reason. Lord Muzan is always so honest, then and now.
Memories from the Heian period come to mind. The day I showed a common levitation trick by sticking my thumb into a tangerine, and he exclaimed "You, were you a sorcerer……?!" that easily fooled—ahem ahem, honest Lord Muzan.
"(Moreover, you shook off Akaza, whom I sent to guard you even without a Nichirin Blade, you really are……)"
"(Really? That face was for guarding??)"
He came running at full speed with a ferocious smile, so I reflexively shook him off in the bamboo forest; that was for guarding? Akaza, if that was the case, you should have said something in advance.
"(I'm near the mountain foothill, so join up.)"
"(But is a guard really necessary? Wouldn't it be fine without one?)"
"(You realize how well you die.)"
"(Ahem, then please listen. New song 'My Cause of Death is Mostly Demons!')"
The call ended. The intro hasn't even started yet.
Can't be helped. Let's postpone the patron talk for another time.
After saying goodbye to Rui and 'Mom' that I'd be back, I went down towards the mountain foothill as Lord Muzan said. On the way, I heard a rustling sound from the bushes.
"Akaza?"
"Eeek?!"
I thought it was Akaza and called out, but it was totally not, how embarrassing. It's not even a demon, but a human.
Probably a resident of the foothill village. First villager discovered.
The one who was startled by my voice first, then saw my hair and eye color and lost strength in his legs, collapsing, was a boy who looked about twelve years old. He was a handsome boy with a guaranteed future appearance grade.
"Sorry, did I startle you? Can you get up?"
"Ye, yes……."
Because I startled him, the basket he was holding overturned, and fresh green leaves spilled out all over.
This deep at night, such a young child came to gather herbs? Hmm, anyway, this herb list is…….
"I don't know what medicine you're trying to make, but this herb makes you vomit toxins from the body, and that one actually suppresses vomiting, so it's better not to use them together."
"Huh?"
"And for cough medicine, the flower blooming over there is better than this……"
"Ah, are you a doctor?!"
"Yeah, I was one in the past."
It was almost a hundred years ago, but well, if that's okay, then yes.
As I nodded, the boy, forgetting the attitude of being terrified just moments ago, knelt on the spot without caring about his clothes getting dirty, bowed his head to the ground, and shouted.
"I'll definitely pay back the money later! Please, I beg you, save my father!"
"Got it~."
Ah, but before that, I need to join up with Akaza.
Vaguely, it seemed like he should give thanks.
If asked what for, he couldn't answer clearly, but anyway, he owed that guy. Since the match in the bamboo forest, Akaza had been feeling that way.
So when he found that man at the place he was ordered to go by his superior, Akaza's heart raced.
The joy that the strong one he acknowledged had become a demon. The luck of meeting the one he wanted to express gratitude to again. A smile naturally spread on his lips, and his steps towards him lightened.
……Until the other jumped into the bamboo forest.
"Eeeeeek?! Upper Rank?! Why is Upper Rank 3 here?!?!"
Shouting that, Rei ran away into the bamboo forest. Why is he running away? He was just here to perform guard duty.
This was a situation that could have been prevented if Kibutsuji Muzan had just said one word to his friend in advance. Akaza could protest about his superior's negligence. Everything was a tragedy brought on by Kibutsuji Muzan's failure to report, contact, and consult.
Thus, Akaza was toyed with as if swung by bamboo. His compass was useless, and he ultimately lost Rei, who hid among the dense bamboo leaves and fled.
What a disgrace. Expecting he couldn't avoid his superior's scolding, he stiffened his body, but instead of scolding Akaza, his superior made an unusually understanding expression, saying "If it's a bamboo forest, it can't be helped." He even praised him, saying "You did well enough."
……Is the Nichirin Blade going to fall from the sky tomorrow or something?
Luckily, he survived, but what the hell is that mysterious high evaluation of the bamboo forest?
No, he understood. He experienced firsthand how unreasonably strong the combination of that guy and the bamboo forest was. But still, he couldn't accept it.
Holding such an uneasy feeling but not voicing it, Akaza ran towards the guy according to the newly received location information.
Finally finding the mountain and thinking he had joined up with Rei, but seeing that man with a human child by his side, Akaza's eyes flipped.
"This child's father is sick, so I'm on my way to help now, so please understand!"
As if. He wanted to retort like that, but Akaza held back. Because he had received an order from his superior: "Don't complain about what that guy does."
But he still didn't like it, and unpleasant was unpleasant.
Perhaps dissatisfaction showed on his face, thinking things like "Why not just leave weaklings who collapsed from illness?" Rei slightly frowned.
"If you don't want to, you don't have to follow. Wait here."
"……He ordered me to guard you."
"If you're coming, all acts of violence are prohibited. If you can't keep it, bamboo forest."
Only that guy could elevate the bamboo forest into a threat phrase.
Akaza was absolutely not yielding to that threat, but remembering his superior's order "Don't upset him; if he gets sulky, it'll be troublesome," he barely endured. He was a man with strong patience.
"……The order is only to guard. Other than that, I won't do anything."
"It's fine. Just be quiet."
After such a conversation, at the village they arrived at, Akaza──
"Hey, I plucked the herbs as you said."
"Thanks. Next, can you fetch some water? I need unpolluted water from upstream."
"Got it. Anything else needed?"
"Akaza, are bugs okay?"
"They're fine."
"Then I'll ask for the bugs I mention from now on."
Was helping incredibly hard.
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・
・
If it were just helping people, Akaza wouldn't have lent a hand.
There was a reason. An impulse that Akaza himself couldn't precisely understand moved him, and because of that, he had no choice but to help.
The guided village was noisy even at night. Because of the coughing sounds heard from here and there.
A sound so vivid that the image of bending over coughing comes to mind, a suffocating sound just from hearing it.
Akaza felt a strange sense of déjà vu at that sound. He couldn't remember where he heard it, but whenever he heard coughing, a corner of his chest throbbed unpleasantly.
Inside the house the boy guided them to, a man who seemed to be the boy's father was coughing painfully.
"Because of the poor harvest, there's no money and nothing proper to eat…… We couldn't even go to a doctor."
Bumpy vertebrae protruding through thin kimono. A body malnourished,只剩 bones and skin. The moment he saw that, Akaza's head throbbed.
"I'll examine you first. Can you tell me the symptoms?"
"The cough won't stop. Even if I eat, I vomit it right back up."
"Hmm…… Umm…… I see, got it. It seems like it can be managed somehow."
"Really?!"
Each time the man coughed, the throbbing worsened. Unpleasant, suffocating, a throbbing as if his head would burst.
If he smashed the entire scene before his eyes, would this pain disappear?
Akaza doesn't hesitate to kill children or men. The only ones he decided not to kill are women. But why.
"Can it be cured."
Forgetting even to clench his fist, such a question inadvertently leaked out.
Why should he care what happens to weak humans? Why does he end up asking such trivial questions?
Why.
"I will cure it."
At that one firm answer── did he feel something like relief?
He doesn't know what his own head is thinking.
He doesn't know what emotions his own heart is feeling.
Understanding nothing, the depths of his chest were dyed with irritation. It was incomprehensible enough to make him nauseous.
Wanting to vomit it all out, he opened his mouth, but what brushed his lips wasn't the contents of his stomach.
"……What can I do?"
The one most surprised by the impulse he couldn't explain was himself.
The cause of the disease spreading in the village was the water. I had seen similar symptoms during the Shabana era.
Since this is a suicide spot, it's highly likely that corpses flowed into the river long-term, polluting the water. Usually, it's not a big problem, but if physical strength drops even a little, the condition rapidly worsens.
Judging from the boy saying "This year's harvest was poor, so there's no money," all the villagers probably had reduced physical strength from not eating properly.
This village is also a remote hamlet where only elderly people with weakened immunity remain.
This disease can be cured by taking medicine to expel toxins from the body and resting well for a while. With special nutritional supplements combined, complete recovery is possible. The root of all illnesses is always malnutrition.
I made medicine for all the villagers. It wasn't a particularly difficult prescription, and thanks to Akaza gathering a lot, there were plenty of ingredients.
Handing the leftover medicine to the boy, he fidgeted. I said money was fine, but he wouldn't listen to "I'll definitely pay you back!" so I applied a child discount price, but even that wasn't enough for his dignity, so he declined again.
"Then I'll take the old house on the mountain top. Rent is permanently free. Decided! Yes, decided!"
Arguing like this won't lead to an answer, so I unilaterally declared that and returned as if running away. Akaza was with me too.
Lord Muzan, who learned the situation through Akaza's vision, got angry saying "Don't get involved with humans except for eating. What will you do if the Demon Slayer Corps comes?" but I don't know.
A few days later, while living peacefully with the children, one night.
The villagers came to the house. From middle-aged to elderly, all gathered with an unusual atmosphere.
I sent the children inside and went out to meet them. What could it be, I was tense thinking they might have come to chase us out, but it wasn't that.
They came to thank me for giving them medicine a few days ago. It felt more like each had scraped together the little food they had left at home and offered it rather than a thank you.
To sum up, it seems I'm regarded as a god-like being because of this appearance.
White hair and red eyes are often considered ominous, but this is the first pattern I've seen where they're deified. The grandfathers and grandmothers kept pressing their hands together, saying "Oh noble one……"
Anyway, I politely returned the food. Said thank you or offerings aren't needed, and thinking it was a good opportunity, I made one request.
'When night falls, go inside your houses and burn wisteria incense.'
I firmly told Rui and 'Mom' never to attack humans, but there mustn't be any unforeseen incidents.
Since I feed them my arm whenever they're hungry, they won't starve, but it's just in case.
The boy's father, who had been bedridden last time, seemed to have recovered a lot. He wanted to thank not only me but also Akaza, but since Akaza himself stubbornly refused to come out of the house, the thank you ultimately wasn't delivered.
Honestly, Akaza was the one who gathered the medicine ingredients, so hearing thank you only for me made me feel unnecessarily sorry.
"That child's father said to tell you he was grateful."
"Yeah."
After the villagers left, I conveyed the thanks on his behalf, but Akaza's response was blunt. Even though he made the most relieved expression when the medicine was completed, what do you even want to do?
I still can't believe that Akaza helped with medicine preparation. What kind of whim was that?
But whatever the reason, thanks to that, the villagers' lives were saved. I should thank him too.
"Akaza, thank you."
"……I'll also express gratitude."
"Huh? What gratitude?"
"It's nothing. Just…… I felt like saying it."
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