Akaza was surprisingly talkative. He might enjoy talking. If asked, he even joined in training.
"Ah, but since I've decided not to eat humans! I'll ask you to try not to hurt me too much! I'll do my best to dodge, but in case of an accident, I'd appreciate it if you stopped your attacks!"
Seeing him sigh and go along with such a selfish request while saying, "Are you joking?" showed he was quite kind.
Akaza said nothing about me not eating humans. He didn't tell me to eat, nor did he try to make me eat.
"If you don't want to eat, then that's fine."
Moreover, I was surprised he could say something so opposite to Lord Muzan so casually.
Demons grow stronger the more humans they eat. And Akaza is a man who prioritizes strength above all. So I thought he'd say things like you can't get stronger without eating humans to me, who doesn't eat humans.
When I asked, Akaza frowned his tattooed face.
"To me, training is more important than eating. Because I want to see the end of martial arts, not just simple power."
Wow, a sense of kinship. I'm the type who wants to see the end of swordsmanship too, so I totally relate.
"What meaning is there in power gained only by eating? Especially those who gain power by eating only women are just disgusting."
It was a mutter filled with intense hatred. Seeing him clench his fists tightly, I wondered what had happened to him.
When I subtly probed, he said there was a demon among the Upper Ranks who only preyed on women.
That demon, who didn't train properly or learn martial arts, only grew stronger by devouring women, and would often blather to Akaza like a muscle supplement salesman, saying, "If you eat women, Lord Akaza can get stronger too!"
So Akaza seemed to dislike that demon.
"I'll definitely kill him someday. I'll take him down before Upper Rank 1."
"Huh, before 1? Akaza, you're 3, right? What, is that guy Upper Rank 2?"
"Yes."
"He only targets and eats women? With that obese physique? Isn't that creepy?"
I should beat him to death with a Nichirin Blade (sense of mission).
By the way, when will my Nichirin Blade come back? That Kokushibo or whatever is holding onto it along with my mother's research notes, but I wish he'd return it soon.
While I was longing for my faraway Nichirin Blade, Akaza made a strange expression.
"Upper Rank 2 is not obese. He has a build, though."
"Huh? 2 isn't a pig? He's the king of pigs who knows the true meaning of pig. A lump of fat that rolls faster than it runs. Disgusting times a hundred, like Mob's uncle!"
"……Are you perhaps talking about Katsu?"
"Katsu?"
"A man who was Upper Rank 2 in the past. He was killed and disposed of by that person's hand about a hundred years ago."
What……?
I was speechless at the shocking fact. I never thought the cause of my death in my past life had died so long ago. What should I do? Where should I vent the grudge I honed in my past life?
"How do you know about an Upper Rank 2 who died a hundred years ago?"
"In life, such things happen."
"Is that so, well, it doesn't matter."
A good thing about Akaza is that he doesn't forcibly pry into things someone doesn't want to bring up.
But when it came to battle, it was an exception. He asked all sorts of things about swordsmanship, training, and so on. And things like, "How could you unleash such extraordinary power in the bamboo forest?"
When I told him, "Bamboo can be used for ten thousand things," he gave me a suspicious look, which I couldn't understand.
What's with that expression? It's not a lie. Bamboo is truly versatile. It's a principle set since the Heian period. It's even in the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Should I tell Lord Muzan to pass it on?
Anyway, several days had passed since Akaza stayed at our house under the pretext of guarding.
At first, Rui and 'Mother' were terrified by the fact that he was Upper Rank 3, but they seemed to have gotten used to Akaza's presence, and these days, they hardly ever showed fear.
Though it seemed they didn't have the courage to invite him to play house yet.
Akaza, who publicly stated he disliked weaklings, remained indifferent to the children. Was it because they were fellow demons? If he had directed his arrows of hatred at the children, I was prepared to invite him to the bamboo forest without mercy, but it felt anticlimactic.
Training together every day like that, I gradually started to like Akaza.
Akaza was a demon and an Upper Rank, a monster on a different level in terms of the number of humans eaten and killed, and an extreme hardliner who said 'yes to the strong, no to the weak,' but in terms of personality, he didn't feel like a villain.
A true villain wouldn't voluntarily take on bothersome tasks to get medicinal ingredients. For a demon, he's a really strange guy.
"What kind of guy was Akaza when he was human?"
"I don't remember. It must have been an irrelevant memory."
"Don't you know how you became a demon either?"
"Well. Originally, demons who remember the circumstances of becoming one are rarer."
"Then am I a rare case for remembering……?"
"Weren't you turned about half a month ago?"
Incidentally, during that conversation, when I naturally explained the circumstances of how I became a demon—— being expelled from the Demon Slayer Corps due to Dae-won's slander after bearing a grudge, and then nearly dying in the Ayaki family attack incident—— Akaza made a terrifying expression as if lava had taken human form. Simply put, the face of a demon.
Akaza, clenching his fists and baring his teeth, said, "Tell me the characteristics of that weakling." Blue veins stood out densely like a Tokyo Metro map. Are you a Yubari melon?
Akaza said he really hated cowards who schemed from behind instead of facing others head-on. For some reason, he seemed to reject them on a cellular level.
Congratulations on the Upper Rank 3's minefield grand slam, trash Dae-won senior. May all your joints explode from compound fractures throughout your body.
Anyway, while living peacefully with Akaza and Rui like that, farewell was always sudden.
"Can I call Akaza 'Lord Akaza'?"
"Call me whatever you want, raaaaaaaah?!"
"Eek! Lord Akaza to the floor! Vertical fall like a comedian obsessed with details that no one gets the joke!!"
……That's Nakime's Blood Demon Art. I recognized it immediately because it's so familiar.
While I was confused about what was happening, the reason soon became clear.
"(Aren't you getting too close to Akaza while I'm here, you.)"
"(Lord Muzan, did you gain annoying girlfriend attributes after becoming a demon?)"
"(It's your fault for recklessly getting friendly with anyone.)"
"(Denying my strengths outright!)"
"(Don't get discouraged. You have other strengths too. They don't come to mind right now, though.)"
"(Really? Tha~nk you, don't force yourself!!)"
Sorry, Lord Akaza. My friend is an extreme loner-type monopolist of the friend position.
I was worried that Lord Muzan, whose emotional instability had worsened due to becoming a demon, might do something to Lord Akaza, but when I persuaded him, saying, "If Lord Muzan is the childhood friend position, then Lord Akaza is the same club classmate position," he calmed down for now.
When I openly sighed in relief, I could feel Lord Muzan grumbling beyond the telepathic link.
"(I didn't summon Akaza to dispose of him. Since the Upper Rank 6 position has been filled, I called him to meet, that's all.)"
"(Wait, filled with what? Can't you just leave it empty? The threat from demon slayers increases.)"
"(Whose side are you on, me or the demon slayer bastards?)"
"(The answer is always the old man from the bamboo cutter.)"
"(Who told you to mention a third option.)"
Frankly, I'm on the human side. I'm friends with Lord Muzan, but I have no intention of joining the demon forces.
"(Well, fine. Anyway, from now on, Akaza is excluded from guard duty.)"
"(That's a personnel move on the level of Thunderclap and Flash that would surprise even a black company.)"
"(Instead, I'll return your Nichirin Blade. The sun will rise soon today, so it'll be tomorrow night. I'll send Kokushibo.)"
"(Huh, really?! Yay! Thank you, Lord Muzan! I totally like you!)"
"(However, promise you won't kill demons.)"
"(What are you talking about? The Nichirin Blade exists to behead demons. Are you telling me to use it as a laundry drying rack?)"
"(Who would reduce their own subordinates.)"
"(By the way, what if I break it?)"
"(I won't speak for about a hundred days.)"
"(It's a barely tolerable punishment.)"
"(Two hundred days.)"
"(Guh!)"
"(Hahaha!)"
Lord Muzan's triumphant laughter echoed in my head. Just hearing his voice, I could vividly picture his expression, which was annoying. I wish someone would laugh at me, weak for yielding to threats.
Ah, by the way, when I asked for support for research on medicine to turn demons back into humans, I was flatly refused. I tried to hang on crying, but narrowly failed.
Damn, if only I were ten years younger……!
"(Didn't I say there's no need for medicine to turn back into humans?)"
"(But I want to return Rui and the others to humans. And if medicine to turn demons back into humans is made, by adapting it somehow, maybe a recipe for sunlight-overcoming medicine could come out.)"
"(You, aren't you just saying whatever comes to mind?)"
"(Tehe.)"
"(Was that meant to be cute?)"
"(Then I'll make it cuter. Ahem!…… Waaaah, I don't want to, I don't want to! If you don't support me, I don't want to!!)"
"(An amazingly intense and passionate maiden's voice. Good skill to fake it through a telepathic link. ……Fine, I'll consider it if conditions are met.)"
The condition presented was this.
'Find the Blue Spider Lily.'
Then he said he'd support as much as I wanted.
That's a legendary difficulty gathering material where even searching for a thousand years wouldn't yield a single petal. He has no intention of seriously supporting me, this bastard.
I tried to protest, but as if the conversation was over, Lord Muzan abruptly cut the telepathic link. He must be starting a meeting now.
After cutting the telepathic link with his friend, Kibutsuji Muzan focused his consciousness inside the Infinity Castle.
The demons gathered in the Infinity Castle were all looking in the same direction (except Kokushibo).
The man introduced as the new Upper Rank 6 this time, dressed in a swallowtail suit. A demon given the name Sairo.
Some looked at him with interest, some bored, others blatantly rude, and among them, Gyokko laughed exaggeratedly, ho ho ho.
"What a celebration. The Upper Ranks being filled again after a hundred years."
"How frightening, how frightening, Gyokko always gets the numbers wrong…… To say it correctly, it's eighty-three years."
Hantengu, who was counting, screamed 'eek!' for some reason. He seemed to sense ill omen in the prime number eighty-three.
This man was still a nuisance, fearing all sorts of things whenever he opened his mouth. But Kibutsuji Muzan didn't voice it. If mentioned, Hantengu would tremble in fear and act even more annoyingly.
Moreover, Hantengu's nuisance was as cute as a newborn's cry compared to that man's unpleasantness.
"Wow, I'm happy to have more comrades!"
At the hollow-sounding cheer, Kibutsuji Muzan frowned.
"Nice to meet you, Lord Sairo. I'm Doma. Upper Rank 2."
Saying so, Doma smiled without reserve and naturally put his arm around Sairo's shoulder as if meeting an old friend.
Even if the other showed signs of fluster, he started talking as he pleased.
"Hey, I'm really glad a new 6 came! The 6 position being vacant was practically my responsibility, so it's been on my mind all along!"
"Ha, haa……"
"I used to be 6 in the past, and at that time, I fought a bloody battle with 2 and got replaced. But the opponent demoted to 6 died after offending Lord Muzan. When you think about it, it's no different from me snitching on his violation of orders, so I really felt ashamed!"
Apparently, Doma thought the lord's words had ended after introducing the new Upper Rank. His tongue moved without a moment's rest.
Kibutsuji Muzan, who still had a few things to convey, gritted his teeth in anger internally. But he didn't step forward to scold him. Because talking to this man itself was distasteful.
Moreover, even without opening his mouth, there was someone else to stop Doma.
"By the way, what Blood Demon Art do you use, Lord Sairo? I heard you can turn beasts into demons, but that's a blood trait, right? You must have a separate Blood Demon Art. Ah, my Blood Demon Art is ice, though it's not for me to say, it's quite beautiful……"
A momentary sound of destruction. A blood geyser. The sound of flesh splattering stickily on the floor.
The chattering gossip could no longer continue after a blow that sent the upper half flying. Behind Doma stood Akaza, who had swung his fist, with veins more vividly prominent than even Kibutsuji Muzan's.
"Lord Muzan is still present. Don't engage in trivial small talk."
──This was exactly why Kibutsuji Muzan liked Akaza very, very much. Becoming close with his friend was an unforgivable sin, but his performance more than made up for it.
Doma, whose face was blown off by Akaza, regenerated in the blink of an eye, but before his tongue root fully attached, Kibutsuji Muzan spoke again.
"I will give you new orders. First, do not turn humans into demons. Until now, Upper Ranks were specially granted that authority, but from today, it is prohibited."
Akaza was the most shaken by this order. Among the Upper Ranks, Akaza was the one who had used the most blood.
For him, who would invite any strong person he saw to become a demon, not being able to turn strong people into demons from now on was quite a blow.
But Akaza did not object to Kibutsuji Muzan's order and knelt faithfully, suppressing his dissatisfaction.
"The previously ordered capture of the white-haired, red-eyed one. That is also done now. From now on, focus only on searching for Ubuyashiki's hideout and the Blue Spider Lily."
When the lord's order to capture the white-haired, red-eyed one, which he seemed more obsessed with than Ubuyashiki or the Blue Spider Lily, was suddenly canceled, the demons stirred.
Only Kokushibo and Akaza, who knew the circumstances of finding that target, remained quiet.
"And Akaza."
"Yes."
"You've worked hard this time. Your mission is revoked."
Receiving unexpected praise from the lord who usually only poured out reprimands, Akaza's reaction was delayed by a beat, more surprised than humble.
"……Thank you."
He answered, but there was a slight regret in being released from guard duty. Losing the opportunity to train with a strong person was no different from losing enjoyment for Akaza.
But to Kibutsuji Muzan, who would clearly lose sleep from jealousy if his friend and Akaza got any closer, Akaza's circumstances were none of his concern.
"Kokushibo."
The next one called was Upper Rank 1, sitting behind a curtain.
"I permit it. Go tomorrow night."
Kibutsuji Muzan's words were too short and concise. The other demons didn't understand, but only Kokushibo grasped the meaning of the order.
"I am unworthy of such words……"
Answered the highest of the Upper Ranks in a trembling voice as if receiving the best reward. As he showed clear joy, which he rarely displayed, the other demons looked at Kokushibo with peculiar expressions.
Then, some demons noticed a second sword at Kokushibo's waist, different from usual. And seeing the sword's hilt, Akaza's eyes widened.
As if all matters had been conveyed, the sound of a biwa echoed, and Kibutsuji Muzan disappeared from the wide room. As if waiting for that moment, Akaza stomped the floor with a thud.
"Hey, why do you have that sword?"
He jumped to Kokushibo's side.
"I know that hilt. It's Rei's thing."
"……Ah, is that so."
In front of Akaza pointing a finger with a fierce momentum, Kokushibo narrowed his eyes as if understanding.
"You exchanged blows with that one……."
"Answer the question. Why is Rei's Nichirin Blade in your hands?"
Nichirin Blade. At that name, Hantengu screamed first. A beat later, Sairo also screamed.
Hantengu being scared of something was common, but why was Sairo so abnormally frightened?
With momentum not inferior to Hantengu clutching his head saying scary, scary, Sairo was begging for his life toward Kokushibo, soaking the tatami with tears and snot, saying, "Please forgive me! I won't do such a thing again! Please stop with the Nichirin Blade! If I get beheaded this time, I'll really die!"
What happened between Upper Ranks 1 and 6 was known only to the parties involved.
"That one ordered me to hold it temporarily……. Tomorrow night, I will return it to its owner."
"……Return it? To Rei?"
"Yes."
"Are you sane? That guy still thinks he's a demon slayer."
"That one said 'I permit it'……."
"With that strength despite not eating humans, if you return the sword, half the Upper Ranks' necks will fly off."
"He must have done something…… To doubt the lord's words…… Akaza, you are impertinent beyond measure."
Glaring sharply with six eyes, Akaza closed his mouth displeased. At that moment──
"Lord Akaza chatting happily with Lord Kokushibo, what's the occasion? Let me join in!"
With a bright voice out of place, grayish-white hair slipped between them.
Akaza's reaction speed in swinging a fist was surprisingly fast. Thanks to training with the unnecessarily quick Rei, his reflexes had sharpened without him realizing.
But Doma wasn't one to cower from having his jaw shattered. If he had the humility to restrain himself, Akaza wouldn't dislike him so much.
"Is it that the Demon Slayer Corps child became a demon? But still hasn't eaten humans? Wow, a hard worker! But even if that's the case for men, not knowing the taste of women is a bit pitiful. ……Right, if it's rare blood, maybe I'll eat it! Perfect timing, among my followers, there's a little girl with very tasty rare blood. Since I want to bring that child's blood as a souvenir, why don't you take me along too, Kokushibo go──"
Doma's words cut off there. Not because Akaza swung his fist or Kokushibo drew his sword.
The biwa sounded.
With a single note, the sound instantly expelled Doma. At that sound, Gyokko, who prided herself on being the most knowledgeable about art among the Twelve Kizuki, narrowed the eyes at her mouth and went 'hmm?'
Unlike her usual precise playing skill, Nakime's biwa sound now was imbued with endless anger as if to tear the strings.
But only briefly.
Nakime soon regained her usual composure and played the biwa calmly again as if nothing happened. And one by one, their figures disappeared from the Infinity Castle.
After sending everyone out and left alone in the Infinity Castle, Nakime let out a deep sigh.
Half was regret for letting emotions affect and disrupting the sound, and the remaining half was due to the state of the room after the Upper Ranks left.
The floor dented from 3's stomping.
The wall sticky with 2's blood and flesh.
The tatami soaked and dirtied with 6's tears and snot.
The too wretched scene inside the castle.
Whenever the Upper Ranks gather, it's always like this. Somewhere gets dirty, something gets broken.
"──I wish everyone would just brew and drink that person's fingernail dirt."
Harboring such a earnest wish, Nakime swung her biwa plectrum instead of cleaning.
After the telepathic link with Lord Muzan was cut, I continued thinking about the Blue Spider Lily.
It's a legendary flower whose existence is doubted like the tsuchinoko, but if I trust the doctor's prescription contents Lord Muzan told me, it does exist.
But even though demons searched, they couldn't find it, so maybe it's a rare item with some limitation, like blooming only in places demons can't approach or only during the day?
Then, isn't this something that can't be found with demons alone? Isn't it impossible without human collaborators?
·
·
·
"Is anyone there!!"
Not long after daybreak, a knocking and shout came. I, who had been sleeping soundly next to Rui and 'Mother' in the middle of playing house, rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked outside.
Confirming it was a cloudy sky with no sunlight, I went to the entrance, and there stood a boy. The very boy who was gathering herbs for his father that night.
When I came out, the boy bowed vigorously.
"Please accept me as your disciple!! I beg you, I'll do anything!"
"Huh? Did you just say you'll do anything??"
……Human collaborators, seems like they can be found sooner than I thought.
·
·
·
Since standing and talking was awkward, I brought the boy into the house.
I sent Rui and 'Mother' inside just in case. They shouldn't be that hungry since I let them eat my arm yesterday, but. Still, it's better to keep human scent away.
"I plan to go work in a village over the mountain when the year changes."
When I asked about the circumstances of the sudden request to become a disciple, the boy calmly began his story.
"Through my mother, who was an apothecary, I got a job at a pharmacy…… but."
The mother who was supposed to teach the boy about medicine passed away a few months ago from the same illness that struck his father.
Because of that, the boy was still inexperienced in making medicine and distinguishing herbs.
"In this state, if I get hired at the pharmacy, it would be like smearing mud on my deceased mother's face. Above all, it's work dealing with human lives, and clumsy skill cannot be tolerated."
"So you want to learn from me?"
"Yes. Solid knowledge about herbs, the insight to identify illness from symptoms, skilled hand movements for making medicine…… I believe you must be a renowned doctor, Teacher. Would you not grant me your teachings?"
Saying so, the boy deeply bowed his head on the dusty tatami.
I accepted the request. However, the condition I set as tuition was the Blue Spider Lily. Of course, it's unreasonable to ask for something demons couldn't find in a thousand years immediately, so it's deferred payment.
Even if not found in childhood, it's fine. Even as an adult, as a grandfather, or even if it takes until the grandson's generation, I asked him to find it, and the boy nodded with a serious expression.
"But come here to learn only during the day. Never come at night, and don't enter the house until I say it's okay. Just promise me that."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Good, negotiation successful.
But entrusting the entire search for the Blue Spider Lily to one child and idly waiting alone doesn't suit my temperament.
Until now, I couldn't wander freely without a weapon, but since that Kokushibo or whatever is bringing the Nichirin Blade tonight, it's not bad to go investigate other places directly. I need to find even a little more clue about the Blue Spider Lily.
"By the way, I haven't even asked your name yet. I'm Rei. And you?"
"Yes, I'm Kochou Nobuya!"
Night.
When Upper Rank 1 Kokushibo brings the Nichirin Blade, answer my feelings at the time, which I never expected to be my teacher, in 20 characters or less.
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