So… this was the reason he asked.
I actually thought he had become self-taught in the art of threatening people!
However, to think that this was what he was actually thinking.
I shifted my gaze to the right.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t yet experienced how lonely it is to be invincible, so having these kinds of small, troubling emotions seemed quite normal. But I couldn’t take all the blame, could I? If he were better at expressing himself, I wouldn’t have missed it…
Right, resolution! Resolution!
“Ahem, it’s because Yoriichi is here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything on my own!”
“Sorry about that~” I stepped forward, pressing my forehead against his, which was lowered in dejection, and stood lightly on tiptoe. “Don’t be like this; if you aren’t happy, I won’t be happy either. I won’t let you take risks in the future.”
It seemed to have an effect. His eyelashes fluttered gently, and his eyelids lifted bit by bit—like a white shell opening to reveal clear, intricate patterns, exposing beautiful eyes that were dyed a rosy, enchanting red like rouge on a young girl’s lips…
I! Just! Stared! Blankly!
Then, he pursed his lips and affectionately pressed his head down further, with no distracting thoughts, like a small beast approaching its master. His moist, warm breath fell on my face as he spoke slowly:
“I am not afraid of risks; I just do not wish for you to fall into danger. I only just learned that I care very much about this.”
I held my breath and, relying on sheer self-control, said in a very calm tone, “I, I see. Alright, I won’t let it happen again.”
I felt like I might be a superhero.
His expression became slightly more relaxed, his gaze dropping. “You…”
I interrupted him. “Yes, yes, that’s right, you found me out. Actually, I have a condition.
I kept my expression unchanged. “I have a problem where my heart rate speeds up crazily whenever someone gets close. If it gets serious, I might start hitting people, going crazy and biting them, and so on. Last time… you saw it, right? And that was only after I tried to restrain myself!”
I feigned deep grief. “So, for the sake of your own safety, it’s better for you to stay further away from me in the future.”
I gave myself a thumbs up for the brilliant lie I had instantly concocted; I had even found an excuse for my previous offensive behavior!
“It is okay, I…”
“It’s not okay for me!” I waved my hands frantically and stepped back. Don’t come over here; I don’t want to commit a crime, ahhh!
He fell silent for a moment at my words, nodded, and stepped back to keep a safe distance.
I exhaled in relief and patted my chest, but when I looked back over—
For some reason, I felt a pitiful, woebegone air about his lonely figure.
An illusion. Yes, it must be an illusion.
The following days were peaceful.
The herb stall owner wasn’t as cold as he was in the beginning. He said his leg was broken while searching for herbs for his severely ill wife, and he had sold off all his household assets.
He sounded like a truly pitiful man.
He apologized for his previous attitude and even took out a medical scroll, saying he had picked it up, but since he couldn’t read, he just gave it to us as a thank-you gift.
I glanced at the ragged bamboo cylinder, an encyclopedia of medicinal herbs.
I didn’t have much interest in it, but Tsugikuni Yoriichi seemed quite interested. He read it every day, and very earnestly at that. It seemed he really wanted to become a doctor.
A few days later,
The samurai-haired man who had completely shaved his head—ah, I should call him the “bald man” now—came looking for us.
Only he didn’t come with a crowd of lackeys; he had become honest and low-profile. He circled around Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who was reading, and came to my side.
“As promised, I will follow your lead from now on.” After saying that, he looked timidly at the person not far from my side.
Me: …
If it weren’t for that identical face, I would have thought he was a different person. Could it be that he was possessed?
Ah, the demons in this world didn’t seem to have that functionality.
I looked him up and down, seriously suspecting that what Yoriichi had cut off wasn’t his topknot, but his masculine self-esteem.
The man who had boasted of being a “lion and tiger” yesterday, brimming with male hormones, had become obedient and sensible in just a few days, and had even started consciously helping me with chores!
Had he gone straight from a 1 to a 0?
I couldn’t stop my suspicions internally.
“No need…” I stopped him.
Just kidding, who knows if he’s trying to poison something.
“This is what I should do,” he said softly.
And Tsugikuni Yoriichi, reading beside us, rolled up his book, looked up at us, and seeing that there was no conflict, lowered his head to read with peace of mind.
Please, hurry up and use the “Transparent World” to check if the bald man is the same person or not!
Although he noticed my gaze, he didn’t grasp my point at all! He looked at me with confusion, then rubbed his cheek shyly, brushing off a bit of debris.
That’s not what I meant!
I turned my head back speechlessly, a thought surfacing in my mind: Ah… Yoriichi, with such a natural temperament, might actually be even more terrifying.
After this bizarre and incredibly agonizing day ended, I said to the bald man, whose name was Chiwa Tsugihira, “We didn’t really mean for you to act like a beast of burden. We just hope you can live a proper life, stop walking down the wrong path, and stop bullying the weak.” I revealed my true thoughts.
“That’s all. You don’t have to come tomorrow!”
When people saw him, they sped up to run away! Who dared to come and buy things?
The inner thoughts of the one or two customers who walked over reluctantly were probably: If I don’t buy something, he might beat me up.
After I finished, he looked at Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who was unmoved, with the eyes of a resentful young wife.
“Stop looking at him.” I pressed the back of my hand to my forehead. “Actually, I lied to you yesterday. He isn’t fierce, and he’s actually very easy to get along with. You don’t need to be afraid that he’ll take revenge or anything.”
He pulled me aside. “You don’t understand; those who haven’t experienced it will never understand.”
Me: “?”
He tilted his head and recalled, “The terror of that moment was like a tiny pebble not an ant, but facing an entire towering mountain. Crushing not just crushing; that’s not a realm a mortal can reach. How on earth did he attain that…”
Although, was it really that exaggerated?
“Do you know what it feels like to have the Grim Reaper breathing down your neck?”
I shook my head.
His gaze fell vaguely behind my back, and he said firmly, “Mm, I was willing.”
I don’t need you to be willing! You leave!!!
I turned back; Yoriichi was looking this way.
It’s over… I thought blankly.
He really did turn into a 0.
We finally managed to get rid of him.
Before he left, he insisted he would definitely come tomorrow, while I was pale and dejected, looking like I was mourning the dead.
On the way home, I said diplomatically, “Yoriichi, do you feel like he’s different today?”
He didn’t seem to be in the zone. After pondering for a while when asked, he replied, “Mm, he looks like he has turned over a new leaf.” Then he looked at me. “It seems Megumi’s method was very effective.”
I blinked: No, can this pot be thrown onto my head as well?
The few days of cold and deserted business were unbearable, so I eventually asked Yoriichi to tell him not to come again, using the excuse that we had no money to hire him.
He said he didn’t want wages?
Sorry, we aren’t one of those unscrupulous merchants who exploit labor. Really, it had absolutely nothing to do with his fierce appearance.
Business gradually warmed up, and I finally got to enjoy the happy time of wealth accumulating little by little. (Even though this time was short.)
After Yoriichi studied the medical books, he suggested helping the herb stall owner’s wife with her illness.
“Megumi reminded me. Since I have this ability, I want to do what I can.”
His words softened my heart, so I agreed. (I never expected that, from then on, money would become a stranger.)
The “Transparent World” that could observe the state of the human body was simply a BUG! As soon as he went, he identified the cause of the wife’s illness—she had been bedridden for a long time—though further confirmation was needed.
I was idle on the side, wondering if he would really change careers and become a doctor.
How did he join the Demon Slayer Corps again?
The main plot of Demon Slayer happened hundreds of years later in the Taisho era. Tsugikuni Yoriichi’s life wasn’t detailed, and I only had a deep impression of fragmented things: him beating up the Demon King single-handedly, being the “ceiling” of invincible battle power, the ancestral sun earrings, and the Upper Rank One brother who appeared in the main story.
I looked at the herb stall owner’s wife’s face, which was as thin as a thread, and vaguely felt that something was about to emerge. He seemed…
“Let’s go, I think she can be cured.”
My thoughts were interrupted. Tsugikuni Yoriichi walked over and stopped at a certain distance.
“That’s good.” I nodded, and that cloud of doubt vanished from my heart.
Whatever he wanted to do, I would support him!
“I found a place with wisteria flowers!”
“Mm.”
“I’m going to plant them well!”
He would leave sooner or later; I had this intuition. He was going to lead a dangerous life because no one could replace him, and I was unlikely to take risks.
“Does Megumi like flowers?”
“I like them! There’s no girl who doesn’t like flowers, right? Unless they’re allergic!”
He asked after a while,
“So, Megumi likes wisteria flowers?”
“Er, not really,” I was just looking out for my own life. If I had to say I truly liked them, I said casually, “I still prefer blue flowers.”
He didn’t speak again after that. I watched his silent, quiet profile and felt very satisfied.
Living like this getting up early every day, being busy for a living, then resting at sunset, and entering into sweet, dreamless sleep was the most ordinary and common life imaginable.
Yet it was completely different from the dull and grey life I had before; the world had suddenly become colorful.
Thinking about it, it was truly incredible. It had been nearly two months since he arrived at my house. The life that had felt exhausting, long, and endless had become incredibly fast; every day felt like it wasn’t enough.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi was like a zashiki-warashi who had suddenly descended, making me happy and joyous.
Ah, as expected, persisting in survival was right; you’ll encounter lucky things. Looking to the future, these will also be precious and beautiful memories, right?