But strangely, she wasn’t actually angry in her heart.
Hanayuki Ichika was clearly exhausted, and the wound on his back was still seeping blood, and he was clearly staggering as he ran…
yet he still insisted on “taking her with him” in such an awkward way.
“What an… idiot,” she whispered, her lips curling up uncontrollably.
…
In the distance, Baba-bi watched their retreating figures, her expression darkening to the extreme.
She wanted to give chase.
But she didn’t dare.
The strength the opponent had shown just now was f*cking terrifying!!
The Eternal Night Ruins domain, Breath of Darkness, those eerie Black Moon slashes and Phantom Clones…
Was this really just a brat who had recently turned into a demon?
He’s practically using cheats, isn’t he???
Moreover, she herself was in terrible shape; the side effects of burning her origin were beginning to manifest…
Her strength had already dropped to the level of a mediocre common demon.
If she rashly pursued them and that kid still had energy left—wouldn’t she be finished?
“Forget it.” Baba-bi grit her teeth, abandoning the idea of pursuit.
“Anyway, the mission… can be considered half-finished, right?”
She looked at the dozen or so surviving Villager Demonss around her.
These demons were all converted by her and were completely under her control.
Although they were weak, their numbers were there.
If she brought them back to the Infinity Castle, perhaps That Lord would spare her life for the sake of “new combat power”?
Thinking of this, a sliver of hope rose in Baba-bi’s heart: [No child cries every day, and no gambler loses every day! I bet That Lord won’t kill…]
“Let’s go,” she ordered the Villager Demonss.
“Follow me back… to see That Lord.”
…
Meanwhile, Hanayuki Ichika sprinted all the way while carrying the small Kochou Shinobu under his arm.
He specifically chose shadows like forests and mountain streams to run through, avoiding the brightening sky as much as possible.
The wound on his back tore open during the run, leaving a trail of blood, but he didn’t care at all.
Ten minutes later, he finally arrived at a hidden cave.
“Ichi Fu-kun! Shinobu-nee!!!”
As soon as they approached the cave entrance, a pink figure rushed out.
It was Kanroji Mitsuri.
She had been guarding the entrance, waiting anxiously.
When she saw Hanayuki Ichika carrying Kochou Shinobu and returning covered in blood, her tears instantly welled up.
“You’re okay… thank goodness… thank goodness…”
She lunged forward, hugging Hanayuki Ichika and Kochou Shinobu, the three of them huddling together.
No, strictly speaking—Hanayuki Ichika was holding Kochou Shinobu, and Kanroji Mitsuri was hugging both of them.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Kanroji Mitsuri sobbed uncontrollably.
“It’s because I’m too weak… If I had stayed to help you… if I were stronger… you wouldn’t have been so badly injured…”
“Don’t cry, Mitsuri.” Kochou Shinobu gently patted Kanroji Mitsuri’s back.
“We all came back alive, and that’s enough.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Hanayuki Ichika also spoke; his voice was weak, but his tone was firm.
“You did your best, didn’t you?”
He was telling the truth. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
If Kanroji Mitsuri had stayed to fight to the death back then, she would have become a burden instead—because Hanayuki Ichika and Kochou Shinobu would have had to divide their attention to protect her.
“Re… Really?” Kanroji Mitsuri looked up with teary eyes.
“Really.” Hanayuki Ichika nodded.
Then, finally unable to hold on, he plopped down on the ground.
“So stop crying… if you keep crying, my wound will start hurting.”
This was, of course, a joke.
But Kanroji Mitsuri believed him and quickly wiped her tears: “I won’t cry! Ichi Fu-kun, hang in there! I’ll bandage you right now!”
“No need.” Hanayuki Ichika waved his hand.
“I’m a demon; the wound will heal on its own. It just needs time and energy.”
As he spoke, he looked at Kochou Shinobu: “Kochou, Kochou, do you have anything to eat?”
“…I do, but only these small biscuits are left~”
Kochou Shinobu pulled out a few pieces of compressed rations from her robe.
This was standard emergency rations for Demon Slayer Corps members.
Hanayuki Ichika took them and devoured them ravenously: “Mmm… if Kochou could crush the biscuits with her feet and then feed them to me… they would definitely taste better!”
Kochou Shinobu said nothing, merely looking at Hanayuki Ichika with a look of disdain as if looking at a pervert: “…Smile (veins popping).”
Although demons don’t need to rely on food for energy—they can eat humans or sleep— the nutrients in food can accelerate regeneration and recovery.
He urgently needed to recover his strength now.
Seeing him eat so sloppily, Kochou Shinobu’s gaze became complicated.
She remembered just now—his back as he stood in front of her, his light chuckle when he said “To die under a butterfly’s flower, even as a demon, is a romantic way to go”…
His figure harvesting enemies like a god of death in the Eternal Night Ruins, and his stubbornness in not forgetting to carry her under his arm to escape even when he was exhausted…
This was already the third time.
At their first meeting, he might have felt despair and helplessness about becoming a demon and was willing to be killed by her.
Yet, right before his death, he used his body to protect her, preventing her from being ambushed by a demon hidden in the shadows.
The second time, he wasn’t killed by the Wisteria Toxin in those pastries.
After unexpectedly surviving, he once again risked his life to protect her when she was besieged by demons…
The third time was now.
Once is a coincidence, twice is a fluke, three times…
is a certainty.
This idiot, even though he had already become a demon and could have stayed out of it…
yet he risked his life for her again and again.
Why?
Kochou Shinobu wanted to ask, but the words reached her lips and she swallowed them back down.
She was afraid…
She was afraid of hearing the answer she didn’t dare hear in the depths of her heart.
She hoped…
She hoped the reason he protected her was…
Because he liked her.
Or rather, she actually already knew the answer…
From the way he looked at her…
From the precious way he held her nichirin sword in his hands…
From the firm tone in his voice when he said, “If you want to harm her, you’ll have to step over my corpse first”…
The answer was too obvious.
that she could no longer deceive herself.
But…
why?
There clearly weren’t many bonds or interactions between them yet…
It’s not like he could have known or understood her for a long time, right?
…
“Ippū-san.”
“Hmm?” Hanayuki Ichika looked up, crumbs still stuck to the corners of his mouth.
“Thank you,” she said softly, then looked away, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
“Thank you… for saving me once again.”
Hanayuki Ichika was stunned.
A few seconds later, he smiled.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
“After all… to die under a butterfly’s flower, even as a demon, is a romantic way to go.”
“Pervert,” Kochou Shinobu cursed in a small voice, but the smile at the corners of her mouth could no longer be hidden…
This was a smile from the heart.
Since her sister’s death.
She didn’t know how long it had been since she had smiled from the heart…
When her sister was still around…
In her daily life, anger was on her face, but smiles were in her heart.
After her sister was gone…
In her daily life, a smile was on her face, but anger was in her heart.
The “Shinobu” in Kochou Shinobu was a blade carved onto her heart!
Her sister liked her to smile, so she would always smile!
She lived as her sister’s image, inheriting her sister’s wish—yet she was angry every single moment!
…
Kanroji Mitsuri watched the interaction between Hanayuki Ichika and Kochou Shinobu, blinked, and suddenly smiled as well.
“Shinobu-nee, Ichi Fu-kun,” she said.
“You two have such a good relationship.”
“We do not!” Kochou Shinobu immediately denied with a smile, acting like a tsundere.
“We do,” Hanayuki Ichika nodded.
“After all, I’m a man who wants to marry into the Butterfly Mansion as a son-in-law and live off a woman.”
“Then… which girl in the Butterfly Mansion does Ippū-san want to be the husband of?”
Kochou Shinobu suddenly put her hands behind her back, squinting at Hanayuki Ichika with a smile.
The latter looked at the exquisite face close at hand and those beautiful light purple eyes, his breathing becoming slightly ragged, his Adam’s apple rolling involuntarily…
[Only children make choices, adults want them all!]
Hanayuki Ichika thought silently in his heart.
But he didn’t say the thought out loud.
He was afraid that one day, upon returning to the Butterfly Mansion, he would hear the sound of a boiling kettle, and then Kochou Shinobu would start a zero-frame startup with a wood-chopping cleaver…
After all, daring to…
in front of the mistress of the Butterfly Mansion, Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho…
start a harem in the Butterfly Mansion?
If played well, he’d be Shido.
If played poorly, he’d turn into Makoto-kun!!!