Shinobu sat beside the bed with her arms folded, her pale-violet eyes silently observing the young man putting on an absurd performance before her.
One second passed.
Then two.
Then ten.
Kiyohiko’s entire body suddenly convulsed.
With a trembling finger pointed toward the ceiling, he groaned in a voice so faint that it seemed to drift from the edge of the underworld.
“Great-Grandma… I can see Great-Grandma…”
“She’s waving at me from the other side of the river… and she’s holding a bowl of duck-blood vermicelli soup…”
“It smells so good…”
“Pfft.”
A tiny sound broke the silence of the room.
Shinobu hurriedly lifted one hand and concealed the lower half of her face behind the wide sleeve of her haori.
For the briefest moment, the flawless smile she wore like a mask developed a crack.
The curve of her eyes became lively and genuine, revealing an expression far more natural than anything Kiyohiko had seen from her before.
“Stop pretending.”
Although she tried her best to suppress it, a faint trace of amusement and helplessness still entered her voice.
“That was merely ordinary wisteria extract with the concentration adjusted.
At most, a demon would experience numbness in the tongue and mild weakness in the muscles.
It cannot kill you, much less allow you to see… your great-grandmother.”
The instant he heard this, Kiyohiko’s eyes—previously rolled back as though he were already at death’s door—snapped into place.
He pulled his dangling tongue back into his mouth with remarkable speed, then casually wiped the drool from his face against the pillow as though nothing had happened.
“Oh.
So it was only an anesthetic.”
Kiyohiko blinked innocently at Shinobu.
“I thought it was some kind of Smile-and-Die poison.
You scared me half to death.”
“Miss Shinobu, perhaps you should avoid jokes like that in the future.
My heart is delicate.
A fright like this could easily cause permanent damage.”
Shinobu lowered the sleeve concealing her mouth.
Although she quickly recovered her composed posture, a trace of warmth remained within her eyes.
She studied Kiyohiko as though he were some peculiar creature she had never encountered before.
“You truly are strange.”
Her tone was no longer as aggressive as before.
“You are a demon, yet you did something like that on Mt.
Fujikasane…”
“A demon entered a hunting ground filled with food, but rather than feeding, you exhausted your own strength to heal your prey.
In the end, you even helped those same humans kill one of your own kind and nearly caused yourself to disintegrate in the process.”
Shinobu leaned closer, her violet eyes fixed intently upon Kiyohiko’s as though she intended to peer directly into his soul.
Kiyohiko slowly sat upright.
The shameless grin disappeared from his face, and his expression became clear and tranquil.
His gaze carried a quiet reassurance that made him seem like an entirely different person from the ridiculous fool who had been pretending to see his great-grandmother moments earlier.
“Miss Shinobu, do you believe in instinct?” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
His voice was calm, stripped of its earlier hoarseness and teasing tone.
“On Mt.
Fujikasane, I heard people screaming.
I saw young swordsmen lying in pools of blood while their lives slowly drained away, their eyes filled with fear and the desperate desire to survive.”
“I knew I was hungry, and I knew helping them was dangerous.
Even so, I kept inventing excuses to convince myself to act, despite most of those excuses falling apart the moment I examined them properly.”
“Whether you believe me or not, I cannot bear to watch a living person become a cold corpse right in front of me.”
“I wasn’t thinking about any great principles, nor was I trying to become a hero.
I simply didn’t want them to die.
If someone falls in front of you, your first instinct is to reach out and help them.
To me, it was no more complicated than that.”
“Of course…”
Kiyohiko smiled bitterly and gestured toward the two sharp fangs inside his mouth.
“This body appears to possess another instinct that is completely opposed to that one.
I won’t deny it.”
“I imagine that is also why you hate me so much.”
“But you must believe me when I say that, ever since I became conscious in this world, I have never harmed a single human.”
Shinobu’s pupils contracted slightly.
“Of course.
I believe you.”
“I also believe humans and demons will someday be able to coexist peacefully.”
Kiyohiko glanced at the system’s Bond Value.
Still negative.
I almost believed her.
“As for why I didn’t resist earlier…”
Kiyohiko smoothly changed the subject, and Shinobu tacitly allowed the matter of coexistence between humans and demons to pass.
His gaze softened as he looked at her, his tone carrying a hint of helpless indulgence.
“It’s because you’re a doctor.”
“Huh?”
Shinobu froze, clearly not expecting that answer.
“When a doctor gives medicine to a patient, the patient has no choice but to follow medical advice.”
Kiyohiko shrugged.
“Even if the medicine tastes absolutely awful and seems to contain a considerable amount of personal hostility toward me.”
Then his expression became serious again.
“Besides, I knew you were angry.
The scent of rage surrounding you is incredibly strong—the hatred you hold toward demons.”
“If drinking that tea allowed you to calm down even slightly, made you trust me a little more, or helped you feel safer around me, then there was no reason not to drink it.”
“Like you said, it wasn’t going to kill me.”
“I know you’re a good person, Miss Shinobu.
“That doesn’t require some complicated explanation.”
After saying this, Kiyohiko collapsed lazily against the bed once more, instantly returning to his usual slovenly demeanor.
“Ugh, I can’t do this anymore.
The numbness is spreading, and my tongue is starting to tie itself into knots again.”
“Miss Shinobu, now that I’ve drunk the tea and finished saying everything I needed to say, could I have another two rice balls?”
“Those first two barely filled the gaps between my teeth.
I’ll even accept the ones that taste like sawdust…”
[Current Bond Value with Shinobu Kocho: -10.]
It finally increased!
As expected, my emotional intelligence is excellent.
Everything before this was merely an accident.
Those negative values almost made me doubt myself.
Seeing the system notification, Kiyohiko became secretly delighted.
His confidence immediately began floating toward the heavens.
Shinobu, meanwhile, remained standing beside the bed without moving for a long time.
She watched the young man who had already resumed groaning and complaining about his hunger, her fingers repeatedly tightening around the hilt of her sword before slowly relaxing again.
For just a moment, she had seen something within his eyes that reminded her of her sister.
That same kindness that asked for nothing in return.
That same foolishness that would willingly suffer harm to save another person.
“There are no rice balls left.”
“But there should be a few fish in the kitchen.
I’ll have someone bring them to you.”
“And…”
Shinobu stepped forward and straightened the disordered blanket covering Kiyohiko.
“Rest for a while.
Members of the Kakushi will soon arrive to take you before Master Ubuyashiki and the Hashira.”
“The Master believes in you, but the other Hashira still have their doubts.”
“No matter what happens when you meet them, you must endure it.”
Shinobu looked at him seriously.
“I believe in you.”
After saying this, the familiar gentle smile returned to her lips.
If Sister were still alive, she would probably have liked this strange demon very much.
Perhaps peaceful coexistence between humans and demons truly is not impossible.
“Um… Miss Shinobu, could I ask you for one favor?”
“Go ahead.
Perhaps I’ll consider it.”
“Could you say ‘moshi moshi’ for me?”
“I’ve always wanted to hear it in person.
Please?”
“…”
Sister…
This strange demon really should be killed after all, shouldn’t he?