At the You hour, sunset is when the time of meeting demons arrives.
Sakurai Hoshi also had a purpose in paying a visit to the Ubuyashiki household at a time like this.
The Ubuyashiki family’s young master, Ubuyashiki Muzan, had been wandering the edge of death ever since he was born. It was said that when he was born, he was even a stillborn baby, yet he had clung to life through sheer will to live and survived until now. Even if he had a terminal illness and could never run freely, even if he had to stay bedridden forever, his will to live had never changed.
The people of the Ubuyashiki family had not given up on him either. They had tried countless methods, invited countless famous doctors and even onmyoji, and it seemed everyone believed Muzan would not live past ten, but they had kept holding on.
This reminded Sakurai Hoshi of Guso, the kitten she and Yeoang had picked up from a pile of corpses.
Even if it hurt, he still had to live. It was a very resilient soul.
Although Yeoang had not initially approved of Sakurai Hoshi meddling in the Ubuyashiki family’s affairs, when he heard her compare Muzan and Guso, he even showed a rather subtle expression… however, in the end he still did not stop Hime.
“You always end up provoking trouble without realizing it… well, so be it. That is just you.”
The great onmyoji sighed like that as he divined her fortune. After a long while, the Asakura Yeoang, skilled in the arts of the five elements, showed a trace of a smile on his face, and the look he gave her was an indescribable mix of helplessness and indulgence.
“Go on. If it’s you… perhaps you’ll get an outcome beyond expectations. As for the rest, leave it to me.”
Although Sakurai Hoshi did not really understand what exactly he had understood… but since the big shot said so, what else could stop an invincible player?
After receiving the request, the shrine maiden Hime, who had recently risen to fame, chose to pay her visit at the time of meeting demons in order to better observe the state of the curse or resentment. If Ubuyashiki Muzan’s grave illness was caused by a curse, then she could easily solve it.
If it was not because of a curse… at the very least, she could lessen some of the patient’s suffering and help them look for an excellent doctor.
All of those thoughts, after actually seeing Ubuyashiki Muzan, turned into silence.
The nobility of the Heian-kyo era, the true face hidden beneath elegance, was almost synonymous with excessive luxury and hypocritical ruthlessness. Also born into nobility, Fujiwara Sawei was pure and spotless; Asakura Yeoang listened to the world’s suffering and danger; Sugawara Yuu wandered far and wide to save people; and Ubuyashiki Muzan perfectly embodied the meaning of viciousness and cruelty.
Just after spending a moment in close proximity to him, the divine child sensed the cold malice hidden inside his weak body in a continuous stream.
“How is it…? Hime-sama, my body… do you have a way?”
When the widely praised shrine maiden stepped into this room filled with the stench of rot, Muzan had at least tried hard to sit properly, a refined smile on his face, looking like a graceful and elegant man as well. But when the shrine maiden lowered her eyes and looked around silently before shaking her head, his expression immediately frosted over.
The somewhat fake smile on his face could no longer be maintained. The way he glared at her was like looking at some useless trash, garbage, and it even carried a trace of killing intent.
Perhaps because he had always been bedridden, had never experienced entertainment, had never seen beautiful scenery with his own eyes, and could only look at the sunlight outside through the window every day in a cramped room, Ubuyashiki Muzan looked like a cold vampire.
Perhaps he had once been able to sense his parents’ love for him, but that fragile warmth had still broken under the torture of pain and fear that wore at him day after day. By now, Ubuyashiki Muzan, nearly an adult and also close to the foretold date of death, had all goodness worn away, leaving only the desire for life and madness.
In front of the radiant and beautiful shrine maiden, Muzan, who could barely even sit up, almost could not help but spit out harsh words and pierce through her dignity with the cruelest manner of speech. Yet Hime was not someone who could be offended.
For the sake of having someone willing to come and treat him in the future, Ubuyashiki Muzan could only forcefully swallow the venom that was about to spout out, and instead pour his anger onto the servant pouring tea: “What are you doing! Hime-sama is here, and you’re serving tea this hot, are you trying to scald us to death!?”
As he said that, he grabbed the teacup in his hand and was about to pour it onto the servant’s face, but the hand that had been raised was caught by the girl.
The huge fear of death hung over Muzan at every moment, but his frail body could not even vent it, and he could only dump his anger and extremity onto others.
Even though the Ubuyashiki family had been trying hard to cover it up, Sakurai Hoshi still noticed the wounds on the servant’s body.
Usually they would do one thing in public and another in private, and the servants Muzan ordered to be whipped and beaten to death would be dragged away and replaced, never appearing again in the young master’s room. However, sometimes Muzan would do it himself, and the beaten servants could only feel relieved, at least he still did not have the strength to kill anyone.
Ubuyashiki Muzan was completely different from the cat Guso.
Suppressing others seemed to be an ability he was born with.
But even so, she still held his hand.
The scalding tea thus splashed onto the back of the girl’s hand, and the white, soft skin immediately reddened in a large area, making one’s heart ache. The servant knelt on the ground in terror and apologized, Muzan’s father snatched the teacup from Muzan’s hand, and his mother was about to take the shrine maiden lady to treat the scalding burn. In all the chaos, Sakurai Hoshi only lightly waved a hand, and that calm bearing immediately caused everyone to fall silent, not daring to disturb her.
Ubuyashiki Muzan stared at her fixedly. The noble shrine maiden also lowered her eyes to look at him, her face showing not much expression, yet giving people an inexplicable sense of stern seriousness.
“You should feel grateful toward those who take care of you,” she said calmly and earnestly. Her long hair slipped from her shoulder, and her eyes looked like they held the world’s most captivating scenery. “I’ll find you a doctor, come see you regularly, and do everything I can to keep you alive, but you need to learn to respect others. Can you do that, Muzan?”
The pale, thin young man stared at her for a while, his eyes continuously shifting between heat and cold, then suddenly showed a mocking smile: “You’re giving me instructions…? You can’t even cure this little illness, so what are you coming here for? To mock my weakness and sorry state? Truly disgusting to me…”
Before he could finish speaking, the beautiful girl loosened her hand as if to leave. Ubuyashiki Muzan’s pupils tightened, and he suddenly reached out to grab her, clutching her hand death-grip style as if he were using all his strength and grabbing onto a lifesaving straw: “Do not let go! I order you! You hypocritical, useless woman, what meaning do you have for existing besides easing my pain? Absolutely do not let go of me!!”
Do not let go——
As long as he touched her, that fear and despair like a bone-deep disease vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared. Wrapped in unprecedented ease, delight, and warmth, he could finally think calmly and relax, without anxiously guessing at the date of death…
So tired…
He wanted to fall asleep in this warmth.
He wanted to live forever like this, so easily.
So…
“Stay.”
“…Stay by my side, and I won’t hurt them anymore.” Muzan raised his head, looking at the shrine maiden with a gaze that practically wanted to swallow her whole and merge with her forever. “You want to protect them, right? Then supervise me yourself. You must keep watching me, never leave my side, only then can you make sure I won’t hurt anyone else…”
—How dare he say something like that? That was Hime-sama…
That thought instantly rose in everyone’s minds.
However, words this thick with possessiveness and control might make the other people in the room’s scalps go numb and make them tremble, but they could not break through the invincible player’s defenses at all.
The way Sakurai Hoshi looked at him was like looking at a PUA master who had escaped legal punishment.
Brother, someone like you, hiro and zero could catch one with each grab.
Maybe you could even squat next door to the cult leader-sama.
Not only did she not get angry, she even revealed an affectionate look, like, poor silly child, and gently patted the hand that was clinging to her so tightly. “…What are you thinking about? Of course I still have to exorcise demons. Don’t worry, if you kill someone, I’ll be the first to deal with you.”
As the lawful and obedient divine child of the Myriad Bliss Paradise Church, doing justice on behalf of heaven is my duty!
Muzan: …I thank you.
Under Ubuyashiki Muzan’s gradually stiffening expression, the beautiful shrine maiden thought for a while in some distress, then looked at him again with a face full of innocent purity: “If you don’t believe me… then let’s make a binding vow.”
“I’ll come see you whenever I have time, and I’ll also do everything I can to seek a doctor for you and let you live, but you cannot hurt others. If I violate the binding vow, I will lose my sight; if you violate it… then this vow will automatically be undone. How about it?”
Binding vow…
Although he was an ordinary person, Muzan still knew some things about jujutsu sorcerers.
A binding vow is the most powerful language, and those who do not abide by it will definitely pay a price. The stronger the jujutsu sorcerer, the more cautious they will be when making a binding vow.
He could not keep Hime.
Hime was a noble princess praised by countless people, a saint walking the earth, and money and power were meaningless to her.
And he… every breath tugged at his internal organs, and every time he stood up he was burning life away.
Someone like him… even seeing her was only something he could beg for through the other party’s pity.
“…If you don’t keep it, then you’ll die a violent death.” The cruel young man, who had already decided to agree, immediately made a malicious demand.
“Don’t push your luck, you guy.” Just as the head of the house was almost unable to resist and shout in condemnation of Muzan, the girl like the bright moon in the sky actually laughed, and the look she gave him was like a breeze passing over the plains. “…The binding vow is established. Remember your promise, Muzan.”
The binding vow was established, and a cold curse instantly wrapped around his body.
…Stupid.
Watching the shrine maiden agree to an unreasonable demand without any sense of crisis, Ubuyashiki Muzan suppressed the emotions surging within him and tightly pressed his lips together.
Someone who so easily entrusted their life to someone like him…
“Hmph… since this life of yours was given to me, I absolutely won’t give it back to you… prepare yourself, Hime.”
The girl nodded around carelessly with an unconcerned face, acting like she did not take it to heart at all: “Then Muzan had better properly keep his promise, or else the binding vow will fail, you know.”
“Too talkative.”
The player lady had no intention of arguing with this vicious young master whose mouth could not spit out ivory. She cast a glance at the young man with hidden pity. He was touching the curse on his body with a darkly smug look like, I won, completely unaware that this binding vow had absolutely no effect on Hime.
After all, a binding vow is essentially a curse too.
How could a pest who purified all negative emotions be cursed…
From beginning to end, the one who was cursed was only Muzan.
…
A twisted cursed spirit was looked at by the shrine maiden, and it turned into golden specks of light that slowly drifted down and merged into the early summer soil.
“Good, this is the last one.” After coming out of the Ubuyashiki household, Sakurai Hoshi ran around Heian-kyo once more today, as well. “I should go back and rest a little. Do you want to play chess, Sawei?”
“Play chess——!” The chess player, who had been obediently staying in the girl’s shadow to avoid being hurt by the cursed spirits, popped out and said excitedly, “Can we play two more rounds today? Can we? Can we~”
His excited and buoyant voice made Sakurai Hoshi unable to help but smile too.
“You’re that happy…? Mm, the cursed spirits around Heian-kyo have all been cleared away. Then let’s play two more rounds today, and call Yeoang over too. But Sawei, do you really want to keep following me? …Yeoang can use shikigami to play chess for you, and if you stay at the chess hall, you can meet more masters.”
As she walked along the road back to the city, she asked calmly: “I’m definitely going to keep traveling and exorcising demons in the future, and I’ll have very little time to play chess, and it’ll also be hard to meet so many masters… the ‘hand of God’ that Sawei wants to seek is hard to achieve by my side, right?”
In a place she could not see, the young chess player was always looking at her figure with gentle eyes, and the clear smile on his face never disappeared.
“Princess… by your side, I can get closer to the thing I am fixated on.”
A person’s life is so short, and he did not know how long his soul could exist either… in these days whose ending was unknown, in addition to his fixation on the way of chess, he now had one more obsession.
…That was the princess.
He wanted to treasure her.
Treasure this bizarre meeting with her, treasure the time when he could gaze upon her figure.
Even the “hand of God” that he had always pursued, in the first imperial court game against Sugawara the chess attendant, even though he was likewise in a state where his mood could never truly settle, Fujiwara Sawei was as if assisted by the gods and victorious in every battle, completely different from the final game before death.
At that moment, by the princess’s side, he vaguely touched the foundation of the way of chess.
His fixation on the “hand of God” had now settled down, no longer the impatience and anxiety of before. He had already remembered the reason he first took up the pieces, chess made him happy.
In the days to come, whose length he could not know, he wanted to carve the princess’s appearance deeply into his heart, and together with his love for chess, continue on forever.
…
In order to learn swordsmanship, Sakurai Hoshi temporarily put her monster-grinding schedule on hold and stayed in Heian-kyo for the time being.
Every morning, she would step into the sunlight of sunrise to learn swordsmanship from Sugawara Yuu, then soak in the hot springs and eat together. In the evening she would go to the Ubuyashiki household to visit Muzan, and afterward she would, as usual, clear out the newly spawned mobs and check whether there were any cursed spirits on the map that needed to be exorcised as soon as possible. After finishing her monster grind, she would go home and play chess with Sawei… if Yeoang had time, she would call him over too.
These rare peaceful days passed very quickly. During that time, a physician knocked on the Ubuyashiki gate and said there was hope of curing Muzan’s illness, so Sakurai Hoshi often had to supervise Muzan taking his medicine.
Clearly when Sakurai Hoshi was not there, Muzan would happily drink the medicine all up… yet when she went to see him, this moody noble young master would insist on having her sit beside him and watch before he would drink.
But aside from that, when she was by his side, Muzan would become very calm, and could even be said to be a little gentle, as long as no one came to disturb them.
But if someone did disturb them, his expression would immediately drop, looking fierce and violent.
…Although in the end, this swollen rage would be forcefully suppressed by him, and he would pretend to be calm as he drove the person away.
Every time this happened, Sakurai Hoshi felt very subtle looking at him.
She knew why he was enduring it.
It was to keep her life in his hands, so that she could help him seek doctors… so that she would come to see him.
Thinking of it this way, the originally somewhat amusing feeling could not help but mix with a bit of pity.
…
The change started with Muzan’s body.
The longer the treatment went on, the more Muzan’s body not only failed to become healthy, but instead grew weaker because of the side effects of the medicine, to the point that he could not even get up when she arrived.
Because someone had once said that Hime’s eyes were the color of wisteria flowers, wisteria had been transplanted into Muzan’s courtyard.
But perhaps he would never be able to blend into her world.
The fragrance of the wisteria squeezed in through the crack of the door, but in Muzan’s breathing it turned into some kind of rotten, foul smell, making his head hurt even more. This rotting aura mixed with the shadow of illness and became some kind of balanced yet bizarre phantom, making him dizzy in waves.
He no longer even had the strength to sit up, and it seemed he had lost control over his limbs… like a boneless maggot wrapped in this thick quilt, and then in every breath of pain he realized that his flesh and blood had not disappeared.
He did not even want to open his eyes anymore, and was thinking about things randomly. Was he thinking of those whispering servants? His always silent parents? That hypocritical and incompetent doctor? Or maybe…
In the midst of countless chaotic thoughts, Muzan forcefully turned his head and looked at the wisteria flowers blooming in full splendor in the courtyard.
The person he wanted to see was…
‘You need to take your medicine properly, Muzan.’
…Why?
It was as if a sheet of blood red had covered his eyes, and everything he looked at was red… his internal organs were all tightly gripped by terrifying pain.
Was he going to die.
Was it that he no longer wanted to look for doctors? Did he no longer want to come see him?
So she had joined forces with that physician… and prescribed him deadly medicine?
Hime.
In his hazy consciousness, he seemed to hear the sound of quick footsteps.
That familiar, hateful physician appeared in front of him, frowning slightly as he looked at him, his lips moving, and he could not make out what was being said.
Haha, are you going to kill me.
Hime…
…So fragrant.
His eyes, at some point turned blood red, stared fixedly at the physician’s neck, and saliva had somehow started flowing from his mouth.
Hime…
I won’t let you get your hands on me.
I will absolutely not die…
Hime… Hime… Hime… Hime!
Madness occupied his mind, and violent appetite surged out along with it. With strength from nowhere, amid the shrill screams, the sound of flesh hitting the ground, and the shattering of the medicine bowl, the blood-red world plunged into chaos. He could only feel the cry of the wind, people’s wails, and…
the smell of blood.
“Muzan…”
So fragrant… so fragrant… so fragrant!
“…Muzan… you… Muzan…”
Even more fragrant than before… eat it, all of it, all of it… keep her forever, forever…!
“MUZAN!!”
Muzan suddenly raised his head.
What came into view was the toppled folding screen, the shattered medicine bowl, the terrified eyes of the servant and physician not far away… and her, missing her right arm.
“Huff… have you come back to your senses?” The shrine maiden, usually pure and spotless, was now collapsed on the ground, face pale, drenched in sweat, seeming to have endured inhuman pain, yet the eyes that met his gaze were still calm.
“Your… hand…” Muzan stared dumbly at the missing part of her limb — at the bloody, mangled junction there was still a deep bite mark left behind.
“Drip—”
As he opened his mouth to speak, something warm slid down from his chin and dripped onto her face — it was the color of blood.
He touched his chin, and his palm was full of bright red blood.
“I… your hand… it…”
The sweet taste finally surged back into his mind. Muzan remembered it, the sweet food in the chaotic world that made him want to swallow it all into his belly… it was her flesh.
An intense emotional shock hit his boiling brain and heart, and the originally incredibly tempting delicacy instantly turned into something terrifying. When he realized he had even been savoring it, the string in his mind — snapped.
“Ugh——”
The pale young man, his face covered in blood, looked like he had seen something terrifying to the extreme, and he crouched to one side retching over and over.
He, it was he…
She was by him…
…all of it, all eaten…
Unbearable.
Why…
by me…
His blood-red eyes shifted and looked at the physician in the corner not far away.
“It was you… who made me…”
This disgusting physician had turned him into this state — had made him eat her…
“Muzan!” Amid the surging killing intent, the monster that was about to spring into action was hugged from behind. “Stop it. You made a binding vow with me—”
“…Binding vow?” A twisted smile, uglier than crying, split open on the pale face. “Wasn’t that supposed to have failed long ago? After I…” ate your hand —
“It did not — it did not fail! Look at your hand, Muzan! The curse is still on your body…” The shrine maiden leaned against his back, gasping for breath, yet her voice carried undeniable calm. “We agreed at the time that you were not allowed to hurt others… today, aside from me, I did not let you hurt anyone…”
The girl, having lost too much blood, no longer had the strength to stop him, and her long hair stuck to her face, making her look so miserable. “…I will make you get better. I won’t let you hurt anyone else… so… I forbid you from violating our binding vow…”
“…” Muzan let out a short, strained breath from his throat.
Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a sliver of ice blue suddenly caught his eye, and his body was instantly engulfed by fear.
“Very good, very good, no one died huh——today’s mission was a huge success too~”
A somewhat upbeat voice sounded with a laugh, and when no one noticed, there was somehow already a tall figure in the yard.
“This… unknown girl, could you step aside a little? Big brother’s method for exorcising curses is a bit rough.”
The white-haired man wore a playful smile, pulled down the bandage covering his eyes, and his blue eyes like the boundless sky looked at the shrine maiden holding the curse.
Seeing her bloodied severed arm, he blinked: “As for your hand… well, don’t worry, big brother will help it grow back. It won’t turn ugly, so relax relax~”
These words sounded lively and youthful, but the man clearly was no longer a teenager, yet saying such things somehow did not feel out of place. However, although his words sounded friendly and cute, the man’s entire oppressive aura was telling everyone one thing after another: he only wanted to kill Ubuyashiki Muzan, who had become a curse, and had no extra emotion beyond that.
“You are… Lord Gojo Chi…” one of the servants nearby could not help but cry out.
One of the strongest jujutsu sorcerers in the rumors… possessing eyes that could see through everything…
But Young Master Muzan, whom even Hime-sama was unwilling to kill even at the cost of losing an arm… had clearly already shown signs of wavering…
Though it had nothing to do with them, looking at the fragile girl holding a humanoid curse, a powerless sadness rose in the servant’s heart.
“Lord Gojo, wait a moment——” the weakened shrine maiden gathered her strength again at this moment, propping herself up against Muzan’s back and straightening, revealing a face even more dazzling than moonlight.
Under the cold moonlight and bloodstains, her gaze was still like a wild deer deep in the forest, untainted by even the slightest resentment or darkness.
“Hm?” Gojo Chi’s casual expression slowly restrained itself. “Seriously…? You, don’t tell me you’re Hime?”
After determining her identity from her appearance and zero cursed energy, the man’s smile disappeared. The him who was not smiling seemed to carry even more fearsome pressure, and those beautiful blue eyes made others not dare look directly at him: “Your hand got eaten by that curse, right? Why didn’t you use a purification technique? If it were you touching it, that thing would have already vanished without a trace.”
How could there possibly be some miracle medicine in this world that made people want to eat human flesh… that doctor merely, while researching medicine, accidentally wandered onto the path of trading curses for physical power. Ubuyashiki Muzan now had completely become a humanoid curse. Such an immature curse was chaotic and powerful, could not be exposed to sunlight, and even craved human flesh, yet it bestowed inhuman strength upon him.
If not restrained, Ubuyashiki Muzan could even artificially spread this curse among the masses…
“Tch, now Yuu is going to lose his mind… hey, Hime, no matter what you’re thinking, this guy has to be killed. His existence is a threat to others.”
Gojo Chi said this while forming the [Azure] hand sign: “Move out of the way. I’ll heal you after I kill him.”
However, the shrine maiden who had always traveled the world exorcising evil spirits at this moment used her mutilated body to block the curse’s path.
“I’m very sorry… I can’t let you do that.”
Her lips had gone pale and dry from blood loss and cold, and her beautiful face had completely lost its color, like a snowman that might melt at any moment. Even though the severed limb was still continuously dripping blood, she still wanted to protect the monster that had eaten her arm.
“He hasn’t done anything wrong yet, and you cannot easily take someone’s life because of a sin not yet committed——”
“Hah? That guy took your hand—”
“He stopped.” Before Gojo Chi could finish speaking, Sakurai Hoshi interrupted him. In those soft eyes, a certain scorching, searing light was burning at this moment, as if it wanted to burn the entire world to ashes. “Clearly driven by the curse and endless hunger… but he stopped. After realizing he had eaten my hand, he even vomited because of it…”
“It’s not yet at the point where it can’t be recovered — Muzan!”
“…W-what…?” Under the enormous killing intent, he responded to her with difficulty.
She took a deep breath, and with her remaining left hand, took hold of the humanoid monster.
“Right now, here, establish a binding vow — absolutely no harming others in any form, absolutely no eating people again. If you violate this… then as your supervisor, you and I will both immediately die on the spot——”
“Huff…” The cursed being, enduring hunger and the urge to vomit, gasped through clenched teeth.
“Muzan!”
That voice called his name again — stern, unyielding, protective.
“The binding vow… is established…”
As yet another pitch-black curse wound around Muzan’s body, it seemed that another kind of transparent liquid slid down from that face stained with the shrine maiden’s blood.
And Gojo Chi, watching this mad scene, seemed to have an unsettling signal ignited in his azure eyes.
“This really is… insane to the max…”
A huge, exaggerated smile crawled up the corners of his mouth.
…
After all the chaos ended, Muzan was restrained by Gojo Chi with a cursed tool and underwent the physician’s examination.
“In short, that’s how it is. As long as you find the Blue Spider Lily, you can complete the entire formula. By then, Lord Ubuyashiki’s condition will stabilize, and he will no longer fear sunlight, nor will he want to eat human flesh.”
The physician, whose only blue spider lily cultivated over many years had been knocked over and who had nearly died at Muzan’s hands, remained calm and objective throughout the diagnosis. His professional attitude made even the Ubuyashiki family head lower his head in shame and admiration.
“I’m terribly sorry… my unfilial son caused you such harm, and yet you are willing to let bygones be bygones, that really is…”
“There’s no need for thanks. Before I began treatment, I had already anticipated that I might encounter misfortune. Everything was my own choice.” The physician unceremoniously tidied up the medicine box, and the complex emotions on his face finally turned into determination. “Lord Asakura already warned me… this trip to treat the sick would not bring me a perfect ending, only endless blood-redness.”
“That Asakura guy even divined for you?” Gojo Chi, who was on the side supporting the girl and using reversed cursed technique, had a face full of incomprehension. “Then wouldn’t that mean you knew you were definitely going to die?”
“I knew I would probably die. But just as Hime-sama said — you cannot lightly abandon another person’s life because of sins not yet committed.” The young physician looked at his own hands. “Since I became a physician… I cannot just watch a patient die because of my own inaction.”
“But I’m not a saint either. If I am ultimately killed by Lord Ubuyashiki, then I will curse them with all my strength — curse Muzan to never obtain the Blue Spider Lily, curse the men of the Ubuyashiki family to die young and never reach adulthood, until Muzan disappears from this world forever…”
Gojo Chi looked at the physician with interest. Since he could unconsciously create a humanoid curse through medicine, he might even have some talent in jujutsu… the curse uttered at the moment of death might really come true…
It’s just that if that happened, it would inevitably cause more deaths and tragedies.
“…Looking at it now, I still underestimated the prophecy. Maybe I myself am also the one who brewed this evil result with my own hands… I won’t use this prescription anymore.”
“As for thanks, the only person you should thank is Hime-sama. It was she who broke the blood-colored fate… Hime-sama, you taught me what the way of benevolence is… from now on, I will continue to walk the road of healing others. Farewell — may your path never know wind or rain.”
The physician said this, left behind the blue spider lily’s drawing and growing habits, deeply bowed to the shrine maiden, and then left.
And the shrine maiden, who had received a wordless thank-you, looked at his back disappearing in the dawn light and could not help but reveal a slight smile.
…What guides you forward is clearly your heart of benevolence.
The moment that gentle thought flashed through her mind, she immediately changed into a cold expression. “…Lord Gojo, please do not play with my hand like that.”
Gojo Chi pinched the arm that had just grown back. The slender right hand, weak and sensitive like a newborn’s, trembled lightly, and the young man’s perfect face immediately showed the expression of someone who had discovered a new game.
“But your hand is shaking!”
“…” Sakurai Hoshi decided to temporarily ignore this man who was a little troublesome in every sense, and turned her head to look at the anxious Ubuyashiki family head.
They were currently studying that blue spider lily drawing, muttering under their breath, their expressions unable to hide their worry: “It only blooms two or three days a year, and only in the daytime… I have never heard of this flower existing before…”
“Lord Ubuyashiki… please entrust Muzan to me.” The moment the girl spoke, everyone around fell silent, and even Muzan, who had been lying on the ground like a dying butterfly, suddenly raised his head.
“Hime, Hime-sama… what is this… ?”
“I won’t remain in Heian-kyo for long. Once my swordsmanship has reached fruition, I will once again set off on the road of exorcism.” After growing back her arm, the shrine maiden’s clothes were damaged, her long hair a little disheveled, yet her clean and pure bearing was still enough to captivate people. “During my journey roaming the four seas, perhaps I can find the Blue Spider Lily he needs. Even if I can’t find it, in the time that I live, I will restrain him from taking any human life…”
“But before I die, if Muzan still has not recovered… I will take him with me as well. I hope you can understand.”
“I…” The middle-aged man, whose black hair had already been stained white, finally could not help but choke up. “What virtue does Muzan have, to make you treat him like this…”
“Hime-sama, how can we ever repay your kindness…”
Sakurai Hoshi looked at the sobbing couple and suddenly missed Sakurai Dad and Sakurai Mom a little.
“…If you feel uneasy because of this, then use the family’s power to research medicine. Establish a clinic, treat and save people… and then help more people like Muzan… that would be praying for him.”
…
After leaving the Ubuyashiki household, Sakurai Hoshi could not help but stretch in the morning sunlight.
“Huff—just one night, but it feels like I fought a fierce battle.”
“Just what kind of misunderstanding do you have about what happened last night… how is losing one arm not a fierce battle? If I hadn’t helped you, what were you going to do~”
Gojo Chi had wrapped the bandages back around his head again, looking like a blind man. However, this concealment did not seem to affect his vision, and the man “stared” at Sakurai Hoshi with great enthusiasm, as if he had developed a strong interest in her.
“Hoshi-chan, I wanted to say this from the very beginning… you weren’t affected by the binding vow, were you?”
Although when facing Muzan, in order not to kill him, Sakurai Hoshi had proactively turned off the effects of [Itchy Monster],… after all, she was still an [Itchy Monster symbiote], and curses simply could not take effect on her.
In other words, she had not paid any price, yet she made Muzan establish a binding vow of [must not hurt anyone and must not eat people, or else he will immediately die on the spot]. Even if Muzan violated that oath, the one who would die on the spot would only be Muzan himself.
Facing Gojo Chi’s pressure-filled gaze, Sakurai Hoshi was very calm: “…How much for hush money.”
“Hahahahaha!” Gojo Chi raised a hand and draped it over Sakurai Hoshi’s shoulder, pressing all his body weight onto the girl, laughing until tears almost came out. “Hush money? I don’t need anything~ I won’t tell anyone. Are you touched or what?”
“Well, thank you very much then…”
Sakurai Hoshi’s shoulder was being pressed so hard it ached — what kind of misunderstanding did this guy have about his own weight! And why was there such a person with zero sense of distance in the Heian era where everyone was supposed to be a master of elegance!
“But Yuu’s side is a bit troublesome… if he finds out, he’ll definitely go crazy. Well, don’t worry, I’ll help you!” Gojo Chi said, and then winked at her — seriously, why would someone from the Heian era wink at all!
No matter how Sakurai Hoshi looked at him, she felt a little uneasy inside.
“…Somehow I feel like you won’t do anything good.”
“Eek! So mean!” The other party immediately clutched his chest, looking indignant. “Why would you slander such a handsome and reliable big brother like this! What exactly about me is making you dissatisfied?”
Sakurai Hoshi: “Mm… not really.”
It was just intuition.
In fact, although Gojo Chi had initially made her spend quite some effort, she actually understood his position quite well. After Muzan made the binding vow, he also did not insist on killing him to the bitter end, looking like someone whose bottom line was fairly loose. Not only that, Gojo Chi also helped her regrow her arm, and now he was even proactively helping conceal the truth…
To be honest, Sakurai Hoshi was a little unaccustomed to it.
…It seemed like this was the first time she had received help from someone without having helped them first.
Sakurai Hoshi thought about it, and somewhat awkwardly asked: “Why… are you helping me like this?”
“Hm? Isn’t that obvious?” Hearing this, Gojo Chi pulled down the bandage over his eyes, and a pair of blue irises the same color as the sky and brighter than gemstones looked at her.
“It’s very interesting, isn’t it? And…”
That unsettling signal once again ignited in the Six Eyes.
“I fell in love with you at first sight.”
…
In the evening, when Gojo Chi walked into Sugawara Yuu’s dojo with a swagger that seemed to ignore blood relations, there was still a smile on his face, and even his voice leaked out the owner’s good mood: “Yuu-chan~ want some snacks~”
Sugawara Yuu was washing clothes.
Hearing Gojo Chi’s voice, he said without turning his head back: “Eat them yourself, Chi-san.”
“Washing clothes? Since when did you start washing clothes yourself…”
Gojo Chi leaned over, still chewing on a snack in his mouth. Seeing the clothes in his hand, the chewing motion gradually slowed down.
The man even yanked down the bandage over his eyes at once, like he was facing a formidable enemy, his face full of subtlety: “Yuu! You didn’t secretly do anything bad with Hoshi-chan’s clothes behind my back, did you…?!”
“Cough, what are you talking about!” Sugawara Yuu’s face turned red, and with a pure and innocent look he said something indecent: “Hoshi’s clothes are covered in her sweat, how could I let someone else wash them for her — wait…”
His eyes suddenly sharpened. “…Why are you calling her by her first name?”
Gojo Chi, who had just confessed to a relative’s crush: …eh-heh.