"Um, I'm truly sorry." While Yushiro went to fetch the luggage, Mizuki pressed her hands together above her head and apologized to Tamayo.
Tamayo smiled gently and said, "It's alright."
"Tamayo~" Mizuki looked up, deeply moved.
"I feel quite guilty about drawing so much of Mizuki's blood before."
Mizuki's moved expression froze slightly. She had completely forgotten about that!
Give her heartfelt emotion back!
Tamayo noticed her resentful little gaze and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, "How do you feel?"
Mizuki's eyes were dull. "How do I feel about what?"
"Your physical condition." Tamayo's lips held a subtle, faint smile. "Although it was just fresh blood, it should have alleviated your hunger, right?"
After a moment of silence, Mizuki nodded slightly. "...Mhm, honestly, I feel much better."
The feeling of being hungry and the feeling of being full are completely different matters.
Tamayo sighed, "You really are something, enduring that level of hunger."
Even her and Yushiro's modified bodies couldn't completely forgo consuming blood; they needed a small amount of fresh blood to sustain themselves.
Yet Mizuki was able to endure two hundred years without eating.
Mizuki shrugged. "Well, you know that the constitution of people cannot be generalized."
This really wasn't an excuse or anything. If an ordinary demon starved, it would have lost its mind long ago.
At the very least, they would be like Nezuko, needing sleep to replenish their strength, with their intelligence dropping to kindergarten level.
How could anyone be like her, acting completely normal?
Tamayo hesitated to speak, only managing a helpless smile. "You, you haven't changed."
Mizuki blinked and narcissistically touched her face. "Is that so? That's probably the only benefit of becoming a demon."
Tamayo shook her head helplessly.
As Mizuki said, but Tamayo didn't think that suppressing one's appetite and not eating for two hundred years could be glossed over merely as "special constitution."
Mizuki had always been like this, always lightly brushing aside her own sorrows.
"Lady Tamayo, the items are all here." Yushiro's arrival interrupted their reunion.
Seeing him breathless, carrying a large bundle on his back and a box in his hand—it was clearly a hurried preparation.
Mizuki couldn't help but suspect that this person was jealous of her private chat with Tamayo.
Tamayo nodded slightly, stood up, and said, "Let's go then."
Mizuki proactively reached out, "Give me the suitcase."
Yushiro refused, "No need. These are Lady Tamayo's clothes; I can handle it."
"..." Mizuki's mouth twitched repeatedly.
Is this really where the plot begins?
She felt like these people were increasingly fitting the mental state of modern humans.
Pervert.
Mizuki was happy to travel empty-handed, taking the two demons and rushing onward day and night.
After two nights of travel, they arrived at the Demon Slayer Corps' station, which was slow only because the two demons had poor constitution and were carrying a large number of items.
Approaching the Demon Slayer Corps' station, they saw a petite figure waiting by the entrance from afar.
"Kochou?"
Mizuki had contacted the Demon Slayer Corps in advance saying she would arrive tonight, so she wasn't surprised to see someone greeting them.
After all, this was the Demon Slayer Corps' first time cooperating with demons in hundreds of years—no, perhaps since its founding. They had to show respect and welcome them.
Especially since Mizuki had written Tamayo's resume beautifully in the letter, mentioning things like being an ancient physician with hundreds of years of experience, capable of bringing people back to life, and so on.
Kochou Shinobu was not tall; standing by the entrance, she looked like a child from a distance.
After seeing Mizuki and the others, she proactively stepped out to greet them. "Miss Mizuki, long time no see."
"Kochou." Mizuki nodded slightly in response.
Kochou Shinobu smiled and said, "Just call me by my name."
"Then you should call me by my name too." Mizuki agreed with a nod. It was common for friends to use first names.
Kochou Shinobu's face lit up with joy. "Then I won't stand on ceremony, Mizuki."
"Mhm." Mizuki smiled lightly.
"Oh right, let me introduce you." Mizuki belatedly realized and pulled Tamayo's hand. "This is Tamayo, the doctor I mentioned to you before."
"And this is Yushiro."
"Hello to both of you." Kochou Shinobu smiled and greeted the two.
"Hello." Tamayo was a little surprised. Just as Mizuki had said, the people of the Demon Slayer Corps accepted their identities quite naturally.
Even Yushiro returned a faint 'hello'.
Kochou Shinobu ushered the demons inside. "The Master has been waiting for a long time. Please follow me, the three of you."
Mizuki asked doubtfully, "It's still nighttime, isn't it? Isn't this too rushed?"
Kochou Shinobu shook her head. "No, the Master is very much looking forward to this meeting."
Looking forward to it?
Tamayo's expression shifted slightly.
Just as Mizuki had said, this era... truly seemed different from before.
Kochou Shinobu led them to Ubuyashiki Kagaya's residence.
The Ubuyashiki couple had not gone to sleep and were seated formally in the room, awaiting their arrival.
After bringing everyone in, Kochou Shinobu bowed slightly, preparing to leave.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya suddenly spoke, "Shinobu, please stay."
Kochou Shinobu was briefly stunned, then nodded lightly. "Understood."
She turned and went to sit beside Mizuki.
Mizuki subconsciously looked over, and Kochou Shinobu returned a gentle smile to her.
"..." She felt like something was slightly odd. Was it just her imagination?
Yushiro was sitting upright and tense. He was worried about whether he could rescue Lady Tamayo from this place if this woman betrayed them.
Tamayo, meanwhile, was observing Ubuyashiki Kagaya—or, more accurately, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's face.
What strange scars... At first, she thought they were burns, but upon closer inspection, they were completely different.
She noticed the young man's sightless eyes and realized he was blind.
Waiting for everyone to be seated, Ubuyashiki Kagaya said solemnly, "Miss Tamayo, Mr. Yushiro, welcome to the Demon Slayer Corps. I am deeply honored."
Tamayo: "You are too kind."
"The Demon Slayer Corps has existed for nearly a thousand years in order to slay Kibutsuji Muzan, this great evil." As Ubuyashiki Kagaya spoke, he suddenly coughed twice, and Amane Ubuyashiki, who was sitting nearby, quickly moved forward to support him.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya waved his hand and continued, "For a thousand years, every demon slayer has joined the Demon Slayer Corps fueled by hatred, and ultimately, they all died consumed by resentment."
"I have never questioned the mission I bear, yet I could not foresee a future where Muzan would be vanquished."
"But the arrival of the three of you allows me to believe with absolute certainty."
"The tragedies caused by Kibutsuji Muzan will surely come to an end in this era."
"I stand here, offering my most sincere respect to the three of you on behalf of the swordsmen who have fought Muzan over the past thousand years."
Having said that, he bowed his head with extreme respect.
Since ancient times, it has been rare for a superior to bow to a subordinate.
The Head of the Demon Slayer Corps showed immense respect.
Now Tamayo was truly surprised.
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