"Koyoi! Where did you run off to wild again?!"
On a bright and sunny morning, inside a seaside vacation villa, Akaza roared as he ran down from the second floor.
The first-floor living room was empty. He turned to look and found that in the adjacent computer room, three people were sitting there playing games.
"Going through the employee passage. Kotoha, prepare to throw smoke."
"Okay!"
"Careful, footsteps ahead... Damn! This guy's aim is so accurate!"
"Doma, Kotoha's down. I'll cover, you go revive her."
"Holy Maiden! I'm down too!"
"Damn, damn, damn! What the hell?! What kind of reaction speed is this?! He took out all three of us by himself?!"
Slamming the desk, Mitsuba stood up from her seat, veins bulging on her forehead.
"What a joke! With my reaction speed, there's no way a normal human in this world could be faster than me! That guy on the other side is definitely cheating!
Cheating in a game? You wait, punk! I'll use causal threads to kill you right now!"
"Don't, Mitsuba! We can't just casually use causal threads to kill someone over cheating in a game!"
"Holy Maiden, please reconsider!"
Perhaps because they were on a seaside vacation, Mitsuba's outfit today was very cool and casual—a white short T-shirt on top, black hot pants below, barefoot without even slippers.
The Doma and Kotoha beside her were dressed similarly.
It should be noted that Doma's T-shirt had "Kotoha's Husband" printed on the back, while Kotoha's had "Doma's Wife" printed on hers—very much reeking of that lovey-dovey couple aesthetic.
Incidentally, Mitsuba's T-shirt had the four bold characters "I AM GOD" printed on it, vigorous and powerful.
"Doma! Have you seen your daughter?!"
Turning to look at the trio who had been gaming all night, Akaza asked irritably.
Koyoi—the daughter born to Doma and Kotoha in the new century, four years old this year. She had inherited Doma's white oak hair color, Kotoha's stunning beauty, and that "demon child descended upon the world" mischievous personality.
Although only four years old, as a new human born from demons who had completely evolved, Koyoi was truly extraordinary.
Truly extraordinary—after all, a normal four-year-old human child couldn't possibly shatter steel plates with one punch, run faster than cars on the highway, let alone master a Blood Demon Art called "Hypnosis."
"Didn't see her. Koyoi probably ran out to play again?"
"Oh? Could it be that Lord Hakuji was hypnotized by Koyoi again, letting her sneak away quietly?"
Last night, the Doma couple—preparing to game all night with Mitsuba—had specifically entrusted their rambunctious daughter to Akaza's care.
Not just this time; almost every time this couple prepared to spend some couple time together, they would temporarily leave Koyoi in Akaza's care.
This wasn't random—it was a tradition.
After all, Inosuke when he was little was raised by Akaza...
But looking at Akaza's current state, he had probably been hypnotized by Koyoi again without realizing it, letting her sneak out once more.
"What's with you two talking like she's not your own daughter..."
Looking at this divine couple before him, turning back to blink their big eyes at him, flames of rage burned in Akaza's heart.
You two irresponsible parents—how did you dare to have a daughter?!
"Don't worry, Hakuji. Kanae just went out to look for her. In a while, she'll probably be able to catch that girl and bring her back."
From the kitchen, Koyuki's voice suddenly rang out.
"Good morning, everyone..."
As the few of them conversed, on the stairs, the just-awakened Shinobu also came down rubbing her eyes.
She turned to look at Michikatsu, Nakime, and Koyuki making breakfast together in the kitchen nearby, and greeted them sleepily.
"Good morning, Michikatsu-nii～Good morning, Nakime-nee～Good morning, Koyuki～And good morning to you too, Hakuji... Uwah, why do you have such a sour face so early in the morning? Koyuki will be unhappy if she sees it, you know?"
"It's all because of that Doma's daughter!"
After saying this indignantly, Akaza couldn't be bothered with the gaming trio in the computer room anymore and ran to the kitchen to help Koyuki make breakfast.
Shinobu walked straight toward Mitsuba.
"Really now, Mitsuba, you played games all night again? I thought you'd come back to sleep last night..."
"Because it's fun."
Eyes focused on the computer screen, Mitsuba replied without turning her head.
"Then what if you get bored?"
"If I get bored, I'll switch to something else and keep playing."
"So fickle. Really, how could someone as proper as Lord Michikatsu have such a fickle younger sister like you..."
Complaining like this, Shinobu walked to Mitsuba's side. She tucked the hair hanging by her ear, bent down, and leaned close to Mitsuba's face.
Without any hesitation, just as they had done thousands of times in the past, Mitsuba also skillfully raised her head slightly. The two shared a brief kiss before separating.
"Ptooey, kissing my mouth first thing in the morning without brushing your teeth. Disgusting."
The moment their lips separated, Mitsuba immediately said with disgust.
"Disgusting or not, you still have to kiss me. Alright, I'll go help Michikatsu-nii and the others make breakfast. You guys watch the time and don't play too long."
After habitually finishing this kiss, Shinobu turned and left, also entering the kitchen.
"I'm back."
At the same time, the villa door was opened, and Kanae walked in carrying a "juvenile version of Doma" in her hand.
"Welcome back～"
"Let me go! I told you not to always grab me by the back of my neck! It makes me lose face!"
In her hand, the girl named Koyoi was struggling desperately.
"A bad child who uses her Blood Demon Art to hypnotize tourists on the beach and make them kneel and kowtow to her isn't qualified to say such things, is she?"
"Making others kneel and kowtow? Koyoi, how could you do such a thing?!"
"Mommy doesn't remember teaching you to be like this?!"
"I... no! Aunt Kanae is exaggerating! I didn't do anything bad! I just wanted to experience what it feels like to be a cult leader!"
A warm smile was enough to scare Koyoi into stammering. After placing this demon child before the Doma couple, Kanae turned and walked toward Mitsuba.
"As expected, only you can scare this child into behaving..."
Sitting nearby, watching with great interest as the Doma couple took turns scolding Koyoi, Mitsuba said with a smile.
"This child bullies the weak and fears the strong. Mr. Hakuji is just too soft-hearted, which is why she always leads him around by the nose."
Walking behind Mitsuba, taking a hair tie from her pocket, Kanae helped tie up Mitsuba's casually hanging hair, then suddenly asked:
"Are Mr. Tarou and Ume not coming this time?"
"Mm. Ume recently has a global tour with Ubume and Enmu. Gyutaro is worried about the three of them running around everywhere, so they probably won't come."
"What about that Kaigaku kid you converted back then?"
"He's recently busy with his presidential election campaign speeches, so he probably doesn't have time either.
Also, Inosuke and Kanao—the Eternal Bliss Sect is the financial backer behind Kaigaku's presidential campaign. As the true big bosses of the Eternal Bliss Sect, they're probably busy enough too...
Speaking of which, Kanae, did you see Lord Muzan when you went out just now?"
Raising her head, Mitsuba looked at Kanae behind her and suddenly asked.
"Mm, I saw him. His Lordship is sunbathing on the beach. He looks very relaxed."
Raising her hand to push back Mitsuba's restless head, Kanae continued tying her hair.
"Let's call Lord Muzan back for breakfast later..."
"I think His Lordship would rather sunbathe a while longer..."
Meanwhile, on the other side, on a lounge chair at the lively beach, Muzan in male form lay with his hands behind his head, wearing a pair of loud floral shorts and sunglasses.
Sunlight shone upon his nearly perfect physique, feeling warm and cozy.
"Ah, sunlight..."
Thud!
Suddenly, a volleyball flew from afar, smacking straight into Muzan's face.
He caught the volleyball, turned to look, and saw several children running over in a hurry.
"Sorry! Big brother! We didn't mean to!"
"Really sorry!"
"Mm, it's fine. Just be more careful next time."
"Thank you, big brother!"
Not minding at all, smiling as he casually tossed the volleyball back, Muzan leaned back on his lounge chair, continuing to enjoy his sunbathing.
"Ah, sunlight. Truly wonderful..."
...
On the other side, in a hotel near this vacation beach, a man with fiery red hair tied in a ponytail stretched and finally stood up from his computer desk.
"The sunlight is about right too. Shio, shall we go for a walk on the beach?"
"Okay, don't you want to play a bit more?"
From the bathroom, the woman's voice asked.
"No, I said we're here on vacation. How can I keep sitting in front of the computer..."
Saying this, the man quickly changed into a cool T-shirt and big shorts combo.
The man had been playing a recently popular team-based loot-and-extract game.
Speaking of which, in the previous match just now, the man had encountered a rather skilled team.
Among them, the player with the ID "Doma's Wife" was the weakest of the three—down the moment they met.
The one called "Kotoha's Husband" had some skill, but after some back-and-forth, he was also taken down by him.
Finally, there was the player with the ID "Little Sister of the Tsugikuni Family." Her strength was the greatest among the three. He had to struggle for quite a while before finally taking her down.
Having played this game for so long, this was the first time the man had encountered human players with such strength. He even suspected that the other side might be cheating.
But that shouldn't be possible. If they were really cheating, he definitely wouldn't have been able to win.
Perhaps they were just genuinely very skilled...
"Alright～I'm done washing up too!"
At this moment, the girl named Shio finally came out of the bathroom, smiling as she linked her arm with the man's.
"Let's hurry up and go play! Yoriichi!"
"Okay."
(The End)
Translator's Note
And with that, this story comes to a close.
I still remember starting this project chapter by chapter, never quite sure how far it would go. Somewhere along the way, it turned into something I looked forward to working on every single day — and that's entirely thanks to you, the readers.
To everyone who left comments, pointed out inconsistencies, waited patiently between updates, and stuck with this story from the very first chapter all the way to this final page — thank you. This translation wouldn't have made it to the end without your support, patience, and the quiet encouragement of knowing someone out there was reading and caring about these characters as much as I was.
Tsugikuni Mitsuba's story ended in a strange, gentle, almost absurd kind of peace — and honestly, I think that's a fitting note to close on. A little chaotic, a little heartwarming, and completely unforgettable.
Thank you for reading this to the very end.
— The Translator