Seeing Horitake surrender so completely, Shinobu decided to let the matter drop. Her anger, which had loomed like a storm cloud, dissipated into a gentle breeze as she turned back to her desk.
She shook her head, focusing her attention back on her daily tasks. "Alright, enough nonsense. It's time to get back to work."
At the mention of serious business, Horitake's spirit instantly revitalized. He stood beside her research table, watching her deftly manipulate the various vials and jars. He couldn't help but ask, "Shinobu-san, why aren't you brewing the restoration potions?"
The potions he referred to were the "Life Restoration Potions." For over a year, their primary joint project had been the mass production of these elixirs to ensure the Corps members would have a safety net for their vitality in the battles to come.
Shinobu continued her work without looking up. "The quota for the next two months has already been met. For the time being, I'm focusing on a private project of my own."
Horitake pointed toward the array of unfamiliar chemicals on the table, his voice hesitant. "This private project... is it the development of a new poison?"
"It is," she admitted. "As you know, although I am a Hashira, I lack the physical strength of the others. I don't have the arm power required to decapitate a demon. My only path to victory is through lethal toxins. The wisteria poison I've always used is potent, certainly, but I feel it isn't 'deadly' enough. I want to engineer a new strain to significantly increase my lethality."
"I see..." Horitake nodded in realization.
In the original timeline of the story, Shinobu's "private project" at this stage was far more grim. Driven by a desire for vengeance, she had already resolved to sacrifice her own life to defeat Doma, the Upper Moon Two. She had begun consuming wisteria poison in massive quantities, gradually turning her own body into a living vessel of toxin.
But that was the original fate. Things had changed. Since Horitake had helped her untie the knots of grief in her heart, Shinobu no longer harbored a death wish. She intended to live.
However, a warrior always seeks to improve. If she wasn't going to turn herself into a suicide bomb, she had to find another way to bridge the gap in power. Enhancing the toxicity of her weapons was the most logical choice.
Horitake stepped into the adjacent room, swapped his haori for a white lab coat, and returned to sit beside her. "Shinobu-san, let me help you."
Shinobu glanced at him, her eyes dancing with a hint of professional skepticism. "Horitake, when it comes to the Life Restoration Potions, I have full confidence in you—after all, the formulas came from you. But toxicology is my specialty. Are you sure you can actually be of help in this field?"
"Don't underestimate me, Shinobu-san," he replied with a grin. "With me assisting you, we might stumble upon a breakthrough and engineer a legendary toxin in no time. Even if I can't provide a stroke of genius, I can at least act as your assistant, can't I?"
"An assistant? Aoi can do that just as well."
"Oh, come on. Aoi already has her hands full with the mansion's chores. You can't keep using her as a lab assistant—she's your sister, not an exploited employee! Stop overworking Aoi. Here, overwork me instead! Squeeze me for all I'm worth! Use me to your heart's content!"
The phrasing was... unfortunate. It was the kind of statement that invited immediate misinterpretation.
Shinobu's face flushed slightly as she shot him a sharp, bashful glare. "Stop saying such suggestive things! If you want to help, then help, but don't get in my way!"
She quickly cleared the stray thoughts and mental images from her mind, refocusing her intellect on the task at hand. Horitake followed suit, dropping the banter to dive into the research with her.
Developing a new poison, however, was far from simple.
Starting from scratch would have been a Herculean task. Fortunately, they weren't starting from zero. The wisteria poison Shinobu currently used served as their foundation. Their goal was to modify its chemical structure, amplify its corrosive properties, and make it more resistant to a demon's natural constitution. If they could achieve that, the project would be a success.
But theory was one thing; practice was another.
As the days turned into a week of intensive research, Horitake began to see the problem. The wisteria poison Shinobu had refined over the years was already a masterpiece of biological engineering. It was highly optimized and incredibly effective. Trying to improve upon a "perfected" product was proving to be nightmarishly difficult.
The further they delved into the research, the more frustrated they became.
They discovered that the wisteria-based toxin had essentially reached its evolutionary ceiling. It had peaked. And in the world of science, hitting a peak meant hitting a wall—there was no further room for growth.
They tried looking for alternatives, searching for other plants or substances that might be lethal to demons. But the biological laws of their world were cruel: only wisteria possessed the specific properties required to kill a demon. Other plants were, at best, a mild irritant.
Horitake and Shinobu found themselves trapped in a dead-end street. Their progress ground to a halt, and their moods soured accordingly.
In the Butterfly Mansion, Horitake and Shinobu sat at the very top of the social food chain. When the two "apex predators" of the household were in a bad mood, the entire atmosphere of the mansion became stifling and tense.
The five younger girls at the bottom of the hierarchy spent their days walking on eggshells. Normally, it was fine as long as the two stayed locked in the lab. But the moment they emerged, carrying their aura of frustration and irritation with them, the girls would tremble in fear.
It was hard not to. When two individuals of their caliber are walking around with grim expressions and radiating "do not disturb" energy, what are the subordinates supposed to do? If they accidentally messed up a minor chore and provoked their wrath, the consequences would surely be dire!
Consequently, the girls became exceptionally cautious. There was no playing around, no teasing, and no loud laughter. Everyone was on their best behavior, terrified of triggering a confrontation.
Of course, neither Horitake nor Shinobu were unreasonable people. They weren't the type of "parents" who took out their work frustrations on their children. Despite their personal irritation, they never raised their voices at the girls.
Still, the heavy atmosphere persisted.
More days passed. The research remained at a complete standstill. Both Shinobu and Horitake were plagued by the same nagging thought:
Is this really it? Have we truly reached the end of the road?
They had tried every conceivable angle, every chemical permutation, and every biological catalyst they could think of. But every path led back to the same cold, hard reality: wisteria poison had reached its limit, and nothing else worked.
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