The Kasugai Crow flapped its wings anxiously. Once they entered the barrier, the one who set it would definitely notice, so they had to find Tamayo quickly.
Raiden waved his hand and ignored the crow's urging. They were here to talk to Tamayo, not to cause trouble. Besides, his relationship with her was not as close as Tanjiro's, but it was not distant either, so there was no need to sneak around.
Seeing his calm reaction, the Kasugai Crow hesitated for a moment before landing on Raiden's shoulder. If Raiden was not worried, there was no reason for it to be nervous either.
One man and one crow slowly walked toward the villa.
Just as they reached the entrance, Yushiro suddenly rushed out and stared at Raiden with clear suspicion. The moment he realized who it was, his expression froze, and the hostility in his eyes faded slightly.
"Raiden?"
"Long time no see."
"Is that Raiden? Yushiro, move away from the door and let me out."
Tamayo's voice came from behind him.
Hearing the faint excitement in her voice, Yushiro looked a little displeased, but he still stepped aside. Tamayo walked out, and the moment she confirmed that it was really Raiden, she bowed slightly.
"Long time no see, Raiden."
Raiden looked at her calm smile and paused for a moment. Was it his imagination, or had her attitude toward him become noticeably warmer?
Before he could think further, the system notification suddenly appeared in his mind.
Ding.
Detected that Tamayo's friendship with the host has increased to "Friend." A random reward has been granted.
Reward received, Blood Demon Art, Bewitching Blood, Daytime Demon Fragrance, Mastery Level.
Do you want to fuse Blood Demon Art, Bewitching Blood, Daytime Demon Fragrance, Mastery Level now?
No.
Raiden glanced at the system panel, then looked back at Tamayo. Something felt off. It had been five or six months since he last saw her. Normally, familiarity would decrease after so long without contact, not increase the moment they met again.
Was the system malfunctioning?
He was not arrogant enough to believe Tamayo would suddenly develop feelings for him after such a short acquaintance. That was unrealistic.
Then what caused it?
The vials of Upper Moon blood he had sent her? But that had already been agreed upon when they first became friends. It should not increase her affection like this.
While Raiden was thinking, Yushiro lowered his head slightly and glared at him. He had never liked Raiden in the past, and now he disliked him even more.
"Good evening, Tamayo. You don't seem very resistant to my arrival."
Even though the increase in familiarity was a good thing, Raiden still wanted to understand the reason.
Tamayo smiled gently.
"Resistant? Why would I be? Let's talk inside."
She extended her hand in invitation.
"Lady Tamayo, he has a Kasugai Crow with him. The Demon Slayer Corps might…"
Yushiro quickly grabbed her sleeve and tried to warn her. If Raiden had come alone, he would only feel slightly uncomfortable. But the presence of a Kasugai Crow made everything different.
The crow represented the Demon Slayer Corps, and it also represented the Ubuyashiki family. If Raiden had come with one, that meant their location might already be known.
The Kasugai Crow on Raiden's shoulder calmly spoke when it noticed everyone staring at it.
"Good evening, Lady Tamayo. Forgive me for disturbing you at this hour. I am one of Kagaya Ubuyashiki's messengers, and I am honored to meet you."
"I have no intention of harming you. I only wish to cooperate with you. Bringing the Sound Hashira with us is proof of our sincerity."
Raiden glanced at the crow in silence. So his presence was now considered proof of sincerity? Since when had his reputation become that useful?
Tamayo gently patted Yushiro's hand and looked at Raiden again.
"Let's go inside first. We can talk while we walk."
Raiden clicked his tongue inwardly. It seemed he was more useful than he thought.
If he remembered correctly, in the original story Tamayo eventually accepted Kagaya Ubuyashiki's request, but she remained cautious the entire time. Now, just because he was here, she had lowered her guard so quickly.
"Thank you, Raiden, for the Upper Moon blood you sent me earlier. It has helped my research greatly."
"It's nothing. We already agreed on it before."
Seeing that he dismissed it so casually, Tamayo shook her head slightly.
"Your help goes far beyond just the blood. After you killed several Upper Moons in succession, Muzan no longer had the time to focus on me and Yushiro."
"Because we no longer needed to change locations constantly, I was able to devote more time to my research. With the blood you provided, I have made major breakthroughs."
Raiden finally understood. That explained why her attitude changed the moment they met again. His actions had affected her far more than he realized.
"Such as?"
He asked with clear interest. The biggest difference from the original story was that Tamayo had already obtained Doma's blood. If the blood of Upper Moon Two was involved, her research results might be very different.
"In the process of studying Nezuko's blood, I discovered that she is capable of overcoming sunlight."
Tamayo looked at Raiden with a faint smile, clearly expecting him to be shocked.
But what surprised him was not the discovery itself. What shocked him was that Nezuko could still overcome sunlight even without the life-and-death moment at the Swordsmith Village.
He had always thought that incident was the key reason behind her resistance. He even felt guilty for changing that event. But now it seemed that Nezuko had the ability from the beginning.
"Not only that," Tamayo continued, "by studying the blood of several Upper Moons, I have also created a special medicine designed specifically for Muzan."
"For Muzan?"
This time Raiden was genuinely surprised.
Everything had changed much earlier than expected. Tamayo had not even worked together with Shinobu yet, and she had already developed a medicine capable of turning demons back into humans.
"Yes. While studying Doma's blood, I discovered a special genetic factor. This factor is what separates humans from demons."
"I extracted it and used it to create a reagent that can turn demons back into humans. It has already been tested once, and the test was successful."
Hearing that the medicine had already reached the testing stage, Raiden's last bit of doubt disappeared.
"Can I see it?"
"Of course. Half of the credit for its success belongs to you. You have every right to see it."
Tamayo walked back to her research table and carefully picked up a small vial filled with pale red liquid.
The liquid was completely clear, and a faint glow seemed to flow across its surface.