Kanae Kocho raised her head, her face flushed as she stole a quiet glance at Su Yan.
She realized that not only had the burning heat on her cheeks yet to fade, but the teasing smile on Su Yan's face remained exactly as it was.
Without saying a word, Kanae chose to vanish right in front of him.
It wasn't until Kanae disappeared that Makomo, who had been following behind Su Yan as his newly contracted Nen Beast, finally reacted with a somewhat blank expression.
Tugging gently at the hem of Su Yan's shirt, she asked, "Lord, is she an existence like me?"
"I've told you so many times. Even though you're my Nen Beast, you don't need to call me 'Lord'. Just calling me by my name is fine."
Su Yan turned around, rubbing his temples as he looked at the slightly airheaded girl behind him. "Or you can just call me 'brother' or something."
"Okay, Lord Brother. I understand, Lord Brother."
Makomo nodded in response.
Yet, barely a few seconds later, her way of addressing him reverted right back to how it started.
In her airy, ethereal voice, Makomo asked again, "So, is that older sister an existence like me, Lord?"
Su Yan couldn't help but sigh.
Perhaps Marikawa Shizuka and Makomo would have a lot in common to talk about.
They were both a bit dense.
However, Shizuka's airheadedness and Makomo's cluelessness weren't exactly the same.
If Shizuka's clumsiness was merely a lazy indifference toward mundane matters—a facade of foolishness to mask her innate intelligence and make those around her lower their guard, meaning she wasn't actually stupid but rather actively adapting to her environment...
...then Makomo was just genuinely dense.
She even gave off a clumsy vibe, always reacting half a beat slower than everyone else.
Su Yan explained helplessly, "That girl is Shinobu Kocho's older sister. She was also the former Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, killed two years ago by Upper Rank Two of the Twelve Kizuki."
"Oh, oh."
Makomo's eyes sparkled, her small mouth parting slightly in awe. "That's amazing. Not only is the younger sister a Hashira-level member of the Demon Slayer Corps, but the older sister was one too?"
"So, you came here to capture that sister and make her a Nen Beast like me, right, Lord?"
Makomo tilted her head up, looking into Su Yan's eyes as her little brain cleverly pieced it together.
"You could say that."
Su Yan didn't deny it.
"But she ran away just now..."
Makomo offered meekly, "So, do you want me to go catch her and bring her back for you, Lord?"
"Huh?"
Su Yan found Makomo's idea rather amusing.
Sending Makomo to fight Kanae Kocho, defeat her, and then capture her as a Nen Beast?
What was this, some kind of Pokémon collection game?
Setting aside the fact that he didn't need to rely on combat to capture Kanae—he had plenty of other ways to handle her—even if this really were a Pokémon game, Kanae was still the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
As for this airheaded Makomo standing in front of him?
She was just a rookie swordswoman who couldn't even defeat a lowly Hand Demon during the Final Selection.
How did she have the nerve to suggest such a thing?
Was she in her right mind?
"You really are a little genius."
Su Yan extended his thumb and middle finger, lightly flicking Makomo's pristine forehead.
"..."
Makomo covered the spot on her forehead where Su Yan had just flicked her, letting out a soft, ethereal murmur.
Su Yan was about to say something else to her when suddenly, Shinobu Kocho, who was walking at the front, turned around and noticed that Su Yan had fallen quite a distance behind.
Seeing him standing there alone, muttering to himself, she couldn't help but call out, "Mr. Scumbag, what are you mumbling about all by yourself over there? Hurry up and follow me."
Perhaps it was because they had returned to the Butterfly Mansion, but even Shinobu herself didn't realize that her tone was much gentler than usual.
"Coming," Su Yan replied.
Giving up on teasing little Makomo for the time being, he quickened his pace to catch up with Shinobu.
As for Shinobu saying he was alone?
That was because she couldn't see Makomo.
It might be because Makomo had only just become his Nen Beast, or perhaps it was due to the unique nature of the Demon Slayer world, where souls and Post-Mortem Nen were intertwined. As a result, unlike the Snowball Beast, Makomo's current state was still closer to that of a spiritual body.
If he wanted others to see her, Su Yan would have to continuously channel Nen into her.
Perhaps it was because Makomo was a bit socially anxious? After parting ways with Tanjiro and the others, Makomo felt that it was perfectly fine if only Su Yan could see her, so she hadn't asked him to transfer Nen into her.
In other words, Su Yan's earlier interactions with Kanae and Makomo simply looked to Shinobu like he had inexplicably stopped in his tracks to talk to himself.
'Maybe seeing the Butterfly Mansion made him think of my sister?'
Shinobu thought to herself, a ripple of emotion flashing through her eyes as her small fists unconsciously clenched.
'I miss you too, Sister.'
'Just wait, Sister...'
'I will definitely find the Upper Rank demon who killed you and avenge you.'
'Soon! Very soon!'
As if sensing Shinobu's inner thoughts, Su Yan caught up to her and placed his hand on her head, gently ruffling her smooth, purple-gradient short hair.
Thinking of Kanae, who had just vanished before his eyes, an enigmatic smile unconsciously crept onto Su Yan's lips.
He then looked at Shinobu and said softly, "Shinobu, you will find happiness."
"Happiness?"
However, Su Yan's gentleness failed to soothe the sorrow in Shinobu's heart.
She reached up and swatted his hand away from her head.
'Such a thing has had nothing to do with me ever since the day my sister died.'
But Shinobu chose not to voice these inner thoughts to Su Yan.
Instead, she plastered on her usual fake smile and changed the subject. "What's this? Is Mr. Scumbag finally unable to hold back from making a move on his ex-girlfriend's younger sister?"
"As expected of Mr. Scumbag, who can maintain ambiguous relationships with multiple women at the same time!"
"What if I am?"
Su Yan looked calmly and directly into Shinobu's eyes.
For a moment, Shinobu's normally placid purple eyes flickered with uncertainty.
As the only female Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, and given how she deliberately imitated her sister Kanae's gentle demeanor, there was actually no shortage of men who confessed to her.
But never once had her heart felt as complicated as it did right now.
Ultimately, however, she was still the mentally resilient Shinobu Kocho.
"Fine!"
Shinobu dropped the smile from her face and looked at Su Yan with utmost seriousness. "As long as you can kill Muzan and Upper Rank Two to avenge my sister, it doesn't matter even if you treat me as my sister's replacement."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]