"Kanao Tsuyuri."
The girl repeated the name softly. In her long-silent, parched heart, a rare flicker of joy stirred. This sudden, unfamiliar emotion left her feeling somewhat bewildered.
Soma had been watching her closely. Seeing her react so strongly to just a simple name brought a twinge of sadness to his heart. At the same time, he could not understand how anyone could be so cruel to their own child.
The urge to kill a complete stranger for no reason—it was said demons were terrifying, but some human hearts were even more merciless than demons.
"Kanao, eat properly."
He spoke gently to the girl, whose long-suppressed joy had just begun to rise.
Her pretty pink-purple eyes blinked, and only after a moment did she realize that this "Kanao" referred to her. Obediently, she lowered her head again and ate her food. Yet in her numb heart, it was as if a long-dry pool had suddenly sprouted a spring. The cool water from that spring slowly seeped into her parched inner self.
She ate in small bites, occasionally stealing glances at the man.
Soma had returned to sit by the fire. The gentle moonlight streamed through the window, falling across his figure. The flames of the fire flickered, casting light on half of his visible face.
The girl held her small bowl with both hands, a deep sense of satisfaction swelling within her. How wonderful it would be if she could stay by his side like this every day.
But the thought that in a few days her father would sell her, that she would no longer see her uncle at night, that she would no longer be able to stay by his side, filled her heart with sudden panic. She felt as if the very air had been taken from her lungs.
She had once known fear and anxiety, and before she had endured them silently. Gradually, she had stopped feeling them at all. But now, as the emotions resurfaced, she felt almost unable to bear them.
Without a word, she stepped forward and came to the man by the fire, reaching out her small hand and gripping his sleeve tightly.
Soma looked down at the girl clutching his sleeve and gently tapped her head.
"If I asked you to stay by my side from now on, would you want to?"
Kanao Tsuyuri froze. Her eyes suddenly reddened, her frail little body trembling, her small hands gripping tightly.
"Just staying with me might be very dangerous. And I… well, the truth is, I'm not exactly what you think I am. When you grow up and understand what I really am, you might feel fear… you might be scared…"
After all, he was a demon. The girl still had no concept of what a demon was or how terrifying it could be to stay near one.
Demons were all "man-eaters." Many, after turning into demons, had loved ones who had not given up on them—but in the end, those loved ones became their food.
He paused, thinking of the future Kanao Tsuyuri: "If you don't stay by my side, perhaps in the future you'll meet a kind older sister who will take good care of you. You'll also meet someone you like… in the right circumstances, your heart will bloom."
Though she now seemed like a wilted flower, as Kanae Kocho had once said, Kanao would eventually blossom when the right moment came. Someday, meeting someone she liked would change her.
But Kanao Tsuyuri didn't seem to hear—or care—about all that. Her small hands just clutched his sleeve tightly, and her pink-purple eyes stared unblinkingly at him.
For the current Kanao Tsuyuri, Soma seemed even more important than she had imagined.
"Since you've chosen this, I'll help you say goodbye to your past."
Soma spoke, watching the girl's reaction.
Kanao didn't fully understand what he meant, and Soma didn't explain. He simply stood, gently picking her up in his arms.
The girl was thin and light, and to Soma, a demon, holding her felt as effortless as cradling a wisp of cotton.
He carried Kanao back to her home.
"Bang!"
A loud crash echoed from inside.
"Where's that little brat running off to? If I catch you, I'll skin you alive!"
A man's angry voice roared from within the house.
At that moment, Kanao shivered in Soma's arms, her eyes betraying obvious fear.
For most children, home is a warm harbor—but for Kanao Tsuyuri, home was something terrifying.
Feeling her fear, Soma reached out and gently stroked her head, speaking softly: "It's alright."
Though she instinctively still felt afraid, the warmth of his large hand on her head made her fear recede. Even if her father whipped her later, she felt she could endure it.
...
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, they saw a man in tattered clothes, his hair disheveled. At the sight of him, Kanao's body visibly trembled.
This was likely her father.
"Who are you? What are you doing holding my daughter? Put her down—now!"
The man turned toward the door, seeing Soma holding his daughter, his face flushed with anger.
Soma ignored him, instead gently stroking Kanao's head, lowering his voice: "What if I were to kill your father... what would you think of that?"
Though the words were cruel, for Kanao Tsuyuri, they didn't seem as terrifying as one might imagine. Even though it was her own father, she didn't resist much.
"What did you say? What was that about?"
The man didn't catch Soma's first words clearly—the demon's voice was soft—and seeing that Soma refused to put the girl down, he stepped forward, ready to snatch his daughter back.
After all, she had already been sold, and if she disappeared, how could he explain it to the buyer?
He paid no mind to the man who had returned with his daughter in his arms.
"You…"
The man suddenly froze, a sharp pain in his abdomen forcing him to look down. A blade, glowing like fire, had pierced his belly. Crimson blood dripped down along the edge of the knife, pooling on the floor.
His eyes widened as he looked up at Soma, holding his daughter just inches away, unable to comprehend why.
"I said... I'm going to kill you... so what do you think of that?"
Soma smiled gently at the man. But in the man's eyes, that gentle smile was the face of the world's most terrifying demon.