The sun hung high in the center of the sky. It was noon.
Inside the cave, Kanao Tsuyuri slowly opened her eyes in a daze. Out of habit, she looked around.
Only after seeing her uncle beside her—constantly running his fingers along the blade of his sword—did she finally relax.
She took a few small steps and naturally walked over to him, then leaned against him like a cat.
Soma, who had been gently stroking the blade of his Nichirin Sword, turned his head and glanced at her.
"Awake?"
"Mm."
The girl stretched out her small hand and quietly added a little piece of firewood to the campfire. The flame suddenly leapt upward, and her pink-purple eyes blinked softly as she watched.
"When we left the city, we were in too much of a hurry and forgot to bring food. When the sun sets, I'll take you out to find something to eat."
Seeing her toss another stick into the fire, he spoke gently.
Kanao looked at him and blinked.
He lightly tapped the girl's small nose and said helplessly,
"Even if you're hungry, there's nothing we can do. There's nothing to eat inside this cave."
As he finished speaking, he couldn't help but look toward the mouth of the cave. To him, just looking at that warm sunlight made his eyes feel as if they were being pricked by needles, forcing him to lower his head.
However, the moment he looked down, he saw a small hand placed in front of him.
That tiny hand was holding a wrinkled, slightly squashed chicken drumstick.
Soma froze for a moment, then looked up at Kanao in surprise.
The girl was holding the drumstick toward him like she was presenting a treasure.
"You actually hid some food?"
Soma was stunned.
Kanao blinked and pushed the drumstick closer to his mouth, her eyes filled with expectation.
In her mind, her uncle had never eaten anything before. He must be very hungry.
"I don't eat this."
Soma smiled and took the drumstick. Then he found a clean stick, skewered the drumstick onto it, and placed it over the campfire to roast.
"Let's warm it up first before you eat it."
Then he smiled at her and casually asked, "Do you have any other food?"
He had only asked casually and didn't expect her to have anything else. The hidden drumstick alone had already surprised him.
But then he watched as Kanao began searching through her clothes.
Soon, a small pile of food appeared on the ground in front of Soma.
A small steamed bun.
A few squashed rice balls.
A small chunk of meat.
Several pinecones.
And a little orange…
Looking at the small pile, Soma was astonished.
"You're really like a little hamster—so good at hiding food!"
But after the initial surprise, when he thought about Kanao's past, he understood.
For someone like Kanao, who had grown up never having enough to eat, food must have been incredibly precious. She lacked a sense of security, so it was only natural that she developed the habit of hoarding food.
He reached out and gently rubbed the girl's head, his voice filled with pity.
"From now on, you won't have to go hungry anymore."
Kanao looked at him with her beautiful blinking eyes.
Soma said nothing more and continued roasting the drumstick. When it seemed ready, he handed it to her.
"Go ahead and eat."
Kanao took the drumstick. Instinctively she wanted to take a bite, but just as it reached her mouth, she stopped and handed it back to him again.
"I can't eat those things."
He patted her head.
"Demons can't satisfy their hunger with normal food."
Kanao tilted her head and blinked thoughtfully.
Then, very naturally—
She stretched out her own arm toward his mouth.
During their previous encounter, the demon that Uncle had killed said that she was Uncle's food. If he ate her, it should relieve his hunger. So if he just took a bite of her…
Her pale arm rested near his mouth.
Faintly, he could smell a sweet scent from it—something irresistibly alluring. It made his throat move involuntarily, as if he might lose control and bite down at any moment.
Inside him surged an endless craving for flesh and blood.
His expression turned hideous in an instant. He roughly slapped the girl's hand away.
"Don't ever do that again!"
He lowered his head, suppressing the sudden surge of desire for flesh and blood in his heart. His voice was no longer gentle—there was even a hint of anger in it.
The girl's sudden action had almost caused him to lose control of himself.
As time passed since becoming a demon, the craving for flesh and blood had only grown stronger. If he wasn't careful, he could easily fall into the instincts of a demon.
Once he opened that door, he would become no different from the monsters that roamed this world.
"Haa…" He took a long, shaky breath to settle the roiling hunger. Only then did he look back at Kanao.
Perhaps his sudden outburst had frightened her.
The girl was curled up there, staring blankly. Her eyes seemed filled with fear.
A wave of self-reproach washed over him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to the girl curled up there. But although his mouth opened, he didn't know what to say.
So he silently returned to sit beside the campfire.
Kanao remained curled up where she was.
She felt that she had angered Uncle and made him dislike her. Perhaps… he might even drive her away.
Thinking about this made panic and fear rise uncontrollably inside her, as if she would soon be thrown back into that cold, damp darkness she once knew.
...
Time passed second by second.
Soma sat silently by the fire, while the girl stayed nearby, curled up in fear.
Crackle…
The burning wood in the campfire suddenly made a sharp sound.
The sound seemed to startle Kanao awake. She lifted her pink-purple eyes cautiously and saw Uncle sitting there silently.
After hesitating for a moment, the girl took a small step.
Seeing that Uncle didn't object, she took another careful step. Slowly she moved closer to him.
She cautiously leaned near him.
When he didn't stop her, she gently rested her small head against him.
Immediately, the girl's eyes narrowed slightly in quiet comfort.
Soma had actually seen all of Kanao's movements.
He felt some regret about his earlier anger.
But what filled him more deeply was fear.
The sudden surge of hunger earlier had almost made him lose control. He had nearly done something he could never accept.
He had nearly treated Kanao as food.
He knew that her action had been completely innocent.
Yet it made him realize clearly that he was no different from other demons. If things continued like this, sooner or later he would become a monster that devoured flesh and blood.
His willpower might last one day… ten days… even a hundred days.
But it would never last a thousand days.
Maybe even far less than that.
If things continued, eventually he would fall into the endless hunger for flesh just like every other demon.
"Sigh..."
He took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions in his heart.
Picking up the drumstick that had fallen earlier, he cleaned it off and handed it to Kanao.
"Eat."
Seeing that she looked somewhat nervous, he lowered his gaze slightly.
"Sorry…"
He wanted to say something more apologetic.
But in the end, the words never came out.
So he simply turned his head and stared silently at the campfire, watching the flames flicker and sway.