"Uncle is different."
Kanao Tsuyuri lowered her head as she spoke in a muffled voice.
Soma paused for a moment and looked at her, but didn't say anything. He simply continued walking.
Children were often like this—having very innocent ideas that could seem naive.
But a demon was still a demon.
No matter how much he tried to explain, in the eyes of others he was still a man-eating demon.
And in the eyes of the Demon Slayer Corps, he was an absolute enemy.
As for dreaming about peacefully coexisting with the Demon Slayer Corps, gaining their recognition, helping them fight demons, becoming some kind of hero, saving beautiful girls, and then living happily ever after…
If he had been a teenager when he was transported to this world, he might have entertained such thoughts.
But as a middle-aged man who had long passed the age of hot-blooded fantasies, it all felt incredibly childish—naive to the extreme.
If he appeared before a Demon Slayer swordsman as a demon, what awaited him would be a Nichirin Sword cutting off his head without hesitation.
Entrusting one's life to someone else's momentary decision was nothing more than a ridiculous gamble.
From the moment he became a demon, he had never expected recognition from the Demon Slayer Corps.
Nor did he believe that someone with his identity could ever coexist peacefully with them.
That was why he had shown no hesitation when killing a member of the Kakushi, and why he had also shown no hesitation when killing a swordsman.
In his view, anyone who threatened his life was his enemy.
If someone wanted to kill him—
Then they should be prepared to be killed by him.
Whether it was the Demon Slayer Corps or other demons, it made no difference to him.
...
After walking for a while while holding Kanao's hand, he noticed the child seemed tired, so he carried her on his back and headed toward a nearby place to rest.
It was a very deep cave.
Inside the cave, he lit a campfire.
Not long afterward, dawn arrived.
When the first rays of sunlight appeared, the instinctive fear of sunlight within his body caused him to step deeper into the darkness of the cave.
After retreating a few more steps into the shadows, his rational mind slowly returned.
The sunlight couldn't reach this far inside anyway.
"I really am afraid of sunlight from the bottom of my heart," he muttered with a self-mocking smile.
Then he began busying himself beside the fire, preparing food for Kanao.
While he worked, Kanao sat nearby with her head tilted upward, her pink-purple eyes quietly watching him.
She simply watched him—purely and silently.
"It might take a little longer today. I'm making chicken stew for you," Soma said softly.
The chicken was a wild one he'd caught along the way. As for the other ingredients—mushrooms and some vegetables—he had either bought them while passing through towns or picked them from people's gardens.
Kanao nodded vigorously.
After quietly watching her uncle for a while, she turned her gaze toward the cave entrance where warm sunlight shone in.
"Go outside and play, but don't go too far. If something dangerous happens, run back into the cave."
While continuing to prepare the chicken, Soma spoke gently.
Kanao stood up, walked behind him, and gave him a quick hug before running toward the cave entrance with small steps.
"Walk slower, don't trip!" he reminded her.
After he said that, the girl's pace indeed slowed a little.
Only then did he lower his head and continue cooking.
...
Time passed unnoticed.
The chicken stew over the campfire was finished, and the aroma of the food filled the cave, almost driving away the dampness inside.
Soma raised his head and frowned toward the cave entrance.
At some point, Kanao had left the entrance and disappeared from his sight.
He hadn't seen her for quite some time.
It seemed she had run far away.
His heart tightened slightly.
After all, this was the wilderness—steep terrain filled with dangers.
There could be poisonous snakes or wild beasts.
Whether she fell somewhere or encountered a dangerous animal, it would be extremely dangerous.
His heart tightened slightly. He couldn't help but stand up and want to go out to look for her. But the moment he reached the cave entrance, the warm sunlight filled him with overwhelming fear, forcing him to stop.
"Kanao! Kanao!"
He stood on tiptoe, looking outside while calling out anxiously.
Tap, tap, tap…
Soon, the sound of light footsteps came, followed by the figure of a girl appearing at the cave entrance.
However, her hair was messy, and her clothes were stained with mud in several places. A few spots were even torn open, probably scratched by branches or thorns.
"Uncle! Uncle! I found a lot of flowers that bloom in the sunlight. I picked them all for you!"
The girl held a large bundle of flowers in both arms—white, red, yellow, and many other colors.
She ran almost all the way to him.
"Uncle, take a look. Are any of these the flower you're looking for?"
As she spoke, she looked up at him. Her eyes were like a sparkling lake, brighter and warmer than sunlight.
Taking the flowers, Soma gently tidied Kanao Tsuyuri's messy hair and straightened her clothes. Then he lightly tapped her small nose with his finger.
"The food's ready. Go eat. I'll check these flowers to see if any of them are the one I need."
"Okay."
Kanao nodded emphatically.
She walked to the campfire where, on a cleaned patch of ground, there was a simple meal—a small pot of chicken stewed with mushrooms and a bowl of rice.
Looking at the food, she instinctively turned her head toward her uncle. Seeing him carefully examining the flowers she had gathered one by one, she lowered her head and happily began eating her rice from the small bowl.
She didn't know whether she had found the flower her uncle needed.
But being able to help him in some way already made her very happy.
Soma held the bouquet and inspected each flower carefully. He didn't actually recognize the Blue Spider Lily, but he still examined them one by one.
After looking at them, he memorized their appearance—and then tasted each flower.
Unfortunately, after tasting every type of flower she had gathered, he felt no change in his body.
Clearly, none of them were the Blue Spider Lily.
He felt a little disappointed, though it was within expectations.
If the Blue Spider Lily were so easy to find, Muzan Kibutsuji wouldn't have searched for it unsuccessfully for a thousand years.
"It seems the only real hope is to search near where Tanjiro Kamado lives. Otherwise, I'll end up with the same result as Muzan."
Kanao took a small bite of rice. Seeing that her uncle had tasted every flower she had picked, she looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Uncle… did you find the spider lily you're looking for?"
Soma shook his head.
Seeing the slight disappointment in the girl's eyes, he reached out and gently patted her small head.
"We'll find it eventually."
He smiled, then looked at the large bunch of flowers still in his hand.
Normally, since these weren't the Blue Spider Lily, they were useless and should just be thrown away.
But after hesitating for a moment, he remembered there were vines growing in the cave.
So he picked one and sat beside the campfire, slowly weaving.
Beside the flickering firelight, the "man-eating" demon sat peacefully, gradually weaving a floral crown out of the vines and flowers.
Soma looked at his handiwork. It wasn't made very well, but it could still pass as a flower crown.
He gently placed the crown on Kanao's head as she lowered her head and ate her food in small bites.
Kanao was naturally an exquisite girl, but her beauty had been hidden by the filth of her past. Now, after days of care and plenty of food, she was like a spring willow, budding with new, delicate life.
With the flower crown on her head, she looked even more like a graceful young lady.
"Not bad." Soma was very satisfied with his masterpiece.
Kanao reached up and touched the flower crown on her head.
She looked up at her uncle.
Then she lowered her head again and took small sips of chicken soup.
Suddenly, she felt that the soup had become so sweet, so very sweet.
...
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