"No one will ever care about a demon."
From the moment he became one, that was a truth he had come to accept.
…
Carrying Kanao on his back, Soma moved through the curtain of rain. The girl's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, her small body pressed close, her warm breath brushing faintly against his skin.
"If it gets too much, tell me."
His voice was low.
Running like this through a storm—especially in winter—even with thick clothes and a raincoat, it wasn't something a young girl could easily endure.
"I'm okay, Uncle."
Kanao's soft voice sounded by his ear.
Soma didn't reply. He simply continued on in silence, moving through the dark, rain-soaked night.
He didn't know how long he ran, nor how many places he searched. Only when the sky began to pale with the first hint of dawn did he finally stop, carrying Kanao into a mountain cave.
The cave had once belonged to a mountain bear.
Now, the bear lay dead inside.
Soma lit a fire.
He arranged a simple resting spot beside it for Kanao, while the girl herself struggled nearby, gripping a blade and trying to hack apart one of the bear's paws.
That… was going to be their meal.
Kanao was still too small. Even gripping the Nichirin Sword with both hands, cutting through the thick limb took considerable effort.
But she didn't ask for help.
She simply pressed her lips together, her expression serious and focused.
"I'll do it."
After finishing the resting area, Soma walked over, took the blade from her hands, and in a few swift strikes split the bear's paw apart.
Carrying the prepared meat, he returned to the fire and began cleaning it in silence.
Kanao followed and knelt beside him, helping remove the coarse fur from the meat. From time to time, her pink-violet eyes drifted to his tattered clothes—soaked and stained a deep, dark red—or to the jagged wounds covering his body.
Every time she looked, her eyes trembled slightly.
Tilting her head, she watched his profile in the firelight. Almost unconsciously, her small hand reached out and touched the scar on his face—the one left by the axe.
For a normal human, it would have been fatal.
But for an immortal demon, it was nothing.
The flesh had already begun to close, though the jagged scar remained, not yet fully faded.
Her hand was warm.
The touch made Soma pause. He glanced up at her.
"It's just a few small scars. They'll heal soon enough."
His tone was indifferent as he gently pulled her hand away from his face.
"It's… because of me…" Kanao murmured, lowering her head.
"If I hadn't been found… you wouldn't have had to go through that… you wouldn't be hurt like this…"
Just looking at the wounds covering him, she could imagine how many times he had been struck.
And every blow…
How much would it have hurt?
Thwack!
He flicked her forehead—not lightly.
The sudden sting snapped her out of her guilt. She looked up at him, a little dazed, not understanding what she had done wrong.
"It's not because of you," Soma said calmly. "If you start blaming yourself… I'll be upset."
He tapped her head again with his finger.
"You wouldn't make me angry, would you?"
The girl immediately shook her head hard—so fast it was like a rattling drum.
Seeing that, Soma let out a small laugh. Lowering his head, he continued preparing the meat.
"This is all we've got for today. There's nothing else here, so we'll have to roast it and hope it tastes decent. Once it gets dark, we'll see if we can find a village or a house nearby and get something better to eat…"
"It's okay. I like bear meat. I wouldn't mind eating it every day."
"Hah… that won't do. I can't exactly hunt a bear for you every single day."
He chuckled, skewering the meat on a stick and holding it over the fire, slowly roasting it.
"Uncle…"
The girl leaned closer, pressing herself gently against his side.
"Mm."
Soma kept his attention on the roasting bear paw, replying absentmindedly.
"…Back in that house, I saw him cut your arm with his sword."
"Hah, it's nothing." He waved it off casually. "I'm a demon. A cut like that doesn't matter. It'll heal before long."
He truly didn't care. As a demon, he was practically immortal—so long as his neck wasn't severed by a Nichirin Sword, nothing else really counted.
Kanao tilted her head slightly, watching him in silence, her lips pressed together.
"What is it?" Noticing her staring at him, Soma touched his face in confusion.
"Uncle... when the sword hits you, does it hurt?"
"For a demon, it's nothing." He patted her head, trying to brush it off, then added with a small smile, "The bear paw's almost ready. It probably won't taste great though—we don't have any seasoning."
But Kanao reached out instead, her small hand wrapping around his much larger one.
"It must hurt."
"Hah… for a demon, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Seeing her biting her lip, he suddenly felt a little flustered.
"It's really nothing. I'm a demon—these kinds of wounds don't mean anything."
"Why do you always say 'for a demon'… always 'for a demon'?"
"…Uh…"
He hesitated, then tried to explain.
"That's because demons are different from humans. For humans, if your leg gets cut off, it's almost impossible to reattach it. Lose too much blood, and you die. Get badly injured, and you die. But for demons… those things are just minor issues."
"Because they're 'minor issues'… does that mean you don't have to care?"
Kanao bit her lip, her pink-violet eyes fixed on him.
There was something there—something unfamiliar.
Almost like… anger.
She didn't even know why she felt it.
But suddenly, she was angry.
"…Because you're a demon, it doesn't matter?"
"…I guess you could say that."
Seeing her eyes turn red at the edges, Soma hurriedly added,
"It's just… humans and demons are different. What's serious for a human really isn't a big deal for a demon."
He had never seen her like this before. Most of the time, she was quiet—calm, almost expressionless.
"Uncle…"
Kanao looked at him, those soft pink-violet eyes shining like fading sunlight. For some reason, he found himself instinctively looking away.
"You don't care because you're a demon… and no one else cares either…"
"But…"
"…someone does."
Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
Soma didn't quite catch it.
"…Someone cares."
She tightened her grip on his hand, her lips pressed together.
"Someone cares. Someone worries."
Kanao lifted her head and looked straight at him.
"I care."
"I'm afraid… that you'll feel pain."
For a moment, Soma didn't know what to do.
He almost raised his hand to flick her forehead again—out of habit, out of awkwardness—but he couldn't bring himself to do it. In the end, he simply turned his head aside.
"It's fine. It doesn't hurt."
Kanao didn't respond.
She just looked at him seriously for a moment—then suddenly turned away.
Soma blinked, confused, and followed her movement with his eyes.
The girl bent down and picked up the Nichirin Sword from the ground.
It was heavy—so heavy she had to grip it with both hands just to lift it.
And then—
Holding the sword, Kanao began walking toward the demon.
Step by step.
...
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