After speaking with Tamayo, Soma gained a much deeper understanding of Muzan Kibutsuji.
At the same time, he felt fortunate about the choices he had made before.
If, after overcoming sunlight, he had immediately started recklessly hunting and devouring demons to increase his own strength, then Muzan would likely have noticed him long ago.
The reason Muzan Kibutsuji was known as the absolute ruler of demons was because he possessed a certain level of awareness over every demon connected to him.
That awareness depended on how much of his blood a demon possessed. The more blood they carried, the stronger Muzan's perception became. In some cases, he could even directly share their vision and observe what they saw in real time.
As long as someone attacked demons openly, the chances of drawing Muzan's attention became extremely high.
…
When Shinobu woke up again, it was already the next morning.
Gentle sunlight streamed through the window, falling softly across the girl's face and tangled hair. A faint breeze drifted in from outside, causing the loose strands on her cheeks to sway lightly.
The pain from her injuries was still there, but compared to before, she already felt much better.
Most likely, it was because she had drunk quite a lot of Tamayo's medicine yesterday. The effects had clearly been excellent.
Previously, she had refused to drink it no matter how effective it was.
It was not because she minded the bitterness.
What she truly hated was the fact that the medicine came from a demon.
Her hatred and disgust toward demons made her instinctively reject anything associated with them.
Creak…
The sound of the door opening echoed softly.
Aoi Kanzaki walked in carrying a medical kit. The moment she saw that Shinobu was awake, a happy expression appeared on her face.
"Sister Shinobu is awake. You look much better today."
Shinobu herself was an exceptionally skilled doctor. Simply by closing her eyes briefly and sensing the state of her body, she could already tell that her recovery was progressing very well.
Still, the injuries she had suffered had been far too severe.
Even now, she could only remain lying in bed. Standing up was completely impossible.
Aoi carried the medical kit over and began carefully removing Shinobu's bandages so she could replace them and disinfect the wounds.
As her clothing was loosened and the bandages removed, countless injuries were revealed beneath.
Several of the wounds were extremely deep, with some frighteningly close to her heart.
Even though Aoi had already seen them several times, every time she looked at them, her chest still tightened painfully.
Taking a quiet breath to calm herself, she began carefully cleaning and disinfecting the wounds.
When the alcohol touched the injuries, Shinobu's brows furrowed slightly from the sting. Still, she could not help glancing toward the wounds herself.
Aoi was carefully treating the injuries, and the deep cuts that had once looked horrifying were now already beginning to heal.
At that moment, Shinobu was less concerned about how quickly they were recovering and more worried about whether they would leave scars behind.
In the past, she probably would not have cared much. To a swordsman, scars were completely normal.
But now… she no longer wanted that.
After examining the wounds, Shinobu quickly judged the situation as a doctor herself.
As long as she recovered properly from now on, there would probably not be any noticeable scars left behind.
Once she reached that conclusion, the tension in her brows finally eased. She rested her head back against the pillow, her long eyelashes trembling faintly.
In the past, she had always been the one treating others.
Now, she was the patient instead.
The feeling was strangely unfamiliar.
"Sister Shinobu, today's medicine is already being prepared. In a little while—"
While wrapping fresh bandages around the wounds, Aoi spoke softly.
"I don't really want to drink it." Shinobu closed her eyes slightly.
"Well… Mr. Soma spent a long time preparing it himself."
Aoi smiled teasingly as she continued changing the bandages.
A faint blush instantly spread across Shinobu's cheeks. She unconsciously turned her head away, suddenly unable to meet Aoi's eyes.
After a long moment, Shinobu finally turned back again and muttered quietly,
"He… still hasn't left yet?"
"Not yet."
Aoi finished wrapping the final bandage before helping Shinobu put her clothes back on, covering the pale skin beneath.
In truth, aside from being a little shorter, Shinobu hardly had any flaws at all.
And compared to most people here, she was not actually that short. It was only when standing beside Soma that the difference became obvious.
"If Sister Shinobu really doesn't want to drink the medicine, then you'll have to tell Mr. Soma yourself later. It should be ready soon."
Aoi leaned closer with a teasing smile as she looked at Shinobu's pretty face.
"Mr. Soma stayed in the kitchen for two whole hours just to prepare your medicine."
As she spoke, her tone became even more playful.
"It really seems like Mr. Soma cares a lot about Sister Shinobu."
"Don't say nonsense." A blush instantly spread across Shinobu's face.
"Hehe…"
Seeing Shinobu react like that, Aoi quickly stepped back to dodge the hand Shinobu reached out to grab her with. Swinging her twin ponytails, she laughed mischievously.
"Sister Shinobu, I'm leaving now. Mr. Soma will be here soon."
Watching Aoi skip away, Shinobu's delicate face turned even redder. At that moment, she could clearly feel her heart beating much faster than usual.
For some reason, she even felt nervous.
After Aoi left, the room quickly became quiet again.
Everything outside was peaceful as well.
Even though only a short amount of time had passed, Shinobu suddenly felt as though time had slowed down terribly.
Every so often, she found herself glancing toward the doorway, unconsciously hoping to see him appear.
But there was no sign of him.
Then finally, the moment she saw that familiar figure, her mood instantly brightened.
Soma walked into the room carrying a steaming bowl of medicine. When he saw her, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
Shinobu's cheeks immediately flushed red again. She hurriedly turned her head away and lightly bit her lip.
"Why are you still here?"
"Your injuries are so serious that I couldn't just leave immediately."
Soma carried the bowl over as he spoke softly.
"At the very least, I want to stay and take care of you for a few days. Once your injuries recover a bit more, I'll be able to leave without worrying."
As he picked up the bowl, he added quietly,
"I asked Miss Tamayo earlier, and she said adding a little sugar to the medicine would be fine. It shouldn't taste as bitter this time."
"I don't want to drink her medicine." Shinobu's voice sounded muffled and stubborn.
Naturally, Soma knew the "her" she referred to was Tamayo.
"Is it because she's a demon?"
Shinobu did not answer, but her silence was enough.
Her hatred for demons was carved deeply into her heart.
"But she was once human too." Soma sighed softly. "I remember you once told your sister Kanae that the two of you wanted to save demons together."
The girl lowered her head slightly.
"That was only my sister's gentle wish."
"In truth, my hatred toward demons has never lessened. I've never once truly thought about saving them. All I've ever wanted was to cut off their heads and send every last one of them to hell."
Soma lowered his eyes slightly.
"What if… I were a demon too?"
"What would you do then?"
"There's no way." Shinobu rejected the idea almost instantly. "You could never be something as disgusting as a demon."
Soma looked at Shinobu, momentarily struck speechless. He then lifted the spoon and began feeding her the medicinal broth.
The young girl offered no resistance, though her tiny face remained flushed red throughout.
"I think you should work together with Miss Tamayo to develop medicines against Muzan," Soma spoke up once more after administering a few spoonfuls of the medicine.
Shinobu instinctively resisted the idea.
It was not only because she hated Tamayo's identity as a demon. She also did not trust her.
Deep down, she even suspected Tamayo might be a pawn Muzan had deliberately planted within the Demon Slayer Corps.
Naturally, Shinobu voiced those suspicions openly.
"I don't think Miss Tamayo is one of Muzan Kibutsuji's pawns." Soma shook his head with a faint smile.
"I really don't understand why you trust a demon so much." Shinobu swallowed another spoonful of the medicine, her mouth puffing out slightly.
Of course, Soma could not explain that it was because he knew the original future.
Although the future had already begun to change, people themselves had not changed.
But naturally, there was no way he could tell Shinobu something like that.
"I know about Tamayo's past," he said softly.
"I know what happened after she became a demon."
And so, he began telling Shinobu about Tamayo's past.
Tamayo had originally been a human suffering from a terminal illness.
More than anything, she had wanted to continue living. Her greatest wish was simply to watch her child grow up.
But for someone already dying from an incurable disease, such a dream was impossible.
It was during that time that she met Muzan Kibutsuji.
He promised her that if she became a demon, her body would regain its health and she would obtain a long life.
In order to live long enough to see her child grow up, Tamayo chose to become a demon.
But Muzan never told her the price of becoming one.
Driven by a demon's instinctive hunger, Tamayo killed her own husband and slaughtered her family with her own hands.
Only later, after suppressing those instincts through sheer willpower, did she fully realize what she had done.
From that moment onward, she remained by Muzan Kibutsuji's side, secretly searching for his weaknesses.
Shinobu had clearly never expected a demon to possess such a tragic past. Nor could she imagine the despair of personally destroying the people one cherished most in the world.
"Is that really true?"
Even now, Shinobu still found it difficult to believe.
"If you don't trust Tamayo, then at least trust the Master."
Soma spoke softly.
"The Ubuyashiki family has cooperated with Miss Tamayo for a very long time."
Shinobu fell silent.
"Shinobu… what you hate, what you despise, what you truly cannot forgive… is it really demons themselves?" Soma asked quietly.
"Of course it's demons."
Her answer came almost immediately.
She would never forget that night.
A demon had personally destroyed the happiness she once had.
"But what if there were a demon who never ate human flesh, never harmed anyone, never destroyed another person's happiness, and never bullied the weak?"
Soma looked at her calmly.
"Would you still cut off that demon's head?"
Shinobu shook her head firmly. "Such a demon could never exist."
"Why not?" Soma spread his hands slightly. "For example, Yushiro, the demon beside Tamayo, has never eaten human flesh. At most, he only takes small amounts of human blood, and he's never destroyed anyone's happiness. If that's the case, why should his head be cut off?"
Shinobu quietly fell into silence.
"In truth, compared to demons like that, some humans commit far greater evil than demons ever do."
As he spoke, Soma looked directly at her.
"What you truly hate isn't demons themselves. What you truly hate are the ones who destroyed your happiness."
"That is the real object of your hatred."
"It's only because the demon who destroyed your happiness is already dead, and because you can no longer take revenge on that specific demon, that you've redirected all of that hatred toward every other demon."
For a moment, Shinobu felt lost.
Or perhaps… it was true.
Perhaps her hatred of demons really did come from the one demon who had destroyed her happiness all those years ago.
"I believe the Demon Slayer Corps was never meant to eliminate demons who suppress their instincts and restrain their desires."
Soma's voice remained calm.
"The Corps exists to destroy the demons who gain power and then use it recklessly, trampling over the lives of the weak."
"Those are the demons you truly hate, Shinobu. The demons you truly resent."
"And I think you already understand the difference."
As he spoke, Soma quietly looked at her.
"To eradicate the root of everything, what truly matters is killing Muzan Kibutsuji."
"As for demons who suppress their instincts and refuse to harm humans… they were never meant to be targets of the Demon Slayer Corps."
"That should have been true from the very beginning."
"Otherwise, the Master never would have cooperated with Tamayo in the first place."
"...Is that really true?"
"Is it not?" Soma calmly met Shinobu's gaze. "If I were a demon, would you kill me?"
"You can't possibly be a demon." Her answer was immediate and certain.
Soma shook his head with a faint laugh before continuing.
"But what if?"
"What if I truly were a demon? Imagine it for a moment."
"Imagine that the man standing before you right now is a demon. Once you learned my true identity, what would you do?"
Without realizing it, Shinobu began imagining exactly what Soma described.
She imagined the man before her as a demon.
Yet she discovered that the hatred she felt toward other demons simply could not be directed at him.
Or rather…
She realized she could never truly hate the person before her.
Even if he really were a demon, she probably still would not be able to raise a Nichirin Sword against him.
"So, don't continue hating Miss Tamayo so deeply."
Soma looked at Shinobu calmly as he spoke.
"You should work together with her and focus on developing medicine capable of targeting Muzan Kibutsuji. Tamayo has already done extensive research in this area, but she's probably reached a bottleneck by now."
"Your medical skill is exceptional as well, Shinobu. You may be able to help her overcome those obstacles."
"If you truly succeed in creating a medicine capable of affecting Muzan Kibutsuji, then the chances of killing him will increase significantly."
"And only then will it become possible to truly rid this world of demons."
"I understand." Shinobu nodded softly.
Although she still felt some disgust toward Tamayo deep inside, she ultimately decided that once her body recovered enough, she would work together with her on the research.
"That's good."
A smile finally appeared on Soma's face.
At the same time, he could not help feeling slightly expectant.
If Tamayo and Shinobu worked together, perhaps they really could achieve an even greater breakthrough.
After all, in this world, Tamayo had never encountered a special existence like Nezuko—a demon capable of suppressing her desire for human flesh.
Nor had she encountered the unusual demon from Asakusa with that unique Blood Demon Art.
If events continued according to the current course, Tamayo would probably never create the medicine from the original story that had been so devastatingly effective against Muzan.
But with Shinobu here—a genius doctor capable of developing wisteria poison powerful enough to kill demons—perhaps things could change.
After convincing Shinobu to cooperate with Tamayo, Soma simply stayed and chatted with her casually afterward.
Ever since her family's happiness had been destroyed by demons, Shinobu had spent every moment of her life driven by hatred, constantly struggling forward without ever truly resting.
Now, because of her severe injuries, she could not move freely.
Yet because of that, she had finally gained a rare opportunity to rest… and to relax enough to have an ordinary conversation in peace.
The conversation itself was simple and ordinary.
But somehow, it made her heart feel strangely full and warm.
There was even a quiet happiness beating inside her chest.
A gentle breeze drifted through the open window and brushed softly across her face.
As Shinobu listened to Soma's calm voice and felt the comforting wind against her skin, an unfamiliar feeling slowly rose within her.
It was difficult to describe.
It felt as though her world had always been painted only in black and white—filled with hatred and painful memories.
But suddenly, one day, someone had taken a brush and added color to that empty world.
Without warning, she remembered the hopes Kanae once held for her.
Her sister had wanted her to leave the Demon Slayer Corps, live as an ordinary person, marry someone she loved, have children, and obtain the simple happiness of a normal life.
All this time, Shinobu had never believed she could ever let go of the past.
She had watched her beloved father and mother die before her eyes at the hands of demons.
She could never forget that.
But at this moment…
For the first time, Shinobu admitted to herself that a strange impulse had appeared in her heart.
Perhaps…
If she married the man before her, had children with him, and lived an ordinary life together…
Maybe she would not reject such a future after all.
The more she thought about it, the redder her face became.
Unable to stop herself, she secretly glanced at Soma again.
Seeing the gentle smile on his face, Shinobu—who normally remained serious and composed, and who rarely smiled sincerely anymore—finally revealed a truly happy smile.
Not the false smile she had learned to wear after Kanae's death.
But a real smile that came from the bottom of her heart.
...
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