Mateusz Nowak became a member of đ„ Shibai - The Divine Reader!
Kaiseth became a member of đ„ Kage - Shadow Master!
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"Master Yoriichi?"
Vaguely hearing Michikatsu's voice conversing in the alley behind her, Ameiâwho had been waiting for quite some timeâfinally couldn't contain her curiosity and stood up to walk over.
"Master Yoriichi, are you in there..."
"Ta-da! It's Tsugikuni Michikatsu's younger sister, Tsugikuni Mitsuba~"
Just as Amei reached the alley entrance and was about to peek inside, a figure suddenly jumped out, nearly startling her.
"Eek! L-little sister! Hello! I'm Amei, I'm Master Yoriichi's... friend..."
This figure wore a kimono and had a beautiful appearanceâa lovely young lady who looked extremely similar to Master Yoriichi, with the same cheerful and outgoing personality.
Anyone could tell at a glance that these two were definitely blood siblings.
"Oh my~ So you're that Miss Amei whom elder brother has been mentioning to me so often lately?"
Very quickly getting into character, Mitsuba placed her hands behind her back, leaned her upper body slightly forward, and smiled as she examined the somewhat shy Amei before her, as if truly meeting her for the first time.
"Elder brother has been chatting with me about you a lot lately. Elder brother... hmm? What's wrong, elder brother? Why are you still standing there? Come over quickly~"
Under Mitsuba's urging, the real Michikatsu finally emerged from the darkness of the alley.
"Master Yoriichi..."
Facing Amei's proactive greeting, Michikatsuâwho hadn't engaged in normal human interaction for many yearsâclearly didn't quite know how to respond for a moment.
"Um, Master Yoriichi?"
And his brief silence also made Amei before him sense something slightly off.
[Strange, Master Yoriichi's presence feels different from before...]
"What's wrong, elder brother? Could it be that you're shy in front of your beloved younger sister?
It's fine, I don't mind at all. Hurry up and greet Miss Amei again too?"
Beside them, seeing the sibling pair about to reveal their cover, Mitsuba looked at the silent Michikatsu with a smile and urged once more.
*[Elder brother, if you hesitate any longer, you'll blow our cover, you know?]*
*[Could you really bear to see your poor younger sister being harshly criticized and scolded by Lord Muzan then?]*
Under Amei's puzzled gaze and Mitsuba's repeated urging, Michikatsu let out a deep sigh internally.
Yes, it was merely accompanying Mitsuba in performing a play.
Compared to what Mitsuba had undertaken for him in the past, this was nothing at all.
Repeatedly convincing himself thus in his heart, his gaze returning to Amei before him, Michikatsuâarmed with the resolve of "facing death with equanimity"âsuddenly cracked open a smile on his face, identical to Mitsuba's.
Then, he spoke that line Mitsuba had designed for him.
"Y-yo! Amei! H-how is it? I told you my sister was c-cute, didn't I! Haha, hahahaha..."
Crack!
Snap!
Shatter!!
The moment these words left his mouth, for some reason, Michikatsu suddenly felt as if something deep within his heart had completely shattered...
Although it might sound strange for a man to say this, at this instant, Michikatsu truly seemed to feel that he had lost something called "innocence"...
[Ah... I suddenly really want to commit seppuku...]
Unlike Michikatsu's despair at this moment, Mitsubaâlooking at her elder brother's appearanceâwas instantly blooming with joy deep inside.
Yes! Perfect!
Just like this! This was exactly what she wanted to see!
Being able to see her eternally stern-faced elder brother making such an expressionâeven if she had to die right this momentâshe felt her life would have been worth it!
Only Amei failed to notice the strangeness between the siblings. Looking at Michikatsu who had returned to his familiar demeanor, she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly and replied:
"Mm, Little Sister Mitsuba is indeed very cute. She really resembles you, Master Yoriichi..."
"Ah, um... thank you."
"Alright! Getting to the main topic!"
Seizing the opportunity to insert herself into the conversation, Mitsuba pushed these two back to sit on the previous steps, smiling as she said:
"Didn't elder brother just say that Miss Amei's family is having difficulties, so you wanted me to ask her about it on your behalf?
Quick, quick, quick! Late-night heart-to-heart time officially begins!"
"..."
Thus, relying on her easily approachable little sister image and that tiny bit of Blood Demon Art inducement, Mitsuba very easily pried open Amei's mouth.
Her current family situation was indeed just as Mitsuba had seen from her causal threads, even somewhat worse.
Because her husband had developed a gambling addiction, both their original parents had directly cut off relations with the couple after multiple failed attempts at persuasion.
And she, who had been forced by her husband to come to the courtesan house to perform for money, not only had to endure her husband's domestic violence but also withstand the contemptuous gossip of neighbors.
Although she had defended herself countless times, insisting that she truly only sold her art, not her body.
As a married woman who still frequented such pleasure quarters daily, how many people would believe such words?
Rather, compared to believing that she was truly "unsoiled by the mud," human nature always preferred to believe that she had long since willingly fallen into depravity.
Abandonment by parents, destruction of family, neighbors' gossip...
Undoubtedly, the Amei before her had already nearly reached some kind of limit, both physically and mentally.
Thinking about it this way, her choice to kill her husband several months from now and subsequently develop a preference for killing seemed almost inevitable...
"What a terrible man..."
Quietly finishing listening to Amei's account, Mitsubaâcrouching on the steps with her chin resting in her handsâsaid:
"As a man with fully functional limbs, not only failing to care for his family internally, but also relying on his own wife to support him externallyâsuch a person is utterly despicable... What do you think, elder brother?"
"Mm."
Sitting properly beside her, Michikatsu also nodded gently.
"Whether from the perspective of a man or a husband, this person is unqualified."
"Yes, yes~ How could there be such a terrible husband in this world~ If this continues, he'll definitely abandon his wife and children next!
He might even directly sell Amei to a gambling den~ What do you think, elder brother?"
Vaguely realizing that her younger sister seemed to be deliberately using this opportunity to point something at him, Michikatsu was slightly startled.
His mind suddenly recalled his former wife and children.
Back then, he had abandoned his wife and children, following Yoriichi alone to join the Demon Slayer Corps.
Looking at it this way, he truly wasn't a qualified husband, a qualified father either...
Seeing Michikatsu fall into contemplation, Mitsuba opportunely spoke again, finally saying that sentence she had long been plotting.
"Elder brother, since you have nothing to do during this time anyway, why don't you just stay and properly help our Amei?"
Yes!
This was Mitsuba's plan!
She was going to use this young woman with a broken family before her to forcibly drag her elder brother out from that moldy cave.
Then, under the guise of helping, bind her elder brotherâwhose mind was filled with nothing but swordsâbeside this young woman.
Using this method, push her elder brother to properly walk around and see more of this human world.
And based on this, advance step by step, ultimately achieving the goal of completely correcting her elder brother's personality, thoroughly transforming him back into a normal person!
This wasâthe "Tsugikuni Michikatsu Personality Correction Plan"!
Of course, whether this plan would ultimately succeed or not, Mitsuba herself wasn't certain.
In any case, there was no harm in trying. She had plenty of time, after all.
And right now, there happened to be this opportunity before her...
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(This time, everyone gets a different kind of Michikatsu meow~)