A gentle voice came from behind him. Sumiyoshi instinctively turned around, the tension on his face slowly shifting into astonishment.
Soft golden sunlight fell across Yuko's profile. Her fair skin seemed to glow, and the burned flesh had somehow become smooth and flawless. Faint white steam still rose from her body, creating a hazy, dreamlike beauty as the light refracted through it.
Sumiyoshi's voice trembled with surprise. "Miss Yuko, you…"
Yuko turned her head and smiled. "Mm. Looks like it worked."
Sumire rushed forward, lifting her head to look at her. Her eyes sparkled. "Sister Yuko looks so pretty."
Can she even see my face?
Yuko lowered her head. She had to lean forward a bit to see the little girl's round head.
The two soft mounds on Yuko's chest—if not a D, then at least a solid C+.
She gently rubbed Sumire's head. "Really?"
Sumire squinted in bliss. "When I grow up, I want to marry sister Yuko."
Crack.
Sumiyoshi turned monochrome.
He flailed in panic. "You can't, Little Rei! You'll make your sister Yuko feel troubled."
Sumire tilted her head, innocently asking, "Why?"
"Because… because…"
Sumiyoshi struggled desperately to explain.
Suyako, who had just walked out from the inner room, watched the father-daughter pair with amused smiles.
By evening, after dinner—
Sumiyoshi tried to persuade her. "Won't you stay a few more days?"
"Mm. If I return too late, Brother will worry."
Sumire waved her hands vigorously. "Bye-bye, sister Yuko~! Come play again~"
Yuko smiled and waved at them. "Goodbye, Little Rei."
As for the Blue Spider Lily, Yuko told them not to worry—just treat it like any other wild vegetable.
…
At noon, Yoriichi was in the yard practicing with his Nichirin Blade, completing his daily training.
Though nearing middle age, Yoriichi—now in his thirties—still looked no older than a young man in his twenties.
Thump thump thump—
Suddenly, the front gate was knocked.
Yoriichi wiped away sweat, sheathed his Nichirin Blade, and walked toward the door.
After the decline of the Tsugikuni family, he and Yuko had lived here quietly, attracting little attention. They had no close acquaintances in town.
So Yoriichi was a little puzzled about who could be knocking.
He opened the gate—and his usually calm eyes rippled faintly, the ripples quickly growing stronger.
"I'm back."
"Yuko, you…" Yoriichi stared at his sister in astonishment, at a loss for words.
Yuko stood in the sunlight and smiled. "I succeeded."
The surprise on Yoriichi's face softened into warmth. A small smile tugged at his lips. "As long as you're home."
Yuko smiled. "Mm. I'm home."
…
After overcoming sunlight, not even Yoriichi with a Nichirin Blade could threaten her life.
Even if he severed her head with a Red Blade, Yuko could regenerate instantly.
At its core, even a Red Blade merely triggered the sun's power within a Nichirin Blade.
But Yuko, who had conquered sunlight, no longer feared anything derived from it.
Nichirin Blade, Red Blade, even the regeneration suppression of Sun Breathing—they were all useless.
To her complete form, a Nichirin Blade was nothing more than an ordinary katana.
But that didn't mean she was invincible.
Though she no longer feared sunlight, she still couldn't defeat Yoriichi.
Even if Yoriichi couldn't deal meaningful damage to her, Yuko also couldn't defeat him.
Just like a beginner player who activates infinite HP but still can't land a single hit on a professional.
And Yuko realized she wasn't truly immortal.
Though she overcame sunlight, regeneration still consumed stamina.
Meaning—if Yoriichi kept killing her repeatedly, he could eventually exhaust her to death.
Once Nichirin-Blade drawbacks were negated, Yoriichi trained her with his full, unrestrained strength.
Thirty was a man's physical peak. His power was at its zenith.
If Muzan faced him at this age, he'd have no chance to flee—Yoriichi would chop him into eighteen hundred pieces in an instant.
And once Yuko started adapting, Yoriichi cranked his intensity even higher—
cutting Yuko down until she nearly doubted her very existence.
She could feel herself improving.
But no matter how much stronger she grew, the moment Yoriichi got serious, he could one-shot her.
No matter how wide her sword-form range became, Yoriichi always found an opening to close the distance.
As a demon, she didn't have Muzan's overwhelming physical strength.
As a human, she didn't have Yoriichi's unmatched talent.
She couldn't help imagining—
If Muzan had even one of his cells inside her, he'd probably be triggered daily.
He would be forced to witness Yoriichi decapitating her mercilessly, three hundred sixty-five unique replays a year.
The life of a demon was not easy. Yuko sighed.
…
But happy days never last long.
One year, two years, five years…
Yuko could truly feel the people around her slowly aging.
When she heard Sumire outside asking, "Papa, why doesn't sister Yuko grow older?" she understood…
It was time for her to leave.
Sumiyoshi's voice was stiff as he answered, "Maybe Yuko-sister takes good care of herself."
Immortality was every emperor's dream.
But for someone with emotions, the pain of immortality was unbearable.
Watching everyone around you age and die while you remain young—it was torture.
…
Time flew. More than twenty years passed.
Since that day, Yuko had never returned to the Kamado home.
Yoriichi was now over fifty.
Even he had aged—white hairs streaked through his head, and his strength was gradually fading.
Yuko had long since become independent, often away from home.
She couldn't bear watching her loved ones grow old.
Yuko began to fear returning home.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death were natural for humans.
But she could no longer die.
Was she supposed to wait hundreds of years until Tanjiro's generation eventually defeated Muzan?
Did it even matter whether she helped or not?
Middle age brought worries easily.
Yuko sometimes found herself thinking this way.
But she had no way to die anymore.
Neither Nichirin Blades nor the sun could kill her.
The lonely moon hung high in the sky, illuminating a solitary figure walking below.
Yuko's steps grew slower and slower.
A journey that should have taken a few days stretched into half a month.
She wanted to go home.
She knew this clearly.
And the clearer she felt it, the heavier her feet became.
The bright, bustling city was already in sight—yet Yuko stood frozen, unable to take another step.
This wasn't simply "nervousness when near home."
This was fear.
Fear of seeing Yoriichi even more aged.
She had been away for more than three years now.
Perhaps her decision back then had been a mistake.
Perhaps she shouldn't have tried to overcome sunlight.
If she hadn't, then even if she couldn't grow old alongside them, at least she could have died with them.
She had never been a strong person.
---
Currently at chapter 222 for advance chapters
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