"Cough… cough…" The sound of coughing from inside the room interrupted the two of them.
Hearing the noise, Shinobu inclined slightly toward Yuko, then quickly stood up and carried the medicine inside to fulfill her duty as a doctor.
"Are you awake?"
"Where… is this?"
"This is the pharmacist's home across the street. You slept for half a day, you know."
"You must have been extremely exhausted. I heard hunters often stay in the mountains for many days at a time."
"But pushing yourself in that condition will only harm your body."
"Alright, drink this. It'll help you regain your energy."
Yaehachi took the bowl of medicine in her hands. An indescribable smell rushed straight into her nose.
"Um… what exactly did you put in this?"
Shinobu smiled gently. "Don't ask so many questions. Just drink it."
Yuko withdrew her gaze. As fellow medical practitioners, compared to Tamayo, this one was far more devious.
Grrr…
A low growl suddenly came from beside them.
Yuko turned her head to see Yaehachi's hunting dog, Taro, baring its teeth and growling at Tomioka Giyu.
Giyu remained expressionless and instead of retreating, calmly reached out his hand.
That was clearly a pre-attack posture. Yuko had intended to warn him—
But it was only an ordinary hunting dog…
Snap!
Taro bit down hard on Giyu's hand and refused to let go no matter how much Giyu tried to shake it off.
...
This guy really does have a bit of an airheaded streak.
Do all powerful people have strange personalities?
Yaehachi frantically shouted, "Taro, stop!"
After the chaos settled down, Shinobu said solemnly, "I offer my deepest condolences regarding your mother's incident. If it's convenient, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Ask me?"
Shinobu raised both index fingers to the sides of her cheeks. "The one who attacked Miss Yaehachi may have been a demon."
"Shinobu, that was my mission. I should be the one to explain."
"Oh? And someone who had to be dragged back from the government station by Miss Yuko dares to say that?"
"Alright, Mr. Tomioka. Please step aside."
Listening to their exchange, Yuko sat in the corridor and lifted her face toward the sunlight.
The winter sun was warm and gentle. She didn't dislike it.
Judging from the mission report and the girl's words, the attack had happened many days ago.
If it really was a demon…
Then without question, even if taken as preserved food, the victims would have already been eaten long ago.
And besides…
The girl was lying.
This was the drawback of possessing the Transparent World—people's malicious intent had nowhere to hide.
Most likely… she had already encountered that man-eating demon herself.
After hearing Shinobu's explanation, the girl spoke quietly, "The Demon Slayer Corps… will kill all demons?"
Yuko turned to look at her.
"Don't make it sound like we're executioners. We only kill evil demons." Shinobu closed her eyes slightly, then opened them again with a calm expression. "If I were to encounter a demon who chose to starve rather than eat people, I would be willing to care for her with compassion until the very end."
For some reason, as she spoke the latter half of the sentence, Shinobu's gaze shifted toward Yuko.
Miss Yuko… is she a demon?
Standing directly in sunlight, with a faint scent of wisteria on her body—both things that demons despise.
And yet, for some reason, Shinobu couldn't shake that feeling.
Yuko, however, didn't pay attention to Shinobu's gaze. She actually agreed with those words.
Over several hundred years, the number of demons who had overcome their desire to eat humans could be counted on one hand. Tamayo was one of the few who turned over a new leaf.
As for demons who had never eaten a human at all—counting herself, there were only three.
It wasn't worth placing hopes on such an extremely small probability. It was better not to grow unnecessary attachments.
"I'm a hunter. I'll take my revenge myself." Yaehachi slung her gun over her back and prepared to leave with Taro.
"Wait a moment. You still need to rest."
Shinobu's attempt to stop her had no effect.
At this moment, the previously silent Tomioka Giyu stepped in front of Yaehachi.
"It's best not to go out at night."
"There are no demons here. Are hunters not allowed to hunt bears anymore?"
"If you want revenge, why go into the mountains alone? What are you hiding?"
Yuko's eyebrow lifted slightly. Though he was an airhead, he was surprisingly sharp in matters like this.
As expected of a Hashira.
"You're so annoying! That's enough—move!" the girl shouted angrily after being exposed.
"At the very least, I've never seen a human who could recover like that," Giyu replied calmly.
Yaehachi's furious expression froze. She turned and left with her hunting dog.
As expected…
Yuko stood up and fastened her Nichirin Blade at her waist.
Inside the room, Shinobu had changed into her Demon Slayer uniform and looked at Yuko with a gentle smile.
"If Miss Yuko is coming too, then I feel at ease."
Yuko didn't respond.
Two Hashira—aside from the Upper Moons, were there really any demons left that needed this much force?
She almost laughed at the thought.
Even so, she still followed along obediently.
It was never a bad thing to leave a favorable impression in front of these people. At the very least, when her identity was revealed later, it might earn her a few extra points.
Otherwise, she might get hunted down by them before they even fought Muzan.
After all, a demon who could conquer sunlight—no matter how you thought about it—had greater potential than Muzan himself.
The three of them didn't exchange many words and chased after Yaehachi.
Well-trained swordsmen naturally didn't lose to hunters in footwork. They quickly caught up to her.
At this moment, Yaehachi was in a dire situation—pinned hard to the ground by a demon, moments away from death.
Giyu's speed suddenly surged, and he leapt ahead of the other two.
"Y… Yaehachi…"
Along with the wind, an aged yet restrained voice slipped into Yuko's ears.
She almost instinctively accelerated as well, catching up to Giyu in an instant and knocking his Nichirin Blade aside with a single strike.
So fast!
Shinobu's pupils shrank sharply.
By her own admission, her strength wasn't especially impressive among the Hashira—she couldn't even behead demons due to her lack of power. But when it came to burst speed, she was absolutely among the best.
And yet, she hadn't even seen Yuko's movement just now.
Giyu showed no particular reaction. He only looked at her calmly.
As if asking—why?
Feeling a little awkward and unable to explain in time, Yuko pinned the elderly demon to the ground, restraining both of his arms. No matter how violently he struggled, he couldn't break free.
Such incredible strength…
Shinobu stared in shock at Yuko, who was suppressing the demon with just one hand.
As a woman—no, as a human being—was it really possible to overpower a demon so easily with pure physical strength?
It wasn't completely unheard of, but such people were extremely rare. And Miss Yuko happened to be one of them?
Giyu steadied his stance and asked calmly, "What are you doing?"
Looking at Yaehachi slumped on the ground, Yuko said quietly, "Just now… for a brief moment, he seemed to regain his sanity."
No matter how unbelievable it sounded, Yuko hadn't encountered such a case even once in several hundred years.
But just now, this demon had clearly spoken Yaehachi's name.
She couldn't have misheard it.
Hearing Yuko's words, Yaehachi scrambled up from the ground and said urgently, "Y-yes! My dad called my name just now!"
Shinobu ignored her and looked directly at Yuko. "Miss Yuko, you should know that demons cannot possibly recover."
Yuko didn't hesitate. "No—it is possible."
Shinobu's eyes widened slightly. She had expected Yuko to be unable to respond—or at least fall silent.
She had never imagined that Yuko would affirm something that should have been impossible.
---
Currently at chapter 348 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08