Chapter 188: The Little Ninja with a Strong Urge to Sneak Around
The train soon started moving again.
Night fell.
On the outskirts of the Entertainment District station, a man dressed in black stared intently at the departing Mugen Train and let out a sigh.
"That was close. I almost got discovered."
Sure enough, the figure was Akaza!
He was the one who had escaped from Sanemi.
Following Ren's instructions, Akaza had decided not to have any further conflicts with the Demon Slayer Corps.
His objective was clear, so the moment he saw Sanemi, he ran.
However, he later realized that he didn't necessarily need to flee.
The face Ren had given Akaza was so realistic that even Akaza's own mother wouldn't have been able to recognize him.
Furthermore, all the tattoos and demon markings had been removed.
And since Akaza's strength was far superior to Sanemi's, the chances of him being exposed were actually extremely small.
But he couldn't help himself.
After spending so many years fighting against the Demon Slayer Corps, Akaza had developed a guilty conscience.
Seeing a Demon Slayer was like a thief seeing a police officer.
Akaza was worried that he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.
If he saw Sanemi, he might kill him!
After all, in the past, Akaza's food source had been the opponents he defeated.
Unfortunately, Akaza had already abandoned that way of life.
In a sense, Sanemi had narrowly escaped death.
The next moment, the tattoos on Akaza's face disappeared again.
His face seemed to instantly become shrouded in mist, its features changing completely.
Soon, an ordinary face appeared once more.
Under the moonlight, Akaza slowly walked into the city.
Wearing a black coat with the hood pulled over his head, he headed toward the lights of the Entertainment District...
The next morning.
Butterfly Mansion.
The patients inside could no longer wait for Ren and gradually began dispersing.
The members of the Demon Slayer Corps all had their own missions, so it was impossible for them to remain here indefinitely.
The main reason was that Ren had come up with a plan.
Using his voice-acting skills, he imitated the voices of several people and used them to stir up the crowd.
The overall idea was to encourage the members to work hard and become people like Ren, rather than preventing him from returning home.
Once everyone understood this, they decided to train harder and contribute their strength to Lord Ren.
The crowd quickly dispersed, directly resolving the problem of overcrowding at the Butterfly Mansion.
"Mr. Ren, you're amazing!"
"That's right! Big Sister Aoi had been trying to convince them to leave for several days, but they refused to go. Then you only had to shout once, and they all went home!"
"Long live Mr. Ren!"
Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho stood before Ren, their faces filled with admiration.
Ren naturally enjoyed being looked at this way.
At first, he hadn't noticed it.
But after being away from the Butterfly Mansion for so long, Ren had begun to miss the three little girls.
Anyone would feel dizzy with happiness after being doted on by three little girls with sparkling eyes.
"It was just a little trick."
Ren pretended to be modest.
Suddenly, a commotion came from the front entrance.
It sounded as though someone was calling Kanzaki Aoi's name.
Kanzaki Aoi walked out of the room, and Kiyo reminded her, "Big Sister Aoi, it sounds like someone is knocking and calling for you."
"Me?"
Kanzaki Aoi looked annoyed.
"It's probably those fans who haven't left yet. They've tricked me into opening the door several times already. It's nothing new."
Sumi explained, "No, Big Sister Aoi. Mr. Ren already convinced all the patients to leave. It shouldn't be those people anymore."
Hearing this, Aoi looked at Ren suspiciously.
"What exactly did you do?"
Naho then explained everything that had just happened to Aoi in detail.
After listening, a flicker of surprise appeared in Aoi's eyes.
"Mr. Ren, you actually have a talent like this?"
Ren waved his hand.
"I only know a little. It's nothing worth mentioning."
At that moment, Kanao came out as well.
She had just finished her swordsmanship practice.
She had come over because she wanted to earn some praise from Ren.
The previous day, Kanao had told Ren that she wanted him to improve her combat abilities, so Ren had been giving her special training these past few days.
Standing in front of the Butterfly Mansion, Kanao also heard about what Ren had done.
Stars seemed to sparkle in her eyes.
As expected of Ren.
He had immediately solved the major problem that had plagued the Butterfly Mansion for several days.
With everyone's attention focused on him, Ren felt somewhat embarrassed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the entrance to the Butterfly Mansion—
Under the blazing sun, Shinobu stood with her hair disheveled and a stiff smile on her face.
"Hello~? Is anyone inside? I'm back~"
Unfortunately, no one noticed Shinobu...
Shinobu blinked in confusion.
Was the Butterfly Mansion completely empty?
Why wasn't anyone coming to open the door?
The previous day, Shinobu and Sanemi had immediately begun their journey as soon as the train arrived at the station in order to save time.
They had taken shortcuts and mountain paths.
Everything had been done to get back as quickly as possible.
In their rush for speed, Shinobu's appearance had become somewhat disheveled.
Her clothes were a little dirty, and her hair was a mess.
From a distance, she looked as though she had a bird's nest sitting on her head...
So Shinobu had decided that before entering, she absolutely had to tidy herself up properly.
At the very least, she had to look clean and presentable.
Otherwise, how could she meet Ren?
She didn't want to leave a bad impression on him.
Unfortunately, although Shinobu had thought everything through, her very first step had been blocked.
She had been calling out toward the door for several minutes, yet not a single person had come to open it...
Impossible.
This was impossible!
Did she really have to climb over the wall just to enter her own home?!
The smile on Shinobu's face instantly froze.
She had promised her sister that she would behave like a proper lady.
How could she possibly climb over a wall?!
And then, at that moment—
A sound suddenly came from inside the Butterfly Mansion.
"Mr. Ren, you're amazing!"
"..."
Every comment was about Ren.
A delighted smile blossomed across Shinobu's face.
Ren was back?!
After hearing three consecutive comments about him, Shinobu confirmed that Ren had really returned!
Shinobu became somewhat excited.
She wanted to seize the opportunity and call out again.
But the moment the words left her mouth, Shinobu pursed her lips tightly, her pearly white teeth biting down on empty air.
She clenched her tiny fists, her thoughts descending into chaos.
Shinobu touched her hair.
Then she looked down at her little feet and her clothes.
Oh, my goodness!!!
How could she possibly meet Ren looking like this?!
What if Ren saw her dressed like this and mistakenly thought she didn't care about him?
What if he thought she hadn't even bothered to dress properly because she didn't care enough to make an effort?
Shinobu's heart was filled with conflict.
Then her gaze shifted toward the wall.
Absolute despair appeared in her eyes.
It seemed there was only one option left.
Climb over the wall and enter from the back!
Shinobu looked around cautiously.
She was clearly at her own home, yet she behaved as though she were sneaking into enemy territory.
After confirming that no one was nearby, the girl tiptoed toward the back entrance of the Butterfly Mansion...
Inside the Butterfly Mansion, Ren gave Kanao some simple guidance before sending her back to continue practicing her swordsmanship.