Chapter 192: Ren, Be Gentle
[Huh?]
Shinobu's face flushed with embarrassment.
Then, with a slight movement, she opened the blanket, revealing one slender, almost translucent foot.
Ren reacted quickly and immediately reached out.
But that little foot was surprisingly nimble as well. The moment it saw his large hand pounce toward it like a hungry tiger, it trembled and quickly withdrew.
Ren pretended to turn and leave.
Shinobu panicked and immediately threw off the blanket.
Ren turned around and, with lightning-fast reflexes, caught Shinobu's little foot.
Ren: ᕙ(`▽´)ᕗ
Little Shinobu: (* / ω ＼ *)
Ren could feel Shinobu's leg trembling noticeably. Through the trembling muscles, he could sense just how nervous she was.
"Don't be nervous."
The Massage Magic Hands appeared.
Ren immediately felt the trembling in her foot subside.
A wave of astonishment swept through Shinobu's heart.
Had it already begun?
His hands were so warm!
The young man's warm palms brought a blush to the girl's cheeks. A comforting warmth spread through Shinobu's heart, and her trembling foot quickly settled.
She looked up at Ren's profile.
His features were sharply defined, and there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his lips.
What a wonderful feeling!
It was something Shinobu had never experienced before.
Ever since her parents had been killed by demons when she was young, followed later by the death of her older sister at the hands of a demon, she had been trapped in a miserable fate.
Hatred had completely consumed the heart of the young girl.
Every day she spent in the Demon Slayer Corps, she thought about revenge.
Shinobu had even begun using her own body as part of her calculations.
After learning that the demon who had killed her sister was an Upper Rank demon, Shinobu knew that she was too weak. She understood that she could never kill such a demon through her own strength alone.
But then she learned that Douma had a habit of eating women.
And so this eighteen-year-old girl, beautiful enough to be called a heavenly beauty yet too physically weak to even swing a sword properly, had begun injecting poison into her own body.
It could be said that Shinobu's inner world contained almost nothing besides the haori her sister had left behind, her sister's smile...
And the Butterfly Mansion.
Fortunately, Ren had appeared.
Only when Ren was truly standing there in front of her could Shinobu's heart finally become calm.
The young girl quietly studied the young man's profile.
Outside, the sky had grown dark, while the plants continued to grow wildly.
It seemed that only at this moment did Shinobu's gaze come to rest completely upon Ren.
A deep crimson blush spread from her cheeks all the way to the sides of her face.
She looked beautiful.
Shinobu's voice trembled.
"Ren... be gentle."
Ren looked at Shinobu and smiled faintly.
That smile struck directly at Shinobu's heart.
Then she felt pressure being applied to her foot.
Softness mixed with a faint tingling sensation spread through it.
Shinobu immediately relaxed.
But because this was the first time she had allowed a man to touch her feet, her cheeks burned bright red.
Ren performed the massage with complete seriousness.
This massage consisted of several steps. It wasn't merely intended to relieve Shinobu's fatigue—it was also related to the condition of her body.
That's right.
Ren was actually trying to slow the spread of the wisteria poison throughout Shinobu's body.
As his medical knowledge improved, Ren had gradually begun noticing changes in Shinobu's condition.
It could almost be described as an emergency.
Therefore, Ren decided to use his free time to massage Shinobu three times a day.
First, to prevent the poison from spreading too quickly.
Second, to effectively improve her physical condition.
"A little stiff."
Ren pressed Shinobu's ankle and discovered that the stiffness in the joint was greater than he had expected.
Looking at Shinobu's beautiful face, Ren said,
"I'm going to apply a little more pressure now."
Shinobu's voice was as soft as a whisper.
"Mm."
Ren began to increase the pressure.
Crack!
A sensation of relief accompanied by a pleasant soreness immediately spread through her ankle.
Shinobu felt so comfortable that she almost cried out!
Fortunately, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Shinobu secretly glanced at Ren and saw that he hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Just then, Ren happened to turn his head.
Their eyes met.
Shinobu's face instantly turned crimson.
Meanwhile, outside the room...
Kiyo, who had not yet left, wore a strange expression. She would occasionally look toward the door before falling into thought again.
What were Miss Shinobu and Master Ren doing inside?
Innocent Kiyo didn't understand and didn't think too much about it. She picked up her wooden bucket and prepared to head downstairs.
By coincidence, a man wearing the black uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps suddenly appeared in front of her.
Kiyo recognized him and couldn't help exclaiming,
"Murata?"
Murata smiled.
"It's Kiyo!"
"I'm sorry for bothering you so late."
Since it was already late at night, Murata lowered his voice.
"I heard that Ren had returned, and I was so happy that I couldn't sleep, so I came over to take a look."
As he spoke, Murata glanced toward the door Kiyo had been watching.
"I heard he's already returned to the Butterfly Mansion. Is that right?"
Kiyo nodded.
"Yes. Master Ren is back."
Murata grinned.
"Really? Where is he?"
Kiyo pointed toward Shinobu's room.
[Oh!]
Murata suddenly understood.
[Ren is in there. I see! I'll go in right now!]
[Don't!]
Kiyo immediately pulled Murata back.
Murata looked at her in confusion.
"What happened? Has Ren already fallen asleep?"
Kiyo said irritably,
"Murata, that's Miss Shinobu's room!"
"Oh, oh."
Murata nodded.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly froze.
"Hm?"
Suspicion crept into his expression.
"This is...?"
Kiyo mysteriously explained,
"It's for treatment!"
[Oh.]
Murata nodded.
So it had been a misunderstanding!
He had originally thought...
Once he understood, Murata decided to wait until Ren finished.
Kiyo was also preparing to go downstairs.
But just then, a soft voice came from inside the room.
"Oh, my goodness~"
Kiyo: "!!!"
Murata: "!!!"
Murata's expression changed.
"Oh no! Has Miss Shinobu encountered some kind of danger?!"
As he spoke, he prepared to rush inside.
But Kiyo grabbed him again.
Murata turned around, only to hear Kiyo say,
"Murata, calm down. Master Ren is in there. What danger could there possibly be?"
Murata froze.
That's right!
With Ren inside, what danger could there be?
Unless...
The danger itself was Ren!
Murata slowly lowered his hand from the door.
Just then, a voice came from inside the room.
Ren: "Does it hurt?"
Shinobu's voice was somewhat shy.
"This is my first time, so... yes, a little."
"It's all right. I'll be gentler. You'll get used to it eventually."
"Mm."
"Hehe~"
Inside the room, Shinobu was doing everything she could to suppress her voice.
But she couldn't help it!
Ren's technique was simply too good. Whenever he massaged her, she had almost no control over her reactions.
After a long massage, Ren had worked over nearly every part of her feet, leaving Shinobu's face bright red.
Shinobu was so embarrassed that she could only pull the blanket over her face.
Only her beautiful black hair remained outside.
As for her face and everything else, they were completely buried beneath the blanket...