(A kind reminder from Mu Zi: The protagonist has transmigrated but does not know the plot of Demon Slayer. The protagonist transmigrated approximately ten years before the main story begins. P.S. The female lead is Shinobu, single female lead.)
"Shinichi, Shinichi! You little brat! What are you spacing out for? Where's today's money?" A sudden, rude roar pulled the sallow, thin boy back to reality. His tattered, ill-fitting clothes were haphazardly draped over him, and his black hair had an unhealthy yellow tint.
He walked numbly to the low table, pulled two coins from his dirty pocket, and dropped them into the clay pot on the table. "Only twenty coins? What a useless thing!" The rough voice sounded again, but the boy named Shinichi showed no reaction. After depositing the money, he silently walked to a corner of the dilapidated temple and squatted down.
Following him, over a dozen children, large and small, dressed similarly to Shinichi, lined up and put all the money they had begged for throughout the day into the clay pot. Watching the coins pile up, the bald man sitting behind the low table revealed a satisfied expression.
The bald man had a strong, sturdy build, and although his kariginu wasn't particularly luxurious, it was worlds apart from the ragged clothes of Shinichi and the other children.
Clearly, the man was a beggar boss, relying on the orphaned beggars under his command to earn money daily. Such people were not uncommon throughout Matsudaira County.
The bald man was Sanrou Oihira. He controlled twelve children; the oldest was fifteen, and the youngest was only five or six. But no matter how old these children were, in Sanrou Oihira's eyes, they were merely tools for him to make money.
While Sanrou Oihira counted money, Shinichi and the other children received their dinner: a small bowl of stale rice topped with two wilted, blackened vegetables. Eating such meals daily, it was no wonder these children looked so emaciated, yet every child ate with great urgency, for not eating truly meant the risk of starvation.
As Shinichi gulped down his rice, his seemingly emotionless black eyes quietly glanced in a certain direction.
After dinner, Sanrou Oihira, with a large wad of coins, went out to enjoy himself. As for Shinichi and the others, a group of orphans who hadn't even eaten their fill had no desire to play. They simply found a spot in the dilapidated temple and lay down to sleep.
Night gradually fell, and the pale moonlight streamed down. A small figure quietly emerged from the dilapidated temple. His calm black eyes scanned the surroundings, and after confirming no one was there, Shinichi opened his mouth and softly called out, "Enni, Enni….."
Rustle! From the nearby bushes, a small shadow suddenly darted out. The next second, a ball of fur rolled into Shinichi's arms. With black and white fur intertwined, a bright red tongue, and sparkling eyes, the small black Shiba Inu wagged its tail and barked affectionately at Shinichi, "Woof woof!"
Stroking the small Shiba Inu, Enni, Shinichi's previously emotionless black eyes revealed a hint of tenderness. He fumbled in his pocket for a leftover rice ball and fed it to Enni. Shinichi then looked up at the moon and softly murmured, "It's been three years."
Three years ago, Shinichi wasn't called Shinichi, and he wasn't even in this country called Japan. Back then, he was just an ordinary student, never imagining that one day he would encounter a fantastical story only found in novels and anime. He had transmigrated.
When Shinichi opened his eyes and saw his scrawny body and the language spoken by those around him, which was completely different from his previous life, he realized he had transmigrated. Unlike the protagonists in novels and anime, Shinichi had no golden finger. An ordinary university student from another world, in a foreign country with a language barrier, could not cause any ripples.
As an orphan, Shinichi didn't even have a surname. He had no choice. By a twist of fate, he and a group of other orphans were recruited by Sanrou Oihira as tools for making money. He had lived in a daze like this for three years.
While Shinichi was playing with Enni, a figure quietly approached him from behind.
Splash! The previously quiet Shinichi suddenly burst into action, turning around and tackling the figure behind him to the ground. A gasp immediately followed, "Wah! Big Brother Shinichi! It's me!"
Five minutes later, a snot-nosed little boy with a gap-toothed grin was happily chasing Enni, playing.
Shinichi quietly watched the harmonious scene before him. After an unknown amount of time, the boy, tired from playing, came to Shinichi with Enni in his arms. Sniffling, he said to Shinichi, "Big Brother Shinichi, you're always like this, your expression is too stiff! Look, with a cold face, even Enni doesn't dare to play with you. How about smiling more?"
Perhaps touched by the little boy's cheerful smile, Shinichi uncharacteristically nodded. The little boy happily pulled out half a dorayaki from his pocket and put it into Shinichi's hand. "An kind old grandma gave this to me this morning, Big Brother Shinichi. I specially saved half for you. Be happy!"
Looking at the half dorayaki in his hand, a strange emotion flickered in Shinichi's heart. In the three years since he came to this world as an orphan, he had seen too much darkness and evil. In three years, four children's bodies had been buried in the ground behind this dilapidated temple—all children who had tried to escape.
Sanrou Oihira cruelly controlled these poor children. To prevent his money-making tools from escaping, he used various methods, coercion and enticement. There were even informants he had cultivated among these children, constantly monitoring the others. If anyone tried to run, Sanrou Oihira would make that child experience a fate worse than death.
In such an environment, these dozen or so children lived under darkness and fear every day, losing the innocence and joy that should have belonged to their age. What replaced it was apathy. But the only exception was Junbo, who stood before Shinichi.
Although this child was only five years old, his cheerful personality was not at all affected by his companions around him. The smile on his face never dimmed, and his emerald green eyes were always full of vitality. It was hard to imagine that such a lively and lovable child like Junbo would be an orphaned beggar. In fact, the cheerful Junbo was also more liked by the common people than Shinichi and the others. Junbo always collected the most from begging every day, and Sanrou Oihira was naturally kind and gentle towards his cash cow, Junbo.
What Junbo said to Shinichi every day was actually quite similar: Smile, Big Brother Shinichi, how about smiling more? Among these orphans, Junbo's favorite was actually Shinichi. Although he was very cheerful, a child's intuition is very keen. He subconsciously had a tendency to judge who was truly good to him.
Compared to his other companions, who were full of jealousy, and Sanrou Oihira, whose smile hid his greed, it was Shinichi's care and attention beneath his cold expression that Junbo liked the most.
"Big Brother Shinichi, today I heard a story from Grandpa Tanaka, the fishmonger. Grandpa Tanaka said that you shouldn't go out alone at night, or you might encounter terrifying man-eating demons! Demons are afraid of sunlight, so they only come out at night! Demons have long, sharp claws and make roars even scarier than wild beasts!" Junbo spread his small hands, making a scary gesture.
"Demons? In this dilapidated temple, it's scarier than encountering a demon." Shinichi murmured, looking at the dilapidated temple behind him. In his heart, this dilapidated temple was far scarier than man-eating demons. But he had been planning for two years. Soon, very soon, he would escape this hell!
"But Grandpa Tanaka also said that besides man-eating demons, there are also demon slayers who protect humans and defeat demons to maintain peace!" Junbo waved his small arms.
Stroking Junbo's hair, Shinichi softly said, "Junbo, how about Big Brother Shinichi takes you to Kyoto later? There are so, so many delicious foods and fun things there. There are snack stalls selling tanghulu everywhere on the streets."
Junbo's eyes lit up as he listened. "Okay! Let's go to Kyoto! Big Brother Shinichi, you can't go back on your word!"
Shinichi didn't take the story of man-eating demons to heart. Who would believe such a story meant to scare children? However, this story did sound vaguely familiar. In his previous life, he seemed to have heard similar stories in some anime recommendations. Hmm, what was it called? Demon Slayers? But it didn't matter anymore….