Hiru carried the intelligence away, walking through this neighborhood that remained chilly even in daylight.
Finally settling into a teahouse, he ordered tea and sweets from the proprietor before opening the intelligence given by Yushiro—though rather than intelligence, Hiru preferred to call it a diary.
[Tamayo-sama was exceptionally beautiful and admirable today... (omitting three hundred words of praise)
We treated a critically ill patient.
In the evening, I strolled with Tamayo-sama—it was truly wonderful... (omitted 500 words of praise)
Upon returning, I noticed numerous new passage marks near our residence. Perhaps it's time to rearrange my Blood Demon Art.]
[Tamayo-sama was even more beautiful today than yesterday... (omitted 200 words of praise)
Today I made medicine with Tamayo-sama—so happy! I... (omitted 400 words describing feelings)
At night, I checked the Blood Demon Art and found the passing traces hadn't diminished, though I had already re-set it yesterday.
I mentioned this to Tamayo-sama. Even worried, she was incredibly beautiful... (omitted 500 words of praise)
I set up a surveillance ritual.
I will forever be loyal to Tamayo-sama! Tamayo-sama is the greatest in the world!]
[Tamayo-sama's hair was slightly disheveled today, yet still utterly beautiful... (Omitted 300 words of praise)
Today I finally detected traces of a stalker—likely human.
But my spell should make them subconsciously ignore this place. Though I couldn't observe closely, these people must be controlled by Blood Demon Arts.
A demon stronger than me is investigating us.
It must be that group led by Muzan—[BEEEE—] (omitted profanity, 900 characters)
I must reconfigure the spell formations. They shall never find Tamayo-sama!]
[Today's Tamayo-sama... (omitted praise, 300 characters)
Treated a Rare Blood disorder patient, increasing our blood reserves.
Yesterday, I reconfigured the Blood Demon Art's orientation and observed passersby up close. It's confirmed—they are indeed controlled by the Blood Demon Art.
Everyone's faces were grotesquely deformed, nowhere near as beautiful as Tamayo-sama... (omitted 400 words of disparagement)
Went out with Tamayo-sama tonight to purchase medicinal herbs... (omitted 700 words of emotional description)
I will forever adore Tamayo-sama!]
You insolent fool! Since you've read this far, go resolve this trouble immediately. If Tamayo suffers harm, I will not let you off!
Hiru silently set aside the stalker-like "intelligence" report, lifted his teacup, and began analyzing the nature of the Blood Demon Art wielded by the demon investigating Tamayo.
Blood Demon Arts lose potency under sunlight. Take his own technique: before overcoming sunlight, he used stones transformed by demons to create pigments that gradually faded in daylight until becoming transparent and vanishing.
After overcoming sunlight, however, those pigment colors became permanently fixed. As for the pigments that had already faded, they no longer faded further, but they also did not recover.
Yushiro's technique allows him to observe passersby during the day because he positions it in backlit areas. Even then, he has to replace it daily to maintain its potency.
Yet this demon tracking Tamayo and Yushiro not only controls humans, but can even have them walk around in broad daylight to conduct investigations.
How does this Blood Demon Art function?
Hiru struggled to extract useful information from Yushiro's verbose diary entries.
"Let's go back and check."
Finishing his dessert, Hiru stood up, intending to find one of the controlled individuals and analyze the other demon's Blood Demon Art.
Yet upon returning to the deserted street, Hiru waited a long time without seeing anyone matching Yushiro's four-hundred-character tirade about the so-called [Ugly-Looking Person].
Instead, his crouching on the wall drew the attention and pointing fingers of many passersby.
"That brat Yushiro..." Haku gritted his teeth, clicked his tongue, and leapt down from the wall, heading toward the Wisteria House. If he trusted this kid's intel again, he'd swear off his paintbrushes for a month!
"Excuse me..."
Hiru turned to face the approaching figure. After confirming the person was human, he gave a slight nod.
"Are you speaking to me?"
"Yes," the man replied timidly, his body hunched as his fingers fidgeted nervously. "Um... excuse me, are you a demon-slaying swordsman?"
Hiru studied the man. "I am. What can I do for you?"
The man hesitated. "Actually... I've encountered some troubling things lately..."
"Please tell me."
"My family has been acting strangely..." The man seemed to be afraid of something, his eyes darting nervously around. "I suspect they've been influenced by a demon."
"...The demons we've described don't seem to be the same entity." Hiru looked him over. "And why did you come to me for help?"
"It's definitely one entity!" The man's expression grew even more anxious and panicked. "My family keeps coming to this neighborhood during the day lately. And before that, there were people dressed like you investigating here. I tried asking them for help, but they all disappeared after going to investigate!"
The man dropped to his knees as he spoke. "I'm too scared to go home now, and I have no idea what to do. Please, help me. I beg you, help me."
Hiru examined him, and seeing that his fear didn't seem faked, he nodded.
"Alright, but you need to give me a detailed account of your family's situation."
The man clung to this lifeline. "Yes! I'll tell you everything. Please, you must help me!"
Hiru stepped forward and pulled him up.
"Come. Let's talk somewhere else."
The man nodded frantically, stumbling to keep pace.
"Thank you... thank you!"