Chapter 35 Tamayo and Yushiro
Aoki looked at the system panel.
On his way to Asakusa, he hadn't been idle; whenever he heard of ghosts appearing or mysterious disappearances, he'd go check it out.
Unfortunately, he hadn't found much.
In this era, information exchange was extremely difficult; news might not even reach a village away.
Gathering intelligence alone was incredibly difficult.
"Are there ghosts in Asakusa?" Aoki looked around.
Such a bustling city shouldn't be without ghosts!
In the original story, after Muzan Kibutsuji met Tanjiro, he quickly recruited two subordinates.
Were those two ghosts in Asakusa now?
But even if there were ghosts in Asakusa, finding them wouldn't be easy.
For him, finding ghosts in the city was more difficult than finding them in the countryside.
In the city, his hunter's abilities were almost useless.
He didn't have Tanjiro's ability to detect ghosts from afar by smell.
Aoki wandered through Asakusa.
Time quietly passed, the night grew deeper, and the number of pedestrians on the streets gradually decreased.
As he turned the corner, two figures approached.
A young woman, beautiful with long black hair styled in a low bun, wore a dark purple kimono. Beside her stood a young man with short, light green hair, also dressed in a kimono.
"What a coincidence!" Aoki stopped.
Tamayo and Yushiro.
In the original story, both of them played crucial roles in killing Muzan.
Especially Tamayo.
It could be said that without her medicine, it would have been impossible to kill Muzan Kibutsuji.
Aoki hadn't specifically sought them out, yet they met unexpectedly.
Unlike Aoki's delight, Tamayo and Yushiro's expressions changed upon seeing him, especially Yushiro's, whose expression instantly turned extremely grim.
"Lady Tamayo, please leave!"
he hurriedly produced a talisman.
"Wait, Yushiro!" Tamayo said.
Yushiro, however, was completely unable to calm down.
Encountering a demon was the worst possible situation for them.
Because the New Year was approaching, they had lingered outside for a while, never expecting to encounter something like this.
Suddenly, Yushiro felt his hand go empty; the talisman had vanished into thin air.
Aoki's figure appeared beside him: "Don't be agitated, I mean you no harm!"
Yushiro's expression changed drastically; he hadn't even noticed the enemy approaching.
"Lady Tamayo, run!"
A resolute look appeared on his face as he lunged towards Aoki.
Tamayo grabbed his arm, her voice rising slightly: "Stop, Yushiro!"
Yushiro paused, urgently saying, "But, Lady Tamayo..."
Tamayo shook her head, her attitude firm.
Yushiro had no choice but to give up.
Tamayo looked at Aoki and bowed slightly: "I apologize, sir, on behalf of Yushiro."
Aoki smiled: "No need to be polite, Miss Tamayo, I've long admired your name."
Yushiro realized the problem at this moment, but remained vigilant, tightly guarding Tamayo's side.
Tamayo looked at Aoki with a slightly strange expression. "Sir, if I'm not mistaken, you..."
She paused, but Aoki gave the answer directly.
"That's right, I've broken free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control! In fact, you might not have been in contact with other demons lately, but I've become quite famous among them!"
Hearing Aoki mention that name, Tamayo's eyes lit up.
Her greatest wish was to kill Muzan Kibutsuji.
However, she wasn't good at fighting, as was Yushiro, and as a demon, it was inconvenient for her to contact the Demon Slayer Corps.
Although she firmly believed that as long as the power of those with the same ambition was gathered together, they would surely be able to completely kill Muzan
, for hundreds of years, apart from Yushiro, she hadn't found a single companion.
Until this moment.
Although they had exchanged fewer than ten sentences in total, and although she didn't even know the man's name, she was certain she had finally met an ally.
And this ally seemed to be quite skilled in combat.
Taking a deep breath, Tamayo regained her composure: "This isn't the place to talk, please come with me!"
Aoki readily agreed and stepped forward to walk beside her.
Yushiro looked reluctant, but said nothing more.
Passing through a wall, a beautiful two-story building suddenly appeared in what had been an empty space.
Entering the room, the three sat facing each other.
Aoki spoke first: "Before we get down to business, I'll give you a gift."
He then looked at Yushiro and ordered, "Go, bring three cups."
Yushiro looked at him incredulously.
"Yushiro!" Tamayo called out.
"Yes! Lady Tamayo!"
Yushiro glared at Aoki and obediently went to fetch the cups.
Tamayo looked at Aoki apologetically: "Actually, that child meant no harm."
"I know," Aoki smiled.
He was just teasing Yushiro.
Soon, Yushiro returned with three cups.
Aoki opened the gourd of demon sake, filled all three cups, and gestured for them to try: "Try it!"
Tamayo picked up a cup, took a small sip, and her delicate body stiffened slightly.
Yushiro looked even more incredulous.
Aoki, who had been watching their expressions closely, smiled upon seeing this.
To humans, demon sake was no different from ordinary sake; other demons were enemies, and he couldn't possibly share it with them.
The magic of demon sake had remained unknown.
He was like a fisherman who had caught a big fish but had no one to share it with, always feeling a sense of regret.
Until today, his wish had finally come true.
"The taste of the sake... it's been so long," Tamayo sighed softly.
She hadn't liked drinking in her previous life, but now she tasted a myriad of flavors.
This was indeed a very precious gift.
Aoki smiled and raised his cup.
This time, even Yushiro didn't object and raised his cup in response with Miss Tamayo.
The three of them then remained silent, quietly savoring the demon sake until their cups were empty.
Their relationship instantly became much closer.
Aoki said, "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Aoki. About two months ago, I encountered Muzan Kibutsuji and was turned into a demon by him."
"My name is Tamayo, and this child is Yushiro, a demon I created."
Tamayo paused, looking at Aoki's calm expression, and asked curiously, "Mr. Aoki doesn't seem surprised at all."
Aoki smiled, "When I said I'd long admired Miss Tamayo, it wasn't just flattery."
Yushiro had once been critically ill and on the verge of death, but underwent Tamayo's experiments and survived as a demon.
It's important to know that creating demons was Muzan Kibutsuji's prerogative.
However, Miss Tamayo broke this rule.
Unfortunately, after more than two hundred years and many attempts, she only succeeded with Yushiro.
But doesn't this also mean that the secret of demons isn't actually that sophisticated?
Tamayo can't crack it now, but technology will continue to advance, and medicine will develop accordingly.
If it can't be done now, will there be an opportunity in the future?
Aoki didn't want to be a demon.
Ghosts lack human desires, losing that aspect of enjoyment. And as time passes, this lack of desire might even lead to personality distortions and altered perceptions.
Yet, he didn't want to relinquish the power of ghosts.
If he could completely unravel the secrets of ghosts, could he find a "win-win" solution?
Of course, he understood that this was currently just an unrealistic dream.
Ghosts were products of chance.
Whether their secrets could be unlocked was entirely unknown.
Even if they could, it would likely require an extremely long time.
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(End of Chapter)