"In any case, what brings you all here so late at night?"
It likely wasn't to bid farewell.... Did they have something left to say?
There was always tomorrow, so for them to see me at this late hour suggested it was a matter of considerable importance.
"I must apologize for arriving without a word."
Amano was the first to speak.
"No, do not trouble yourself over it."
"I felt that if we did not do this, you would surely run away...."
"Pardon?"
"It is nothing."
Amano shook her head vigorously.
"Anyway, what is the matter...."
"Michikatsu-sama."
Uzui looked at me with a soft, beaming smile.
What was this?
A chill ran down my spine the moment I saw her smile.
It felt strangely familiar.
I had experienced this sensation once before.
Specifically, it was remarkably similar to the feeling I got months ago when I saw Amano smiling like that.
Was it not the look of a predator about to claim its harvest?
I replied with a somewhat awkward expression.
"....Why?"
"Do you happen to know why kunoichi are forbidden from becoming pregnant?"
The words that flowed from her lips were utterly nonsensical given the context.
Out of nowhere?
Why was she talking about pregnancy?
"I am not entirely sure...?"
"It is because pregnancy makes them weak. For a shinobi who must always carry out dangerous missions, a flaw cannot be tolerated. The same applies to the Demon Slayer Corps, does it not?"
Is that so? Was there such a rule for kunoichi?
Uzui's words were likely true; it is a fact that a woman becomes physically vulnerable when carrying a child.
Regardless, I thought such a topic was extremely abrupt.
Why bring up pregnancy all of a sudden?
"You intend to leave the Demon Slayer Corps, do you not, Michikatsu-sama?"
....What are you thinking, Uzui?
Don't you think talking about pregnancy and leaving the Corps are a bit mismatched?
"That is true. Though I will visit occasionally, it is absurd for a Demon to remain within the Corps."
And yet, I found myself unable to retort.
Whether it was her spirit or some crushing pressure.
Something radiating from her smiling face made me reflexively shrink back.
Was this, perhaps, also one of the kunoichi's techniques?
What on earth am I even saying?
"Then you will no longer be of the Corps, correct?"
"Well, I suppose so? I plan to stop by once in a while, but..."
"I shall be following you, so I, too, will no longer be of the Corps."
"Right... eh?"
What does that mean?
"Why are you following me?"
"Am I not Michikatsu-sama's Kage-musha?"
"You are currently the Captain of the Kakushi. And you know almost all the secrets of the Corps; do you truly think the Master would permit you to leave?"
"He has already permitted it."
Why on earth would he permit that, man?
Is he just acting recklessly because he thinks his end is near?
My head is spinning.
I covered my face with my hands.
"Therefore."
She suddenly approached and gave me a light shove.
In an unfortunate turn of events, I found myself lying back naturally, and she naturally climbed on top of me.
.....?
Excuse me, Miss Uzui? What exactly are you doing right now?
Listen, this... the position and the appearance of this are quite provocative.
"What is the meaning of this...?"
Uzui looked down at me with a seductive smile unlike any she had shown before.
While doing so, she playfully tapped my chest with one hand.
Wait, this is sexual harassment. This is a violation of military discipline.
What has gotten into this girl?
"Which means... it would not matter if I were to take your seed right now, would it?"
A shocking statement followed.
My entire body froze at those words.
Seed.
No, wait a minute.
....That seed... surely, it couldn't be THAT seed...?
The 'seed' I'm thinking of?
!?!?
More importantly, hold on! What kind of nonsense is this...!
How do you reach such a conclusion!
"What are you saying! Stop joking and get off me at once!"
"Do I look as though I am joking right now?"
Uzui lightly gripped my arms, pinning them down so I couldn't escape.
The warmth of her touch transmitted through my wrists made my body stiffen even further.
An ordinary man might not have been able to escape, but this level of restraint was merely adorable to me.
Even a small application of strength would allow me to break free immediately.
Uzui was just a human without Breathing or a Mark, whereas I was a Demon.
"If you did, then I would get hurt. Surely, the Young Master would not want such a misfortune to occur?"
Dammit!
Blackmail using her own weakness as a shield! How cowardly!
"I do not know if you took the wrong medicine today or failed to take the right one, but this is unlike you..."
"Honestly now...."
Uzui, who had been watching my struggling figure intently, opened her mouth with a faint smile.
"You are still flamboyantly oblivious.... Though that is part of why I fell for you."
What?
Her sudden confession.
No, the confession isn't what's important right now—wait, is it? Is it important?
More than that, the look in her eyes is dangerous. Those are...
The eyes of a predator.
"Hey... I am a man-eating Demon, and you are a human."
"The fact that you are the Young Master remains unchanged. Since you have become a Demon, your stamina must be infinite as well, no?"
That didn't work.
"You don't know what kind of child will be born if a human conceives a Demon's offspring?"
"Even so, if it is a child of the Young Master and myself, I am sure it will be lovely."
"The Demon Slayer Corps will not tolerate it!"
"It is fine. I have already received permission from the Master."
Master!
Master, what on earth have you done?!
Are you truly determined to see me dead?!
Right, Amano is right there!
I was a bit concerned that she stayed quiet during Uzui's bombshell statement, but still!
"Amano, Lady Amano is right next to us. Doing such a thing is a bit..."
"It is quite alright."
Uzui smiled sweetly with a seductive gaze.
"Lady Amano has also consented to conceive the Young Master's children together with me."
What?
With my brain failing to process the situation, I turned to look toward Amano.
"Ah.... well...."
Amano turned her head away with a blushing face.
Amano, the one I trusted, was not on my side either.
Since when?
They liked me?
Why?
Why would they like me?
Is this what they call a harem....
No! Get a grip, Tsugikuni Michikatsu!
Aaaargh! Muzan, Kokushibo, help me!
This is a historic moment where I am about to lose the virginity I've guarded for 17 plus 20 years, but this truly feels dangerous!
"Young Master, are you thinking of another woman while I am right in front of you...?"
Uzui's expression suddenly turned blank as she glared down at me.
Listen, woman, I am your employer!
Can I not even think as I please?!
However, her spirit and that expressionless face were so terrifying that my complaints wouldn't come out.
Calm down, Michikatsu.
Is it not said that even if one is bitten by a tiger, one can survive if they keep their wits?
"Uzui, think carefully. Demons and humans are different. You might not even be able to conceive."
Demons cannot reproduce.
If powerful creatures with intelligence like Demons could reproduce, their numbers would have increased exponentially, and never mind five hundred years—Japan would have been filled with Demons long ago.
While there are no records of a child being born between a human and a Demon, how could a relationship even form when Demons see humans merely as prey?
Even so, I believe they are not that different from humans biologically.
Wait, am I impotent then?
That's strange... This morning, nothing felt different from when I was human...
Uzui fell silent for a moment after hearing my words.
Did I reach her?
I don't mind the fact that a beauty like Uzui likes me, but...
This isn't right. Regardless of losing my chastity, my very body is sounding an alarm.
Muzan and Kokushibo... was it because of this that you severed the connection?
You sons of...!
And you call yourselves humans... no, Demons.
"It does not matter."
What?
Uzui slowly grabbed the hem of her top and lifted it.
As the hem rose, I saw her firm, well-defined abdominal muscles and twitching fibers.
Once it was removed past her chest, her pale and ample breasts revealed their violent presence with a swaying motion.
"We shall simply continue until it happens."
Wow, those... they are huge.
Enormous.
No! Michikatsu! You must not be enticed!
But they are big.
NO!
"Lady Amano, please help m..."
I looked toward Amano for help, but my wish went unfulfilled.
Amano wore the same expression.
The very face she had shown me personally months ago.
She was smiling brightly, yet it was a smile that sent shivers down my spine.
As if to leave a trace of where she had been, her kimono fell to the floor.
Her body was revealed as the garment dropped.
Alabaster skin that rivaled Uzui's, and the firm abdominal muscles truly befitting a Hashira, hidden beneath her robes.
And then, Amano's attributes, which had been suppressed by restrictive bandages, were liberated.
Haha.
I have truly walked into a tiger's den.
Yoriichi, you scoundrel!
You sold out your own elder brother?!
@@@
That night.
From that room, my elder brother's screams and the sound of flesh meeting flesh continued to echo endlessly.
It lasted for three days and three nights.
I placed a few chunks of congealed blood for Brother, along with some light meals for Uzui and Lady Amano, in front of the door.
What I heard from inside was the sound of bodies clashing and Brother's cries that weren't quite cries.
I felt a slight sense of guilt... but it was the first time I had ever seen Uzui and Lady Amano smile like that.
It was exactly the same as Uta's chilling smile when she climbed onto me before we went to bed.
I managed to leave the scene by telling myself I had to check on Asahi, and before I left, I stole a glance toward the room where Brother's screams could be heard.
"I am sorry, Brother."
But does a younger brother not have a duty to let him see his nephew eventually?