This is bad, at this rate...
"Kee-kee-keek!"
It's coming inside the house!
It is said that humans feel the most extreme terror when the space they once believed to be safe is no longer secure.
In the pitch-black night, the sound of something shattering echoed alongside a spine-chilling laugh.
That sound seemed to declare that the house—the domain that should be safer than anywhere else—was no longer a sanctuary.
Furthermore, this was no wild beast. It was a Demon, a creature I had only heard of in rumors...
I want to run... but Suyako is in her final month of pregnancy. It is impossible for her to run fast...
If that is the case...
I headed toward the door.
"Sumiyoshi?"
If I act as a decoy, I might be able to buy enough time for Suyako to escape.
The fact that it hasn't attacked yet, even though it knows our location, means that creature is certainly playing with us.
It must be letting its guard down.
"Suyako, I'll try to hold it back somehow... When I open the door, run in the opposite direction and call for anyone who can help... You can do it, right...?"
The opponent is a Demon.
Having lived as a line of charcoal burners, I have built up a decent amount of muscle... but even so, facing a Demon alone is likely...
"No... Sumiyoshi... Let's run together, please?"
As if realizing my intentions, Suyako approached me with tears streaming down her face.
There is no time. The Demon is drawing closer.
I must get Suyako and the child to safety, at least... quickly...
The moment I gripped the door handle with resolve.
"What are you— KIEEEEEEEEEK!"
Suddenly, the ear-piercing scream of a Demon erupted from outside.
And then, a different scent began to waft in.
I thought perhaps a human had come to help, but upon catching the scent, I grew even more tense.
This was the scent of a Demon.
It didn't reek of blood as intensely as the Demon that attacked us, but... the one who attacked the Demon was definitely another Demon.
And a burning smell?
"This place is far too noble for a wretch like you to tread upon, Demon."
"Why... why would a Demon attack another...!"
An aura of extreme displeasure radiated from the man who had just appeared.
"Where is your King right now? I am speaking of Kibutsuji Muzan."
Kibutsuji... Muzan...?
At the man's question, a scent of overwhelming terror began to pour out from the attacking Demon.
"Th-th-that... I c-c-cannot say..."
"That is not the answer I desire.... Or perhaps, the Curse prevents you from speaking?"
The burning smell grew even more pungent.
"Looking at your face, it seems I've struck a nerve."
"Please! Spare me! Anything but that blade!"
Slash!
"KIEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!"
With that final scream, the scent of the Demon that had targeted us withered away.
"In any case, I had planned to stay here for a few days... I didn't expect to find it already occupied. Should I look for another place?"
I heard the sound of muttering and footsteps walking away.
Is he leaving?
I tightened my grip on the door handle.
"W-Wait, please!"
"Hmm?"
The figure before me was a man wearing a sedge hat, with clothes that covered his entire body except for his face.
In his hand was a katana with a violet blade that he had not yet fully sheathed. The flame-patterned Marks on his left forehead and the right side of his neck were striking.
Standing over eight shaku tall with red eyes, he gave off a refined air that felt almost noble, like a high-born lord.
The being before me was undeniably a Demon.
Even if he had killed his own kind, he was still a Demon that fed on humans.
If others saw me now, they would surely point their fingers and call me mad... but strangely, no 'evil' scent came from this man.
"Who are you...?"
The man tilted his head and asked about me.
"Ah, I am..."
The moment I tried to introduce myself...
"Wait a moment..."
He stopped me and began to observe me intently.
To be precise.
He was looking at Suyako behind me.
Why?
Why Suyako...?
Just as a sense of unease was about to take hold.
"The child is coming soon. I shall head to the village quickly and bring a midwife. Ensure your wife rests comfortably."
And then.
CRACK-BOOM!
With the sound of a thunderclap, the man vanished.
Though I wondered how he could predict the timing of the birth, I followed his advice and helped Suyako lie down comfortably.
Just as he said, it wasn't long before Suyako's water broke.
While I was fretfully watching Suyako struggle through the labor pains, the same thunderous sound echoed again. The man arrived at the house carrying a physician on his back, and thanks to that, the delivery ended safely.
As the dawn broke and the morning sunlight bathed our home, we were finally able to hold our child.
Suyako and I wept as we cradled the crying infant in our arms.
"I apologize for calling upon you at such an hour. I have prepared a generous sum for your services."
"I have not forgotten the grace you showed me three years ago. How could I take money from someone like you? Seeing your face after all this time is payment enough."
The man tried to pay the midwife on our behalf for the late-night call, but she refused, saying she hadn't forgotten a favor from three years ago and left without taking a single coin.
The man stood on the veranda, quietly watching the midwife's retreating figure.
I handed the baby to Suyako and approached him.
"Thank you so much for bringing the midwife, Master Samurai!"
He glanced at me and spoke.
"It was nothing. I simply did what had to be done."
There was no malice, no scent of deception—only an honest scent.
This man had sincerely worried for us and brought the physician with all his might.
I couldn't believe such a person was a Demon.
Perhaps that was why the question slipped out of my mouth before I could think.
"Um, excuse me... but Master Samurai, are you a Demon?"
***
I'm screwed.
'I am well and truly screwed.'
'Am I actually finished...?'
I mused as I sat on the veranda, looking out over the empty clearing flooded with morning sunlight.
Dawn had finally arrived.
I had thought about staying at Uta's old house where I lodged three years ago, but I hadn't expected anyone to be living there.
Of all things, I found a woman on the verge of labor, which forced me to rush to the village and bring a midwife.
Luckily, the person who had been working as a midwife back then was still there. After a quick explanation, I threw her onto my back and sprinted here at full speed, but...
By the time we arrived, there was so little time left until dawn that... I was caught in the sun. Or I would have been.
Hmm, I haven't tested it yet.... I suppose I have to trust Lady Shutara's special uniform.
It's already awkward enough for me, a Demon, to be sitting here.
I should probably notify Uzui and Amano of my location first... but then again, I'm planning to leave soon, so maybe it isn't necessary.
While I was debating this, the current owner of the house approached me.
"Thank you so much for bringing the midwife, Master Samurai!"
He bowed deeply and offered his gratitude.
"It was nothing. I simply did what had to be done."
He was a young man with a kind, warm impression. Though not quite like Yoriichi, this youth also possessed reddish hair and eyes.
A Child of Bright Red.
Seeing a Child of Bright Red who wasn't Yoriichi, especially in this place, stirred a strange sense of sentimentality in me.
"Um, excuse me..."
The young man opened his mouth with a look of pure curiosity.
"Master Samurai, are you a Demon?"
Hmm.... Huh?
He drops a bombshell without even changing his expression.
Putting aside how he found out... why is he so calm?
I peered at his facial muscles through the Transparent World, and there wasn't a trace of fear. He was asking out of genuine curiosity.
Even if you know the truth, usually you don't ask the person directly, do you?
People don't usually walk up to a serial killer and ask, "Have you killed someone?" out loud.
Is this guy also cut from the same cloth as Yoriichi?
Are all Children of Bright Red like this?
I'm starting to have doubts about these Children of Bright Red who are said to bring good fortune to the path.
If you ask me, they don't seem to bring fortune, but rather misfortune.
"How did you know?"
Now that he had caught me, there was no point in hiding it. But how on earth did he figure it out?
At my words, the man nodded slowly and replied with a smile.
"I have a good nose. I could smell the Demon on you, Master Samurai."
As he answered, not a shred of fear could be seen in him.
That innocent smile actually created a sense of cognitive dissonance.
Is he foolish, or just excessively curious? Or perhaps he has some hidden ace up his sleeve?
By the way, he has a good nose?
He can judge something like that just through the sense of smell...
Well, in a world where Demons, Breathing, Yoriichi, and Uzui—who can control her internal organs—exist, a sharp sense of smell shouldn't be that surprising.
Minase also distinguishes all sorts of things with her sharp hearing, so this must be the same thing.
"But are you not afraid? As you said, I am a Demon who devours humans."
I had no intention of eating anyone, of course, but since I couldn't read this man's thoughts even with the Transparent World, I decided to test him.
He tilted his head and answered me immediately.
"That's... because I don't smell any 'evil' from you, Master Samurai... and no scent of lies, either."
Recognizing emotions and intentions through scent?
What is that? It's not even the Transparent World. That's terrifying in its own way.
I checked through the Transparent World; he wasn't lying.
I watched him in silence as he smiled like a child.
"My name is Sumiyoshi!"
It seems...
"I am Michikatsu."
...that I've stumbled upon another strange destiny.
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