Relying on his exquisite martial arts, that time, Akaza successfully landed a solid punch on this woman who was always chattering beside him!
Although hitting a woman was quite immoral, watching Mitsuba leave alone in dejection, Akaza felt incredibly refreshed in his heart that day.
Finally! He was finally liberated!
This annoying woman who came from god-knows-where! He had finally driven her away! From now on, he would officially begin his new demon life!
A completely new demon life where he himself was in charge!
Then, merely a few hours later, Akaza—who was preparing to go on a killing spree to properly release the frustrations of the past dozen years—was beaten by the reappearing Mitsuba with a bamboo sword until he doubted his very existence...
What was going on? How did this annoying woman suddenly become so strong?
It wasn't until much later, after rising from Lower Rank to Upper Rank, that Akaza finally learned the truth of that night.
Apparently, after being punched by him, Mitsuba—deeply feeling that she had become lax—immediately returned to the Infinity Castle to practice swordsmanship with her elder brother who was also Upper Rank One for several hours, then came back and beat him up...
In other words, this woman only seriously practiced for a few hours, yet could completely thrash him who had diligently studied martial arts for decades?
That was impossible, absolutely impossible...
How could such absurd things happen in this world? How could such a genius beyond common sense be born?!
How could the gods possibly allow such a person to appear in the world?!
Tsugikuni Mitsuba...
You're a monster! The appearance of someone like you will only break the common sense of this world!
You, you...!
After realizing this, what surged forth in Akaza's heart was that raging emotion nearly engulfing his entire being...
Powerlessness.
That's right, toward Mitsuba, he felt no jealousy whatsoever—only powerlessness.
This was normal. In most cases, when the gap between two parties had grown so large that the end couldn't be seen, it became very difficult for people to feel jealousy. They would only choose to lie flat.
You're amazing, I concede.
It was from the day he became Upper Rank Three that Akaza no longer resisted Mitsuba's discipline in any way.
Whatever she said, he would do.
Don't indiscriminately kill the innocent? Fine, won't kill. Don't bully the weak? Fine, won't bully. Want me to study? Fine, will study properly...
Resist?
This behavior was completely meaningless~
Even if he practiced for several more decades, what could he do?
The gap in their innate talent simply couldn't be crossed. This annoying woman could casually practice for a few hours and then thrash him again.
Decades of effort couldn't compare to someone else's few hours. Everything was meaningless~ Better to lie flat and look on the bright side~
Demon life, however one lives it, is still life, right?
Anyway, he had always been managed by this annoying woman in the past, it was all the same~ Just accept it~ Just get used to it~
Akaza began lying flat from then on.
Nowadays, he couldn't claim to be thoroughly versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, knowledgeable about ancient and modern times both Chinese and foreign, but at least simpler texts like the Three Character Classic and the Analects, he could basically recite backwards.
At the same time, he was no longer as filled with hostility as when he had first become a demon.
He wouldn't casually see someone interesting and insist on fighting them to the death, nor would he encounter mischievous children blocking the road and rush up to kick them.
Even quite often, he was quite respectful to the elderly and caring to the young. Encountering an old grandmother who needed help on the road, he would occasionally assist...
And Mitsuba, finally, no longer watched him as closely as she did at the beginning.
Most of the time, she would let him wander outside as he pleased, only calling him back every few months to observe for a few days and see if he had "grown crooked."
This was exactly the case right now.
Akaza, after several months, had been caught by Mitsuba again. Under the pretext of routine observation, he was made to work for her, specifically responsible for collecting money.
"Take care, Lady Miyano. Remember well—your husband will definitely go to meet that vixen tonight. If you wish to do something, you must seize the opportunity, yes?"
After smilingly sending off this beautiful lady whose heart had been wounded by her man, Mitsuba finally turned to look at Akaza, who was lying in the corner hugging that iron box filled with copper coins and staring blankly, and said helplessly:
"Hakuji, I've told you many times—for our major clients, don't always put on such a sour face. You must smile, do you understand smile?
You child, why can you never learn to treat people with courtesy?"
"Tch!"
Toward Mitsuba's lecturing, Akaza simply curled his lip, then rolled over, directly turning his back to her.
Treat people with courtesy?
What a joke. Why should he treat people with courtesy when they couldn't even withstand one punch from him?
"Really..."
Seeing his appearance, Mitsuba sighed helplessly once more.
"I don't remember you being like this when you were human, Hakuji. How did you become like this after becoming a demon..."
"So when exactly will you return my memories from when I was human?"
Seeing Mitsuba voluntarily bring up this topic, Akaza immediately rolled over and sat up, asking with great concern.
Regarding his experiences as a human, to say Akaza completely didn't care would be a lie.
After all, among the other demons in the Upper Ranks, each had more or less memories of their past human lives. Only he alone remembered nothing—not a single memory.
This uniquely different situation always gave Akaza a feeling of "being excluded."
Thus, out of curiosity about his own past, Akaza had also asked Mitsuba about it.
After all, no matter what, this annoying woman was the first person he saw when he opened his eyes, and she was inexplicably familiar with him, always loving to manage him endlessly.
Without a doubt, she definitely had intersections with him when he was human, and they must have been very close!
Could it be... this annoying woman was actually his mother?!
No no no, although this annoying woman always loved to manage him, the feeling she gave him was completely different from a mother...
Could it be she was actually his older sister? Or a childhood sweetheart? Or even a friend of his parents before they died?
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