Nighttime. After dinner.
Inside the room.
Looking at the mountain of candy wrappers piled on the table, Shuya finally confirmed it—Makomo was a little glutton.
Earlier that afternoon, when he had given candy to the three little girls and the Kamado sisters, Makomo had watched him from the side with big, pitiful kitten eyes.
Her gaze had been full of pure curiosity and longing for the sweets.
But because she was still in her spirit form, she couldn't touch anything physical.
And Shuya hadn't wanted to give her aura in front of so many people, making her suddenly appear out of nowhere.
So he had waited until after dinner, when they returned to the room the Butterfly Mansion had prepared for him.
Only then did he finally share some Conjuration-type aura with her, temporarily giving her a body that could eat.
Once she started, Makomo couldn't stop. She was like a kitten that had just discovered catnip—completely hooked.
She not only finished every last piece of candy Shuya had been carrying, but after they were gone, she looked up at him with the most pitiful expression.
Makomo grabbed Shuya's hand and acted spoiled. "Big brother sir, big brother sir, I want more."
The temptation of candy had even made her drop her usual "sir" and shamelessly switch to "big brother sir."
Shuya spread his hands with a helpless look. "There's none left. You ate everything."
"How can that be?"
Makomo's eyes widened in shock.
Only after Shuya made a show of reaching into his pockets and proving they were completely empty did she finally lower her head in disappointment.
Shuya smiled and placed his hand on Makomo's head, gently stroking her soft hair like he was petting a kitten. "Little Makomo, how about I take you somewhere you can eat all the candy you want?"
After all, he had transmigrated from a world where candy was already freely available.
And the first world he had arrived in after crossing over was the Highschool of the Dead world, which wasn't that far behind in time either.
So Shuya himself didn't really have a sweet tooth.
The only reason he had been carrying candy at all was because he had spotted some while killing zombies with Saeko Busujima back in that world. They had passed by a store, and the brand—White Rabbit—was one he had loved as a child. The nostalgia had made him grab some on impulse.
He had even shared some with Mitsuri Kanroji during their date earlier.
"Really?"
Makomo's eyes lit up. If she had a tail, it would probably be spinning like a helicopter propeller right now.
Shuya answered, "Of course it's real. Why would I lie to you?"
Even though most of the candy he had brought back from the store was already gone, ever since he awakened Greed Island, the world had gained the ability to manifest food out of thin air.
Aside from the rule that food created inside Greed Island couldn't be taken outside—just like in the original Hunter x Hunter game—Shuya had basically achieved food freedom.
As he spoke, Shuya was about to manifest the Crossing Gate and take Makomo to Greed Island.
But before he could, a gentle voice suddenly called from outside the door, interrupting him.
"Hello? May I come in now?"
Even though she asked politely, the owner of the voice didn't wait for Shuya's reply at all.
Her figure simply appeared inside the room.
"Oh my, I hope I'm not disturbing you two by showing up so suddenly? My bad, my bad."
Seeing Shuya gently stroking Makomo's hair, the intruder looked genuinely surprised.
"It's you?!"
The moment Makomo saw who it was, she immediately pulled away from Shuya and dropped into a fighting stance.
A fierce little expression appeared on her face.
It was obvious that even though Shuya had flicked her forehead earlier that afternoon and called her a "clever little thing," she hadn't forgotten her original goal of defeating this woman and turning her into Shuya's Nen Beast.
That's right. The sudden visitor wasn't anyone else—it was Kanae Kocho, the same person who had fled in panic earlier after realizing Shuya could see her.
"You can see me too?"
Kanae looked at the bristling Makomo in confusion.
In the two years since she had died and become a lingering spirit bound to this place, countless injured Demon Slayer Corps members had come and gone through the Butterfly Mansion.
But she had never encountered anyone who could see her.
And now, in a single day, two people who could see her had appeared?
Shuya explained softly, "Because she's the same as you. She's also a lingering soul wandering this world."
Shuya felt both surprised and unsurprised by Kanae's sudden appearance.
He wasn't surprised because he knew that as long as he was the only one who could see her, she would eventually come to him on her own. There was no need for him to go looking.
What did surprise him was how quickly she had shown up.
"I see."
That explanation seemed to put Kanae at ease.
If Shuya could accept someone who was the same kind of existence as her, then maybe that would make what she was about to say go a lot smoother.
Shuya asked knowingly, "So? What brings you here, Miss Kanae?"
Kanae hesitated for a moment.
Then she said something that left Shuya completely stunned.
"I want to ask you to marry Shinobu."
"…What?"
Shuya's mind went completely blank.
He had considered all kinds of possibilities, but this was the one thing he never expected.
"I said, I hope you'll marry Shinobu."
Kanae repeated her request firmly.
In truth, when she had vanished in front of Shuya that afternoon, she hadn't actually left.
After realizing he might be the only person who could see her, she had immediately run back and hidden nearby, secretly watching him.
She had planned to jump out and stop him the moment he tried to leave the Butterfly Mansion.
Which meant she had clearly witnessed everything that happened afterward—Shuya playing with the three little girls, the question he asked Kanao Tsuyuri, and Shinobu's words about not rejecting him.
Combined with all the little secrets about her sister Shinobu that she had accidentally revealed earlier when she didn't know he could see her…
Overall, Kanae was actually quite satisfied with Shuya—the only person who could see her.
And the reason she wanted him to marry her little sister was simple.
First, she hoped Shinobu would give up being a Demon Slayer and get her life back on track. She wanted her to live as an ordinary girl, get married, have children, and enjoy the normal, happy life she had always wished for her.
Second, if Shuya and Shinobu ended up together, then in the future there would be someone close to her sister who could also see her. That person could act as a bridge between her and Shinobu. That alone would be enough.
"Ah, this————"
Just as Shuya was about to say something, another gentle voice called from outside the door.
"Hello? Mr. Scumbag, may I come in now?"
Except for the slightly different tone, the words and structure were exactly the same as what Kanae had said just moments earlier.
There was no doubt about it—this time, the person speaking was her younger sister, Shinobu.