Jikou-Tamayo

In this era, demons never lacked food. Not to mention those who died in war; even the countless vicious criminals were plentiful in such chaotic times.

And as wars grew more frequent, Muzan had never expected that the demons under him who knew some medicine would seize the chance to blend in as doctors. Not only could they dispose of corpses in secret, but they could also receive excellent treatment.

After all, doctors capable of saving lives were valuable during wartime.

Tamayo, relying on her superb medical skills, had become quite renowned. The name Doctor Tamayo spread through many places, and the only one who could rival her was Yanagisawa Noriyuki.

Jikou's medical skills might not have measured up to Tamayo's, but his Blood Demon Art was healing.

Unfortunately, Tamayo would help everyone she could in every place she visited before leaving, and she almost never charged for treatment. She was truly a great philanthropist.

Although Jikou generally did not charge for saving people either, he seemed to do everything according to his mood. Whether he saved someone depended on how he felt, and he also seemed particularly fond of collecting books.

Strangely enough, everyone knew Jikou and Tamayo, yet almost no one knew Muzan's name.

Instead, many people thought Muzan was merely dead weight trailing behind Jikou, while others believed he might be Jikou's bodyguard.

After all, a doctor who was "too weak to truss a chicken" needed someone to rely on if he wanted to survive in such chaotic times.

Who knew how many years had passed? Muzan had become so bored that he seemed to have read nearly every book he could find and could only reread them. He had even attained a certain level of medical skill himself, but with Jikou by his side, he could not be bothered to save people personally.

He felt as though there was nothing fun left in all of Japan. Over the past few years, he had experienced every nighttime entertainment venue and every beautiful sight, and without any appreciation for food, Muzan had lost one of his greatest pleasures as well.

All he did every day was read, sleep, and practice the swordsmanship he had learned.

Muzan lay in the carriage, jostled about by its movement. He glanced at Jikou beside him, who had his eyes closed in rest.

"Jikou, quit medicine and take up science."

Jikou opened his eyes, looking utterly confused.

Muzan stared at the wooden ceiling. "Go learn how to build ships and compasses. Let's sail out to sea. We're done playing Demon Slayer; let's go play One Piece."

Jikou: "???"

How could I possibly understand what you're talking about?

Jikou's bewildered expression instantly made Muzan lose interest. There was no point making jokes if no one understood them; entertaining himself alone was not much fun either.

In truth, in this era, there were no powerful firearms or mighty supernatural forces. Demons were practically invincible. Aside from being unable to find the Blue Spider Lily and being unable to figure out what exactly the Clear World was, Muzan could do almost anything he wanted.

If he had wanted to create a great number of demons, unifying all of Japan would have been effortless. That only made Muzan even less motivated. The original Scum Boss had not possessed much ambition, and he was no better.

"Fine, go back to sleep."

Hearing that, Jikou hesitantly closed his eyes again.

The moment he did, the carriage suddenly stopped, and voices came from outside.

They had run into bandits again...

But it was daytime now, so Muzan and Jikou could not conveniently go out.

A Daimyo had sent someone to fetch Jikou and ask him to treat an illness. Muzan had been bored, so he told Jikou to accept. The two of them got into a carriage and began the long journey.

Before long, the sounds of weapons clashing came from outside, along with shouts and screams. Muzan felt somewhat uneasy. To be honest, they had encountered quite a few bandit attacks along the way, and they had already lost several people.

Judging by the commotion this time, the situation did not seem very good.

It was still broad noon. He truly did not want to go out.

But it looked as if the guards could no longer hold them off.

He glanced at Jikou. Jikou sighed helplessly. He did not want to go out at noon either; even with an umbrella, the sun could scorch his skin until it hurt.

He picked up a large black umbrella propped upright beside him, lifted the curtain, opened it, and stepped outside.

After a burst of screams, Jikou lifted the curtain and looked at Muzan. "It's settled."

The sunlight streaming in made Muzan squint irritably before he stepped out beneath the umbrella.

With one hand, he took Jikou's umbrella; with the other, he grabbed Jikou by the shoulder. His figure flashed, and they arrived in a forest not far away.

Even after being "teleported" by Muzan several times, Jikou was still not used to it. The instantaneous leap through space left his mind muddled and made him feel dizzy.

Muzan casually tossed him to the ground. Jikou rubbed his head and shakily steadied himself, just about to ask whether his boss still intended to visit that Daimyo, when he heard Muzan's reply.

"We'll set out tonight. We already agreed, so let's go." Maybe they would find some books he had not read yet.

Several more days passed before the two—demons, rather—finally found the Daimyo who had summoned Jikou to treat him. Muzan stood behind Jikou and watched him frown as he asked about the Daimyo's condition beside the bed.

"My lord, your illness is rather serious."

Muzan could see it now as well. In this era, the Daimyo's illness would be considered incurable. In modern terms, it was a lung disease.

Upon hearing this, the Daimyo's already weak face grew even more anxious.

Jikou changed the subject. "I can treat it, but I fear we will need privacy. This is a secret technique passed down through my family."

The Daimyo hesitated. He did not feel comfortable being alone in a room with Jikou.

But many doctors had declared his illness hopeless. Now that he had grasped a lifeline, how could he possibly let it go?

Seeing his indecision, Jikou urged, "If that won't do, then I'll take my leave."

"Cough, cough, cough!!!" The Daimyo was so startled that he began coughing violently, unable to stop as though he were about to cough out his lungs.

Once the coughing finally subsided, the Daimyo hurriedly stopped Jikou. "Fine, fine, fine! All of you, leave."

After watching the servants leave the room, Jikou instructed the Daimyo to close his eyes.

Jikou then put on a show, taking a candy pellet from the pouch he carried with him and making the Daimyo swallow it, before directly healing him with his Blood Demon Art.

The Daimyo discovered in amazement that after taking the medicine, his pain truly began to fade rapidly. A moment later, after receiving Jikou's permission, he opened his eyes in delight.

Other than a lingering sense of weakness, he felt almost no discomfort.

Jikou took out a box of ordinary medicinal pills made from restorative herbs from the cloth pouch at his waist and placed it on the table beside the bed. With a grave expression, he instructed, "Take one every day, or it will relapse. Take your medicine on time, and you'll recover completely in a month."

The Daimyo nodded solemnly. "Sir, it is already late. Dinner has been prepared in the residence."

Jikou stood and smoothed his clothes. Muzan rose from the side as well.

Jikou gave a slight shake of his head. "No need. Just give me the medical fee."

But the moment he finished speaking, the door was violently thrown open, and a group of men wielding swords and blades surrounded them.

Looking sleepy, Muzan glanced at the Daimyo sitting on the bed, his expression turning somewhat displeased.