Demon King's Daily Life

Several more years passed.

The lake rippled with shimmering waves, the full moon reflected in the water.

A small boat drifted leisurely along the river. Muzan sat aboard, eating some censored crimson thing, while Tamayo stood at the side of the boat, her face filled with sorrow.

"It's been decades. You can't still be looking after your great-grandson, can you?"

Muzan swallowed the last bite, wiped his mouth, and rinsed the blood from his hands in the water within reach.

Tamayo remained silent.

Her son had died yesterday. She knew her still-youthful appearance was no longer suitable for staying by her grandson's side, yet she could not bear to leave.

Her son's death had also left her deeply despondent.

"It's not like you'll never see him again. You can still visit your grandson later. Just don't let him find out."

Tamayo sighed mournfully. "There's no need to see him again."

Muzan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tamayo.

A relieved smile appeared on Tamayo's face. "The human Tamayo is already dead. It's time for me to bid farewell to who I once was."

"That's good. It's good that you've come to terms with it."

Muzan nodded approvingly, picked up an oar, and set it before Tamayo. "Since you've come to terms with it, start rowing. Try to reach our destination before dawn."

You really are such a bastard!

Fine. That was just how her boss was. Time to row.

From the day her son died, her identity as a human had vanished. Only one identity remained: a demon under Muzan Kibutsuji.

Whether to repay Muzan for allowing her to live long enough to watch her son grow up and die, or because of her own attachment to life, she would live on forever with that identity.

Besides, although her boss could be quite a bastard in certain ways, he was not completely terrible.

On the night Muzan encountered the first Half-Demon—a strange creature neither demon nor human—he notified all demons to watch for such Half-Demons and kill them on sight.

Unfortunately, the Half-Demons seemed to be deliberately avoiding them. Over the past few years, very few had been killed, while the foolish Demon Slayer Corps only assumed they were all demons under Muzan. Each of them burned with righteous fury, their resolve to kill Muzan growing ever stronger.

Muzan Kibutsuji—the scapegoat hero.

With a foxtail grass stem between his lips, Muzan watched as the night was about to fade and looked disdainfully at Tamayo, who was still rowing with effort. "You're no good at this. It's almost dawn already."

Tamayo set down the oar and looked up at Muzan, seemingly unconcerned about being burned to death by sunlight. "My lord, we won't reach the other shore before dawn."

Seeing Tamayo so calm, Muzan lost interest. He stood, grabbed her by the collar, and the two vanished at once, leaving only the wooden boat swaying on the water as it slowly drifted with the current.

Muzan was somewhat disappointed that Tamayo had guessed he had a way to hide in darkness before dawn. He had wanted to tease her a little and see her panic.

Still, that was Tamayo for you. Clever as ever.

"Stay by my side from now on. Read more books, and preferably figure out how to overcome sunlight."

Tamayo stood on the ground, but she could not escape the aftereffects of "teleportation"—her head spun, and her body swayed as Muzan's words reached her ears.

She could only nod with difficulty, barely keeping herself from collapsing. It took her a while to recover.

Muzan had brought Tamayo to Asanuma Seiji's territory. Asanuma Seiji was someone Muzan had casually saved when bandits nearly killed him. Unexpectedly, the man was a Daimyo.

Muzan found his personality and values acceptable, so he kept him around.

Seiji had long been notified that Muzan would be staying for a while and had prepared a house in advance.

Muzan entered the house, lay down in the rocking chair Seiji had prepared, and picked up a book from beside him. "Ah, this decadent life!"

Muzan glanced at her. "Pick yourself a bedroom and go."

The Demon King really did live a pretty good life!

Muzan heard Tamayo's complaint. "Who are you calling a Demon King with a pretty good life? You're the one living a pretty good life!"

Tamayo: "???"

Upon learning that Muzan had arrived, Seiji hurried over. When he pushed open the door, he saw the Demon King lying in a rocking chair like an old man.

To be honest, when the Demon King had ordered him to make such a strange chair, Seiji had been bewildered. You could not even sit steadily in it, so what was it for?

Only now, upon seeing the Demon King, did he somehow feel as though he were looking at a retired old man...

So this was how a rocking chair was used...

Once he conquered the world, he would get one too!

When Seiji saw Muzan lower the book in his hand slightly, he hurriedly dropped to his knees, bowed his head, and called out respectfully, "My lord!"

Muzan glanced at him. "Get up. Don't kneel at every turn. Go do whatever you need to do. Also, tell your people to keep an eye out for the Blue Spider Lily. It might only appear during the day."

Seiji hurriedly rose. "My lord, people from the Demon Slayer Corps have come here."

"Let them come. As long as they don't cause trouble, they can do whatever they want."

Seiji hesitated where he stood. Muzan smiled and sighed, setting down his book. "If you want blood, just say so."

Seiji's face lit up at once, but the next moment, a whip-like tube suddenly shot out from the Demon King's waist and stabbed into his chest with a swish.

Seiji was instantly engulfed by intense pain. He screamed and rolled across the floor.

The Demon King had no martial virtue at all!

Just as Muzan was about to retract the tube whip, he suddenly realized that, while in the rocking chair, the tube whip held his book more steadily than his own hand did!

There was no need to avoid anyone, anyway.

So, after Seiji successfully endured it, he witnessed this scene: several tube whips extended from Muzan's waist, their ends acting like stands to hold the book in his hands. Even as the chair rocked back and forth, the tube whips held the book steady.

"What are you looking at? Get lost already."

Muzan glanced at Seiji. Now that he had successfully absorbed the blood, he should go do whatever he needed to do!

Seiji hurriedly withdrew.

Asanuma Seiji was also a cautious demon. After noticing members of the Demon Slayer Corps nearby, even though he knew they were unlikely to threaten him, he still wanted to become stronger—strong enough that he would not fear being discovered as a demon.

Fortunately, his lord was more easygoing than expected. It was just that the method of granting blood was a little... brutal.

Tamayo had originally wanted to come in and get a few books, but at the doorway, she witnessed the entire process of Muzan granting blood.

Heh...

Tamayo had once wondered whether she could ask Muzan to grant her some blood. After seeing that scene, however, she remembered what it had been like when she became a demon and completely abandoned the idea.

Weak is weak!

I'm just support, anyway!

Muzan heard Tamayo's inner thoughts and assessed her tolerance. Several decades had passed; she could already withstand much more blood.

A malicious smile appeared on his face.