Eat It!

The two little brats hadn't run far before Muzan dragged them back, threw them onto the tatami mats, and locked the door.

The next day, when the two of them were let out, they found two bowls of meat porridge already set on the table.

Their faces went pale. Could it be...

Even though the steaming porridge gave off an enticing aroma, all they felt was disgust.

The moment Muzan entered and saw their expressions, he said helplessly, "Pork porridge."

The two cast suspicious looks at him.

Muzan said, "...I'm not lying to you!"

The two still refused to eat.

"Fine. If you won't eat it, dump it out yourselves."

Muzan flicked his sleeve and left.

In the end, the two went hungry all morning.

Starving, they wanted to go out and find food. The moment they stepped out of the thatched hut, they saw a wooden house that had appeared out of nowhere. It was neither luxurious nor shabby.

Long eaves extended around the wooden house, casting a broad stretch of shade.

Muzan sat beneath the shade with a book in hand and an umbrella leaning beside him.

Hearing their footsteps, Muzan said, "Yo, still hungry?"

Yoriichi's expression didn't look too good, though his naturally blank face revealed little. Uta, on the other hand, glared at him viciously.

"There's rice and grains in the kitchen. If you want rice porridge, cook it yourselves."

With that, Muzan leisurely continued reading.

Yoriichi looked at Uta. "Stay inside and watch out for this guy. I'll go find food."

Muzan wordlessly raised his head and glanced at Yoriichi. Fine. The little brat had some backbone.

The next day, when Yoriichi and Uta woke up, they discovered that their surroundings had changed.

They were no longer in the little thatched hut.

It was Muzan!

The two realized it at the same time.

They rushed outside and saw two bowls of rice porridge and some buns on the table in the outer room.

They were steaming hot and smelled delicious.

The two swallowed at the same time. Yesterday, they had found some wild vegetables and eaten them with the food stored in the thatched hut, so they had managed to fill their stomachs.

But food made by two children was merely edible. It couldn't compare to Muzan, someone who had lived so long and learned everything.

Suppressing their appetites, they walked out of the house and saw Muzan lying in a rocking chair in the side room, his eyes closed as he rested.

Their movements seemed to wake him.

Muzan glanced at them, then walked over and saw that the breakfast in the room had gone untouched. "What's this? Not hungry?"

The two kept their mouths shut, making their stance clear through their actions.

Muzan let out a long sigh. "Sigh, fine."

As he spoke, he walked over with a bowl of porridge, suddenly grabbed Yoriichi, pinched his chin, and began pouring it into his mouth. "Drink it!"

Yoriichi said, "Mmph! Guh mmm! (Let me go!)"

Uta hurried over and grabbed Muzan's arm, trying to stop him, but her little bit of strength was useless. Instead, she practically delivered herself to him.

After pouring the porridge into Yoriichi's mouth, Muzan grabbed Uta and picked up the other bowl. "You drink too!"

Uta wanted to cry. ╥﹏╥

With no weapon in his hands, Yoriichi futilely tugged at Muzan.

Muzan slammed the bowl onto the table. Tears glistened in Uta's eyes.

Just as Yoriichi was about to comfort Uta, Muzan grabbed him and stuffed a bun straight into his mouth. "Eat it all! Don't waste food!"

Yoriichi's mouth was stuffed full, his face expressionless.

"Wash the bowls after you finish. If you don't eat, I'll stuff it into your mouths!"

In the end, the two children unwillingly finished breakfast and washed the bowls.

Muzan sat nearby, reading while watching them finish washing up. "See? Isn't this much better?"

The two didn't want to talk. They turned and walked away.

"Don't go yet. Come here."

Muzan stood up and put down his book. The two exchanged a glance, unwilling to follow him.

Muzan said, "..."

He could only turn around and pick them up, one in each hand.

He carried them to the study, tossed them onto stools, took two books from the shelf, and placed them in front of them. "Copy these."

The two little ones raised their heads and looked at him silently.

Muzan said, "What are you looking at me for? Do I have words written on my face?"

Yoriichi finally couldn't take it anymore. He abruptly stood up, looked up at Muzan, and met his gaze, his face still expressionless. "What exactly do you want?"

"I want you to study. How many characters do you know right now? Don't you need to learn more?"

Yoriichi said nothing, only staring at Muzan.

"Fine, fine. You two kids have it hard enough together. I'm raising you, and you're still unhappy about it?"

"We don't need help from an evil demon. If you don't want to eat us, then let us go."

Yoriichi's tone barely rose or fell, but he was exceptionally serious.

For a moment, Muzan didn't know what to say. Yoriichi really did have some backbone.

"How should I put this? I did save your lives from the Half-Demons, didn't I? And even though I'm a demon, that doesn't mean I'll necessarily harm innocent people."

Yoriichi froze. "What do you mean?"

Could the Demon King be a good person?

Could he avoid harming innocent people?

What kind of joke was that?

"Demons were humans once too. I just want to stay alive. Besides, I only eat guilty people. You don't need to be so hostile toward me."

"You only eat guilty people? Then what about those demons who slaughter innocent people indiscriminately? Weren't they all created by you?"

"Didn't I just lay them off? Those demons have all been removed from the roster. Now, aside from Half-Demons, maybe only humans still slaughter innocents."

Yoriichi was only a child. Hearing Muzan say such things, and knowing very little about demons to begin with, he became somewhat confused.

"Enough. Hurry up and copy the books."

Seeing his expression, Muzan shut the door with a slap.

He wanted to see whether Yoriichi, if raised by him, would still nearly kill him like in the original story.

Besides, Yoriichi and Uta were two children relying on each other. They really were a little pitiful. Having read the original story, he wanted to help them too.

Give them a "complete" childhood, perhaps.

And if it was complete, copying books was naturally indispensable!

The next day, after breakfast, Yoriichi and Uta were about to continue copying books together when Muzan stopped them.

"Do you want to learn the sword?"

A puzzled look appeared on Yoriichi's face.

"I brought back your sword from that day. And Uta, do you want to learn too?"

Muzan took two swords from a cabinet behind him and handed them to the pair.

Yoriichi accepted the sword and looked at Muzan. "Thank you."

"Hey, why don't you call me Dad?"

Yoriichi said, "..."

"I'm adopting you now, right? That makes me your father, doesn't it? What's wrong with calling me Dad?"

Yoriichi expressionlessly took Uta's hand and walked outside, then looked at Muzan under the sunlight as if provoking him.

Muzan said, "..."

Just wait until I find the Blue Spider Lily!

Perhaps Yoriichi really was cheating. As a freak who could create a Breathing Style on his own, he had no need to learn or be taught swordsmanship. That day, Yoriichi mostly held his sword and developed all kinds of techniques on his own while guiding Uta.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a novel, and Uta wasn't the female lead. She had no cheat abilities. While she wasn't completely untalented, her talent was ordinary.

Learning swordsmanship would only serve to protect herself.

But that was enough. If Half-Demons appeared in the future and neither Yoriichi nor Muzan was by her side, it would be enough if she could escape.