Five Years and Five Years

Chapter 21: Five Years, Then Five More

The young Yoriichi, barely a teenager, was grabbed by the arm and examined by Muzan, standing somewhat awkwardly on the ground.

He was touched by Muzan's concern, after all, he was a child who had grown up without a father's love, making him easily moved.

However, Muzan clearly hadn't realized this. He simply let out a sigh of relief and said, "Put your sword aside for now. I'll find you some clothes to change into."

"Okay."

Yoriichi nodded, ran to the side, found a piece of cloth, wiped his sword, and placed it on the table.

Muzan found it strange. For five years, no Half-Demons had appeared nearby. Those things would hide from him, so how would they dare come here to provoke him?

Although the Half-Demons seemed to be acting against him, and they didn't exist in the original story, they were indeed very weak.

But Muzan had never really taken the Half-Demons seriously. After all, they were extensions of his blood.

He didn't know if it was the influence of the Scum Boss's memories or something else, but he felt these creatures posed no threat at all.

Yet now they dared to come to his vicinity. What were they trying to do?

And speaking of which, it's been five years!

Damn it, he hadn't even seen any Blue Spider Lilies!

Was he being messed with?!

Looking at Yoriichi, who had already changed and was sitting to the side meticulously cleaning his blade, and Uta, who sat beside him with gentle eyes gazing at Yoriichi, Muzan's expression turned serious.

He felt it was necessary to seriously consider the reason for the Half-Demons' appearance.

Although he didn't want to think in this direction, Muzan had a nagging feeling that some force was preventing him from becoming stronger.

For example, the Blue Spider Lilies that Uta mentioned appeared every year, but after his arrival, they vanished. And the Half-Demons inexplicably appeared.

Even though he had cleaned up the "company's atmosphere," the Half-Demons, through their own "efforts," had somehow managed to maintain the demons' terrible reputation.

However, at the moment, these were just speculations.

It was still too early in the story, and Yoriichi had indeed been raised by him for five years. He didn't believe Yoriichi could actually bring himself to attack him!

Meanwhile, on Tsugikuni Michikatsu's end, under his father's arrangements, he was gradually taking over the family's affairs. Yoriichi's matter was forgotten, and he grew more accustomed to a peaceful life, his resolve to become the strongest samurai cast aside.

However, Muzan thought that since Tsugikuni Michikatsu was destined to become a demon in the end, he wasn't in a hurry. After all, Tsugikuni Michikatsu posed no threat to him.

Lost in thought, Yoriichi suddenly spoke, pulling Muzan back from his increasingly distant thoughts.

"I want to join the Demon Slayer Corps."

Muzan: "???"

What was that?!

"What did you say?!"

Did he want to personally kill the father who raised him for five years?!!!

Seeing Muzan's reaction, Yoriichi quickly explained, "I want to slay Half-Demons."

Hearing this, Muzan breathed a sigh of relief.

Yoriichi continued, "While fighting a Half-Demon, I encountered someone from the Demon Slayer Corps and saw a Half-Demon slaughtering innocents. I want to join the Demon Slayer Corps and save people with my own strength."

And, I want the people of the Demon Slayer Corps to change their perception of you...

However, Yoriichi didn't say this last part aloud.

In fact, when he encountered the Half-Demon, Yoriichi hadn't killed it initially. It wasn't until the Demon Slayer Corps arrived that he borrowed a Nichirin Blade and managed to deal with the evil creature.

This made Yoriichi realize that even Half-Demons were immortal. To kill a Half-Demon, besides the sun, one could only rely on a Nichirin Blade.

Muzan nodded. It wasn't as he had feared, that he had raised him for five years for nothing, only for Yoriichi to be modified by the plot and come to kill him.

"If you want to go, then go. But take Uta with you. She wants to see the outside world too."

Yoriichi looked at Uta, whose face was full of anticipation.

"Protect Uta."

"Okay."

Watching his son, whom he had raised for five years, leave with his daughter, whom he had also raised for five years, Muzan felt strangely devoid of any emotion.

Having lived in this place for five years, it was time to move on. However, he would need to arrange for some of his subordinate demons to house some humans here and keep an eye on the Blue Spider Lily at all times.

Muzan flickered and left, appearing behind Tamayo.

Tamayo was currently sitting in a rather simple house, reading a book on a wooden stool.

Sensing footsteps behind her, she couldn't help but be startled and quickly turned around.

Seeing that it was Muzan, she finally relaxed.

Muzan looked around, taking in her living environment.

Tamayo had been living in a populous village during this time, helping people with their illnesses.

"Tinker around and see if you can make me immune to wisteria. You've been too idle lately."

Tamayo: "..."

You can't stand me being idle?

Muzan certainly couldn't stand Tamayo being idle.

Here he had the best support character from the original story, and he wasn't going to have her research what it meant to eat humans, why he feared sunlight, and how to overcome it?

Although Tamayo grumbled internally, she knew her boss was fixated on his weaknesses, and she also needed to research the problems Muzan mentioned.

Besides, what choice did she have? As a demon, she couldn't refuse the Demon King's demands.

"Fine."

Muzan didn't care about her internal complaints. As long as she worked, that was all that mattered.

After giving his orders, he left.

For Muzan, time passed quickly.

Another five years vanished in the blink of an eye.

By this time, the chaotic Sengoku period had finally come to an end, with Maruoka Masahito's faction emerging victorious.

Honestly, it was a bit beyond Muzan's expectations. After all, Maruoka Masahito and his group were just something Muzan had casually played with; he had actually thought more highly of Asanuma Seiji.

But the result was that Masahito had ultimately triumphed.

Of course, Maruoka Masahito's victory had come about through a specific method.

He chose to merge and ally with a human faction in the end, ultimately defeating the other factions.

Seiji was extremely resentful about this. He had never expected Maruoka Masahito to choose to sacrifice some of his power and ally with a human faction, thus ousting him.

As a result, in the shogunate that was eventually established, Maruoka Masahito and Maruoka Kinuko, who had never exposed themselves as demons, held a significant portion of the power. However, the main component of the ruling class was still human.

At this moment, the calm and composed Maruoka Masahito, along with the somewhat resentful Asanuma Seiji and other losers, stood before Muzan.

Muzan, lounging in a rocking chair he had occupied for over a decade, looked at the dozen or so people standing before him.

Although Masahito's expression was calm, he could sense the joy and desire for praise within him.

"Well done."

Muzan smiled as he looked at Maruoka Masahito and Kinuko.

Asanuma Seiji lowered his head and remained silent. Another demon, unwilling to accept defeat, shouted:

"Lord! But they allied with humans! The current shogunate is still controlled by humans, and our efforts were in vain!"

Muzan looked at him and couldn't help but chuckle, "I never asked you to control the shogunate or occupy the center of power. Ending the war was enough."

"But weren't we supposed to rule over humans?"

Oh, this...

Muzan's expression became a little unnatural. "When did I ever say that?"