Upholding the principle of caution, Muzan had Seiji thoroughly investigate the surrounding environment and decided that he would live in Infinity Castle for the time being!
Whether it would happen or whether it was even possible, cowardice was the rule.
Bringing along his rocking chair and books, Muzan moved into Infinity Castle. Every day, he listened to Nakime's music and lived at ease.
At the same time, he wondered when other plot characters would appear. Third Brother had it pretty rough too, so he should find him as soon as possible and not let his whole life be nothing but sorrow.
And there were Daki and Gyutaro as well.
He could not remember the others very clearly.
Through the eyes of other demons, Muzan had also seen the state of society at present.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
He had given the Maruoka Siblings some memories. No wonder they were so adaptable.
With the memories of the future that Muzan had given them, Maruoka Gōnin and Maruoka Kinuko had already realized the importance of technology and directly began climbing the tech tree.
They vigorously supported technological development.
Muzan thought, The demons under me are more capable than I am...
But Asanuma Seiji had never been able to understand, so he came to find Muzan.
Muzan watched Asanuma Seiji sit sternly before him, reporting on recent developments while unable to resist mixing in some personal complaints.
"Why change the policy of valuing agriculture and suppressing commerce? And the current ships are already sufficient for fishing. Long-distance voyages are not only difficult and costly, but the returns are unclear as well..."
Muzan let it go in one ear and out the other. At last, when Asanuma Seiji had finished complaining, Muzan sucked on the food his subordinates had prepared and jabbed a finger into Asanuma Seiji's head.
Asanuma Seiji jolted as information Muzan sent over was forcibly crammed into his mind.
It was some of the future memories Muzan had once given Maruoka Gōnin and his sister.
Pulling back his hand, Muzan swallowed the last bite. "Got it?"
Asanuma Seiji processed the memories in his head and nodded somewhat blankly. "...Got it..."
"Good. Nakime!"
As soon as he spoke, the biwa rang, and Asanuma Seiji was sent back.
That night, the Maruoka Siblings could not understand why Asanuma Seiji had suddenly gone from fiercely opposing it to strongly supporting it.
After sending Asanuma Seiji away, Muzan said to Nakime, "Bring Izumi Yuta and Izumi Kazuki here."
As an excellent tool, Nakime never wondered what Muzan wanted to do. She merely followed his orders and carried out her task.
The next moment,
Twang—
A man and a woman suddenly appeared at the location of the layoff meeting from the original story.
With a single twang of Nakime's strings, Muzan was sent onto the platform, looking down at the two.
Muzan: Layoffs!
The two demons seemed to realize what was happening. Guiltily, they hurriedly dropped to their knees, not daring to look up at Muzan.
Muzan leaped down in one step, landing before them as he sneered,
"So you thought, 'Even if we casually eat people, that Muzan guy won't notice,' right? Hmm?"
The sound of swallowing was especially obvious, and Muzan's footsteps seemed to tread directly upon their hearts.
"M-My lord, that's not..."
Muzan curled his lip. "Not what? Go on, tell me."
If they had merely eaten people because they were starving, Muzan would not have cared. If they had secretly eaten people, he could give them another chance. But this attitude—not only did they disregard his orders, they even looked down on him. Were they asking to die?
Standing before them was the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji. Izumi Yuta's body trembled faintly as he felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon him.
When Muzan had saved them back then, he had been the Demon King yet acted so gentle that they had assumed he had become the Demon King purely through luck. They had thought he was nothing more than a kindhearted fool.
As for all those rumors about how cruel and terrifying the Demon King was, they had believed those were merely rumors.
But upon feeling this pressure, they finally realized that some lines could not be crossed.
"My lord, that isn't what I meant..."
"Then what did you mean? Come on, let this guy hear it. Let this kindhearted fool see how smart people think, huh?"
As the final word fell, Muzan suddenly kicked out.
A bloom of blood burst forth. Then Muzan planted his foot on his head and blew it apart.
At the sight, Izumi Kazuki immediately turned and ran, but in the next instant—
Izumi Kazuki, who had not made it far, exploded outright.
"Nakime, clean this up."
At the same time, more than a dozen demons among the hundreds died simultaneously.
The demons hidden in the mountains only startled a few birds into flight, while those hiding in bustling cities exploded into bloody mist and mangled flesh, truly frightening many people and causing no small amount of chaos.
But that had nothing to do with Muzan.
Although Muzan had disciplined the demons under him around a hundred years ago, greed and arrogance were hard to contain. Some demons simply did not know what was good for them and could not read the situation. If they followed the rules, nothing would happen to them.
But some fellows thought Muzan was too kind and therefore looked down on him. They believed that since Muzan was merciful toward humans, how could he possibly harm his own subordinates?
Their greed for greater power and craving for flesh drove them to take risks. Some even believed Muzan did not deserve to be the Demon King, looking down on him while brazenly eating people.
Though their numbers were not large, they reminded Muzan that while he wanted to build one big "loving family," certain brainless fools did not cherish the lives he had given them. They could just die already.
After dealing with those fellows, Muzan glanced at Nakime, who had lowered her head even further. "..."
He could not help reaching over to pat her head. Nakime instinctively shrank back, but she did not dare avoid him.
"It's fine. As long as you listen, nothing will happen."
Nakime nodded, and Muzan heard her thoughts:
Let this serve as a warning. Cherish life.
Time passed quickly, and another three years hurried by. Muzan hid in Infinity Castle for three years, wondering if, even if there had been danger, it should be gone by now.
Excitedly, he tossed his book aside and went out to have some fun.
As Muzan's secretary and tool, Nakime silently played her biwa, slipped a bookmark into the book on the floor, and returned it to the shelf.
Although Muzan's layoff scene three years ago had been somewhat terrifying, Muzan had been very gentle throughout the three years when nothing happened, which put Nakime much more at ease.
She was terrified of ending up in the hands of scum like her former husband again!
Although it was daytime, Muzan could stroll through the cool, shaded forest.
Walking with an utterly swaggering gait, Muzan took deep breaths of fresh air while listening to birdsong, the wind, dripping dew, and rustling leaves from the woods...
The thick, damp layer of leaves made a faint sizzling sound beneath his feet.
The only thing that displeased a demon was that some clueless insects would buzz over to bother him.
They could just die already!
Feeling that the disturbance had ruined even his mood, Muzan gritted his teeth. He was done wandering around!
Who would still stay in the forest once it got dark anyway!
He would wait until nightfall and visit the night market instead!
But before he could leave the forest, Muzan suddenly heard footsteps coming from nearby and vaguely saw a figure.
It seemed somewhat familiar?
Before you continue