Another Round of Layoffs

With caution and prudence as his guiding principles, Muzan had Seiji thoroughly investigate their surroundings. He decided that for the time being, he would reside in the Infinity Castle!

Whether it would happen or not, whether it was possible or not, cowardice was the rule.

Bringing his rocking chair and books, Muzan moved into the Infinity Castle, listening to Nakime's music every day, living a leisurely life.

At the same time, he was also thinking about when other plot characters would appear. Third Brother was quite pitiful; he would try to find him as soon as possible and prevent his life from being filled with sadness.

And then there were Daki and Gyutaro.

He couldn't quite remember the others.

Through the eyes of other demons, Muzan also saw the current state of society.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

He had given the Maruoka siblings some memories, no wonder they were so adaptable.

With his advanced memories, Maruoka Gōnin and Maruoka Kinuko had already recognized the importance of technology and had directly climbed the technological tree.

They strongly supported technological development.

Muzan remarked, My subordinates are stronger than me...

However, Asanuma Seiji still couldn't understand, so he came to find Muzan.

Muzan looked at Asanuma Seiji sitting before him, sitting seriously. While reporting recent developments, he couldn't help but interject his personal complaints to Muzan.

"Why change the policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce? And the current ships are already sufficient for fishing. Long voyages are not only difficult and costly, but the returns are also uncertain..."

Muzan listened with one ear and let it out the other. Finally, after Asanuma Seiji finished complaining, Muzan, while eating the food prepared by his subordinates, poked a finger into Asanuma Seiji's head.

Asanuma Seiji jolted, and his mind was forcibly fed the information Muzan had sent.

It was some memories of the future that he had previously given to the Maruoka siblings.

He withdrew his hand and took the last bite. "Understood?"

Asanuma Seiji nodded somewhat dazed as he processed the memories in his mind, "...Understood..."

"Then go, Nakime!"

As the words fell, a shamisen strummed, and Asanuma Seiji was sent back.

That night, the Maruoka siblings were very confused. Why had Asanuma Seiji suddenly gone from strongly opposing to vigorously supporting?

After sending Asanuma Seiji away, Muzan said to Nakime again, "Bring Izumi Yuta and Izumi Kazuki here."

As an excellent tool, Nakime never wondered what Muzan wanted to do; she only followed Muzan's instructions and executed the tasks.

The next moment, Zheng—

The figures of a man and a woman suddenly appeared at the location of the "layoff meeting" in the original work.

Nakime's strumming sent Muzan to a high platform, where he looked down at the two.

Muzan: "Layoffs!"

The two demons seemed to realize something, and guiltily knelt down in a hurry, not daring to look up at Muzan.

Muzan leaped down, landing in front of them, and mocked:

"Even if we casually ate people, Muzan wouldn't notice, right? Hmm?"

The sound of swallowing was quite noticeable, and Muzan's footsteps seemed to tread on their hearts.

"L-Lord, it's not..."

Muzan curled his lips. "Not what? Come tell me?"

If they had eaten people out of extreme hunger, Muzan wouldn't have cared. If they had eaten people secretly, he might have given them a chance. But this attitude not only disregarded his life but also showed contempt for him. Were they seeking death?

Before him stood the Demon King named Kibutsuji Muzan. Izumi Yuta's body trembled slightly, feeling an immense pressure bearing down on him.

When Muzan had saved them, he had been the Demon King, yet he had appeared gentle, making them think that becoming the Demon King was purely due to luck, and that he was just a kind fool.

As for the cruel and terrifying rumors they had heard about the Demon King, they were just rumors.

But feeling this pressure, they finally realized that some things could not be violated.

"Lord, I didn't mean it like that..."

"Then what did you mean? Come, let this guy hear it, let this kind fool see what intelligent people think? Huh?"

As the last word fell, Muzan fiercely kicked out.

A blood flower bloomed, followed by Muzan stepping on his head, which exploded.

Seeing this, Izumi Kazuki immediately turned and ran, but the next moment—

Before she could escape far, Izumi Kazuki exploded.

"Nakime, clean this up."

At the same time, among hundreds of demons, more than a dozen demons died simultaneously.

The demons hidden in the mountains and forests were startled, causing a few birds to fly up. The demons hidden in the bustling city exploded into a bloody mist and rotten flesh, truly frightening many people and causing considerable chaos.

But that had nothing to do with Muzan anymore.

Although Muzan had purged his subordinates about a hundred years ago, some demons couldn't resist their greed and arrogance. They were foolish and didn't know when to quit. If they had followed the rules, nothing would have happened.

But some individuals felt Muzan was too merciful, which made them look down on him. They thought if Muzan was kind to humans, why would he ever harm his own subordinates?

Their greed for greater power and their craving for flesh and blood made them "take risks." Even worse, some fundamentally believed Muzan wasn't fit to be the Demon King. They disdained him while boldly eating humans.

Although they weren't many, they served as a reminder to Muzan. Even though he wanted to create a loving, harmonious "big family," some brainless idiots didn't cherish the lives he gave them, so they had to die.

After dealing with those individuals, Muzan glanced at Nakime, who had lowered her head even further. "..."

He couldn't help but reach out and pat her head. Nakime instinctively flinched but didn't dare to pull away.

"It's fine. Just listen, and nothing will happen."

Nakime nodded, and Muzan heard her inner thoughts:

"Learn from this and cherish life."

Time passed quickly, and another three years flew by. Muzan hid in the Infinity Castle for three years, pondering that even if there was danger, it should be gone by now, right?

So, he excitedly tossed his book aside and went out to have some fun.

As Muzan's secretary and errand runner, Nakime silently played her instrument, placed a bookmark in the book thrown on the floor, and returned it to the bookshelf.

Although Muzan's "layoff" three years ago was a bit terrifying, Muzan had been quite gentle during the past three years when nothing was going on. This put Nakime's mind at ease.

She was terrified of falling into the hands of scum like her ex-husband again!

Even though it was daytime, Muzan could take a stroll in the shaded forest.

With a swagger, Muzan took deep breaths of the fresh air while listening to the birdsong, the wind, the dripping dew, and the rustling leaves in the forest...

The thick, damp layer of fallen leaves made a crunching sound when stepped on.

The only thing that slightly annoyed the demon was that some inconsiderate insects would buzz around and bother him.

Die, die, die!

Feeling that his mood was being affected by the disturbance, Muzan gritted his teeth and decided he wasn't going for a walk anymore!

Who would stay in the forest at night anyway!

He'd rather go explore the night city later!

But before he could leave the forest, Muzan suddenly heard footsteps nearby and vaguely saw a figure.

Seemed familiar?