Get It Started

Even so, Muzan had no idea how to properly raise a child who had grown up crooked, especially one with barely any emotions...

Forget it. He would just let Douma's affairs take their natural course.

Then...

Two years later, as soon as Muzan arrived at Infinity Castle, he saw Douma grinning as he sidled up to Akaza. Akaza's face was dark, and he looked like he wanted to smash Douma's head in with one punch.

Chiyu watched awkwardly. After all, he was the one who had found Douma, and back when they had been learning to read, Chiyu had already acknowledged Akaza as his big brother.

"Lord Akaza, you're so cold~"

"Ah! Lord Muzan is here!"

Douma turned toward where Muzan had appeared, still smiling cheerfully.

In the original story, Muzan had not liked Douma much. Now, he did not like him either.

That guy always wore such a fake smile.

"Lord Muzan~ After two years, I finally get to see you again!"

Though Douma said that, Muzan had already seen into his heart. Douma had no respect for him at all.

He did not understand Muzan's demands and even thought Muzan's actions were foolish. Why could they not eat people whenever they wanted?

Humans were weak and foolish. Eating them was the only way to free them from suffering!

He had always considered Chiyu childish as well.

And in Akaza's eyes, refusing to eat women was even more incomprehensible.

At that moment, Akaza noticed Muzan's unpleasant expression and shot Douma a dark glare. "Shut up!"

Douma immediately put on a pitiful expression, though he did not feel anything inside.

Besides Muzan, Douma, Chiyu, and Akaza, Tamayo and Yanagisawa Noriyuki had also come to Infinity Castle.

Compared to their antics, Tamayo and Yanagisawa Noriyuki were much steadier, merely watching from the side.

As for why they had gathered at Infinity Castle this time, it was because of Tamayo.

With technology currently almost nonexistent, Tamayo's task was naturally impossible to complete. She was not an idiot, so she discussed it with Yanagisawa Noriyuki.

The two immediately hit it off—develop technology!

Thanks to being influenced by their boss, both of them had long understood such matters, which was why they came up with this idea.

But everything required an economic foundation.

So they came up with a plan: research and create products, then generate economic value from them.

But all of that required manpower.

When Muzan learned of it, he had not expected their thinking to be so broad-minded. Out of curiosity, he readily agreed.

Chiyu and Douma happened to be free, so they were called over. As for Akaza, to be honest, Muzan did not trust those two. With Akaza there as a safeguard, and after two years of influence, Akaza might still not understand much, but he had learned something.

Speaking of which, Douma really was a genius. Whether in battle or other areas, he had learned to read in only a few months, which delighted Chiyu greatly.

And so, Ryūsei Pharmaceuticals was established.

Muzan's original intention had simply been that it seemed interesting, and he wanted to play around with it.

Besides, wasn't a name like Ryūsei Pharmaceuticals a little too ahead of its time?

But what he never expected was that five years later, Ryūsei Pharmaceuticals would become increasingly renowned, becoming one of the nation's top pharmaceutical companies...

Under Tamayo's direction, even the still-young Douma's Eternal Paradise Cult was tossed aside. Its former followers either became employees or left the cult.

As for the current situation, it seemed only natural when one thought about it.

Among the several hundred demons, they could not exactly be called united from top to bottom, but they did work together and obeyed Muzan's orders.

On the official side, there were Maruoka Gōnin, Maruoka Kinuko, and Asanuma Seiji. Combined with the existing support for commerce and technology, Tamayo and the others had accumulated knowledge over their long lives that ordinary people did not possess, along with Muzan's support.

The current situation was therefore perfectly reasonable.

And so, this scene came to pass.

A man in formal attire pushed open the conference room doors.

Inside the conference room, Douma was dressed formally, wearing his usual fake smile as he sat at the head of the table. Akaza sat beside him, looking displeased as he bounced his leg.

When he saw the door open, Douma rose with a cheerful smile and put on a professional expression.

"Hello."

The visitor was a member of the Ubuyashiki Family—Ubuyashiki Ten'ei. He represented the Demon Slayer Corps in negotiating the price for a large-scale purchase of Ryūsei Pharmaceuticals' medicinal materials.

"Hello."

It had to be said, Douma was quite capable. Under Tamayo's deliberate guidance and the influence Muzan's blood had on demons' personalities, his character was still irritating, but his values had gradually become more normal.

After several years of study at Yanagisawa Pharmaceutical, he had gradually taken on major responsibilities and become one of the people in charge.

However, some of his thoughts would never change. For example, he still believed everyone was foolish and laughable. He longed for emotions, and he held almost everyone besides himself in contempt.

When Muzan learned that Douma was negotiating medicine prices with someone from the Demon Slayer Corps, his expression turned strange.

The Demon Slayer Corps had come to an Upper Rank demon to buy medicine?

Interesting!

No, he had to go take a look!

Muzan hurried excitedly to the hallway outside the conference room. Chiyu came with him to enjoy the show.

When Douma smiled as he escorted the Demon Slayer Corps representative out of the conference room, Ubuyashiki Ten'ei passed by Muzan and Chiyu and even glanced at them.

Muzan responded with a smile.

"The atmosphere here is quite nice. We can cooperate for a long time..."

Ubuyashiki Ten'ei chatted with Douma as they walked farther down the hallway. The internal environment of this so-called Yanagisawa Pharmaceutical was also excellent, leaving him with a very favorable impression.

Muzan and Chiyu exchanged looks, wanting to laugh.

Akaza was still inside, unhappily bouncing his leg. Then he suddenly caught sight of Muzan and sprang to his feet excitedly. "Lord Muzan!"

As he spoke, he quickly walked out of the conference room, his face full of pain as he pleaded.

"Lord Muzan! Let me do something else! That Douma guy is just begging to be beaten!"

Well...

Muzan could understand Akaza.

After all, he had seen Akaza's experiences through his memories.

Even though the current Douma was no match for Akaza and his values were not so twisted, the problem was that he was still infuriating.

Every day, he wore that fake smile, and whenever he saw Akaza, he would come over and say, "Lord Akaza~ I've missed you so much."

And because Akaza did not understand much about such matters, Douma would always come over and say, "Lord Akaza, you can't do it. Let me handle it~"

"Lord Akaza, you'll never learn it."

He mocked him without hiding it at all!

That fake smile made him act as if they were close, while his eyes were filled with nothing but disdain!

Things like that were simply infuriating.

He wanted to go back to Maruoka Masa's side and kill a few troublesome people for him!

Let off some steam!

Muzan considered it and felt that Akaza really should be moved somewhere else. With Tamayo watching Douma, he should not do anything too outrageous.

"Lord Muzan, I've missed you so much~"

Douma came around the corner of the hallway with a broad smile. He was holding the corpse of a woman missing one arm, blood smeared across his mouth and arms. As he walked over, he tore off an arm.

"Lord Muzan, would you like some? Women's bodies are very nutritious."

Muzan looked displeased. "Can't you be more careful when you eat?"

Yanagisawa Pharmaceutical did not employ only demons!

Douma pouted aggrievedly and looked at Akaza.

"Lord Akaza, would you like some?"

Akaza glared at him with a dark expression.

He knew perfectly well that Akaza did not eat women!

It was not that Muzan objected to Douma eating people at will. It was simply that, as a demon, Douma did not want to die either. Combined with the small changes in his thinking, he did follow the rules.

The corpse in his hands belonged to a scumbag he had killed in passing. Her male accomplice had already been eaten in a few bites.

After all, their menu had narrowed now. Being picky was still something of a luxury, so he could only save the girls he liked for later and savor them slowly.

Douma openly ate as he walked, making Muzan somewhat unhappy.

Eat however you want when you're alone, but eating here could easily cause trouble for Tamayo and the others.

Douma did not completely ignore Muzan's words. He quickly finished eating in a few bites, then took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth.

"Rest assured, Lord Muzan. All the humans have already gone back to rest. Only us demons are left now."

"Lord Akaza!"

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard someone cry out anxiously.

The four demons present all looked over.

Douma smiled with narrowed eyes.