In a remote, dilapidated clinic in a certain city.
"Doctor Tamayo, Miss Yuko, thank you both so much." An old woman sincerely clasped Tamayo's hand. "If it weren't for your help, Akane wouldn't have survived."
With that, she gently stroked the girl beside her.
Tamayo smiled faintly. "It was only a fever. Once the blood was let out, her temperature would gradually return to normal. We didn't really do anything."
Yuko put away the bowl containing a little over half a bowl of blood.
The principle behind bloodletting for a fever was just as Tamayo had said: releasing the body's excess heat and toxins to lower the temperature.
However...
Normal treatment certainly wouldn't require this much blood. Usually, it involved simply pricking the patient with acupuncture needles.
Tamayo instructed her, "Just make sure she gets plenty of nourishment during this period."
After all, she had lost quite a lot of blood.
"I know the two of you don't accept payment, but please, you must take this." The old woman tremblingly opened the basket she had been carrying.
Inside were several fairly fresh fish that seemed to be taking in little air and expelling much of it.
The fishy smell was quite strong. Even an ordinary person could detect it.
Because their clinic did not charge money, it had become particularly famous in the area. Many people came to seek treatment, and sometimes they encountered people like today's old woman, who repaid them with goods.
This time, Tamayo did not refuse. Instead, she turned to Yuko and indicated that she should accept it.
"Please wait a moment." Yuko took the basket, turned, and went into the back room. She put the fish into a water tank, then came back out, returned the basket, and saw the two of them off.
She escorted the old woman to the door.
"Take care."
The old woman turned back and hesitated before saying, "Recently, there have been some frightening incidents of young girls disappearing in the city. There are rumors that a man-eating demon has entered the city."
"Please make sure to lock your doors and windows at night and stay safe."
Yuko was slightly startled. "Where did this happen?"
"Somewhere between the western and southern parts of the city."
The old woman gave them a few more reminders before finally leaving with her granddaughter.
Tamayo sat in the shadows inside the room, watching Yuko, who stood in the sunlight and saw the two of them off. She couldn't help but space out slightly.
Sure enough, no matter how many times she saw it, it still felt unbelievable.
The thing Muzan had yearned for in his dreams had actually been achieved so easily.
Yuko watched the old woman leave before returning inside.
A man who had been waiting on one side of the room for who knew how long spoke up. "Um, Doctor Tamayo, could you prescribe me some medicine for external wounds?"
Tamayo stepped forward to examine him and found that his elbow had suffered a serious abrasion.
The man explained, "I accidentally fell while gathering herbs in the mountains."
Tamayo smiled and took a medicinal plaster from the cabinet. "Apply this to the wound. Leave it for three to five days, and it should be nearly healed when you remove it."
The man gratefully accepted the medicine. After handing the fruit he had placed beside him to the two of them, he left.
Although no one had explicitly required it, returning a gift after coming for treatment seemed to have become an unwritten rule.
Many of the patients who came afterward followed this rule. Even those who didn't know about it at first would make up for it later.
It was just that... no one could eat this fruit.
Yuko put the fruit away with some regret.
As Tamayo tidied the medicine cabinet, she chuckled. "Thanks to Yuko's help, quite a few people now think of us as renowned doctors who specialize in healing external wounds."
Yuko smiled helplessly.
The medicinal plaster Tamayo had just used actually contained Yuko's blood.
Although it had been diluted, it could still heal external wounds in an extremely short time.
"It's almost getting dark. I'll go make dinner." Yuko glanced outside. "Looks like we're in for a treat today."
Tamayo smiled faintly. "Then sorry for the trouble, Yuko."
What Yuko meant by making dinner, of course, was not actually cooking.
Demons could not eat human food, but they could eat animals—or rather... blood-based food.
Yuko went to the back of the house and fished the fish out of the water tank. With practiced knife skills, she removed the scales and bones, washed away the blood, and arranged the flesh on a plate.
In other words, sashimi.
After bringing the sashimi to the table, Tamayo divided the little girl's blood from earlier into two portions and handed one to Yuko as though it were a drink.
This was a way of eating that Yuko had come up with. She had discovered that it worked exceptionally well.
Although it was certainly inferior to eating humans when it came to restoring stamina, it was still better than drinking blood alone.
Most importantly, it wasn't as grotesque.
It was sashimi, after all. That was still acceptable.
The two ate their dinner elegantly. If one ignored the strange blood in their cups, they looked just like ordinary people having a meal.
Many years had passed since the two of them first met. It was now the Edo period.
Over the years, Tamayo had also worked hard to overcome her urge to feed. Compared with when the two had first met, Tamayo had not eaten a human corpse in a very long time.
Overcoming the urge to feed was like quitting an addiction. It was difficult, but with Yuko's vivid example ahead of her, Tamayo was able to persist.
While eating, Tamayo asked, "Yuko, do you want to investigate the missing girls?"
Yuko nodded slightly. "Yes. Since we've come across it, we should take a look."
She did not actively search for traces of evil demons. But if one crossed her path, Yuko would still find a way to deal with it.
As for the Demon Slayer Corps, they seemed to be recovering their strength for now, but most of their members were still relatively weak. They might not be able to cover everything.
Yuko suddenly asked, "By the way, when are we leaving this place?"
Tamayo pondered for a moment. "After a little while longer."
"Mm." Yuko nodded slightly.
To prevent ordinary people from learning that they were immortal, they moved every few years.
This was already the umpteenth time they had moved.
After dinner, the sky outside gradually darkened.
Yuko put on a conical hat, wrapped the lower half of her face in white cloth, and wore two swords at her waist.
"Then I'm heading out."
Tamayo reminded her, "If you run into anyone from the Demon Slayer Corps, please be careful."
"I know."
Even in the future, there would be sayings about how those who were not of one's kind could not share the same intentions.
There was even less need to mention this era.
The Demon Slayer Corps' members especially hated evil demons. Given their current identities, it was impossible for them to communicate peacefully with the Corps.
Yuko concealed her presence and headed toward the western part of the city.
If she remembered correctly, that area should be a slum.
The more run-down a place was, the worse its security measures would be.
The chances of a demon appearing there were indeed quite high.
Yuko reached the slum under the moonlight. Homeless people dressed like beggars could be seen everywhere along the streets, and there were suspicious excretions on the ground.
A drunkard dressed like a vagrant was standing with his back straight, facing a wall as he undid his waistband.
That was no longer suspicious.
This place was practically a lawless zone.
As long as no riots broke out, no one would manage it at all.
Trying to sense a demon's presence in such an environment was truly making things difficult for a demon.
Yuko couldn't help frowning.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind, growing closer and closer before stopping.
Yuko turned to look.
Before you continue