Try Insulting Her Again?

Tendo Hiruma raised an arm and pressed down on the giant a head taller than him, asking with a serious expression:

"Hello, may I ask if the girl you're chasing is named Shinobu Kocho?"

The man he stopped looked annoyed. He swatted Hiruma's hand away and cursed angrily:

"Fuck! What the hell do you want?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"What, you know Shinobu Kocho? Then pay her debt for her!"

The big man turned around, grabbed Hiruma by the wrist, and lifted him up, apparently looking to vent his anger on him.

Hiruma did not care in the slightest. At that moment, there was only one thing on his mind: confirming the girl's identity.

"Is that girl Shinobu Kocho?"

He still repeated his original question.

According to the plot, the Kocho sisters had been brought back to the Demon Slayer Corps by the Stone Pillar. Before that, they should have been wandering around.

Hiruma had never expected to encounter Shinobu Kocho in some nameless town.

Perhaps it was fate.

"You've got a screw loose, don't you? I'll beat you to death!"

The big man raised his hand to slap Hiruma, but pain suddenly shot through him. He let go of Hiruma, clutched his arm, and howled:

"How is this brat so damn strong?!"

"Beat him up for me!"

Grimacing in pain, the big man ordered his two lackeys beside him.

At the entrance of a nearby alley, Shinobu Kocho, dressed in rough cloth, watched them anxiously.

She looked thin and frail, her face smeared with soot from the bottom of a pot, making her look like a little dirty cat. It was necessary for the Kocho sisters' survival.

Being displaced with a pretty face was not a good thing, especially in this era.

Shinobu frowned tightly, hesitating. Thanks to that stranger, she had gained time to escape, but now he seemed to be in danger because of her.

She looked at the packet of medicine in her hand, then at Hiruma, who was about to be beaten by the group.

Sister, wait for me a little longer!

Shinobu's gaze hardened, and she ran out of the alley as fast as she could.

"You filthy hooligans, weren't you trying to catch me?"

"I'm right here, nyaah nyaah!"

Hearing Shinobu's shout, the debt collectors' leader immediately called to his lackeys and chased after her.

"You little bitch, don't let me catch you, or I'll kill you!"

Hiruma, who had just pressed his Nichirin Blade back into its sheath, glared viciously at the three fleeing men, his eyes burning with fury as if he wanted to devour them alive. His body trembled slightly, his fists clenched, and his teeth ground together as dissatisfaction and rage surged within him.

Those bastards just insulted Shinobu, didn't they?

If I can't kill them, it should be fine if I take one of their legs, right?

Bastards, how dare you insult Shinobu? I'll kill you!

Hiruma immediately chased after them into the alley. He had not even said hello to Shinobu yet.

It was all those bastards' fault.

Familiar with the terrain, Shinobu had already run around a corner and successfully fooled the three usurers chasing her.

But when she saw a vaguely familiar figure run past her, her whole mood soured.

"Huh?"

"Why did he follow me? Why isn't he running?"

"Did he not understand what I meant? What an idiot!"

"Sigh!"

Shinobu helplessly held her forehead and muttered under her breath. She had meant to lure those debt collectors away so Hiruma could escape.

"Hey!"

"Over here, over here!"

She grabbed the hem of Hiruma's clothes, intending to pull him into the alley to hide, but instead, the much stronger Hiruma pulled her out.

From Hiruma's perspective, the girl he had been yearning to meet, so thin and small, suddenly threw herself into his arms.

Eh?

What's going on?

Am I dreaming?

This dream is so wonderful!

Hehehe! ( ﹡?o?﹡ )

Shinobu looked at the boy grinning foolishly and felt a little dumbfounded. This guy isn't an idiot, is he?

Suddenly, a shout shattered the strange scene.

"They're here! Both of them are here!"

Only then did Shinobu realize she was in someone else's arms. Thinking of Hiruma's smile, she instantly became embarrassed and angry, a flush appearing beneath the black soot on her face.

"You little hooligan, what are you thinking about?"

She slapped Hiruma awake from his daydream, making him realize this was not a dream.

Shinobu hit me!

I'm so happy!

Hiruma covered his face with a lovestruck expression, foolishly staring at the girl with soot smeared across her face.

Even a pervert like me thinks he's a pervert.

"Run!"

Shinobu grabbed Hiruma's wrist and pulled him into the alley. The two darted through the maze-like lanes while the debt collectors pursued them relentlessly.

Before long, she was panting from exhaustion. Her life of alternating between full meals and hunger had left her so starved that her brain was no longer working properly, and she actually ran into a dead end.

Glancing at the unfamiliar boy who was still grinning stupidly, then at the three debt collectors closing in, Shinobu chose to shield the fool behind her.

Because he had helped stop those people for her, and because he had been dragged into this because of her.

"I'll find a way to repay the money. This has nothing to do with him!"

"My sister and I already paid back the principal and interest. We need time for the rest of the interest that came out of nowhere."

"Could you give me a few more days?"

Shinobu's tone was no longer forceful, carrying a hint of pleading instead.

"Hahaha!"

The debt collectors' leader threw back his head and laughed, sneering mockingly:

"You little bitch, weren't you wild like a stray cat?"

"Why aren't you baring your teeth now? I liked your fiery personality better. Come on, give your lord a smile. Maybe I'll..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hiruma flashed before him like a ghost. With a fierce gust from his fist, he smashed it hard into the man's abdomen.

The punch seemed as though it would pierce straight through his body, and a pig-like scream echoed through the alley.

Then intense pain spread from his stomach. He clutched his belly, fell to his knees, and vomited stomach acid all over the ground.

Hiruma raised his foot high and stomped the man's head into the still-steaming acidic fluid. His cold voice rang out, laced with killing intent.

"Try insulting her again?"

"I've put up with you for a long time!"

"You lend at usurious rates, huh? I wonder if you'll live long enough to collect it?"

The next moment, a blade stabbed into the ground beside the debt collector leader's head. The chilling gleam of the steel terrified him into stillness.

He had thought the sword at this brat's waist was a toy, but it turned out to be real.

Anyone carrying a sword despite the Sword Ban Edict was either insane or a desperado.

Either way, he could not afford to provoke them.

Hiruma's sword-drawing motion also intimidated the debt collector's two lackeys, and they quietly backed away several steps.

"Brat, I wasn't raised to be scared. I was killing people before you were even born!"

"You dare use that sword?"

Debt collectors were desperadoes to begin with. After surviving in this line of work for so many years, he truly did not believe a brat would dare act. A kid like this probably would not even dare kill a chicken.

But the instant his words fell, the long blade stabbed into his thigh. Since this bastard had killed people before, Hiruma no longer had any psychological reservations.

He had said he would take one of the man's legs, so he would take one of the man's legs.

Sometimes, humans were not much different from demons. They both devoured people without spitting out the bones; only the way they devoured people differed.

"AAAAAH!"

The debt collector screamed repeatedly. His thigh was ruined, and upon seeing this, his two lackeys turned and ran.