Are You Screwing with Me?

She wanted to ask just one thing: Are you screwing with me?!

But where would she find the courage?

She knelt on the ground, terrified that this demon would eat her, and stammered, "Th-then I'll help you trick other people into coming here."

"I see." Muzan gave her a meaningful look. "What I said earlier was a lie. I'm with the Demon Slayer Corps."

You really are fucking screwing with me, aren't you?!

The little girl was practically falling apart!

Watching her expression, Muzan wanted to laugh, but kept his face stern. "I was going to give you a chance, but with you wavering like this..."

"My lord! My lord! Give me another chance! Please!" Frightened by his words, the little girl scrambled over and hugged Muzan's lower leg, tears pouring down her face. She looked so pitiful that anyone would have felt sorry for her.

Muzan sighed, looking full of compassion. "Ah... fine. Actually, I am a demon."

The little girl sobbed twice. "I-I won't cooperate with demons!"

"There we go." Muzan smiled and patted her head approvingly, then looked at Jiyuki, who was stifling his laughter in the corner. "You don't like eating girls, right?"

As far as Jiyuki was concerned, if Muzan said he didn't, then he didn't.

"Right."

At that, the little girl raised her head to stare at Muzan in disbelief. This time, she truly cried from the bottom of her heart. "M-my lord, are you human or a demon?"

〒▽〒

Muzan stroked her soft, fuzzy head and smiled. "A demon."

The little girl thought, Just let me die. Thank you.

"All right." Muzan picked her up. "I'll stop teasing you."

The little girl's face lit up. "My lord, you're not a demon?!"

"No, I am a demon."

Just let me die after all.

Her face went ashen. Is it really necessary to toy with me like this before I die?

"All right, I won't eat you. You'll help me with something."

At his words, the little girl instinctively looked up, a hint of a smile returning to her face. "My lord, what do you need?"

"Bring at least two people from this town to me every day."

The little girl's expression froze again. "M-my lord, isn't that a bad idea?"

Tricking outsiders was one thing, but everyone in town knew that the "divine lord" lived here. If she insisted on tricking them, it might work once or twice, but any more than that and they would definitely catch on!

"That'll be difficult..."

"I don't care. If you can't bring anyone, I'll have to fill my stomach with you. You or someone else-make your choice."

In the end, the little girl left in tears.

There was no shame in doing what it took to survive!

After working for hours, Jiyuki finally cleaned out two rooms and cleared a clean space. He laid Muzan's books out one by one in the courtyard, weighing them down with stones.

Seeing that dawn was approaching, Jiyuki was about to return to his room when Muzan called him over.

Muzan sat on the tatami, toying with a Nichirin Blade he had obtained from who knew where. "Jiyuki, let's take the Demon Slayer Corps' entrance test!"

Yanagisawa Jiyuki: "???"

What did you just say, my lord Demon King?

Why has the Demon King been acting stranger and stranger lately?

He no longer wore that gloomy expression all day, looking as though he thought they were all useless trash and that he would eventually become the ultimate life-form and kill them all. He had become more expressive, too, but he was the Demon King!

Making me treat someone from the Demon Slayer Corps was bad enough, but what the fuck are you doing going there yourself?

And Mount Fujikasane is covered in fucking wisteria! You can't even get inside!

Disappointed, Muzan tossed the Nichirin Blade aside. "True. Wisteria is practically a bug. Never mind. Just bring the books in once they're dry."

With that, Muzan lay down and went to sleep.

Jiyuki looked a little awkward. His internal complaints had been heard...

The following night, Muzan saw two young men sneak inside, apparently searching for something.

But they had barely taken a few steps before running into Jiyuki. Frightened, they turned to flee, only to be hoisted up, one in each hand.

The two screamed in terror, but once the moonlight revealed that the one holding them was a person, their confidence returned. "Put me down! Are you after the divine lord's treasures too?!"

When Jiyuki remained unmoved, the speaker tried a different approach.

"Brother, don't be like that. How about we split it fifty-fifty?"

But Jiyuki paid no attention to either of them and carried them straight into Muzan's room, leaving the two bewildered and uneasy.

Jiyuki threw them onto the floor. "My lord, looks like that girl kept her word."

Muzan put down the book in his hands. "She wouldn't dare do otherwise."

As they spoke, the two men looked on in confusion. Suddenly, long nails extended from Muzan's fingers, and before their terrified eyes, he sliced their heads off in a flash.

"They're both mine. If you want to eat, go catch someone outside."

Jiyuki: "..."

Beneath the moonlight, on the pale streets, the little girl was busy spreading rumors.

Want the divine lord's treasure?

Then go find it!

He's hidden it all there!

She even spent money to have people drum up interest.

She certainly had a talent for it.

Having finally finished her work, she was ready for a break. She turned a corner into an alley, only to see one of the two demons holding a person and stuffing them into his mouth.

The scene was gruesome and horrifying. This fellow, who had looked no different from an ordinary person the other day, now had scarlet pupils and two exposed, sharp fangs. His mouth was stuffed with flesh, and the remains of the body on the ground were horribly mangled.

"Urgh-"

The girl couldn't help bracing herself against the wall and dry-heaving. Thank goodness she hadn't eaten dinner!

Jiyuki glanced over expressionlessly. As the little girl watched, the corners of his mouth rose, his smile slowly widening into something grotesque, his sharp teeth streaked with blood.

At the sight, the little girl staggered back a step.

"Aaaaaaah!!!!"

Her scream pierced the night sky as she cried out in terror and ran for her life.

Jiyuki chuckled twice.

The next day, the little girl successfully tricked two more people into going inside. That night, she once again saw the terrifying demon hunting humans.

But she also realized that, because she was now "working" for them, he wouldn't attack her. That put her somewhat at ease.

A week later, everyone in Chen Town finally realized that a new demon had appeared in town.

Fewer and fewer people came out at night, and the little girl took advantage of the situation.

Only by going to the divine lord's residence could they hope to escape the demon's predation.

Thanks to her and Jiyuki's efforts, over the next dozen days or so, the town's population dwindled, and the panic grew worse.

As a result, more and more people delivered themselves into the jaws of death each day.

An old tree in the courtyard grew increasingly lush. The ground beneath it was full of "fertilizer."

That day, a father fled into the house at the center of town with his young daughter in his arms. Although he knew perfectly well that the divine lord ate people, at least he had made offerings to him.

Surely he wouldn't be killed?

If we stay outside, that demon will eat us sooner or later!

Hearing the commotion outside, Muzan put down his book and slid the door open. He saw the father and daughter standing helplessly at the entrance. The sight of the young child made him hesitate to strike.

"You're here to seek refuge, aren't you?"

Though the man didn't recognize him, he guessed from his appearance that he had also come to seek refuge. He was just about to speak when Muzan asked:

"Have you made offerings to the deity here?"

The man hastily nodded. "Yes! I've sacrificed eighteen people already!"

"What about this child?" Muzan looked at the little girl in his arms. She appeared to be only five or six.

The man looked confident. "She's been a great help when I've made offerings to the deity!"

"Come in."