Doma went to the Entertainment District

The newcomer was an ordinary human, just a gatekeeper.

Under the combined stares of four demons, the ordinary human gatekeeper felt an inexplicable fear, even though he had no idea that everyone before him was a demon.

But it lasted only an instant. He assumed it was simply the awkwardness of having so many people watching him. Coming back to his senses, he noticed Lord Doma was there too, smiling at him with displeasure written on his face, and hurriedly said, "Lord Doma."

At Liu Shi Pharmaceuticals, everyone knew that although Lord Doma was always smiling and Lord Akaza always looked rather displeased, Lord Akaza was actually easier to talk to.

Doma's smile always looked fake, and a little frightening.

After greeting Doma, the gatekeeper turned to Akaza and said in a worried tone:

"There's a child kneeling outside the gate, begging for medicine. He says he needs it to save his mother."

Hearing this, Akaza instinctively remembered how he had once knelt before others and begged for medicine to save his father, only to be ruthlessly thrown out. Sometimes, he had even been beaten.

Moved by the memory, he said, "Take me there."

The gatekeeper seemed relieved. He wanted to help the child too, but it was beyond his power, so he hurriedly led the way.

Muzan followed out of curiosity.

Doma tried to follow, but a glare from Akaza forced him to stop.

Doma: Boo-hoo~

Fine, don't let me come. Why be so mean about it?

The gatekeeper practically ran to the side gate with the two of them. A skinny little boy in shabby clothes knelt on the ground. His unkempt hair hung in a tangled mess, partly obscuring his face, but the tear stains that had yet to dry on the ground showed that he had just been crying.

Hearing them approach, he looked up. As though he had found his last hope, he hurriedly shuffled forward on his knees, bowing his head to the ground as he pleaded through his tears:

"Please, have mercy and save my mother! She's dying!"

Akaza bent down, took him by the arms, and helped him up. "Don't panic. Come inside and tell me."

Muzan looked around. Since this was the side gate, there was hardly anyone here. He had to admit that the boy was quite considerate.

At the main gate, he might have been able to use the crowd's sympathy to force them to help him, however slim the chance, but there was no telling what might happen to him afterward.

After all, saving one person meant having to save countless others. No one wanted to set that precedent.

But somewhere like this, with hardly anyone around, it wouldn't affect anyone else.

He might simply be ignored, or even find himself in danger, but undeniably, this made a favorable impression.

Or perhaps the boy had learned beforehand that the "people" at Liu Shi Pharmaceuticals were rather kindhearted?

Muzan trusted Akaza to handle it, so he didn't follow them inside.

At that moment, something Doma was seeing caught his attention.

After finishing the discussions with the Demon Slayer Corps, Doma had naturally gone out in search of amusement. As a demon with a preference for women, he naturally headed for places where women gathered.

For example-the Entertainment District.

It was worth mentioning that this place was called "Rashomon Beyond."

Aoya was one of the establishments operating in the Entertainment District.

Through Doma's eyes, Muzan saw a white-haired girl in an oiran's room inside Aoya, along with a black-haired boy who tossed aside his sickle and excitedly ran inside.

The boy wore blue-green clothes. His exposed chest revealed how painfully thin he was, and his body looked slightly deformed. His face was covered in dark blotches, and his hair was disheveled.

The girl was extraordinarily beautiful, her blue eyes complementing her fair skin. She wore pale pink clothes, and since she was at Aoya, she had been dressed up beautifully, like a fairy untouched by the mortal world.

Muzan was certain she was the most beautiful woman he had seen in all his hundreds of years.

He was also certain that this was Daki, also known as Koyuki.

He had to admit that she was even more beautiful than she had been in the anime.

There was something indescribable about her, as though she perfectly embodied every quality of beauty.

Doma stood on a nearby rooftop, smiling as he watched the siblings. He liked beautiful women too. She must taste delicious.

A woman like her ought to become one with me and live forever by my side. I should save this poor soul!

Unfortunately, Lord Muzan doesn't seem to like my salvation.

Like someone looking at meat while eating vegetables, Doma gazed at the oiran as he ate the "food" he had just caught. He was in a fairly good mood.

When it came to enthusiasm for eating people, Doma was certainly among the most eager.

For someone with little emotion, eating was probably one of his few pleasures. It was also his way of offering "salvation" and finding meaning in his existence.

And the truth was that demons were still demons. Even after eating the Blue Spider Lily, becoming immune to sunlight, and gaining the ability to eat ordinary food, they were still demons who ate people.

Ordinary food was not only less nutritious and unable to increase their strength, but also far less appealing. To demons, humans were more enticing than anything else.

Muzan arrived at the Entertainment District.

He wanted to see whether he could adopt the two children.

After all, when he had watched the anime, their story had moved him for a while. He had discussed their tragic lives with others in comment sections and forums, wishing he could save them. Some people had even written stories along the lines of "What if they joined the Demon Slayer Corps?"

Judging by what he had seen through Doma's eyes, the two children were probably only a little over ten. That made Koyuki's situation truly tragic. However beautiful she was, she was still forced to make a living doing pitiful things in the Entertainment District.

The way she had died in the original story also showed that her life was nowhere near as easy as one might imagine.

Sitting on the rooftop, Doma spotted Muzan. Completely unconcerned by the shocked looks around him, he leaped down and ran over with a grin, leaning close:

"Lord Muzan, did you come here just to find me?"

Muzan: "..."

"No. Get out of the way."

Muzan grabbed his shoulder and shoved him aside.

Doma immediately put on a pitiful expression, covering his face with one hand as nonexistent tears shimmered in his eyes. "Boo-hoo~"

Although Muzan had expected this sort of behavior from Doma, he still couldn't help making a face-the old man squinting at his phone on the subway.JPG.

Seeing that Muzan didn't want to acknowledge him, Doma returned to his usual smile and followed Muzan as he started walking away:

"Lord Muzan, do you want to save the poor souls here too?

Eat them and make them one with us, granting them eternal life."

Muzan ignored Doma's incessant babbling behind him.

Although Tamayo and the gradual influence of his blood might have given Doma some understanding, his fundamental nature would not change.

Besides, Doma had already developed an almost complete worldview by now. Changing it would be extremely difficult. Muzan had no desire to expend that effort, though it wasn't as if he had no way to do it.

And Doma wasn't an empty machine. He was an amusement seeker who enjoyed finding entertainment and would even deliberately pretend to have emotions.

The twisted, so-called love Doma had felt for Shinobu Kocho at the end of the original story also showed that he wasn't entirely devoid of emotion.

And when Kanao had torn away his facade, he had lashed out in humiliated anger.

The Entertainment District was essentially a concentration of brothels. With dusk already falling, an eager young woman ran over as Muzan approached Aoya with Doma behind him.

Muzan shifted his feet and neatly avoided her touch. The young woman ended up throwing her arms around Doma, who had no intention of dodging.

Doma pretended to look shy.

In truth, he felt nothing at all inside. If anything, he was a little hungry.