Shinobu Kocho had never imagined that one day she would pin someone in a corner.
Much less that the person would be Kurumazuka Natsumi.
The sunshine was warm, and the winter chill had faded entirely. It should have been a peaceful afternoon at the Butterfly Mansion.
But everything had changed because of the person before her.
He was clearly much taller than she was.
Her heart was clearly about to leap into her throat.
Yet she rose onto her toes even more assertively, cornering him against the wall beneath the corridor eaves.
"Y-you, you-why did you suddenly come here?!" the girl asked nervously.
Xia Xi looked bewildered.
"Wait, isn't the Butterfly Mansion the Demon Slayer Corps' biggest logistical support center? I ran into some tricky problems, so I came to ask for medicine."
He paused, then added, "Besides, it's been a long time. I thought I'd visit you both while I was here."
V-visit me?
The girl's cheeks burned.
"Don't suddenly say things that make people nervous!"
Only after the words escaped did she realize how loud she had been. She hastily lowered her voice and looked around nervously.
Good, no sign of my sister.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her thoughts began racing despite herself.
Now that she was a little older, she was gradually beginning to see the indefinable relationship between her sister and Xia Xi.
They were neither ordinary [friends] nor regular [colleagues].
All she knew was that whenever the Kasugai Crow brought word that Big Radish had risen another rank or done something major again, her sister would smile very happily.
All she knew was that whenever Kanae wrote him a letter,
her eyes and brows held a gentle smile, and she wrote with particular concentration.
And right now, Shinobu Kocho's own feelings...