Su Mu withdrew his gaze, closed the window, and took Kanao downstairs.
"Is there anything you need to pack?"
He looked at Kanao, who was following behind him.
Kanao shook her head.
The girl had nothing to her name, so naturally there was nothing for her to pack.
"Then we'll leave here in a little while."
Su Mu spoke softly, then walked to the mirror in the room, picked up the comb in front of it, and beckoned Kanao over.
Kanao obediently came straight to him and looked up at him, her beautiful pinkish-purple eyes filled with trust.
For some reason, a heavy weight settled in his heart. Before, when he was alone, he could do as he pleased without worrying about anyone else. Now, however, he had more to consider.
Suddenly, he worried about how this withdrawn, unresponsive girl would survive if he died.
But soon, he smiled. If he died, he would no longer feel anything, so naturally there would be no such thing as worry.
If I'm dead, why would I need to worry about so much?
"Let Uncle comb your hair."
He patted Kanao's head. Her hair had gone untended all day.
Kanao was a well-behaved, obedient girl, and she dutifully turned around.
Su Mu picked up the comb and slowly worked through her hair. Compared with the filthy, tangled clumps it had been at first, her hair was now very clean. Although some strands were still dry and yellowish from malnutrition, most were already black and smooth.
He felt that, with continued care and enough nutrition, Kanao's hair would surely become glossy black, long, and thick.
As he tended to Kanao's hair, Su Mu spoke almost to himself. "If you run into danger, don't worry about Uncle."
Kanao blinked, not quite understanding.
"If Uncle isn't around someday, remember to take care of yourself. Don't always be so unresponsive. Other people won't go out of their way to look after you. Remember to listen to the voice in your heart..."
He did not know whether Kanao understood him. He simply kept speaking quietly.
Only after he had fastened the Butterfly Hairpin he had bought earlier in her hair did he notice that, at some point, Kanao had grabbed the hem of his clothes and clenched it tightly.
He stared for a moment, then patted Kanao's head. "You're holding on so tightly that you're wrinkling my clothes. Let go."
Kanao was clearly very obedient when it came to his instructions. She released him almost immediately, but her eyes remained fixed on him, as though he might run off the next second and... abandon her.
Feeling the girl's dependence on him, Su Mu fell silent for a moment. Then he reached out and tapped her forehead with a finger. "Don't keep looking at me like that. It makes my heart feel all tight."
Kanao immediately lowered her head.
Su Mu found a thick piece of clothing in the room and draped it over Kanao. That way, she would not get cold even if they traveled through the night.
He also put gloves on her little hands, then looked her up and down before finally smiling in satisfaction.
Only then did he pack his own belongings, starting with the Nichirin Blade. He carefully wrapped it in cloth, then put on a coat-like garment and concealed the blade inside it so that no one could see he was carrying a weapon.
Yet as the Nichirin Blade rested against his body near his heart, he felt his heart race and his breath grow short.
The faint warmth he sensed radiating from the Nichirin Blade stirred an even deeper dread within him, as though he might plunge into a terrifying death at any moment.
He closed his eyes slightly, suppressing the discomfort rising within him and enduring nausea so intense that he wanted to vomit.
As a weapon made to slay demons, the Nichirin Blade was clearly unsuitable for a demon to carry. In fact, keeping one nearby for too long would begin to weaken a demon.
That was probably why no demon carried a Nichirin Blade.
But Su Mu needed this weapon. Not because it was particularly sharp or well-made, but because it was a weapon capable of killing demons.
He was wary of the Demon Slayer Corps.
But he was just as wary of demons.
Once everything was packed and he had checked that nothing was amiss, he prepared to leave. As a demon, he could no longer stay here. He had to get out of town as soon as possible.
Holding Kanao's hand, he stepped out of the inn and saw a constable and a man wearing a wisteria emblem approach the inn and begin asking questions.
He vaguely heard them asking whether any guests had checked in recently and whether anything strange or unusual had happened nearby.
Su Mu silently counted himself lucky for leaving early. Had these people come knocking on his door, they could easily have noticed something unusual about him. After all, he had never appeared in the inn during the day, and that alone was enough to draw attention.
Once outside, Su Mu did not head straight for the town gate. Instead, he blended into the crowd like someone taking an evening stroll, even buying two servings of Japanese-style fried oysters from a food stall.
The fresh oysters were coated in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, then fried until golden. Crisp outside and tender inside, they were served with lemon juice and tartar sauce, making them utterly delicious.
He bought two servings, one for Kanao and one for himself. The two of them ate as they walked, looking no different from anyone else strolling through town at night.
Of course, his demonic sense of taste prevented him from enjoying the oysters. Eating them was like chewing wax, but he still pretended they tasted wonderful.
And so, wandering along without attracting much attention, they slowly reached the town gate.
At a stall near the town gate, Hiroshi Furukawa sipped his tea while watching the people leaving town that night. Soon, he noticed a pair who looked like a father and daughter approaching while eating fried oysters.
He saw the man bend down, his head lowered, as he gently fed the girl an oyster from his own serving.
Because the man was bending down with his head lowered, neither his face nor his eyes were visible. Still, Hiroshi Furukawa did not think someone like that could be a demon. A demon could never treat what it considered "food" with such tenderness, so he naturally dismissed the man.
The girl, however, was not bending down, allowing him to see her face.
For a moment, she seemed familiar, reminding him of the girl he had seen in Taro Town.
But the girl he had seen in Taro Town had been filthy and utterly numb, looking terribly pitiful.
The girl before him had delicate features and fluttering pinkish-purple eyes. Her clothes were spotless, and it was clear she was very well cared for.
"The same age, but different fates."
Hiroshi Furukawa shook his head slightly. One was a cherished princess, while the other was...
He could not help feeling wistful. Flowers always looked alike, yet people were always different. Even similar people could have different fates.
For some reason, he thought of himself. Others his age had probably already found girls they loved, started families of their own, and were living happy lives.
Yet he was walking the bloody path of a demon slayer, never knowing whether he would live to see the sun rise tomorrow or the day after.