Shinobu Kocho: This Idiot Demon!

"It's not unpleasant, it's... forget it. To me, it really does stink to high heaven."

Kiyohiko pursed his lips as he looked at the petite girl before him. Her smile was so lovely, yet he always felt a chill behind it. She was a Hashira, a swordsman with the highest rank, yet she had to arm herself this way?

An inexplicable impulse welled up inside him.

Maybe Kiyohiko just wanted the nauseating smell to go away sooner.

Yes, that was it.

"Hey, how about you stop using all that Wisteria every day?"

Kiyohiko suddenly sat up straight. Though the smell made his head ache, he looked earnestly into Shinobu Kocho's purple eyes.

"If you can't kill a demon, or there's a troublesome one somewhere, just let me know." He patted his fairly sturdy chest.

"I'll kill it for you."

"I haven't fully recovered yet, and I can't beat you, but I'm still a... well, a demon with potential. Instead of pickling yourself in that smell, how about putting some faith in me, the 'future strongest'?"

Shinobu Kocho stared at the boy before her. He was a demon, a creature she had hated all her life, one of the same kind that had caused her sister's death.

And yet, he said... he would kill demons for her?

Was it because he hated her smell, or because he thought it was unpleasant for her, that he had made such an utterly absurd suggestion?

This was... ridiculous.

So ridiculous that her eyes actually felt hot for a moment.

"You really are a strange demon."

After a long while, Shinobu Kocho lowered her gaze, her long lashes hiding the emotions in her eyes. She chuckled softly, and her laughter seemed to hold a little less of her usual pretense and a trace more genuine helplessness.

"Save that big talk for when you can walk in the sunlight."

[Detected an increase in Bond Value with Shinobu Kocho. Current Bond Value: 5]

Kiyohiko felt a surge of satisfaction at the system notification. Although his words just now had been unintentional, and he didn't know why the value had risen so much all at once, none of that mattered. What mattered was that the Bond Value was finally positive.

Now that's my emotional intelligence performing as it should.

Shinobu Kocho looked up again, clarity returning to her eyes, though her tone was just a little gentler than before. "All right, the examination is over. A member of the Kakushi will take you to your room. It's specially prepared and has no Wisteria, so you can breathe all the 'fresh air' you like."

"Since it's a specially prepared room, the accommodations should be pretty good too, right?" Kiyohiko rubbed his hands together, a ingratiating smile on his face as he leaned forward slightly. "Is there a soft bed? The kind you sink right into? And, most importantly, is there food that isn't rice balls? I'm not picky, as long as it isn't stuffed with Wisteria."

At that, he lowered his voice, winked and pulled faces at Shinobu Kocho, and let out a few suggestive chuckles. "It'd be even better if there were some pig's blood, duck's blood, or something like that... heh heh, you know. I am a demon, after all. Even if I don't eat people, I still need to get some iron, right? Every little bit helps."

The faint trace of intimacy and emotion that had just appeared in the air burst with a "pop" the moment Kiyohiko opened his mouth, like a soap bubble being pricked.

The smile froze on Shinobu Kocho's face.

Is this guy doing it on purpose?!

That moment of tenderness just now might as well have been fed to a Kasugai Crow.

She took a deep breath. Veins bulged on the hand holding the syringe, which made an ominous cracking sound.

"Mr. Demon."

Shinobu Kocho's voice was still gentle, but its sweetness was clearly laced with a lethal dose of arsenic. "Do you take the Butterfly Mansion for a hot spring inn? Or was the blood I drew just now not enough? Do you need me to let a little more out to clear your head?"

[Detected an increase in Bond Value with Shinobu Kocho. Current Bond Value: -1]

Huh?

Kiyohiko instantly turned to stone and shattered, all life draining from him.

He didn't understand. Why had this woman suddenly changed her mind again?

Seeing Kiyohiko like that, Shinobu Kocho helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.

This idiot demon... what is he thinking about now?

"All right."

Shinobu Kocho closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, she had forcibly suppressed the urge to hit someone, replacing it with the disdain one might show a troublemaker. "The Butterfly Mansion isn't a restaurant, but we do have animal blood. I'll have Aoi prepare it. However-"

She suddenly leaned close to Kiyohiko, her purple eyes fixed on him as her lips curved into a dangerous smile. "If you dare complain about the taste, or use it as an excuse to attack someone... my poison is ready for you at any time."

"Got it! Got it! I absolutely won't be picky! I'm lucky to have anything to eat!" Kiyohiko immediately raised both hands in surrender, looking perfectly obedient, afraid he might do something else wrong and send the Bond Value plummeting again.

Just then, someone knocked on the examination room door. A fully equipped member of the Kakushi, with only a pair of eyes showing, timidly poked their head inside.

"Lady Insect Hashira, the room is ready."

"Take him there." Shinobu Kocho waved her hand as though shooing away a fly. "Remember to bring him the pig's blood left over in the kitchen. Don't let him starve to death. The Master still wants to see him, after all."

Kiyohiko jumped down from the examination bed. Though he was still a little weak, he was in high spirits. At least he wouldn't go hungry tonight. He walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and glanced back at Shinobu Kocho, who was putting away her equipment.

"Thanks, Miss Shinobu." He waved, without his usual playful grin this time, his tone casual but cheerful. "Next time I'll treat you to... uh, never mind. You seem to eat nothing but Wisteria."

"Get lost."

Hearing the soft rebuke from behind him, Kiyohiko chuckled and followed the trembling Kakushi member out of the Wisteria-scented examination room.

The air in the corridor was much fresher. Though he could still smell the fragrance of Wisteria drifting from afar, compared to the highly concentrated gas chamber just now, this place was practically heaven.

"Um... Mr. Demon, this way, please." The Kakushi member stayed two meters away from Kiyohiko as much as possible, their voice trembling.

"Don't be so nervous, brother." Kiyohiko walked along leisurely, his hands behind his head. "It's not like I'm some kind of devil."

"What's your name? I'm Kiyohiko."

"How old are you?"

"Have you eaten?"

Kiyohiko rattled off questions, trying to chat with the Kakushi member.

Kakushi members had Bond Values too. Although there were no rewards, he might get an unexpected gain like the one at the Final Selection.

Kakushi member: "..."

I want to go home, boo-hoo-hoo.

The "specially prepared room" certainly lived up to its name.

It was in the farthest corner of the Butterfly Mansion. Though the windows were sealed shut with heavy wooden boards, leaving only a few small holes for ventilation and making it look like a solitary confinement cell, the most important thing was that there really wasn't the slightest trace of Wisteria's stench. There was only a faint smell of wood and dust in the air. To Kiyohiko's nose, which had been tormented by Wisteria almost to the point of an allergic reaction, this was practically a five-star presidential suite.

The Kakushi member who had led him there set a huge food box down at the door as though getting rid of a plague god, left him with a "P-please enjoy your meal!" and vanished down the end of the corridor at a hundred-meter sprint.

"Why run? It's not like I'm going to eat you."