Chapter 199: Can I Wear These?!
Over the past two days, Ren had accumulated a considerable amount of experience from massaging Shinobu.
Ren felt that his massage skills had improved significantly.
So he decided to stop and review his progress.
Both his technique and his control over pressure were far better than before.
Ren silently came to this conclusion.
He hadn't forgotten that he was also one of the doctors at the Butterfly Mansion.
Moreover, the Butterfly Mansion currently held his shares.
Therefore, Ren felt that he had a responsibility to revitalize the mansion's finances.
Coincidentally, massage was also a form of treatment.
So Ren's in-depth study of massage couldn't really be considered neglecting his duties.
Since massage was considered part of the medical arts, Ren studied it with great seriousness.
"I was too careless this afternoon. I almost exposed myself over a little argument."
Even now, Ren still felt a lingering sense of fear whenever he recalled what had happened that afternoon.
No matter how powerful he became, it seemed impossible to anticipate everything.
First, he had underestimated Kanzaki Aoi's cleaning abilities.
Otherwise, his backpack wouldn't have been discovered.
Then, because of the bet with Shinobu, he had overloaded his brain, suffered a nosebleed, and passed out.
Not only had he embarrassed himself in front of Shinobu, but he'd actually fainted!
Ren critically reviewed the incident.
First, he was already one of the shareholders of the Butterfly Mansion.
If he continued being this careless, it would inevitably damage his authority.
Second, he'd fainted.
That alone wasn't a good thing for a Hashira.
As someone who had fought Upper Rank demons before, Ren now deeply understood the importance of vigilance and perception.
Although he possessed Compass Perception, if he passed out, then even if the Compass issued a warning, there would be nothing he could do about it.
So something like that absolutely couldn't happen again.
Next was Ren's newly acquired ability: the Domain of Time!
It was a brand-new Domain skill.
It hadn't been long since Ren had comprehended his previous Domain skill.
The interval between the two wasn't very long.
He hadn't expected his Domain skill to improve again so coincidentally.
The Domain of Time.
This wasn't a skill that could slow the passage of time for everyone.
The altered flow of time only applied to Ren himself.
He could not only repeatedly traverse the memories of his past, but also slow down his perception of his surroundings during battle.
According to the theory of relativity, if he perceived the surrounding environment as moving more slowly, then his speed relative to the surrounding environment would effectively increase.
That was why Shinobu had been so shocked by his speed that afternoon.
Ren himself had no idea that he had already become one of the fastest people among the Hashira!
However, Ren still felt that something was wrong.
Although he'd gained a great deal that afternoon, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd overlooked something.
Then he looked toward the courtyard.
Suddenly, it hit him.
Wait!
Didn't Shinobu agree to our bet? How could I have forgotten about it?!
In fact, Ren had completely forgotten about his bet with Shinobu!
Shinobu had agreed to obey his commands during that period!
Hahaha!
Ren rarely felt like shouting at the heavens.
If Shinobu followed his instructions, wouldn't he become the largest shareholder of the Butterfly Mansion?
The thought of the days ahead filled Ren with excitement.
That's right.
Ren had long since regarded the Butterfly Mansion as his home.
Naturally, everyone living there was family.
But Ren certainly had his own ideas about the role of the head of the household.
Although he was the youngest, he was the strongest, and his emotional intelligence was also quite high!
Therefore, the position of head of the Butterfly Mansion naturally belonged to him!
The night grew deeper.
Time passed quickly.
Ren was still reviewing his skills, taking stock of his gains, and trying to develop new abilities.
Meanwhile, the light in one particular room was still on.
It was Shinobu's room.
At that moment, Shinobu stood in front of the mirror, holding the black stockings from Ren's backpack and repeatedly comparing them.
"Strange. How are these supposed to be worn? They don't look like trousers, and they're so thin."
A huge question mark seemed to appear above Shinobu's head, her eyes filled with confusion.
She had tried pairing the black stockings with various outfits several times.
But no matter how she tried to coordinate them, they never looked right.
Compared with her appearance when she had first joined the Corps, Shinobu had even tried putting them on her head.
Then, when she turned around, two girlish ponytails suddenly appeared on her head, making her look even more ridiculous.
Then Shinobu tried putting them on her body.
More precisely...
Her hands.
After inserting both hands into them, Shinobu discovered that she couldn't pull her hands back out.
It felt as though her hands had been handcuffed...
Shinobu nearly ruined them.
Finally, Shinobu once again held the black stockings against her legs.
Then she took them off.
"No. They're too small and too tight. How could they possibly be worn on the legs?"
Shinobu was caught in a dilemma.
For a long time, she had no idea how this thing was supposed to be worn.
Originally, Shinobu had thought that since Ren was taking her to the Swordsmith Village tomorrow, she should dress up properly.
Although she didn't know why she had that thought, Shinobu simply wanted to show Ren her beautiful side.
And so she had made the decision all by herself.
Then Shinobu encountered another problem.
How was she supposed to wear it?
Shinobu hesitated, pacing back and forth in front of the mirror several times.
In the end, she made a decision.
A new Demon Slayer Corps uniform.
Her sister's haori.
A cheap butterfly hair clip.
And tomorrow morning, she would wash her hair once again.
After putting everything on, Shinobu suddenly realized...
She looked exactly the same as she had a few days ago before leaving!
Seeing this, Shinobu couldn't help sighing.
"Have my clothes really not changed for several years...?"
No.
She had to change!
Thus, the idea of trying a new style emerged.
Shinobu's gaze naturally fell upon the black stockings Ren had given her.
"I feel like I've seen these somewhere before, but at the same time, I feel like I haven't."
Shinobu picked up the pair of black stockings and stared at them intently.
Then she suddenly remembered that Ren might have brought them back from the Entertainment District.
At the mention of the Entertainment District, Shinobu subconsciously thought of Hinatsuru.
Because Hinatsuru was a woman—and a female ninja, just like Shinobu—Shinobu had a particularly deep impression of her.
"Why do I feel like I've seen something like this on Hinatsuru?"
Shinobu had naturally seen Hinatsuru before.
It had been in the Entertainment District.
Tengen Uzui had previously mentioned that his wives were all female ninjas.
And because Tengen especially loved showing off his wives, Shinobu knew some of the details.
Combining this with what she knew about female ninjas, Shinobu suddenly understood how the black stockings in front of her were supposed to be worn.
At that moment, Hinatsuru's legs suddenly appeared in Shinobu's mind.
Shinobu's eyes widened.
"Could these things... actually be worn like this?!"