Once upon a time, the man who would later be known as Enmu was just a child like any other.
With one small difference.
He was a dreamer, with a scatterbrained personality.
This is why he began to lose track of the boundary between dream and reality.
The child grew up with this mental condition into adulthood.
At this stage of his life, the young man became a charlatan of the worst kind.
If Doma is a charlatan who sells dreams and hope to his followers, Enmu sells a gentle and inevitable death.
Aspiring to be a doctor but lacking the real skills for it, young Enmu administered fake treatments to various patients, fully aware that he had hypnotized them through the art of hypnotherapy.
Countless people believed they were cured of seemingly incurable diseases thanks to Enmu's unorthodox methods.
Thus, he quickly gained notoriety.
'Unfortunately for him, he didn't have my charisma in the art of deception,'Doma thought, observing the man in his early twenties.
Enmu's lies were a ticking time bomb.
The young man simply couldn't hide the strange deaths of all the people he had "treated" for their illnesses, could he?
Finally, the day of reckoning arrived.
A small crowd, made up of the relatives of the deceased patients, gathered at his doorstep.
Even though Enmu was indifferent to the consequences of his actions—due to his muddled mental state regarding the concept of dream and reality—he was thrown in prison.
Luckily for him and Doma, announcements had been made about his execution by hanging in a few months.
Taiga's subordinates managed to break him out without drawing too much attention.
"Enmu-san, is it? My name is Doma~. I'm the elder of the Eternal Paradise Faith sect," he said in a casual tone.
Doma strolled into the room with a nonchalant gait, fanning himself with his golden fan.
Though he appeared relaxed, a certain presence naturally emanated from him: the kind of aura one develops after guiding and advising hundreds, if not thousands, of people over two decades.
"Oh~ you're the man seeking my services?"
Enmu's voice was just as calm as Doma's, with a slight drawl on certain words, marked by the same "~."
But there was a subtle difference in the essence of their speech.
Doma spoke this way to lighten the mood and seem approachable to his interlocutor.
If he revealed his true personality—cold and analytical by nature—he would never have gathered so many followers in his sect.
Doma doubted his rare bursts of emotion were enough to make him truly human in the eyes of others.
Especially since he wasn't human in a biological sense.
This explained the need to emphasize the friendly and relaxed side of his personality.
Enmu, on the other hand, spoke with a slowness that betrayed a mind "elsewhere," as if trapped in his own world.
Doma would describe him as someone "stuck in his own bubble."
From Jay's perspective?
This former 21st-century Earthling and man of culture probably wouldn't have paid attention to these details and would have simply shouted, "This guy's a total trap!"
However, if he set aside his otaku side, Jay would likely have described Enmu as someone with advanced autism.
"Haha, don't put it like that, especially with those gestures…" Doma said, pointing to Enmu's clasped hands and his use of the word "services."
Anyone could have thought Doma was asking for something "particular" from Enmu.
Even Taiga let out an awkward cough upon hearing the way Enmu expressed himself.
"Come now, Doma-sama. I don't intend to make my savior uncomfortable," the fake doctor declared, widening the perpetual smile already adorning his face.
"I'm delighted to hear that, but…" Doma paused briefly before sitting on a simple chair in the room.
"But, well… I must confess something a bit embarrassing, Enmu-san," he said, scratching his head with a feigned air of unease.
Enmu remained impassive, as if he already anticipated what was coming.
As expected from a charlatan capable of convincing multiple patients they were cured.
"I don't just need your services, Enmu-san."
Doma's voice suddenly grew serious, his face losing all traces of nonchalance.
Doma dropped his mask to reveal his true self: an expressionless demon.
He was about to utter words heavy with consequences, fully aware they could lead a third party to hell.
A very real hell, not just a metaphor from an atheist's perspective.
The atmosphere shifted, as did Doma, after he decided to be frank with Enmu.
"I want you, Enmu-san. Not just for your services, but… for eternity," he said, extending his hand toward his interlocutor.
A gesture inviting him to join.
Doma was about to continue, having noticed the troubled expression on the fake doctor's face.
However, he noticed something unusual in the room: Taiga's gaze fixed on him.
Behind his traditional Oni mask, the former demon slayer wore a look Doma had never seen before… disappointment.
"Is something wrong…?" Doma asked, interrupting his declaration to address Taiga.
But before he could get an answer, an unexpected warmth enveloped his hand.
"I… I'm truly flattered by your proposition, Doma-sama, b-but I need more time… we haven't even had a proper date yet, and…"
Enmu began speaking like a young girl straight out of a romance novel.
Doma was confused for a moment, but his analytical mind processed the scene at superhuman speed.
It took no more than a second, after Enmu grabbed his hand and spoke hesitantly, for the ice demon to understand the situation.
'Wait a minute… did I just make a confession? Damn it, this universe isn't an ecchi! 'he thought, finally grasping the situation.
The "confession" wasn't the worst part, according to Doma.
What truly surprised him was that Enmu hadn't outright rejected him.
Though he felt like cursing the fake doctor, he calmly placed his hand over Enmu's without pulling away.
After all, his goal was still to turn him into a demon and condemn him to a very real eternal damnation for his own selfish needs.
Doma deemed this incident a small price to pay for Enmu's eternal damnation and services.
That's why Doma chose not to let the misunderstanding derail him and maintained a serious demeanor:
A professional reaction Jay would never have been able to sustain.
"Enmu-san…" he said in a serious tone while remaining polite.
"Y-Yes, Doma-sama…" Even though he was still in his own world, Enmu managed to respond.
"I'm not interested in men, but in women—particularly busty MILFs," he said, maintaining his serious expression as if stating the obvious.
'I'm not denying that small breasts have their charm too… or maybe I'm more of a thigh guy?' he thought, as he began explaining his request to Enmu.
Meanwhile, someone else had an opinion on Doma's preferences based on their observations.
Unfortunately for Doma, the sect's head of security disagreed with him.
'You say that, but Kaguya-sama doesn't exactly scream MILF, and I've also noticed your glances at Yuruzu-san's petite frame. Of course, there's also Kikyo-san's case… You've left that poor woman hanging for years when she's the very definition of a perfect MILF!'
Unbeknownst to the duo, Doma's bodyguard was mentally ranking and comparing the women within the Eternal Paradise Faith cult.
He even mistook Doma's interest in Yuruzu for something inappropriate, when Doma was actually pondering whether she might be the ancestor of a fictional character from a romance manga.
That day, Doma's noble image took a hit in Taiga's eyes.
***
Author's note: I will post a bonus if we reach 1,500 stones! So I'm counting on you.