Kamiya Kawayuki settled down in Tamayo's laboratory.
Besides cooperating with Tamayo's daily routine of physical examinations and energy stabilization treatments, she proactively took on the vast majority of chores.
Surprisingly, this former Upper Moon Two was exceptionally skilled and focused when performing these trivial tasks.
In the early morning, Mr. Cheng Mo would finish a night of cultivation or research.
When he stepped out of his quiet room, he would always see a neatly folded set of clean clothes placed at the entrance.
Next to it was a basin of water at just the right temperature.
On the small table in the dining room, a carefully prepared and delicious breakfast was already laid out.
Sometimes it was hot porridge with rice grains bloomed open, accompanied by a few side dishes; other times, it was perfectly pan-fried fish and rice.
It was always subtly adjusted according to his consumption and physical condition from the previous day.
What surprised Mr. Cheng Mo even more was Kamiya Kawayuki's exceptional talent for data recording and document organization.
The complex record books on Tamayo's experimental bench were categorized by her using different colored labels and incredibly neat handwriting.
The indexing was clear, and retrieval efficiency was greatly increased.
Even Mr. Cheng Mo's occasional rough drafts of research ideas would be carefully collected by her, flattened of wrinkles, and organized by date and subject.
All of this left Himura Ruri, who originally handled these tasks, wide-eyed with astonishment.
She stood in the corner, clutching her notebook, watching Kawayuki smoothly handle everything, her eyes filled with admiration, but also a hint of aimless bewilderment.
She felt completely idle; even when she wanted to pour Mr. Cheng Mo a cup of tea, she would find the teacup was always full, and the temperature was always just right.
"Miss Kawayuki... is truly amazing."
Himura Ruri couldn't help but whisper to Yushiro, who was organizing the microscope.
Yushiro grunted, his hands still working.
His tone remained stiff: "Hmph, those are just chores. Lady Tamayo's research is the most important thing."
But the wariness and hostility in his gaze towards Kamiya Kawayuki seemed to have lessened considerably.
After all, Kamiya Kawayuki's arrival indeed allowed Tamayo to focus more on her experiments, and the entire laboratory's operation became much more orderly.
Mr. Cheng Mo quietly observed these changes.
Kamiya Kawayuki always moved silently and efficiently through the laboratory.
Seeing those hands that once wielded ice blades to take lives now steadily holding a tray or a pen, he felt a certain strangeness in his heart.
This girl did too much, and did it too well.
That meticulous attentiveness was almost beyond reproach, yet it subtly felt a little too heavy.
In the afternoon, when Kamiya Kawayuki handed him a summarized data abstract with both hands, Mr. Cheng Mo finally spoke: "You don't have to do all these trivial tasks."
The girl looked up, her ice-blue eyes calm and frank.
She showed no trace of grievance or flattery, only a pure, almost stubborn earnestness:
"This is the only thing I can do well right now. You have given me a new life, a grace as profound as rebirth. Please allow me to contribute my humble efforts in this way."
Her gaze was too clear and direct, which instead left Mr. Cheng Mo's "no need" stuck in his throat.
He silently took the document, saying nothing more.
He could feel that Kamiya Kawayuki genuinely regarded serving him, her "benefactor," as the meaning of her current existence and a way of atonement.
However, a question always lingered in Mr. Cheng Mo's mind.
He subtly activated the Eye of Truth, his gaze once again falling upon Kamiya Kawayuki.
In his vision, her soul's aura displayed a stable and pure ice-blue color.
It was like the water of a deep mountain lake, exuding a cool and serene aura.
And the emotional color emanating from this aura towards him was exceptionally clear.
It was unadulterated gratitude, deep reverence, and an almost imprinted, firm will to pledge loyalty.
There was no falseness, nor any wavering.
Mr. Cheng Mo frowned slightly, his inner confusion deepening.
Her loyalty was absolutely far beyond the threshold.
Whether from the intensity of the emotional link or the firmness of her will, it should have been enough.
Why was there no sign of the myriad realms compass's familiar contract function being triggered?
He gazed at the ice-blue aura, trying to find an answer.
Could it be... because her soul is in a special symbiotic state with her sister Hotaru, and thus not considered a "single, pure" soul?
So it doesn't meet the system's binding conditions?
Or is it that this loyalty, stemming from gratitude, is not the specific type of "bond" recognized by the system?
He immediately thought of Tamayo.
If Kamiya Kawayuki's situation prevented a contract... then even if he successfully persuaded Tamayo to cooperate or even pledge loyalty in the future, it would likely be impossible to transform her into an absolutely loyal familiar through the system's function.
This introduced a hint of uncertainty into his recruitment plan...
He preferred to keep his core strength under an absolutely reliable system contract, rather than relying entirely on human nature.
It seems this myriad realms compass's function still has hidden rules that he hasn't fully understood.
Just then, a dark shadow silently passed through the vent and landed on Mr. Cheng Mo's shoulder.
It was Black Feather.
It elegantly preened its feathers with its beak, and its low, magnetic voice directly entered Mr. Cheng Mo's mind.
"Master, intelligence compilation is complete. Through the Kasugai Crow information network circulating within the Demon Slayer Corps, combined with my own reconnaissance, it is confirmed that since the last Upper Moon Four was subjugated, the activity frequency of all demons has dropped to freezing point."
"The previously frequent 'demon devouring humans' incidents have almost completely disappeared, reports from various regions have significantly decreased, and most crucially..."
"Demons of the Twelve Kizuki level have completely vanished without a trace. There are no longer any sightings or activity reports, as if they never existed."
Black Feather's crow eyes gleamed.
"Kibutsuji Muzan has adopted the highest level of evasion strategy against you, one he used historically, just as he did with the swordsman who wielded Sun Breathing centuries ago."
"He fears you, fears the power and growth rate you possess that he cannot comprehend. He seeks to erase you over the longest possible time, waiting for you to... naturally perish, like all humans."
Mr. Cheng Mo listened quietly, with no expression of surprise on his face.
A moment later, a cold, barely a smile, curved his lips.
"Just as I wished."
He murmured, his tone devoid of any frustration, instead conveying a calm sense of everything being under control.
Muzan's extreme retreat had precisely given him what he needed most: time.
Tanjirou and Zenitsu needed time to grow, Kamiya Kawayuki needed time to recover, Lady Tamayo's research needed time to digest results and achieve breakthroughs.
Even he himself needed time to further temper his soul, explore the mysteries of the compass, and... prepare for the next crucial return to the real world.
In this chase between hunter and hunted, the initiative had quietly changed hands.
Now, it was his turn, possessing time, to hold the absolute advantage.
At this moment, the compass, which had been silent in Mr. Cheng Mo's mind for a long time, vibrated slightly, transmitting a cold stream of information.
"[Time remaining until forced departure from current plane: 71:59:59...]"