After tidying his clothes, Hiru emerged with his head lowered. His gaze toward Yoriichi and the others carried a distinct air of resentment, but in the end, he only muttered a few words before returning to his room.
Meanwhile, Yoriichi and the others stood together, discussing something.
...
The next day.
"Now that things have settled here, Mr. Yoriichi, I'll be resuming my journey. I need to slay as many demons as I can and find out where that man is," Oborozuki said, then turned to Yato. "Mr. Yato, please rest and recover before setting out again. Your condition is still concerning."
"Enough already! I'm perfectly fine!" Yato turned his head away. "I'm only staying because I promised to help Mr. Yoriichi build that wooden box!"
"Right, right..." Oborozuki sighed, glancing toward the morning sun rising outside. "Then, I'll be taking my leave."
As Oborozuki's figure faded into the distance, Yato's expression grew dark.
"It's revolting... Every time I think about how disgusting demons still exist under such a beautiful sunrise, I just want to drag them all out to burn in the sun."
"I'm sorry..."
"Huh?" Yato looked at Yoriichi, expression awkward. "Mr. Yoriichi, you don't need to apologize. I despise demons, not swordsmen like you who fight to protect people—of course, the damned demons I hate don't include ones like Mr. Hiru, who can restrain themselves.
Er... anyway, about that box, let's go chop down some trees first. After cutting, we still have to dry and polish the wood... there's a lot of tedious work to do."
"Alright. Thank you."
"No need for thanks. In a sense, it's part of my old trade."
"Mr. Yato, you were a carpenter?"
"Yeah. Before Keiko died, I never imagined I'd ever hold a blade other than a plane—and end up as a butcher." Yato lowered his head. "...This damned world."
Yoriichi simply stroked the flute in his chest and remained silent.
He hated this world too.
...
A week later, Yato helped Yoriichi finish the box, then took his leave, setting off again on his journey to hunt and slay demons.
Yoriichi went to the local office to report his departure and planned to sell the house—since, barring the unexpected, they wouldn't be coming back.
After practicing shrinking and growing his body repeatedly, Hiru had Yoriichi buy doll clothes for him—since he rarely fought anymore, it was better to stay as a trinket than to risk his pants falling down each time he appeared.
Before leaving, Hiru didn't forget to use his Blood Demon Art to turn the demon imprisoned in the basement into a small stone. What surprised him was that, unlike before—when several demons were needed to produce a single gem the size of a grain—this time, one demon alone was enough.
And unlike the previous black gems, this one was a deep jade-green, beautifully translucent, and even glowed faintly in the dark—it was stunning to look at.
"So beautiful..."
The doll-sized Hiru held the new green gem in his small hands, watching the hazy light refracted through it. "Who would've thought something so grotesque could end up as something this beautiful?"
"If I remember correctly, that demon was one I captured—a Blood Demon Art user." Yoriichi folded Hiru's paintings neatly and tucked them into the hidden compartment of the box. "If you like them, then from now on, we can focus on those demons."
"Really?!" Hiru's small feet pattered as he ran across the table. "I can't wait to collect enough stones to make paint! Stones this vivid would create the most amazing pigments!
Heavens, I haven't felt this excited about anything since becoming a demon!"
Yoriichi raised his hand and gauged the size thoughtfully. "You're only as big as my arm now. That stone should make enough paint for you to use, shouldn't it?"
Hiru blinked, then nodded. "I guess so... but just black and green feels too plain. Brother, you still have some leftover scraps from making the box, right?"
"Mhm."
"Then give me some! I'll make myself a small set of painting tools. After all, I won't have much else to do inside the box..." Hiru glanced around the room and muttered to himself, "Too bad I can't bring my lab equipment... tsk, that stuff cost me a fortune."
Yoriichi chuckled. "How about I bring you a few sets of adult clothes instead? One for winter and one for summer?"
"Do whatever you think is best, Brother. I can't feel hot or cold anymore anyway."
Worried the stones might fuse, Hiru carefully separated the new jade-green stone from the black ones, placing them in different pouches. Then he climbed into the box, now packed with clothes.
"Besides, the pants issue still isn't solved... I've never hated being tall this much before."
"Mr. Yato's box really came in handy..." Yoriichi marveled at the compact box that could hold four adult outfits while still leaving space for the doll-sized Hiru to move around, even with compartments for small items. "How about we set out tomorrow?"
"Sure! Then let's stay in tonight. It's a little difficult, but I kind of want to try sleeping!" Hiru sat on Yoriichi's thick winter coat, swinging his legs. "Brother, sleep with me upstairs tonight!"
"Alright." Yoriichi's eyes softened as he reached out to gently tap Hiru's head. "I'll go bring up the bedding."
As Yoriichi disappeared down the stairs, Hiru sighed. If only he had found a way to delay those demons back then... he wouldn't have had to take the potion that turned himself into a demon, and his brother wouldn't have been burdened because of him.
Wait—potion?
Hiru froze for a second, eyes widening. He jumped off the table. "Yoriichi-nii!"
"What is it?" Yoriichi looked up from the staircase as Hiru stopped abruptly in the shadows halfway down, confusion flickering in his expression. "Do you need me to buy more doll clothes?"
"No, not that!" Hiru looked excited. "Come to think of it, there was no need for you to kill me at all!"
Yoriichi paused, his hand tightening around the scabbard as his eyes lowered slightly. His tone remained calm. "Are you saying being a demon isn't so bad after all?"
"Being a demon has its advantages, sure, but that's not what I meant!" Hiru's eyes sparkled. "I became a demon because I took a potion! If I took another potion—the right kind—I could turn back into a human!
Before, I needed help from demon slayers to capture demons for my experiments. But now, with you, Brother, if you help me catch enough demons and I have enough time to study, I can absolutely become human again!"
"...Turn back?" Yoriichi's grip on his sword loosened, his expression softening in disbelief. "Is that really possible?"
"Every cause has an effect. If a potion could make me a demon, another potion could turn me back!
Becoming a demon was an accident—but I'm actually pretty talented outside of combat!
Besides, it's worth trying. I've got nothing to lose!
Of course, I'll need a lot of demons for my experiments. That's where I'll need your help. Not to mention, I'm still not very skilled at using Blood Demon Arts. Every time I use it, I get unbearably hungry—so much that I can barely stay rational, let alone think straight."
Hiru sighed again. "So in the end, demons really do trade their minds for power. For someone as smart as me, becoming one was a terrible deal!"
"Pfft—pfft—hahaha, hahahahaha!"
"Huh? What's so funny, Brother? I'm serious!"
"Nothing." Yoriichi wiped tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes with his thumb. Looking at his doll-sized brother, he couldn't help but reach out and take his tiny hand.
"I just think... if we really can make it work, that would be wonderful."