Surrounded by the patterned surroundings, Tamayo came to a stop and curled her lips into a faint smile.
"It's been a long time, Yuko."
Huh? So they know each other?
Tanjiro stared at the three figures in front of him in shock… three demons…
Hearing Tamayo greet Yuko with such gentleness, Yushiro—who usually wore a serious and rigid expression—completely broke character and exclaimed in disbelief:
"Lady Tamayo knows this woman?!"
"???" Yuko froze for a moment. If she remembered correctly, she had even boiled hot water for this guy before.
And he already forgot?
Thinking about it, that was actually normal. They had only met once, and more than a hundred years had passed. Besides, back then his eyes had been entirely filled with Tamayo—so forgetting her was only natural.
Yuko curled her lips into a smirk.
"I knew Lady Tamayo even earlier than you did."
"Hah?! What nonsense are you spouting, woman?!" Yushiro bristled. "Do you even know how old I am—"
"It's true," Tamayo said calmly.
Crack—
Yushiro instantly turned to stone.
She actually knew Lady Tamayo even earlier than he did?!
Ignoring him, Yuko suggested, "This isn't a place to talk. Let's leave first."
Tamayo gave a slight nod in agreement.
One human and three demons left the street.
"Ah! I forgot Nezuko!"
Only then did Tanjiro realize Nezuko had been left behind. Standing in the alley, Tamayo glanced at Tanjiro being scolded by the shop owner and said to Yuko:
"That boy was in real danger when he confronted Muzan just now."
Yuko chuckled. "Muzan doesn't have the guts to expose himself in public."
Tamayo smiled softly, agreeing with her.
When it came to understanding Muzan, if these two claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.
Yushiro stood behind them, biting the collar of his clothes in frustration, his face twisted with jealousy.
That woman… actually chatting and laughing with Lady Tamayo…
Sensing the dense resentment behind her, a drop of cold sweat slid down Yuko's temple.
This jealousy is way too strong.
"I'm sorry for the wait."
Having finally settled things with the shop owner, Tanjiro returned with Nezuko.
Yushiro shot them a hostile glare, especially at Nezuko beside him, and pointed at her sharply.
"What's going on? Isn't that woman a demon? And she's ugly on top of that!"
Yuko: "..."
Tanjiro was completely stunned.
Ugly?
Did he mean ugly as in… unattractive?
Who?
Nezuko?!!
"How could she be ugly?! Take a good look at that face!"
"Nezuko is recognized as a beauty where we come from!"
Yuko covered her face. It was hopeless—this guy only had eyes for Tamayo.
Tamayo covered her face as well. That child was usually so gentle—how could he say something so cruel?
The farce ended when Yushiro noticed Tamayo was present and quickly reined in his vicious attitude.
But Tanjiro, having received no satisfying answer, kept shouting about it the entire way.
"I get it now! It's that bamboo muzzle! It must be because of the muzzle! I hope you'll clearly see what Nezuko looks like after she takes it off!"
The two female demons who had lived for several hundred years both broke into a sweat and awkwardly passed through the wall.
So this is the place?
Seeing the grand mansion ahead, Yuko couldn't help but feel intensely envious.
So this is the kind of life Tamayo has been living all these years.
As expected, once you're on the payroll, life really does get better.
Yuko silently wept inside—compared to this, her own life had been practically worse than a dog's.
"Please, come in." Tamayo opened the door and smiled at Yuko, then added in explanation, "That child… he's not usually like that. It's probably because he hasn't spoken to strangers in so long—he's just not used to it."
Yuko's lips twitched slightly. "I'll just take your word for it."
Tamayo still referred to Yushiro as "that child" in her speech. Yuko couldn't help wondering whether Yushiro's one-sided love would ever succeed… no—
Perhaps Tamayo already sensed it, but simply couldn't cross that emotional barrier in her heart.
"It's been almost two hundred years since we last met," Tamayo said as she led Yuko into the room and took out tea cups from the refrigerator. "I never imagined we'd reunite under these circumstances."
"Please." Tamayo slid a cup toward Yuko.
The cup was filled to the brim with crimson blood, stirring the hunger in Yuko's stomach.
Yuko's throat bobbed slightly. She turned her head away.
"No, thank you."
Tamayo froze for a brief moment. "Yuko, could it be that you…"
Before she could finish, a voice rang out from the doorway:
"Listen carefully! Absolutely do not behave disrespectfully toward that lady!"
The anxious voice vanished as quickly as it had appeared. With a light cough, Yushiro knocked on the door.
"Come in."
His voice was now completely gentle. "I'm back."
"…Welcome back." Tamayo didn't quite dare to look at Yuko's expression.
It felt like showing her mischievous child in front of a close friend—there was an unmistakable sense of embarrassment.
Behind him, Tanjiro's nose twitched slightly.
The scent of blood.
His gaze landed on the tea cups in front of the two of them.
Noticing his glance, Tamayo proactively explained, "This may make you uncomfortable, but we purchase it from others under the pretense of blood transfusions. It does not harm their bodies."
At the same time, her eyes shifted to Yuko with a hint of inquiry.
This child… still doesn't know your identity?
As a companion of over a hundred years, how could Yuko fail to understand Tamayo's look?
She turned toward Tanjiro and introduced:
"This is Tamayo—my friend. She's an incredible doctor, and also an enemy of Kibutsuji Muzan."
"And this is Yushiro. He lives together with Tamayo. He's cold on the outside but warm on the inside."
"Hmph." Yushiro had been somewhat displeased at Yuko calling Tamayo by name directly, but upon hearing the latter half, he let out a soft snort, his stiff expression easing slightly.
Not bad, this woman.
Tanjiro lowered his head. "Nice to meet you."
Since they were Yuko's friends, he believed they couldn't be bad demons.
Besides, they truly didn't carry that intense foul stench.
With Tanjiro's doubts cleared, Yuko said, "By the way, Tamayo, there's something I came to ask for your help with."
"Hm?"
"Two years ago, I was at…" Yuko recounted what had happened to Yaehachi's father.
Listening from the side, Tanjiro was utterly shocked—he hadn't expected something like this to have happened.
Tamayo looked equally astonished. "Overcame Muzan's will with his own?"
"Could it be that he accidentally consumed—"
Yuko hesitated and shook her head. "That, I don't know."
That town was only separated from Tanjiro's area by a few mountains—indeed, not very far. As an old hunter, it was possible he had passed through.
Of course, physical constitution couldn't be ruled out either.
"So I wanted to ask you if there's any way to restore him to normal." From Yaehachi's messages, her father often regained clarity.
"Of course." Tamayo nodded gently. "Although he may not be able to fully return to being human, becoming like us is no problem."
Yuko finally let out a breath of relief. "Then I'll leave it to you. We shouldn't delay—let's go tomorrow night."
"Where is the patient?"
"With the Demon Slayer Corps."
...
The atmosphere froze for several seconds.
Yushiro immediately jumped to his feet. "You woman! So you really did come here to harm Lady Tamayo!"
---
Currently at chapter 393 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08