While Mizuki was discussing the next steps with Ubuyashiki, Kochou Shinobu arrived at Tamayo's laboratory.
Knock knock knock~
"Lady Tamayo, Young Miss Kochou has arrived." Yushiro's voice sounded from outside the door.
"Ah, please come in quickly."
Yushiro pulled open the door, and the scent of disinfectant wafted out. Kochou Shinobu showed a faint smile.
"Excuse me, Young Miss Tamayo."
"Young Miss Shinobu, please have a seat." Tamayo, wearing a white coat, took off her gloves and poured Kochou Shinobu a cup of tea.
"Thank you." Kochou Shinobu took a syringe out of her pocket. "This is the blood of Upper Rank Five."
A hint of surprise appeared in Tamayo's calm eyes. "Did Young Miss Shinobu encounter Upper Rank Five?"
Kochou Shinobu pursed her lips and chuckled softly. "I don't have that much capability."
Her self-awareness was quite accurate; dealing with the Lower Rank was certainly not stressful, but facing an Upper Rank, even with the Demon Slayer Mark activated, it would be difficult to say she could contend with them.
"Young Miss Shinobu is too humble." Tamayo felt that the girl was good in every way, just a little too lacking in self-confidence.
Kochou Shinobu smiled but did not reply.
Tamayo took the syringe from her hand, and her purple eyes seemed to hold a hint of starlight. "So, there are only three Upper Rank Demon Moons left?"
Kochou Shinobu nodded. "Mm."
Tamayo hadn't known much about the conflict between the Demon Slayer Corps and Muzan over the years, but she knew exactly what kind of monsters the Upper Rank Demon Moons among the Twelve Demon Moons were.
Sure enough, just as Mizuki had said.
Change had arrived.
Ever since Mizuki met Tanjirou, that strange child who inherited Sun Breathing, everything had changed.
In a short period, half of the Upper Rank Demon Moons possessed by Muzan had already been slain.
Tamayo's life in the Demon Slayer Corps during this time wasn't just good; it was unprecedentedly comfortable.
Previously, whenever she needed to find medicinal ingredients, Yushiro had to go out at night to procure them, and for some rarer herbs, she even had to go out herself late at night to search.
Since coming to the Demon Slayer Corps, anything she needed was provided by the Demon Slayer Corps.
To be honest, Tamayo never expected to receive such treatment.
Although Mizuki had repeatedly praised Ubuyashiki Kagaya's charisma when inviting her, given their identities, she had prepared herself to endure pressure after accepting Mizuki's invitation.
As it turned out, she felt Mizuki's praise was understated.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya didn't neglect any courtesy and actively helped them arrange everything, even commissioning the collection of the Twelve Demon Moons blood they needed.
Up until now, she had collected the blood of three Upper Ranks and multiple Lower Rank demons.
If anything unpleasant had happened during this period, it was probably a minor conflict that erupted between Yushiro and a scar-faced child who looked rather difficult to deal with.
That child seemed to have just fought one of the Twelve Demon Moons; his injuries hadn't healed, and he smelled very fragrant.
He was a rare child possessing Marechi Blood.
But the conflict between him and Yushiro was just a minor disagreement, not a real fight.
Yushiro had truly changed a lot during this time, and he no longer looked disgruntled when facing others like before.
She wondered what Mizuki had told Yushiro.
That fierce-looking child had come seeking her with Lower Rank blood; essentially, Yushiro was displeased with the child's attitude, which led to a small disagreement between them.
To Tamayo, that wasn't a big deal.
Tamayo put on gloves, extracted the blood, preserved it, and placed a few drops onto a microscope slide, observing it without paying attention to Kochou Shinobu.
She and Kochou Shinobu were already quite familiar, and Tamayo didn't mind her staying nearby.
Moreover, compared to just'staying there,' Kochou Shinobu's help to her was actually quite significant.
She could often follow Tamayo's train of thought and perform the assistant's work before Tamayo even spoke.
Although saying this was a bit unfair to Yushiro, this girl truly had more talent in the field of medicine.
Simply put, Yushiro was like an errand runner; although after centuries of being together, Yushiro knew how to help without being told.
But Kochou Shinobu could keep up with her ideas and understand what she needed to do, often making her more useful than Yushiro.
Although they called it researching the Twelve Demon Moons's blood, it was actually researching Muzan's cells.
Because the blood of the Twelve Demon Moons contained more of Muzan's blood—generally, the higher the rank of the demon, the higher the concentration of Muzan's cells in their body... Seeing Tamayo's research reach a temporary conclusion, Kochou Shinobu couldn't help but speak up: "Um... Young Miss Tamayo..."
Tamayo turned her head in confusion. "What is it?"
Kochou Shinobu cleared her throat and asked with slight hesitation, "I want to know, can all demons shrink and grow like Nezuko?"
Tamayo paused for a moment. Although she didn't understand the meaning behind the question, she thought about it and honestly replied:
"Under complete Demonization, an ordinary demon's body might undergo some changes, but they are mostly geared towards strengthening and increasing size."
"If you mean shrinking and growing freely like Nezuko, then naturally, not all demons can do that."
Kochou Shinobu asked, "Then, can Young Miss Tamayo do it?"
Yushiro, standing quietly nearby, had his expression shift repeatedly. How dare she say such an impolite thing to Lady Tamayo.
Yushiro was about to speak, but the image of Lady Tamayo shrinking involuntarily popped into his mind... Oh no, she's too cute, a nosebleed might be coming out.
Yushiro uncharacteristically refrained from scolding the other person for their rudeness, instead perking up his ears.
Cu... Curious... Want... to see... A trace of unusualness appeared on Tamayo's calm expression, and she replied somewhat unnaturally, "No... I cannot do that."
What exactly was this girl trying to ask, holding back her words?
A layer of pink flushed Kochou Shinobu's youthful face. "Then, can Mizuki do it?"
Ah, so she wanted to ask about Mizuki?
Tamayo suddenly realized.
But... is shrinking and growing an ability worth paying so much attention to?
Tamayo couldn't quite figure it out for a moment.
"About that... I have never seen her change her body size."
Thinking back now, she and Mizuki had spent a very long time together.
A period of mutual support.
At that time, she even had to go out to find the corpses of animals and humans to sustain herself, facing double apprehension from the Demon Slayer Corps and fierce demons. Her life wasn't rich; she was simply wandering everywhere.
The first time she met Mizuki, she thought she was going to be decapitated.
After meeting Mizuki, relying on Mizuki's ability to go out during the day and the money they saved from robbing the rich to help the poor, they gradually established themselves in a town.
Speaking of body changes, when Mizuki underwent Demonization, she only grew two twenty-centimeter horns on her head, making her look taller, but she was actually still 1.7 meters tall.
Although that height was already impressive.
She was definitely leading the way among their group of women.
"...She can't?" A trace of regret flashed in Kochou Shinobu's eyes.
"As expected, she can't." Yushiro also sighed inwardly.
Seeing her reaction, Tamayo couldn't help but ask, "Is this ability important?"
"Does Young Miss Shinobu have some idea?"
Based on her understanding of Kochou Shinobu, the other party might have come up with a good idea.
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