Butterfly Mansion.
Nezuko watched her little sister Hanako, who had quickly become friends with the mansion's three little girls and was now playing with them like she belonged there.
A faint smile appeared on Nezuko's face.
Then, as if remembering something, she turned her gaze to the window and stared blankly at the setting sun on the horizon.
Not long ago, after some discussion, the Demon Slayer Corps had made the following arrangements for the Kamado family.
Tanjiro and Takeo were sent to Mount Fujikasane to learn Water Breathing from the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki.
Meanwhile, Nezuko and Hanako were sent to Shinobu's Butterfly Mansion.
As for their mother Kie and the other two Kamado children who had been turned into demons, they were also brought to the mansion—but not inside it. For safety reasons, they were isolated in a nearby area surrounded by wisteria flowers.
The Butterfly Mansion served as the Demon Slayer Corps' medical and logistical support facility.
Because it treated injured Corps members, there were usually quite a few swordsmen staying there.
Besides Shinobu—the only female Hashira—who stayed at the mansion when she wasn't on missions, the outer grounds were planted with wisteria flowers that had a toxic effect on demons, just like the Final Selection site on Mount Fujikasane.
In terms of safety, the Butterfly Mansion was arguably even more secure than Corps headquarters.
"Big sister~"
At that moment, Hanako suddenly abandoned the three little girls she had been playing with and threw herself into Nezuko's arms. In a surprisingly mature tone for her age, she asked, "Big sister, were you thinking about Shuya-oniichan just now?"
"No, I was just——"
Faced with her little sister's sudden question, Nezuko blurted out.
Hanako put her hands on her hips and declared proudly, "Then don't compete with me! When I grow up, I'm going to marry Shuya-oniichan and be his wife————"
"You can't!" Nezuko instinctively protested.
"Hehe."
Seeing Nezuko's reaction, Hanako let out a mischievous giggle and teased, "Big sister, you said you weren't thinking about Shuya-oniichan?"
"You little brat! You've learned to be naughty, huh? How dare you tease your big sister!"
Nezuko finally caught on.
She had been tricked by her own little sister.
Her authority as the older sibling had been seriously challenged. Was she just going to let that slide?
Nezuko reached out toward Hanako, ready to grab the cheeky little troublemaker.
"Ah! Big sister's mad! Run, run!"
Hanako quickly realized the danger and tried to escape.
But it was too late. The moment she thought about running, she was already caught in Nezuko's clutches.
Nezuko grabbed her little sister—who had tried to flee after teasing her—and placed both hands on Hanako's waist, launching into a merciless tickle attack.
Today, she was going to teach this bratty little sister exactly who was still the boss.
Hanako squirmed in Nezuko's arms while begging for mercy. "Hahaha, stop! Haha, no more tickling! Big sister, I—I was wrong! I won't do it again—I swear————"
"Look, look. Hanako's so lame. She actually let her own big sister bully her like that."
The three little girls, who had spent the whole afternoon playing with Hanako and had already become close with her, showed zero mercy as they piled on.
Just then, someone shouted, "Lady Shinobu is back!"
At the Butterfly Mansion, the three little girls were undoubtedly the resident little tyrants—the mini demons.
Even Aoi Kanzaki, the strict head caretaker of the mansion, sometimes got headaches from their antics and had no way to control them.
Except for Shinobu.
Even back when Kanae Kocho was still alive, Shinobu's fiery temper had kept the three girls firmly in line.
After Kanae's death, although Shinobu seemed like she never got angry anymore, that version of her was somehow even scarier in their eyes.
On normal days, they would rather risk annoying Aoi—the strict head caretaker—than cause trouble in front of Shinobu.
So the moment they heard Shinobu had returned, the three girls exchanged a quick glance and scattered in different directions like a flock of birds.
When Nezuko heard that Shinobu was back, her first thought was of Shuya, who had come with her.
She immediately let go of the squirming Hanako and headed for the door.
"Phew~"
Hanako let out a long breath of relief, her face full of gratitude. "I finally survived."
Then she glanced in the direction Nezuko had gone, hesitated for a second, and followed after her.
"Shuya-oniichan!"
The moment Nezuko ran outside and spotted Shuya, she rushed straight into his arms.
At that moment, the serious expression on Shinobu's face hadn't completely faded yet.
But because of Nezuko's sudden arrival, they had no choice but to pause their conversation for now.
Shinobu once again put on the fake smile she had copied from her sister Kanae and asked Nezuko in a light, cheerful tone, "Nezuko, have you gotten used to staying at the Butterfly Mansion today?"
"Mm."
Even though her instincts told her something felt a little off about Shinobu right now, Nezuko didn't think too deeply about it. She simply nodded and answered, "Everyone here has been really nice, and Hanako already made friends with Kiyo and the others."
"Is that so? That's wonderful."
Shinobu clasped her hands together and leaned forward slightly. The happiness in her purple eyes for Nezuko was crystal clear.
She then turned her gaze to Shuya and said, "We'll leave it at that for now. After dinner, I'll have Aoi give you a proper tour of the mansion where my sister used to live."
"You can also look around on your own, as long as you don't disturb the injured Corps members staying here."
With that, she didn't wait for Shuya's reply. She simply left behind a faint trail of fragrance and fled like she was escaping.
After Shinobu left, the three little girls and Hanako immediately popped out from their hiding spots.
One of them looked at Shuya and asked, "Are you the Shuya-oniichan that Nezuko-neesan likes?"
"What are you saying?! There's no such thing!"
Nezuko panicked.
She immediately let go of Shuya and rushed forward to try and cover the three girls' mouths.
But two hands were no match for three mouths.
The three girls teased again in unison, "Ooh~ Nezuko-neesan's blushing!"
"You—you guys————"
A bright red flush spread from Nezuko's cheeks all the way to her ears.
She secretly glanced at Shuya, trying to see what his reaction would be.
"You three are Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho, right?" Shuya asked with a smile as he looked at the three girls with their big round eyes.
The three girls asked curiously, "Big brother, you know us?"
"Of course. Shinobu told me a lot about the Butterfly Mansion on the way here."
Shuya combined what he already knew from the anime with what he had just heard from Kanae earlier and said, "She also said you three are very hardworking."
"Really?"
The three girls looked at Shuya with sparkling eyes full of surprise.
"Really. Here—this is your reward for helping Shinobu with her work." Shuya reached into his pocket and pulled out several wrapped candies, placing them in the girls' hands.
"Candy!"
The three girls were overjoyed. They thanked Shuya enthusiastically. "Thank you, big brother!"
They quickly unwrapped the candies and popped the delicious sweets into their mouths, savoring them.
"Here, Nezuko and Hanako—these are for you too."
Shuya then handed some candy to Nezuko and Hanako as well.
In this era, sugar was still considered a luxury item. Even though the three little girls lived at the Butterfly Mansion with Shinobu—who wasn't exactly short on money—they rarely got to eat candy.
As for Nezuko and Hanako, who came from a poor family, it went without saying.
"So sweet."
The moment the candy hit their tongues, a burst of sweetness exploded across their taste buds.
While chewing, the three girls chattered excitedly, "Big brother, it would be so nice if you could marry big sister Shinobu!"
"That way we could eat delicious candy like this every single day!"
"Yeah, yeah! But big sister Shinobu can be kind of scary sometimes. Even when she's smiling, she still feels kinda fierce."
"Maybe big brother should just marry our mansion's strict head caretaker, Aoi Kanzaki, instead?"
"Besides the fact that she wets the bed, Aoi is actually a pretty good person————"
"You three! What nonsense are you spouting?!!!!!"
A thunderous voice suddenly rang out from the distance. Just from the volume alone, anyone could tell how embarrassed and furious the speaker was.