"Koharu, you really don't have any other names?"
Shuya asked the returning girl, hope still flickering in his voice.
Koharu scratched her head.
This was the third time he'd asked, but she didn't look annoyed at all. She answered with her usual bright energy.
"Guest big brother, I already told you three times. I'm just Koharu. No other names."
"Alright then…"
Shuya's hopeful heart finally gave up.
He stopped pushing and turned his attention to the girls Koharu had brought with her.
Two looked about her age. The other two were noticeably younger, a full head shorter. Even so, since Kyogoku House had picked them to train as future courtesans, their looks were naturally good.
Their faces hadn't fully matured yet, but it was easy to see they were all going to be beauties, just like Koharu.
They seemed a little shy and reserved compared to her outgoing personality.
Shuya didn't mind. He looked at Koharu and asked, "So only they were willing to leave?"
"Mm."
Koharu nodded and explained, "They're my best friends. As for the other big sisters… some didn't believe me, and some didn't want to leave."
"It's fine."
Shuya gently ruffled her hair to reassure her, then turned to the madam.
"Madam, just these ones. Is what I gave you earlier enough to buy their freedom?"
"More than enough."
The madam nodded quickly.
She felt relieved looking at the few little girls behind Koharu.
Thank god only these unimportant ones wanted to go with them.
If everyone had run off, how would Kyogoku House even stay open?
The madam paused, then said seriously, "From now on, they belong to you. I hope you'll treat them well, sir."
"I will."
Shuya's expression turned sincere.
He didn't think of himself as a good person.
But he didn't think he was a bad one either.
Even if his main reason for taking these girls was to add some life to Greed Island, he had no intention of mistreating them.
The madam had lived over forty years and seen every kind of man at Kyogoku House.
She couldn't always tell if someone was truly good, but she could usually sense whether they were lying.
After hearing Shuya's words, she felt at ease about the girls' futures.
After giving Koharu and the others a few final instructions, she turned and left to prepare for the evening's business.
Once she was gone, Shuya manifested the Equivalent Exchange parchment for Daki, Kohong, and the others.
None of them objected. They quickly made the trade and handed their ownership over to him.
Shuya looked at the girls and couldn't help but think—
Kanae would probably be really happy when he brought them back.
After all, she loved collecting little sisters.
And among them was Daki, Upper Rank Six herself.
Kanae had even wanted to live in peace with demons right before she died.
"Alright, let's go in."
Once the deals were done, Shuya waved his hand.
A glowing portal formed in the air—the Crossing Gate to Greed Island.
He walked through with Daki still on his back.
Kohong, Koharu, and the others exchanged glances, then followed.
When they stepped through, Shuya was already waiting on the other side.
He spread his arms wide and announced dramatically, "Welcome to my world—Greed Island!"
"So cool!!"
Koharu's eyes sparkled as she exclaimed from the heart.
"I knew it! Guest big brother heard my prayers and came to save me. So this must be your divine kingdom, right?"
Even Kohong, who was a bit older, was shocked.
She'd thought Shuya just had some special abilities.
She never expected he actually had… this much power?
A whole small world that felt like a god's domain.
In a country that believed in eight million gods, someone like Shuya could definitely be called a god.
After snapping out of it, Kohong quickly turned to little Koharu.
"Koharu, now that we belong to Shuya, you can't keep calling him 'guest big brother.' It's too rude."
"It's fine."
Shuya waved it off casually.
"If you want, you can call me big brother too. There aren't many rules here."
"R-Really? Is that okay?"
Kohong pressed her lips together, a hint of hesitation on her face.
After all her training at Kyogoku House, the idea of hierarchy had been drilled deep into her.
Someone as casual about status as Shuya was completely new to her.
She felt even more grateful that the person who saved her was him.
Shuya confirmed, "Of course."
"Then… b-big brother…"
Kohong's face turned red and she couldn't meet his eyes. Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.
Little Koharu immediately teased, "Eww~ Big sister Kohong is blushing!"
"Koharu!!"
Kohong stomped her foot, the blush exploding down her neck.
"Big sister Kohong's gonna hit someone! Run for it!"
After bullying Kohong, little Koharu grabbed her friends and disappeared in a flash.
Thanks to her training, Kohong still tried to keep some elegance and didn't chase right away.
Besides…
She glanced at Shuya and figured she should explain first.
"Shuya sir, don't listen to Koharu's nonsense. I—"
Shuya said softly, "Just call me big brother."
"This—"
"Hm?"
Shuya gave a light hum, looking at her calmly.
Kohong felt like she was sitting on needles. She opened her mouth and the words came out on their own.
"B-Big brother…"
Shuya nodded, satisfied.
"I'm going to find Koharu and the others."
With that, Kohong lifted the hem of her kimono slightly and hurried after them.
Shuya called out, "Be careful. Don't trip."
But Kohong's foot caught and she almost fell.
Shuya just shook his head.
Then he turned to Daki still on his back.
"Daki, you can get down now."
Daki answered stubbornly, "No!"
"You sure?" Shuya said. "I'm about to walk out into the sunlight."
Daki's whole body jolted. She scrambled off his back immediately.
She still didn't want to die.
But once she was down, she looked at him with clear displeasure.
Shuya just smiled.
He took her hand and started pulling her toward the sunlight.
Daki panicked. "Don't!"
If sunlight touched her, even a demon's regeneration couldn't fix it.
Even a little bit.
If she didn't die, her skin would be burned and ugly beyond repair.
That was unacceptable.
She struggled hard against his grip but couldn't break free. She looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
The plum blossom pattern appeared on her face again.
Her nails lengthened and sharpened on instinct.
She was ready to attack.
The next second, her hand entered the sunlight.
"Ah!!"
Daki let out an instinctive shriek.
But the burning pain she expected never came.
Instead, her hand felt pleasantly warm—warmer than sitting by a fire on a cold day.
It was sunlight!!
"What's going on?"
Daki opened and closed her fingers, curiously pulling her hand in and out of the light.
Then she looked at Shuya in shock.
Shuya just smiled and didn't answer.
Miss Tamayo hadn't finished the longevity drug yet, and the Blue Spider Lily wasn't blooming.
He couldn't remove Daki's sunlight weakness yet.
But this was his Greed Island.
Now that Daki belonged to him, how could the island hurt her?
Since Shuya didn't answer, Daki didn't push.
After centuries without sunlight, feeling its warmth again…
She quickly lost herself in it.
In that moment, Daki looked like the pure, innocent girl she had been as a human.
She kicked off her geta and ran barefoot through the sunlight, laughing freely.
With her silver-white hair flowing, she danced joyfully under the sun.
Her skin, now flushed and healthy-looking, glowed beautifully in the light.
She looked like a pure white spirit dancing gracefully.
It was breathtaking.
For a second, even Shuya almost forgot she had once been a demon.
Maybe calling her Daki didn't fit anymore.
Right now, standing before him, she should be called the reborn Mei.
Before Daki had started running around, little Koharu and the others had already bumped into another beautiful woman on Greed Island—Kanae Kocho.
"Oh my, so many cute little sisters!"
Seeing so many adorable little girls appear at once made Kanae's sister-con heart catch fire.
She waved at them with a slightly unhinged smile.
"Come here~ Tell big sister your names."
"Guest big brother?"
Little Koharu looked nervous and turned to Shuya, who was walking over with Mei.
Shuya said gently, "Don't worry. She's not a bad person. Just call her big sister Kanae."
"——Big sister Kanae~"
Koharu hesitated for a second, then sweetly called out.
The other little girls saw her do it and followed along, each saying "big sister" and introducing themselves.
"So good~ Big sister will give you candy."
Kanae patted each of their heads, then pulled out a handful of candy and passed it around.
Even before the candy reached their mouths, the girls' voices got even sweeter.
"Thank you, big sister Kanae!"
"So good."
Kanae's eyes curved happily.
"By the way, Kanae, what are you doing here?"
Kanae sighed. "I accidentally made little Shinobu mad, so I'm hiding here to avoid her. Please don't tell her I'm here."
"You made Shinobu mad?"
Shuya was even more curious now.
He was pretty sure he'd been with Shinobu last night.
So how had Kanae managed to get bullied by Shinobu and then make her angry in return?
"Shuya, you're bad~"
Kanae didn't want to answer. She poked his cheek with her finger.
Then she looked at him with a resentful expression.
"You knew Shinobu and I share sensations and you didn't tell me. Last night you even teamed up with her to bully me."
"Uh—"
Shuya had no comeback.
Kanae perked up and suggested, "Let's team up tonight and bully little Shinobu back, okay?"
"Again? You really don't value your life."
"Who told Shinobu to—"
Kanae puffed her cheeks, looking indignant.
Then she seemed to remember something and quickly changed the subject.
"Never mind, forget it. What about you?
Weren't you supposed to be helping Shinobu with a Demon Slayer Corps mission? Why are you back already?"
Shuya pointed at Mei not far away. "There. Upper Rank Six. I brought her back."
"What? That girl is Upper Rank Six?"
Kanae's eyes went wide as she looked toward Mei.
The former demon was standing a little apart at first, looking disdainful about playing with the little girls.
But she was already starting to join in despite herself.
Kanae was shocked not just by Mei's identity as a demon.
But that Shuya had actually brought her into Greed Island.
As one of his contractors, she understood exactly what that meant.
Kanae couldn't help asking, "Can humans and demons really live in peace?"
Shuya shook his head.
Humans and demons might be able to coexist peacefully one day.
But demons and humans living together peacefully? That was a lot less likely.
In terms of setting, the demons in Demon Slayer were a lot like the ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul.
Both found human food disgusting. Even if they forced it down, they'd throw it up soon after.
At least ghouls could drink coffee.
Demons could only eat human flesh.
Just like how most humans felt sympathy when watching livestock get slaughtered, but when they were starving enough, they'd be willing to eat even the pet they raised from a baby.
Under those conditions, even the ghouls who could live peacefully with humans were extremely rare.
Demons were even less likely.
Besides, even if Miss Tamayo's drug that let demons eat normal food became widespread…
Honestly, demons still probably couldn't live in peace with humans.
Because humans weren't just food—they were also materials that could make demons stronger.
Kanae looked confused. "Then what about this girl?"
"She's special."
Shuya gave a casual answer.
At the same time, elsewhere.
A man in a white suit with an elegant air sat in a chair. One hand rested on the armrest while the other held a wine glass.
He gently swirled the glass. The bright red liquid clung to the sides.
—
Vivid and striking, just like fresh blood.
The man looked like a legendary elegant vampire noble.
He slowly raised his arm, about to bring the glass to his lips.
Crack.
Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he crushed the wine glass.
Glass shards fell to the floor.
The bright red liquid splashed and stained his hand.
If anyone else had been there, they would've realized—the moment the vivid liquid splattered, a thick, metallic scent of blood filled the air.
That wasn't wine.
It was blood. Human blood.
And this seemingly elegant man was none other than the Demon King whom the Demon Slayer Corps had been hunting for a thousand years—Muzan Kibutsuji.
"Upper Rank Six… has lost contact!!"
Muzan's pupils shrank. His body trembled uncontrollably.
This was the first Upper Rank to disappear without going through a Blood Battle since that man died.
The sudden change left him unable to stay calm.
After a while, Muzan lightly tapped the armrest, making a steady knocking sound.
Then he spoke to the empty air.
"Nakime. Summon all the Twelve Kizuki. Tell them to come see me."
Clang!
The only response was the clear sound of a biwa.