A week had passed since their first encounter.
"When will you leave?" Muzan asked.
Tamayo hesitated. "I… don't know. Even if I leave, I don't really have anywhere to go."
"I see," Muzan replied. "Then you can stay here as long as you want. This fortress isn't very big, but you can continue using the room you're currently using."
Tamayo nodded in respond. She quietly walked away to her room. Muzan noticed she seemed upset but couldn't understand why. After all, he'd just given her permission to stay.
Later on...
Tamayo had finished cooking dinner.
"Kibutsuji-san," she said, offering a plate. "Try this."
Muzan looked at the food. "Hm? What's this?"
"A dish I made for you," she answered softly.
"I already told you not to cook for me," Muzan said with a frown.
"But… I just wanted you to try my cooking," Tamayo replied. A single tear welled in her eye.
Muzan sighed. "Fine."
Tamayo brightened instantly. "Yay!"
The food looked like steak, though it appeared slightly raw. Muzan took the chopsticks and elegantly placed a piece in his mouth, and paused.
"What?" Tamayo asked nervously. "Does it taste good?"
"Of course," Muzan answered calmly, for the first time after becoming a demon, he actually managed to taste a good flavor.
He continued eating until the plate was empty. "That was good. The last time I had food this tasty was back in my human days."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Tamayo said with a smile. She looked genuinely happy—happy that she could finally do something for the man who had fed her and given her shelter.
"Thanks for the food," Muzan said.
"No problem."
A few minutes later, Tamayo was washing the dishes.
Meanwhile at midnight, Muzan climbed to the top of the fortress. He gazed at the beautiful moon, humming a soft tune to himself.
"Fly me to the moon…"
Inside the tower, Tamayo sat by the window, writing something down. Her pen stopped moving when she heard the quiet voice from above. She opened the window and listened.
The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, Tamayo walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast—only to be met with a surprising sight.
Muzan was already cooking, wearing an apron.
Tamayo blushed. Kibutsuji-san is truly beautiful. If he were a woman… he might be more beautiful than me.
"You cooked for me yesterday," Muzan said without looking at her. "It's only fair I cook for you today."
He moved with precision and ease. Cooking didn't seem difficult for him—he had watched plenty of recipes online in his past life and he even learned how to make things like butter and cheese from scratch.
Tamayo sat down. "What are you making?"
"Steak," Muzan replied. "Here. Try this."
She took a bite and immediately lit up. "Delicious! It's tender, flavorful, juicy… Ahhhh! Please teach me how to cook like this!"
"Eh?" Muzan raised a brow.
"Please be my sensei!" she said, stars sparkling in her eyes.
Muzan sighed. "Fine…"
"Ah—anyway, Kibutsuji-san," Tamayo added, glancing around, "could you please reconstruct this place?"
"Eh?"
"Although It seemed you maintained the fortress well to avoid it from falling, It's so dirty. It's not fit for someone from a high-class family like you. Didn't your family teach you etiquette but forget to teach you how to clean?"
Muzan froze from the embarrassment.
"Don't worry," Tamayo said cheerfully. "Since I'm here, I'll help you rebuild your domain, Kibutsuji-sama."
Muzan sighed again, "Oh… okay. Let's do it now," and instantly appeared outside the fortress while holding Tamayo.
He snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the fortress collapsed into countless bits.
Tamayo was stunned speechless. But before she could recover, a brand-new fortress rose in its place—far more elegant and functional than before. Muzan now had full control over everything inside it.
"Woah… Beautiful," Tamayo whispered.
"Yeah," Muzan said proudly. "It's my ten-second masterpiece."
"As expected from the one who defeated the Demon Progenitor."
"Stop," Muzan said, his expression shifting.
"Why?" she asked.
"I told you—I barely won. I don't even know how many people he devoured over the last two hundred years. Remember, I never ate a human. That means my strength will always fall behind his. Even if I've mastered my abilities, I'm not confident I could defeat him again."
Tamayo saw the heaviness in his eyes and instantly regretted her words.
"I'm sorry… Muzan."
"Oh?" Muzan smirked. "You finally used my first name. Let's go. To my... our new home."
He walked toward the new fortress, and Tamayo followed.
When she stepped inside, Tamayo blinked in surprise. The interior resembled a cozy, modern home. Beautiful, clean, and warm.
"Eh? Kibutsuji-san, why does this fortress look like a house now? And why is it so beautiful?"
"It's just an illusion," Muzan explained. "The fortress you saw outside was only a visual trick. The door we passed through was a portal into my actual home. You could say we're in a pocket dimension."
"How is that even possible?" she asked, amazed.
"One of my abilities."
Tamayo's curiosity kept bubbling. "But… this wall… and the materials… it feels different. What did you use to build all this?"
"It's called concrete," Muzan said. "To avoid more questions—come here."
She hurried to his side.
"See the future for yourself."
In a flash, Tamayo saw an image—Japan, 630 years in the future. The buildings, technology, and beauty of the country stunned her. There were no demons. It was peaceful.
Tears flowed from her eyes. "Wh-What… Did you just let me see the future?"
"Yes," Muzan replied.
It was a lie, he thought to himself. But he didn't expect for her to be this emotional.
"A world without demons…" Tamayo whispered.
She only saw my memories of Japan in my past life. That's why she didn't see any demons.
She cried quietly, then began to open up.
"I'm sorry, Kibutsuji-san. I lied. I'm not from the village at the foot of this mountain. I've been traveling… searching for something I could call home and the possibility of finding the Progenitor of Demons and kill him myself. My parents were killed by a demon. They told me to run to survive—and I left them behind…
I regreted it, and I know that I'll never find the demon that harmed my family. I tried to extract my revenge by becoming a demon slayer. But I've learned that I don't have the talent to become one. That's why I searched for many things on how to kill demons without becoming a demon slayer. Like finding more weaknesses of demons aside from the sun, and accidentally learned about the history of demons, starting from the fallen Kibutsuji family..."
Tears streamed down her face. Muzan gently wiped them away.
"I already knew," he said softly. "I once visited the village you mentioned. The locals told me that after their ancestors climb the mountaintop and heard a strange voice warning them. They never returned there. Since it was winter at the time, they had no choice but to settle at the foot of the mountain. Their ancestors originally planned to relocate once winter passed, but they ended up settling there permanently, and their descendants have lived there for hundreds of years. I also heard about their ancestors' descent from the mountain during that winter—many died from avalanches, hypothermia, frostbite and more..."
Muzan's voice trembled.
"People died because of me."
And for the first time in over five hundred years, Muzan cried out of guilt.
Tamayo reached out and gently wiped his tears. Neither of them spoke for a while. Both
carried guilt.
They simply cried together.