"Miss Tamayo, please wait a moment."
"I have no issue with helping you collect the blood of the Twelve Kizuki," she replied softly.
"Even if you hadn't asked, I would've encountered them eventually—so this is just a matter of convenience."
"However," Yohan's expression turned solemn, "my visit today is not to request that you develop a medicine to turn Muzan Kibutsuji back into a human."
"I want you to develop something else entirely—something far more dangerous."
"I want you to research a serum that will allow demons to survive under sunlight."
"To let demons survive in the sun…?"
Tamayo froze.
"That's… Muzan Kibutsuji's greatest desire!"
She looked at Yohan, stunned. "Why would you want such a thing? That's exactly what he's been chasing all this time!"
"Please, Tamayo, hear me out," Yohan said, his gaze firm.
"I'm not asking you to make it for Muzan. I'm asking you to use it… as bait."
"Bait?" Tamayo's brow furrowed in confusion.
"That's right. A trap."
"To kill Muzan, I trust my own strength above all else," Yohan explained. "But there's one massive problem—he's too good at hiding."
"I don't plan on spending my whole life chasing him down in the shadows."
"But…" he smiled faintly, "if something were to appear—something that could let demons live freely under the sun—I'm sure he wouldn't be able to resist coming out of hiding."
Tamayo finally understood. For Yohan, this was not medicine.
It was a lure—a beautifully crafted lie designed to bring the monster into the light.
"…Yes. That could work," Tamayo admitted, slowly nodding.
After all, she had once served under Muzan. She knew his obsession.
He craved perfection—a demon that could walk under the sun, unbound by weakness. That had always been his dream.
"But… is it even possible?" she asked. "To let demons survive daylight?"
Her voice trembled with hesitation.
She knew how long Muzan had searched, how many resources he had exhausted in vain. If even he had failed, how could she succeed?
Yohan noticed her doubt.
"You can," he said firmly. "Tamayo… do you know of the Blue Spider Lily?"
"The Blue Spider Lily?" Tamayo's eyes widened. "Isn't that what Muzan's been looking for all these years?"
"Yes. And I know where it is."
Tamayo gasped.
To her, those words were like thunder in a clear sky.
Before she escaped Muzan's control, she had seen firsthand how obsessed he was with that flower.
He turned countless humans into demons—each one another set of eyes, another tool to scour the earth for it.
Yet even after centuries of searching, he'd found nothing.
And now, the man standing before her claimed to know its location?
"If we have the Blue Spider Lily," Yohan said, "do you believe you can create the serum?"
"…I'll do my best," Tamayo replied, her voice steady but her heart pounding.
This man… might truly be the one to end it all.
"Good. That's all I need to hear."
"And don't worry about collecting blood from the Twelve Kizuki—I'll handle that. You just focus on your research."
Tamayo nodded.
For the first time in centuries, she felt hope—a real, tangible hope—rising in her chest.
But just as the conversation settled into silence, another voice cut in.
"Yohan, Yohan! So where is the Blue Spider Lily, huh?" Mitsuri suddenly leaned forward, a smile on her face but panic in her eyes.
Tamayo blinked in surprise, then chuckled softly.
She hadn't noticed it before, but the future Love Hashira had been growing visibly uneasy.
After all, Tamayo was beautiful in a delicate, haunting way—long black hair cascading over pale skin, crimson lips soft and graceful, a gentle gleam in her eyes… Despite being over several centuries old, she looked like a nineteen-year-old girl.
And right now, she was talking to Yohan.
Mitsuri's Yohan.
Her 'Yohan Radar' was blaring nonstop. She had to redirect the flow of conversation before this turned into something dangerous!
"Oh, the Blue Spider Lily?" Yohan turned to her with a playful smile. "Well, I can't pinpoint the exact spot, but I know this—it only blooms during daylight, and only for two or three days a year."
"Whaaat?! That rare?!" Mitsuri's jaw dropped.
"So it blooms during the day?"
Tamayo's eyes flashed with realization.
"…Muzan. That's why you've failed all this time," she whispered.
It was almost poetic.
He had sent legions of demons to find a flower that only bloomed in sunlight… when demons could not step into the sun.
"You don't need to worry about the flower," Yohan said. "I'll make sure we get it."
"But there's another issue. Tamayo—this place is no longer safe for you."
Tamayo nodded solemnly.
"You're right."
Now that they'd killed two demons tied to Muzan, there was no doubt—he would know exactly where they were.
She could no longer stay here.
Any demon infused with Muzan's blood was connected to him. He could sense what they sensed, hear what they heard.
There was a high chance that their current location had already been compromised.
They needed somewhere else.
Someplace hidden.
Somewhere far from Muzan's eyes.
Somewhere the dawn of hope could quietly take root.