"Miss Tamayo, Can I Be Your Dog?"
Haruto forced himself to avert his gaze from the bizarre comments and focus on the beautiful woman in front of him.
Her face showed no bulging veins, no drool from craving human flesh, and no ferocious, bloodshot eyes.
Black hair, purple eyes, dressed in a dark kimono adorned with flowers—Miss Tamayo was unlike any demon he had ever seen.
With snow-white skin and an elegant bun at the back of her head, her face was dignified and graceful. Kneeling there, she resembled a true noble.
Yushiro, the gloomy green-haired young man, sat beside Tamayo, glaring at Haruto with an unfriendly expression.
"Don't look. Take your filthy eyes off the beautiful Lady Tamayo."
Haruto read these words in Yushiro's eyes.
"Haha, I won't."
Haruto put on a polite smile and took the gift he had prepared on the way from Genya: "A small token, not much."
Yushiro's gaze sharpened, and he stepped forward to take it.
"The gift wrapping is very new-fashioned. Lady Tamayo definitely won't like it."
"I've heard Mr. Ubuyashiki speak of Mr. Haruto for a long time. Meeting you today, you are indeed outstanding."
Tamayo's voice was gentle and graceful, captivating Yushiro, who then suddenly became alert.
"Outstanding? Outstanding in what way?"
"The 'outstanding' here refers to..." His gaze swept over the people in the room, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Besides Haruto and Lady Tamayo, there was only himself and that spiky-haired brat!
Haruto, however, was curious: "When did you and Kagaya get to know each other?"
Miss Tamayo lowered her head, her purple eyes shimmering: "If he hasn't told you, then it's a secret."
Haruto raised an eyebrow slightly: "Hmm... A woman is beautiful because of her secrets."
Tamayo unexpectedly looked up at him, a gentle smile appearing on her lips: "A... woman?"
"Giggle, giggle, giggle." Haruto heard Yushiro grinding his teeth. The guy's face had completely darkened, his kneeling posture was very straight, and his clenched fists rested on his knees as if he could swing them at Haruto at any moment.
"Damn white-haired brat, how dare he defile the beautiful Lady Tamayo with such vulgar and disrespectful words!"
"[Miss Tamayo, can I be your dog?]
"[A woman is beautiful because of her secrets? Vermouth? My two anime are crossing over?]
"[LOL, if Star Pillar-bro said something like that to Miki the doctor, Grandpa Goutou wouldn't have to worry about marriage anymore. Two kids in three years would be no problem.]"
"[No to the previous comment, I ship Star-Shinobu, or Star-Kanae is fine too!]
"[Star-Shinobu? Shinobu is only 12 now, right? That's illegal.]"
"[Angry and shivering, when will the Star-Kanao and Star-Aoi shippers stand up!]
The comments gradually went off-topic. Haruto brought his gaze back to reality and patted Genya's head: "This is the child who can turn demons into his own strength."
Genya awkwardly turned his head away, and after Haruto lowered his hand, he secretly smoothed his hair.
"Please wait, I'll go change." Tamayo nodded and left her seat for the inner room.
As soon as Tamayo left, Yushiro's face instantly turned dark: "What did you mean by that sentence just now?"
"Huh?" Haruto feigned ignorance.
"What secrets, what about women."
"Ah..." Haruto pushed at his non-existent glasses on the bridge of his nose and said in a low voice: "A Secret Makes A Woman Woman."
"? What did you say?" Yushiro's eyeballs spun wildly.
"Haruto, read some books. It's the 20th century, you should be able to say a few words in English."
Haruto frowned and sighed: "How old are you? You must be over a hundred, right? How can your cultural level be so low? You haven't just been a pervert all this time, have you?"
"Shut up."
"You're not competitive like this. Miss Tamayo has lived so long, what kind of people hasn't she seen..."
"I told you to shut up!"
The enraged Yushiro jumped up from his seat, winding up his arm to hit Haruto.
Haruto didn't dodge. Instead, he gently nodded towards the inner room's doorway: "Miss Tamayo."
Whoosh, Yushiro immediately returned to his seat and smiled in that direction, only to see a closed door.
"I'm just kidding." Haruto gave him a fake smile.
The furious green-haired young man jumped up, hooking his knuckles and repeatedly hitting Haruto's chest: "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"Cough, Miss Tamayo, cough, Miss Tamayo, cough, Miss Tamayo..."
"Shut up! Don't think you can trick me again!"
It wasn't until Tamayo's slightly displeased voice truly came from behind: "Yushiro, stop it now?"
...Tamayo put on a white doctor's coat over her kimono, donned gloves, and gently placed a metal tray with some medical instruments on the table.
Yushiro sat kneeling dejectedly to the side, not forgetting to shoot murderous glances at Haruto from the corner of his eye.
"Don't worry, just roll up your sleeve and place your arm here."
Tamayo took out a syringe and said to Genya.
Genya stared at the sharp needle, swallowing hard: "B-blood draw?"
This little guy, with such a fierce expression, couldn't possibly be afraid of injections, could he?
Haruto glanced at the tense, spiky-haired boy, pursed his lips, and suppressed a smile.
"And you, Mr. Haruto." Tamayo's eyes held a smile as she pointed to the extra syringe: "You're next."
"Eh?" Haruto rolled his eyes: "Me? What do you mean?"
"You know that Yushiro and I are both demons, right?"
"Although I can't tell, the master told me."
Tamayo chuckled: "During the long years after breaking free from Kibutsuji Muzan, I modified my own body. Although I no longer need to eat humans, I still need to regularly consume a certain amount of human blood to sustain my life."
Upon hearing the words "eat humans," Genya's hands trembled. He uncontrollably recalled the most unforgettable night of his life, clenching his fists under the table.
"Previously, we would replenish through purchases, but Mr. Ubuyashiki told me that your blood seems to have some unique magic, and he insisted that I taste it."
Wait, the amount of information revealed in this sentence is too great.
Haruto frowned: "Kagaya Ubuyashiki? Said my blood is unusual? And wants you to taste it?"
Tamayo nodded: "Yes."
He raised his arm, and the bluish-purple veins were clearly visible beneath his fair skin.
Like a flash of lightning, the words of Lower Moon Three Yamai echoed in his mind.
"Your blood... your blood..."
The rare blood priest who died on the ground, his blood transmitted to Yamai through vines, the slow and stumbling Yamai after drinking the blood... these scenes formed a clear line in Haruto's mind.
He slapped his head, "Oh no!"
"I've become a stand-in!"