Ryosuke understood instantly.
He looked at the pretty figure humming a tune, his mood complex.
"That... that, Rika..."
Rika turned around, revealing an innocent smile.
"Hm? What's wrong, Big Brother Ryosuke? Are you still uncomfortable anywhere? Do you want some more water?"
Ryosuke asked, his gaze flickering, "Did... did you... do anything to me while I was unconscious?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rika's ears instantly turned red.
Her eyes darted around, her index fingers twirling behind her back as she feigned composure.
"N-no, Big Brother Ryosuke~ I've just been taking care of you!"
Watching her feign composure, Ryosuke silently spread his palm.
Rika: | ◯ ‸ ◯ |
Rika's eyes widened like brass bells!
No way!
How did I leave evidence!!!
Last night it was like... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!
Rika frantically grabbed a wet towel and pounced, pressing down on Ryosuke's hand and starting to wipe, apologizing incoherently:
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Big Brother Ryosuke!!! I... I didn't do it on purpose!"
"I... I was just... just afraid you wouldn't wake up... I was too scared... and then I just... just..."
"It's, it's all Grandpa's fault! He said massages would help you recover faster, yes! That's it!"
Her voice grew softer as she spoke, and her head drooped.
Ryosuke didn't know whether to laugh or cry, his mood too complex to describe.
Concern makes one reckless?
That doesn't seem right either... Was she afraid I'd die, so she tried to make up for any regrets as much as possible?!
Looking at the shy girl, Ryosuke felt an extremely strange sense of regret.
I feel like I missed out on a fortune.
This girl's attributes... when did they become so complex?!
Where did she learn such strange knowledge and audacious behavior?!
Momoyama didn't teach her this!
Could it be, Hinatsuru and the others?
Very! Likely!
Uzui Tengen!!!
Can't you control your wives?!
They've led Rika astray!!!
Rika awkwardly wiped for a long time before timidly raising her head, her big eyes brimming with tears.
"It's... it's clean... Big Brother Ryosuke... please... don't be angry..."
Ryosuke looked at her pitiful appearance and sighed heavily.
He felt as if the little strength he had managed to recover had been completely drained by this astonishing discovery.
I inexplicably became a gold miner for Rika... No!
It might have been more than once!
Ryosuke subconsciously lifted a corner of the quilt and glanced down, his eyes holding a final struggle and confirmation.
"Other places... you... didn't...?"
"No! Absolutely not!!!"
Rika shook her head like a rattle-drum, waving her hands repeatedly in denial.
"Only my fingers! Really! I swear! I absolutely didn't touch anywhere else! I wouldn't dare! No... I didn't touch!"
Wouldn't dare?
Is there anything you wouldn't dare to do?!
At this point, Ryosuke also gave up struggling.
Forget it, just make do.
Ryosuke closed his eyes helplessly, his voice tinged with compromise.
"Alright, alright, I know, you... you go out first... let me be alone for a bit."
"Oh... oh! Okay! Big Brother Ryosuke, you rest well!"
Rika, as if granted a great pardon, stumbled out of the room.
Ryosuke looked at his two fingers with some helplessness.
It seems that after his injuries heal, when he goes to the headquarters for a meeting, he'll have to mention the establishment of the Butterfly Dance to Kagaya.
If he continues to let this girl run wild, Ryosuke is truly afraid she might awaken some other strange attributes... Meanwhile, in the Infinity Castle.
Space was inverted and chaotic, doors, windows, and pillars were pieced together in defiance of logic.
The sharp sound of a biwa rang out, and several figures abruptly appeared on different platforms.
Lower Rank Six Kamanue looked around blankly.
He was not alone.
Not far away, a slender figure was surveying the surroundings just like him.
That was a woman in a beautiful kimono, with vermilion hairpins adorning her raven-black hair, a beautiful face, crimson lips, and a faint, unreadable smile at the corner of her mouth.
However, all this gentle facade was completely torn apart by her left eye.
In her blood-red eye, "Lower Rank One" was clearly etched.
Lower Rank One, Ubume.
Kamanue's heart jolted, and he instinctively averted his gaze, not daring to look too long.
At the same time, he quickly noticed several other colleagues.
A white-haired boy in a spiderweb-patterned kimono stood on a slanted beam, expressionless.
That brat Rui, always so arrogant because Muzan-sama favors him!
Also beside him were lower rank three Kyoha, and a blurry figure in the distant shadows.
That was lower rank two, a quiet fellow he had never dealt with.
All the Lower Ranks had arrived, so what about the Upper Ranks... However, on the central platform, apart from Nakime holding the biwa, no Upper Rank Demon had appeared.
Zheng!
Another biwa sound rang out!
All the Lower Rank Demons gathered in one place.
Almost at the same time, everyone sensed that cold, tyrannical aura.
Without any words, an extreme sense of fear clutched the heart of every demon.
Thump!
Several demons knelt simultaneously, not daring to breathe.
Only Rui hesitated for a moment.
Seeing his colleagues so diligent around him, he also reluctantly knelt down in a similar fashion.
A dead silence.
From an invisible height, there came a crisp sound of glass vessels continuously shattering.
A more violent aura instantly pressed down, and all the Lower Rank Demons held their breath, not daring to move an inch.
Muzan's figure appeared before the demons.
"Mukago, is dead."
These three simple words exploded like thunder in the hearts of all the Lower Ranks!
lower rank four Mukago, actually... died?!
"Every time she encountered a Hashira, she would flee like a stray dog."
Muzan's voice continued: "This time, she fell into the hands of a good-for-nothing who isn't even a Hashira!"
Not a Hashira?
Kamanue's heart suddenly pounded, and a huge shock temporarily overwhelmed his fear.
Not a Hashira? How is that possible!
Who else could kill a Lower Rank besides a Hashira? Could it be... "Could there be a mistake?"
Muzan preemptively spoke Kamanue's thoughts.
The immense pressure made Kamanue feel as if his head was being gripped by an invisible giant hand, about to burst open at any second!
"Are you questioning me?"
Muzan's voice suddenly turned cold.
Kamanue was terrified out of his wits and quickly spoke: "Lord! I didn't mean to question you! I..."
"Did I ask you to explain?"
Muzan's fury erupted like a tsunami!
A grotesque arm covered in fangs and blood-red eyes suddenly shot out, swallowing Kamanue whole!
Without even a scream, Lower Rank Six Kamanue's presence instantly vanished without a trace.
The platform was dead silent, the smell of blood constantly permeating the air.
The remaining Lower Ranks buried their heads even lower, fear immersing their entire bodies.
"There's no news of the blue spider lily, and even the location of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters is still unknown!"
Muzan's eyes narrowed, his voice cold.
"These past years, have I been too lenient with you?"