Chapter 235: Calling Brother-in-Law

Kanao Tsuyuri.

The future wife of Kamado Tanjiro. Well… due to Li Mo's interference, it's likely that Tanjiro will never meet her in this lifetime. Without the tragedy of his family being slaughtered, there's no reason for him to join the Demon Slayer Corps.

Kocho Kanae led Li Mo by the hand to Kanao Tsuyuri, who was sitting there blankly. Her unfocused eyes made it impossible to tell what she was looking at.

No vitality, no soul.

On the way back, Kocho Kanae had told Li Mo about Kanao Tsuyuri. But after seeing her in person, Li Mo felt that the girl's condition was even more severe than he had imagined.

—She was the type he wasn't good at dealing with.

To change a child like Kanao, you needed someone who was like a little sun.

Li Mo pinched his chin, deep in thought.

Kocho Kanae didn't pay attention to what her beloved was doing. She cheerfully asked, "Kanao, why are you sitting here alone? Where's Shinobu?"

"Shinobu is in the lab," Kanao Tsuyuri replied, her voice as calm as an electronic tone.

"What are you looking at, Kanao?"

"Ants."

Kanao Tsuyuri answered honestly and pointed in a direction.

Li Mo and Kanae both looked over and saw ants carrying the corpse of an insect near a wall about ten meters away.

Li Mo could see the scene clearly. Having stepped into the realm of the extraordinary, he could perceive even the finest details. Kanao, on the other hand, could only see the fuzzy outline of the caterpillar's corpse and the dark ants.

Li Mo recalled what Kanae had said about Kanao's exceptional eyesight. But this wasn't just "exceptional." It was downright "supernatural."

He even felt the urge to thoroughly examine Kanao's body, especially her eyes. Perhaps it was because of his exposure to Mystic Eyes in Fuyuki City that he felt no resistance to such thoughts.

Was this still normal human thinking?

Li Mo wasn't sure.

"Kanao, this is Li Mo. Um… you can call him 'brother.'"

Actually, calling him "brother-in-law" would also work.

Li Mo internally complained, but he still reached out and patted Kanao's little head. "Hello, Kanao."

Kanao Tsuyuri looked at Li Mo, then took out a coin and flipped it.

It landed on heads.

After putting the coin away, Kanao said, "Hello, Brother Li Mo."

So she used a coin to decide whether to respond to me?

Her incredible eyesight and withdrawn personality reminded Li Mo of a condition, something like "autistic savant."

"Sorry, Kanao is just like this."

"Kanae, you've told me several times. I know."

Kanae had mentioned Kanao many times. Even Shinobu hadn't been brought up as often. It made one wonder whether Kocho Shinobu was her real sister or if Kanao Tsuyuri was.

Kanao continued to watch the ants with her extraordinary vision, while Kocho Kanae led Li Mo to the basement.

"The lab is where Ms. Tamayo researches demons. Initially, she studied demon blood, but later she began researching demons themselves. Though they're mostly weak demons.

Oh, you're asking why the demons don't resist? Ms. Tamayo usually poisons them to the brink of death. But since she's also a demon, the poisoning is usually done by someone else.

That someone else is usually me or Shinobu. But after I became a Hashira, it became Shinobu's job. Shinobu is a master of poison, even creating her own Breathing Technique.

She can't cut a demon's neck, but she can kill demons with precise doses of poison. The only question is whether her poison works on the Twelve Kizuki."

The gap between the Twelve Kizuki and ordinary demons is vast. And the difference between the Upper and Lower Moons is like heaven and earth. Would universal poison really work on those monsters?

Thinking back to the original story… Kocho Shinobu injected poison into herself to help Kanao Tsuyuri in the end.

—I should just kill Douma outright.

Li Mo decided to give Douma a quick death. Thinking about Shinobu's death led him to think about Douma's death, which led to thoughts of their post-death conversation. And that made him feel disgusted.

Douma was an anomaly even among demons.

"We're here. I didn't see Yushiro waiting outside today."

"In your mind, is Yushiro just a dog?"

"Huh? I didn't say that."

But you were thinking it.

Li Mo didn't have time to argue with Kocho Kanae because she suddenly linked arms with him, pressing herself against his side.

Just as he was about to give her a questioning look, she replied, "Li-san, let's go in like this."

"Is it because of Shinobu?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to disguise myself?" Li Mo suggested.

Disguise, changing into someone else's appearance, wasn't difficult for Li Mo. As a magus, he could easily alter his appearance, height, or even use magecraft to change others' perceptions.

He and Kanae were almost telepathic, and the first thing they thought of was playing a prank on Kocho Shinobu.

Even though they hadn't told Shinobu about his return, they were already thinking of pranking her… How strange. But they just wanted to do it.

"Can you really do that?"

"Of course."

"Li-san, you're becoming more and more like a monster."

"If not, you wouldn't have been the one lying down that night."

"Hehehe…"

Kocho Kanae laughed, seemingly very satisfied with what had happened that night.

As the saying goes, the ox may die from exhaustion, but the field will never be ruined. But what if the one plowing the field isn't an ox?

In the end, however, Kocho Kanae vetoed the idea. Though it seemed fun, it would have damaged their sisterly bond.

Standing at the door, Kocho Kanae and Li Mo entered the reception room, which, according to Kanae, also served as a lounge.

Kocho Shinobu happened to be standing there, talking with Ms. Tamayo. It seemed they had just come out of the operating room, as their white coats were stained with blood.

Ms. Tamayo noticed them first. "Kanae-san… and Li-san. So you've returned?"

"Yes, it's been a while, Ms. Tamayo and Shinobu."

Kocho Shinobu's attention was drawn to Kocho Kanae, who was clinging to Li Mo's arm. But upon closer inspection, one could see that Shinobu's faint smile had frozen.

"Shinobu, call him 'brother-in-law,'" Kocho Kanae said with a smile.

Well, now even the frozen smile was gone.