Chapter 169: Be My Kaishakunin!
Rounding the fountain, the door of the residence stood open.
Tamayo waited at the entrance with Nezuko in her arms; Ivy and Pearl flanked her, a step behind.
"...Marcus...!!"
Nezuko wriggled out of Tamayo’s arms and threw herself headlong at Marcus. Her little hands latched onto his leg and climbed up without pause to his chest, where she coiled around him like an octopus and let out a satisfied "Mmm."
Then she pointed toward the inside of the house. Her little face said it all: come see, quick.
"Marcus! Fish!"
"All right, all right, we’re going in." Holding her against himself, Marcus made the introductions in a few words.
Then he turned to Tamayo.
"Get the first-floor guest rooms ready for Hakuji and Gyutaro."
Tamayo nodded. But at that moment Hakuji stepped forward, brought his fists together in a salute, and dipped his head slightly.
"Sir, there’s no need."
Marcus looked at him.
"There are only women in the house; it wouldn’t be proper for us to stay inside. I’ll put up a hut outside later."
Marcus thought about it for a moment and nodded.
"All right. Tomorrow I’ll get someone to build the two of you a couple of rooms in the courtyard."
Then he raised his voice toward the gatehouse. "When you’re done eating, have Yushiro take you and Gyutaro around to get familiar with the area. And while you’re at it..."
"...bring back my carriage. I left it at the entrance to the Kyogoku House; it probably got spooked and bolted."
"Sir, we won’t eat—we’ll go right now," Hakuji said. "The later it gets, the harder it’ll be to find."
He turned to leave, but two steps in he stopped and looked at Gyutaro, who still hadn’t moved.
"Let’s go."
Gyutaro didn’t budge.
He was looking at Ume, and Ume held his gaze.
The siblings stared at each other for a few seconds, until Ume turned her face away.
It was, without a doubt, tacit permission for her brother to comply.
Gyutaro sighed.
He hooked the scythes at his waist and followed Hakuji toward the gatehouse.
Yushiro, who had heard everything, had just cracked the window open to peek out when Hakuji grabbed him by the arm.
"What are you doing?! Let go of me!! I haven’t even changed my clothes yet! I—"
The light in the gatehouse flickered, and Hakuji "invited" Yushiro to come out.
Still wearing his flowered apron, he was dragged out with an expression of tragic indignation.
Gyutaro followed behind them.
The gate swung slowly shut behind the three of them.
The courtyard fell silent.
All that was left was Marcus... and his women.
Tamayo stepped closer and whispered, "This Hakuji seems to take his job very seriously."
Marcus nodded. "From here on out, all external affairs are in his hands."
Tamayo nodded too and cast a glance over his clothes.
"Have a bath first." She took Nezuko into her arms. "Yushiro left the food half-finished; I’ll have Ivy and Pearl finish it. And while you’re at it, tell me what happened."
"M-Mmm~"
Marcus carried Ume into the house.
The second-floor bath had been remodeled some time ago. Originally, the entire floor had been a laboratory, but once the experiments to reverse demonization stopped, there was no longer any need for such a large space. So Marcus had a room partitioned off to build a very big bath.
They laid down white tiles and put in a large, comfortable tub. Hot water flowed from a copper faucet set into the wall, and the whole atmosphere felt warm and inviting.
Marcus sank into the water and let out a long sigh.
Ume sat across from him, hugging her knees, her body submerged with barely half her face showing above the surface.
The heat flushed her skin, and her long white hair floated on the surface.
She stared at the bubbles in silence.
"You really don’t have any reason to be afraid of them." Marcus’s eyes were closed. "They’re good people."
"Who’s afraid?" Ume’s voice came out muffled from the water. "I’m not scared of anything."
"Oh, no? And if you’re not afraid, then why are you so quiet?"
Ume didn’t answer.
Marcus cracked one eye open to look at her.
"It’s just that... I’m not used to it." Ume’s voice dropped lower. "So many people living together..."
"Are you not used to so many people living together, or are you not used to this family atmosphere?"
Ume went quiet again.
"Heh." Marcus laughed.
"Well, you’d better get used to it soon. From now on you won’t just be living together by day—at night... you’ll be sleeping with me too. If you don’t get along a little among yourselves, you won’t be able to coordinate well."
Splash
Ume shot to her feet, and the water droplets rolled glistening down her body, drawing Marcus’s eyes like insects to a flame.
"W-Who wants to wait on you along with them?!"
Her whole body flushed pink, she braced to lunge at him. But at that very instant the bathroom door opened.
"Ah!"
Ume sat back down ten times faster than she’d stood up. She grabbed the little towel nearby, covered her head, and sank all the way down until only her eyes showed above the water.
Glug Glug Glug Glug
Tamayo came in.
She wore a white yukata, her hair pinned up with a hairpin, and she carried a wooden basin with a towel and soap inside.
She looked at Ume, then at Marcus, and said nothing.
She simply set the basin down beside the tub, slipped off the yukata, and sat down next to Marcus.
She wet the towel, lathered it, worked up a foam, and began to gently scrub his back. Her movements were deft and, plainly, something she did often.
Marcus savored it with his eyes closed while, in a calm tone, he recounted everything that had happened.
From Muzan’s surprise attack and the slash that took off his head, to the charge by Hakuji and the others, along with the sword strike that drove Muzan off and, finally, his plans to restructure the Yoshiwara and Asakusa districts.
Tamayo’s hands didn’t stop. But Marcus noticed her breath catch a couple of times.
When he finished speaking, she was silent for a moment.
"So from now on... we can only stay in Yoshiwara?"
"There’s no need to be so cautious either."
Marcus leaned back against Tamayo, rested his head on her shoulder, and pressed his cheek against hers, letting himself be washed.
"Muzan thinks I can devour his abilities whenever I please, but he has no idea there’s a limit. And with that temperament of his, as long as he isn’t a hundred percent certain, he won’t dare provoke me for quite a while."
"So I’m going to make the most of it. It’s perfect for getting used to this body. And while I’m at it..." He smirked. "...we’re going to take all of Tokyo."
Tamayo sighed. "It’s not that simple. Now that we’ve cut ties with Ubuyashiki, and with the savings we have, forget about Tokyo—it’s not even certain we can secure Yoshiwara."
Asakusa sat in the northeast corner of Tokyo’s urban area, and Yoshiwara on the outskirts, north of Asakusa. Compared to the rest of the city, Yoshiwara was practically the outskirts of the outskirts. And even for such a marginal area, with the money Marcus had on hand, taking all of Yoshiwara was beyond his reach.
But Marcus smiled.
"Relax. I have a plan."
Tamayo looked at him.
"We’re not going to spend much in Yoshiwara. The bulk of the money goes to Asakusa, and to the stretch that connects it to Yoshiwara." His smile widened. "First, I intend to link Asakusa and Yoshiwara completely."
Since all of Tokyo couldn’t be redeveloped for the time being, they’d start with the northeast. The plan was to turn that strip, from Asakusa to Yoshiwara, into the most famous entertainment district in all of Japan, with every service imaginable.
A paradise for men!
And once that happened, with a gold mine like that in hand, they’d nibble their way toward the center little by little.
Ume poked her head up out of the water, the towel still on it and droplets sliding down her cheeks. "Tsk~ At the end of the day, you’re nothing but a pimp."
Marcus rolled his eyes, snatched the soap out of Tamayo’s hands, and hurled it at her.
"And what would you know about it?!"
The soap hit Ume square in the forehead and dropped into the water.
"This is only the beginning!" Marcus’s voice rose. "Later on I’ll get into gambling, shows, hostess parlors, exotic-themed tours, and even cinema, which came into fashion just recently... In short, if it has to do with entertainment and women, I’ll cover all of it!"
"And this isn’t called being a pimp. This is called being an entertainment mogul."
Ume rubbed her forehead, still stubbornly.
"Being a lecher is being a—Aah~~!"
Before she could finish, Marcus had already pulled her into his arms.
"Spoiled brat, I’ll teach you what being a lecher is!"
Tamayo let go of the towel and sighed. "They’re still waiting to eat downstairs..."
Marcus stretched out his other arm and grabbed her by the ass.
"Then you’d better hurry up and make me come."
Water splashed and the steam grew thicker. Within that whiteness, a rosy tint gradually surfaced, more and more intense...
Downstairs in the kitchen, Ivy and Pearl were still busy when the commotion from upstairs reached them. The two of them exchanged a resigned look.
And at the same time, they eased off the pace of what they were doing.
...
Mount Sagiri.
When Urokodaki saw the three Demon Slayers arrive, running and out of breath...
And learned that Marcus had turned into a demon...
Without a single word, he drew the short knife at his waist.
"I never would have imagined it..." He gazed at his own reflection in the blade. "Back in the day, I kept this knife to kill demons in an emergency. Now it turns out to be perfect..."
"For committing seppuku!"
Eyes wide as saucers, Tanjiro watched his master kneel down on the ground with resolve, grip the handle with both hands, and point the blade inward, pressing it against his abdomen.
"Sensei!! It’s my fault for failing to raise my disciple properly!!"
After a tragic cry of atonement, he lifted his gaze toward his little disciple, who had frozen in place.
"Tanjiro, draw your sword! Be my kaishakunin! Accompany me on my final journey!!"
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