Chapter 151: The Madhouse of Madwomen
At Marcus’s question, Tamayo had no intention whatsoever of keeping any secrets.
"It’s thanks to that essence of Enmu’s blood you brought back."
Enmu’s blood?
Marcus went pale in an instant.
"Did you use it all up?"
"Pff, look how spooked you are." Tamayo eyed him, amused. "Relax, I only took a tiny bit to experiment with. It won’t affect how the others put it to use later on one bit."
"Turns out his ability and mine have quite a lot in common, so my curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to give it a shot, see what came of it." She lowered her voice a little. "I don’t want to always be a burden to you either, you know?"
"And in the end it turned out to be pretty darn useful."
"The main effects aren’t anything spectacular, but I did notice a small improvement."
"What kind of improvement?"
"Cognitive." Tamayo turned serious. "Before, my illusion was just that and nothing more—an illusion. It served to fool the enemy’s eyes. Now, when I use my ability, I can trigger a slight perceptual error in the humans or demons affected. No matter how absurd whatever’s in front of them may be, it never even occurs to them to be suspicious."
"...So basically..." Marcus mulled it over for a moment. "You wove dream logic into your ability?"
"Just like when someone’s dreaming and doesn’t realize they’re dreaming. You make whoever falls into your illusion not notice it’s fake."
"Exactly."
Tamayo sighed. "The downside is that sensory hit lasts barely any time at all and breaks easily. In a real fight, chances are a big attack would shatter it to pieces before it even takes effect. Daki falling in that deep was also because of her terror of Muzan; not for a single second did it cross her mind to doubt."
"That’s more than enough for me." Marcus pulled her a little closer against himself. "Besides, I don’t want you fighting. With this upgrade, for interrogations and stuff like that, you become practically invincible."
"And on top of that..."
Marcus cut himself off all of a sudden.
"On top of that what?"
He leaned in and whispered something in her ear.
The more Tamayo listened, the more her eyes lit up and the more excited she got.
She gave him a little tap on the chest.
"How is it that you always have so many ideas?!"
Marcus arched an eyebrow. "Just tell me. Wouldn’t you love to give Muzan a good scare? Make him see Yoriichi again, make him suffer all over again right in front of you."
Tamayo went quiet for a moment. In the end, she couldn’t help herself.
"...I do want that."
"Heh! Then you know the drill—behave and spoil me a little, and that way I’ll keep making the opportunities for you!"
"Mmm~! You’re such a pain, quit playing around now, I still have serious things to talk to you about—"
Marcus’s hands started roaming around on their own. "You talk, you talk, I’ll do my own thing. We won’t get in each other’s way~"
Tamayo swatted his mischievous hands aside and shot him a withering look out of the corner of her eye.
"Y-You...! How can it be that you never get enough?"
Marcus barely smiled.
"Of you? Impossible to ever get enough."
"You sure it’s me?"
"Well, right now I’m with you, aren’t I~?"
Faced with such shameless nerve, Tamayo had no choice but to turn red and change the subject. She remembered Tanjiro.
"He’s sent a whole pile of letters by now. Now that you’ve got free rein to go out, shouldn’t you let him come see Nezuko?"
"Let him come." Marcus shrugged. "If I didn’t allow it before, it was because I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stomach watching Nezuko’s transformation process."
"And not just him... even I had to look away that day."
As he recalled the day Nezuko exposed herself to the sun, a shiver ran through him.
It was no longer a matter of just planting her out in the sun. It was enough for a single finger to stray out of the shade: the little one’s screams of pain nearly tore his soul apart.
He almost... he very nearly failed to hold back and came within a hair of scooping her up and carrying her right back to her room.
And the only reason he didn’t was that Nezuko saw the others waiting for her under the sun. And, gritting her teeth with all her might, she threw herself forward anyway.
If not for that, chances are that to this day she still wouldn’t be able to talk and would only know how to make little noises.
"Send Tanjiro a letter as soon as you can and tell him to drop by."
He looked at Nezuko through the window, smiling.
"It’s about time Nezuko called him ’big brother’ in broad daylight. I can’t even imagine how happy that kid’s going to be."
Tamayo nestled against his chest, laughing.
"I think what you really want is to see Tanjiro crying while he thanks you."
"Ha! Look how clever my girl is! Come on, come here, you’ve earned yourself a reward—"
"A-Aah~! Shower first! You reek of another woman all over!"
"Then we’ll shower together!"
Daki had no idea what was going on upstairs.
She was still playing the role of a human excavator under Nezuko’s strict supervision.
Compared to her career as an Oiran, she didn’t have a shred of talent for this whole digging business. Or rather, Nezuko had capped her talent.
Because Daki knew how to make tunnels. In fact, she’d dug out her hideout in Yoshiwara underground using her sashes.
On the outside, the haughty Warabihime. On the inside, a bulldozer through and through~
And yet, Nezuko insisted she dig with her hands and wouldn’t let her use her sashes. Claiming the sashes would damage the flowers and the soil, and that they’d harm the earthworms.
Dig with her hands?
Never in her life had she done such a thing.
And even though, choking back the nausea, she managed to gather a dozen or so, she was still light-years away from what Nezuko demanded.
Seeing that dawn was almost breaking, Nezuko was gracious and let her go for the time being.
"But it’s on the record!"
Happy as a clam, the little girl wrapped her earthworms in a sash and skipped back to the house, her little face brimming with pride.
Daki, for her part, walked toward Yoshiwara as if her soul had been ripped out of her, with a dirty face, tousled hair, and scorched clothes.
This time, no one stopped her.
She was so filthy she looked like a beggar.
A beggar with one hell of a temper.
’SO INFURIATING!’
’I’m dying! I’m dying of sheer rage!!!’
’First Tamayo! Then those servant girls! And on top of it all, the brat!’
Daki tore at her own hair along the way, on the verge of a breakdown.
What in the world is Marcus even up to?
Where the hell did he dig up such a madhouse full of lunatics?!
The more she walked, the more wronged she felt.
She’d arrived radiant, dead sure of herself, ready to take on the world...
And she was leaving a total wreck!
Not to mention she’d been used for free, her confidence left in shreds and her dignity trampled...
By that point, she didn’t even care about her appearance anymore—the very thing she prized above all else.
When she finally made it back to Yoshiwara, head hanging low, eyes red and hair a mess, and crossed the threshold of the Kyogoku House...
The courtesans and servant girls getting ready to finish their shifts were so stunned they couldn’t close their mouths.
The ones with quick reflexes bolted straight back to their rooms.
The slower ones just stood there staring at her.
And they watched her pass by, slowly, wrapped in an aura that screamed to the four winds: "anyone talks to me, they’re dead."
And so, dragging her feet, Daki made it to the door of her room.
By then her eyes had already welled up completely with tears, pure helplessness.
Barring any surprises, the moment she saw her brother she’d throw herself into his arms and cry her eyes out. And then, between hiccupping sobs, she’d tell him one by one every last insult so he’d avenge her.
But, against all odds...
The instant she opened the door, the first thing she saw was her brother kneeling before a man.
The man was leaning against the window frame, staring out at the street in silence.
Black suit, crimson animal pupils, and a face that oozed cold indifference.
’Muzan-sama...!?’
’...LIKE HELL IT IS!!’
Seeing that familiar figure again, the rage evaporated her tears.
"Damn you, Tamayo!! Is this seriously never going to end?!!"
A tidal wave of sashes shot out at the man by the window.
Gyūtarō shuddered from head to toe and whipped around at once, incredulous.
His eyes bulged out of their sockets at the sight of the horde of sashes lunging at Muzan.
And Muzan spun around abruptly too.
His mouth hung open.
In a thousand years... never had a demon dared to attack him.
Never!
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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎
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