Chapter 209: A Single Pervert
Half an hour later, the carriage came to a stop at the gates of the Asakusa Hospital.
The moment Marcus set foot on the ground, Nezuko shot off toward the entrance, waving her little hands in the air.
"Shinobu-nee-san! Kanao-nee-san!"
Tamayo exchanged glances with Marcus, and they smiled.
Upon entering the room, Shinobu was resting on the edge of the bed with a book in her hands. Although Marcus didn’t understand the technical terms, one word stood out strongly on the pages.
Lung!
It was clear she had no intention of giving up on her treatment.
Beside her, Kanao was playing with Nezuko, pinching her cheeks. She was already dressed in her kimono with her hair combed, ready to leave for a good while now.
"Ara~ has the busiest man in the world finally made some time for us?" Shinobu closed the book, cracking a half smile.
Her playful tone had returned to normal, though she had to pause to catch her breath.
"If I hadn’t come, I was afraid you’d end up demolishing the hospital or taking it out on me." Marcus approached with a laugh as he observed her face, brimming with faint resentment. "You look quite a bit paler."
Shinobu suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and shot back with false sweetness. "If Marcus-kun likes it so much, you could very well shut yourself in a room for two months; I’ll bring you your meals myself."
Marcus’s eyes lit up. "If you stay inside to keep me company those two months, I’d be delighted."
Shinobu froze. She could never win an argument against him!
"Look how flustered you get... It’s going to happen sooner or later, I don’t know why you resist."
Shinobu’s smile held on by a thread as a vein bulged on her forehead. "Marcus-kun~, are you taking advantage of the fact that I can’t beat you up right now to—?"
"Back off," Marcus interrupted with a wave of his hand. "It’s not about right now; you couldn’t before either."
"Inhale... exhale..."
Shinobu had to breathe deeply to keep from losing her composure.
Tamayo tugged at Marcus’s arm. "Ease up a little. She already has enough trouble breathing."
"Fine, fine. Since you defend her so much... I won’t say a word." Marcus raised his hands in surrender and turned to the far more docile Kanao. "Have you got everything ready?"
"Yes, all set."
Marcus shot Shinobu a sidelong glance. "Take a page from Kanao—now she’s well-mannered."
"Inhale... exhale..."
Shinobu grabbed her haori, threw it over her shoulders, and headed out into the hallway with firm steps without looking at him, keeping control of her breathing.
"Her lungs are failing, but she’s got temper to spare," Marcus laughed.
"That’s because Marcus-kun won’t stop provoking her about the subject," Kanao chimed in in a low voice. "Shinobu-nee isn’t so obsessed with breathing techniques anymore, but the moment she sees you... she flies into a rage immediately."
Marcus rolled his eyes.
"This is called desensitization therapy. If it weren’t for me, your big sister would already be sunk in depression."
"Sure, you’re the smartest of them all," Tamayo cut him off, losing her patience. "If we don’t hurry, Shinobu is going to walk off on her own."
"Let’s go, then."
They returned to the Asakusa Mansion at noon.
Seeing Shinobu and Kanao arrive, Tanjiro and the others couldn’t hide a certain heaviness of heart.
Although they had visited them during their hospital stay, watching them break off every sentence to catch their breath left a lump in their throats. Ironically, it was Shinobu herself who had to console them with a smile.
No matter how hard they tried to hide it, the frustration was palpable in the air. Especially in Tanjiro, who caught the exact trace of their emotions and stayed dispirited throughout the entire lunch.
After finishing the meal, Tamayo took Nezuko, Kanao, and Shinobu off to have a bath. Despite Marcus’s repeated protests about wanting to bathe with them, they left him outside without the slightest consideration.
In the afternoon, rested now, the whole group set out for Yoshiwara. The carriage advanced through the streets of Asakusa, taking the direct route toward the entertainment district.
Shinobu was leaning against the window, gazing with a certain nostalgia at the construction in full swing passing before her eyes.
"The change is enormous..."
"Of course," Marcus replied, reclined in his seat. "Two months is enough for a lot. Today I’ll show you the main headquarters, then the Demon Slayer Corps branch, and tonight we’ll watch the opening ceremony. In another half a month this will be finished, so I’ll bring you back to try out the massage session!"
Two months... half a month...
Hearing those spans of time that flew by, Shinobu fell into a deep silence.
Since her sister’s death, this stretch had been the most peaceful of her life: no missions, no wounded to heal, no poisons to concoct.
Everything moved at an unhurried pace, but that calm left an emptiness in her chest.
The carriage stopped before an imposing complex.
Marcus got out first and offered her his hand.
She hesitated for a moment before leaning on his icy fingers, while he held her firmly to help her down.
"We’re here."
Shinobu lifted her gaze and was left stunned.
Before her rose a gigantic cluster of buildings: blue bricks, gray tiles, curved eaves, and a bright vermilion gate with an engraved plaque:
Marcus Mansion.
With the doors flung wide open, one could glimpse a cobbled path flanked by courtyards, pavilions, and galleries in perfect harmony.
In the distance, ponds, covered walkways, and layered structures that seemed to have no end could be made out.
"This..." Shinobu parted her lips. "Isn’t it too big?"
"You think it’s big?" Marcus remarked as he walked toward the interior. "While it’s bigger than those old men’s residences, it feels a bit cramped to me."
Tanjiro followed him, his face contorted with astonishment, and Zenitsu advanced stiff as a zombie. Only Inosuke flung himself inside, letting out whoops of excitement!
"It’s gigantic!"
It was the first time they’d set foot in the Vampires’ headquarters since its completion.
"Senpai... how much money did this cost?"
Marcus smiled mysteriously. "Take a guess."
Tamayo, who came behind carrying Nezuko, chimed in. "The main building has three floors, nine secondary courtyards, six gardens, and two training grounds. It also has hot springs, an auditorium, and several theaters. In total, it comes to exactly one hundred and eighty-eight rooms."
Shinobu listened, more and more astonished.
Was it really possible to build all this in two months...? How many workers must they have hired?
"And... how many people are you planning to house here?"
"A preliminary estimate indicates that this mansion will need at least three hundred servants to run," Marcus explained as he pushed the doors open. "But I don’t plan on hiring men, so I’ll need more maidservants to spread out the heavy work. Pearl is already doing the selection: I figure around four hundred."
"F-Four... four hundred?!" Zenitsu exclaimed as if struck by lightning.
Marcus looked at him with a smile. "That’s right. Only beautiful girls."
!!!!!
Zenitsu was petrified and crumpled to the floor.
Suddenly, as if engulfed in flames, he flared up with rage and began crawling wildly until he was right in front of Marcus.
Thud!
He slammed his forehead against the ground.
"HASHIRA-SAMA!!! I beg you to let me become a Vampire!!!"
"Pass."
This landed like a bucket of ice-cold water, snuffing Zenitsu out instantly.
He raised his head, bewildered.
"Wh-Why?"
Marcus looked up at the sky with absolute pride.
"In this mansion, there can only be one pervert, and that’s me!"
Several deep sighs echoed through the group. Tanjiro covered his face, feeling helpless.
The group continued on their way, leaving Zenitsu kneeling and motionless behind them.
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