Chapter 175: Destroy to Build
This was a fairly formal midday meal and, at the same time, the vampire lineage’s first gathering around the table.
But the air, which was supposed to be somewhat solemn, was torn to pieces by the chewing noises of Ume and Gyutaro.
Of the nine people seated at the table, those two were the ones who ate the most and, by far, the ones with the worst manners.
But they couldn’t be entirely blamed either; after all, they’d only just regained the ability to eat normally.
After centuries without tasting anything, the explosion of sensations on their taste buds burst all at once...
No!
To be precise, these wretched siblings had never tasted anything good from humans either.
Depending on each other since childhood, filling their stomachs was already quite a luxury. And just when they’d grown a little and were starting to eat decently for a few days... Ume burned until she was reduced to charcoal, and the two of them turned into demons.
You could say they had not the slightest idea what more than half of what was on the table tasted like.
Seen that way, honestly, it was even a little pitiful.
Hakuji’s situation, on the other hand, was going much better.
His childhood had been just as tragic and he’d never sampled fine delicacies, but he’d already been cut loose from Muzan for half a month and had gotten past the initial binging phase.
He ate in a fairly measured and proper manner.
Marcus picked up a vegetable with his chopsticks and chewed slowly. Seeing Ume once again reach out wildly to grab the last piece of fried fish on the plate, he couldn’t help but give the back of her hand a little tap with his chopsticks.
"Eat calmly, no one’s going to take it from you."
Ume hissed and pulled her hand back; she shot him a withering glare, but ended up slowing down.
Marcus took a few more bites, set down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and turned to Tamayo.
"How are things going in Yoshiwara?"
Tamayo set down her bowl, wiped the corner of her lips with a handkerchief, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"People are terrified. Many of them saw what happened yesterday, and the rumors about demons are already spreading everywhere."
Marcus nodded and drummed his fingers on the table.
"Perfect. The stronger the rumors, the more the land prices will drop."
"There’s bad news too." Tamayo looked at him with a slight frown. "Yesterday’s fight damaged several shops, and the owners are demanding compensation. The police station also sent people asking us to come in and give a statement as soon as possible."
Marcus stopped his fingers.
Before, this sort of matter was handled by the specialized personnel of the Demon Slayer Corps. But now that they no longer had that, the cleanup fell to them, as was to be expected.
"Sigh..."
He stayed pensive for a moment, then spoke.
"Let’s do this: go to the police station and ask directly for the highest-ranking officer. Tell him the truth exactly as it is: it was a demon attack and the Demon Slayer Corps stepped in."
"While you’re at it, tell them I’m a Hashira, so it’s clear to them that we’re the victims here."
Tamayo looked at him, somewhat surprised.
"You plan to use the Demon Slayer Corps as a shield?"
Marcus shook his head.
"As long as Kagaya doesn’t make an official decision, I’m still a Hashira. So this doesn’t count as hiding behind them."
"Besides, it buys us time and, on top of that, we use their mouths to spread my current identity among the upper echelons of Tokyo."
"That bunch of aristocrats values their lives too much; they’d give anything to have a Hashira permanently stationed in Tokyo."
"I’ll bet you they won’t mind in the least cleaning up our mess. And from here on out, things are going to get a whole lot easier for us."
Hearing this, Tamayo nodded.
"All right, I’ll go right away."
"Ah, and make sure you make it perfectly clear to them." Marcus added. "That demon was very strong, it got away, it’s not dead. And there’s a high chance it’s still lurking near Yoshiwara."
Tamayo was stunned, but she quickly caught his intent and gave him a resigned smile.
"Understood."
She knew perfectly well that Marcus was planning to stir up a big commotion over the matter of Muzan’s appearance.
Create an atmosphere of tension, scare off those merchants, and force them to sell off their properties at a loss. And by then, the price of the land between Yoshiwara and Asakusa would have no choice but to drop as well.
Pearl, who was listening from one side, set down her chopsticks and spoke with some concern.
"Master, won’t this backfire on us? What if Yoshiwara turns into a complete ghost town that no one dares to come to anymore?..."
"And what does that matter?" Marcus chuckled. "Sometimes you have to destroy in order to build. When we’ve got everything ready, we’ll put on a good show in front of everyone: we’ll pretend to cut off the demon’s head, and the matter’s settled. By then those people will have already realized it was pure theater, directed and acted by ourselves. But the land and the shops will already be in our hands. What are they going to be able to say or do?"
At that point, he fixed his gaze on Hakuji. "And besides, if someone really wants to cause us trouble..."
Hakuji set down his bowl, looked at Marcus, and then lowered his eyelids.
"Rest assured, my lord. As long as I’m here, no one will dare lift a finger."
Marcus nodded, satisfied, and turned once more to Pearl.
"I’ll leave the acquisitions to you. Come by my room later to pick up the money." He winked at her. "Let a few days pass, let the news spread a bit more, and then you make your move."
Finding herself with that trust placed on her, Pearl’s eyes lit up; she rose to her feet in a hurry and gave a bow.
"Understood, Master!"
Marcus then looked at Ivy.
"You’ll have to move around over the next few days too. At night, bring out your puppets; you’ll be the main force in the demon business, and I’ll find someone to lend you a hand."
"But remember: avoid hurting people as much as you can and focus on wrecking the shops."
"Yes, Master."
Ivy stood up, submissive, and nodded; seeing that Marcus had already finished eating, she came over to pour him tea.
Ume, who was listening impatiently, spat the bone she had in her mouth onto the table and pushed it aside with her chopsticks.
"What a pain. Isn’t it just a little money? Do we really need all this fuss?"
Marcus looked at her, amused, and took a sip of tea.
"Easy for you to say. Go on, you find me a way to get some money."
Ume blinked, with a face of complete innocence.
"Stealing."
For an instant, the room fell silent.
Off to one side, Gyutaro laughed dryly, in complete agreement.
Marcus set down his cup and looked at her seriously.
"Is there anything in that head of yours besides stealing?"
"Of course." Ume reached out and folded down her fingers one by one. "Stealing, swindling, blackmail, extortion..."
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