"Nezuko is quite nice, isn't she?"
Kanao buried her head against Soma's chest as she spoke softly.
"Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
Soma looked a little surprised.
At that moment, Kanao raised her head slightly, her beautiful pinkish-purple eyes quietly staring at him.
"Uncle… don't you have any thoughts about it at all?"
"What thoughts?"
Soma deliberately turned his head away, pretending not to understand as he started walking forward.
Kanao hurried after him and naturally reached out to hold his large hand with her own.
"You've never thought about having a cute girl like Nezuko by your side?"
Kanao tilted her head up and looked directly at him.
Soma glanced around briefly before letting out a soft laugh.
"Kanao, you seem to have forgotten what I am."
Kanao naturally understood he was referring to his identity as a demon.
By now, they had reached the training grounds. Many people were already hard at work. When they saw Soma, they greeted him with great respect, warmth, and affection.
Soma smiled and returned their greetings, stopping to offer guidance to a few whose forms were slightly off.
Once the instructions were finished, he led Kanao in a different direction. As they walked, he spoke quietly: "Right now, these people are very friendly toward me. If they ever learned the truth of my identity, things would look very different."
He looked down at Kanao. "You think Nezuko doesn't care about me being a demon now, but will that always be the case? Might she not become just like these people in the future?"
As he spoke, he reached out and gently ruffled Kanao's hair.
Kanao loved this kind of affectionate gesture from him.
She slightly lifted her head higher, wanting to feel the warmth of his palm more clearly, while her body unconsciously leaned closer against him.
"They are not like Kanao. Even Nezuko is not the same."
Kanao looked up at him, then lowered her gaze again. "Uncle... you don't truly trust anyone."
"Mhm."
Soma nodded calmly. "The only person I can truly trust is Kanao."
As he spoke, he unconsciously lifted his head and looked toward the sky.
Watching him like this, Kanao suddenly felt a sharp ache in her heart.
As more and more emotions gradually returned to her over time, she was no longer the girl who once barely had thoughts or feelings of her own.
Little by little, she had developed emotions.
Preferences.
Thoughts.
And once a person began thinking for themselves, worries naturally followed afterward.
At least right now, Kanao felt deeply sorry for Soma.
Because of his identity as a demon, he could never live openly alongside others like a normal human being. He always had to wear a false mask around everyone.
Others could not see it.
But Kanao knew it had to be exhausting.
"Uncle… maybe Nezuko really will become someone trustworthy in the future. Maybe she really can become like Kanao. But Miss Makomo isn't someone you can trust. Her hatred toward demons is too deep. I'm worried…"
"I know."
Soma nodded lightly.
"Kanao has been thinking about far too many things today."
"Is that so? Then, Uncle… is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"I'm not really sure."
Soma shook his head lightly.
Kanao was gradually becoming more and more like a normal girl. Along with the liveliness and happiness that came with youth, she was also beginning to develop worries and troubles of her own.
Kanao tilted her head as she looked at him before turning her gaze into the distance.
At the far side of the training grounds, Tanjiro was getting along well with everyone around him. Even the usually quiet and distant Giyu Tomioka would show a faint smile whenever he saw Tanjiro.
Naturally, Soma noticed all of it too.
Perhaps his arrival had already changed the future's course, but people themselves had not changed.
Some people simply had a natural ability to influence those around them.
Tanjiro was exactly that kind of person.
With nothing more than his warmth, sincerity, and energetic spirit, he could easily earn the goodwill of everyone nearby and naturally draw people together around him.
Compared to Soma, who could gain everyone's respect, people still found it easier to approach Tanjiro and become close to him.
Now that he noticed Kanao watching Tanjiro too, an unpleasant sourness suddenly rose in Soma's chest.
As Kanao gradually became more normal and regained the emotions of an ordinary girl, it also meant that someday in the future…
She would fall for someone.
She would eventually admire a boy she liked.
As girls grew older, developing feelings for the opposite sex was only natural.
But somehow, Soma found that thought difficult to accept.
Especially because, in the original story, Tanjiro and Kanao were supposed to end up together.
The moment he thought of that, his mood instantly worsened.
For a brief instant, he even had the absurd urge to strangle Tanjiro.
"Uncle has always been looking forward to Tanjiro's growth, hasn't he?"
Kanao looked up at him quietly.
From the very beginning until now, the first people Soma had approached were the Kamado family, and it was he who had guided Tanjiro onto the path of a Demon Slayer.
"Mhm."
Soma nodded before lowering his gaze toward Kanao, asking in what sounded like a casual tone: "What do you think of Tanjiro as a person?"
Kanao's beautiful eyes stared at him thoughtfully for a moment.
"Tanjiro gives people a very gentle feeling. He's extremely sensitive to the emotions of others and always takes care of people kindly…"
She listed one of Tanjiro's strengths after another without hesitation.
The more she spoke, the more irritated and frustrated Soma became inside.
Kanao tilted her head slightly.
Perhaps because she had spent so much time by his side, almost none of Soma's emotional changes could escape her sharp eyes.
Especially now, seeing him so restless and agitated somehow made her feel a little happy inside.
Still, she could not bear to watch him remain upset like this forever, so she gently tugged on his hand.
"What is it?"
Rarely, Soma's tone carried a trace of impatience.
His mood truly was terrible right now.
Sensing his emotions, Kanao lowered her head slightly while holding onto his large hand with both of hers.
"Even though Tanjiro has many good qualities… compared to Uncle, he's far inferior."
Soma turned his head away.
"And he can't even be compared to Uncle at all."
The girl spoke softly while holding his hand tightly. Tilting her head, she noticed the faint change at the corner of his lips and unconsciously smiled a little herself. A playful glimmer appeared in her eyes.
"Uncle… are you jealous right now?"
"How could I be?"
Soma immediately denied it while shaking his head repeatedly.
Kanao's pinkish-purple eyes quietly observed him.
With her sharp perception, every tiny movement on Soma's face was crystal clear to her. No emotion could easily escape her notice.
Then she slowly moved closer and gently rested her head against his chest.
"If you're so worried... why won't you let me stay with you at night anymore?"
Recently, after sleeping together with Kie Kamado, Kanao had gradually begun understanding many things she never understood before.
The girl lifted her head slightly, revealing her fair and beautiful face completely before him.
"What exactly is Uncle so afraid of losing control over?"
...
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