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After dinner, Saya Takagi didn't care one bit about the other girls watching. She wrapped both arms around one of Shuya's and pressed herself tight against him.
"Big brother," she asked in the softest, sweetest voice imaginable, "what did you see when you went through that weird door? Can you tell us about it?"
The rest of the girls didn't even blink. They were used to this version of Saya by now.
Tsunderes are like that. Once the "tsun" completely melts away and only the "dere" is left, they turn into total sweethearts.
It hadn't happened overnight, of course. There had been a whole process: first she couldn't swallow her pride and join in, then she got jealous watching everyone else dote on him, then she finally forced herself to try it… and now here she was, openly cuddling him in front of everyone without a hint of shame.
On Shuya's other side, Shizuka Marikawa had already claimed the best spot. She was sprawled lazily across the couch with the back of her head resting on his thigh. She'd grabbed both his hands and placed them on her head, eyes half-closed, clearly not interested in the conversation at all.
Shuya knew exactly what she wanted. His fingers went to work, gently massaging her scalp. Every so often the ditzy blonde let out a soft, breathy little hum that made it very hard not to let your mind wander.
Hearing Saya's question, Shuya kept the headpats going without missing a beat. He looked up and scanned the faces of the girls gathered around.
Everyone except the half-asleep Shizuka on his lap seemed genuinely curious.
He cleared his throat. "You're right. The door really does lead to a whole new world—one without zombies."
The girls' eyes widened in surprise. Even though they'd already guessed something like that after being sent to Greed Island, hearing him confirm it out loud still hit them.
Saeko leaned forward, purple eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Shuya-kouhai, can you tell us more about the world behind the gate? Is it some kind of parallel world? Would there be… another version of us there?"
Shuya shook his head. "It's Japan, but not the Japan we know. The surface looks almost identical—same history, same society—but the year is the Taisho era, around 1912 to 1926."
"Only on the surface?" Yuriko asked sharply, catching the hint in his tone.
"Exactly," Shuya continued. "The world isn't safe. There are no mindless zombies, but hidden in the shadows are two forces that have been at each other's throats for over a thousand years."
"One side is the demon faction led by the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji."
"A thousand years?" The girls' mouths fell open. Even Shizuka's eyes cracked open a little wider.
"Yeah. A thousand years," Shuya confirmed. "Demons can live that long, but they have two major weaknesses: sunlight kills them instantly, and they have to eat human flesh to survive."
He was a little envious of that kind of lifespan, sure. But if he had a choice, he would never want to become one of them. The no-sunlight thing could be worked around with stuff like the Blue Spider Lily, but eating people? Hard pass.
Even if he could force himself to hold back the hunger like Nezuko in the story, he couldn't stand the idea of that kind of craving living inside his own head.
So any demon blood he took from Muzan would mostly be for experiments—either to create controllable demons with Blood Demon Arts or to upgrade his Transmutation ability, Undead Prelude.
Using it for longevity would only be the absolute last resort.
Shuya paused, then kept going. "For the last thousand years, Muzan has been turning humans into man-eating demons with his blood, all so he can find a flower called the Blue Spider Lily and finally walk in sunlight. The humans who survived demon attacks eventually banded together and formed the Demon Slayer Corps to fight back."
"Those two sides have been locked in war ever since. That's the dark side of that world."
He let the girls absorb the information for a moment.
Then he turned to Rika. "Rika-nee, ever think about going back to your old line of work?"
"Old line of work?" Rika's violet eyes sparkled with interest. "I'm listening."
"Deep in the mountains of that world lives a family called the Kamados. They've passed down the Sun Breathing technique for over four hundred years—the strongest sword style ever created by the greatest swordsman of the Sengoku period, the one who almost killed Muzan."
Shuya smiled. "I'm pretty interested in it. Think you could track them down for me?"
Rika shook her head with a helpless little laugh. "Tell me everything you know. I'm not wandering around like a headless chicken."
Shuya gave her every detail he remembered about the Kamado family.
Then he turned to Saeko. "Under Muzan there's a swordsman who's been alive for over four hundred years. He's the older brother of that same strongest swordsman from the Sengoku era."
"Saeko-senpai, I figured you'd want a crack at someone like that."
Saeko's eyes lit up instantly with burning battle lust.
A swordsman who had spent four centuries honing his blade?
Now that sounded like the perfect whetstone.
"Please let me fight him," she said, voice eager.
"Of course," Shuya answered without hesitation.
With Rika and Saeko's tasks set, he was done handing out assignments. Everything else could wait.
Which meant it was time for the part everyone was really looking forward to.
So the question was…
Which brave heroine was going to challenge the Demon King Shuya tonight?
Or…
Would it be all of them?