Chapter 36: Have You Ever Seen a blue spider lily?
Hearing this innocent question, Tatsu's mouth twitched.
"Ahem..."
Tatsu cleared his throat, his mind racing as he thought about how to fabricate a reasonable excuse.
Should I just say I'm a demon?
No, that would scare the child.
Say I'm afraid of the light?
That's the truth, but there has to be a reason.
"Um... Little Nezuko, right?"
Tatsu tried his best to make his voice sound gentler.
"Actually... I have a very strange disease."
"A disease?"
Upon hearing this, Nezuko's curious gaze instantly turned into one of worry.
She took two steps forward but stopped a few meters away from Tatsu, seemingly afraid of offending the guest.
"What kind of disease is it? Is it very serious?"
"Mama says when you're sick, you should drink lots of hot water and get plenty of rest."
"This disease is called... Ultraviolet Allergic Skin Necrosis Syndrome."
Tatsu spoke nonsense with a straight face, his expression incredibly serious as if he were truly talking about a terminal illness.
"To put it simply, my skin is extremely fragile."
"Once it comes into contact with sunlight, it hurts like being burned by fire, and it even rots."
"So I can only stay in dark places and must never see the light."
"Ah? That's so serious!"
Nezuko let out a cry of surprise, covering her mouth with her hands, her eyes filled with sympathy and pity.
"That... that must be very painful, right?"
"If you can't be in the sun, your body will get very cold."
As she spoke, she subconsciously hugged her own arms, shivering as if she could feel the pain herself.
"Yes, it's very cold."
Tatsu nodded along with her words, a flicker of hard-to-detect cunning flashing in his eyes.
"It's like being soaked in ice water, with a chill seeping out from my very bones."
"So you see, I have to wrap myself in such a thick quilt, or I'll really freeze solid."
This wasn't entirely a lie.
As a demon, his body temperature was indeed much lower than that of a normal person; that icy sensation was etched into his genes.
After listening, the worry on Nezuko's face grew even deeper.
She hesitated for a moment, then, as if making a decision, she walked quickly to the cabinet in the room.
Opening the cabinet door, she pulled out a thick cotton quilt.
"This... this is a spare quilt for the family. It's a bit old, but it's very warm."
Carrying the quilt that was larger than herself, Nezuko walked to Tatsu with some effort and handed it to him carefully.
"Big brother, cover yourself with more, don't let yourself freeze."
"If... if it's still cold, I'll go light a brazier for you guys."
Looking at the young girl in front of him who was trying so hard to warm him, Tatsu's heart skipped a beat.
It wasn't out of a craving for flesh and blood,
but a feeling of being enveloped in warmth.
In this cruel world of Demon Slayer,
Nezuko was like a beam of truly warm yet non-blinding light, illuminating the corners shrouded in darkness.
She didn't care who the other person was, nor did she care what strange disease they had.
She only knew that the person in front of her needed help and warmth.
"Thank you."
Tatsu reached out and took the quilt, which carried a faint scent of sunlight.
The moment his fingers touched the quilt,
Nezuko seemed to notice his skin, which was so pale it was bloodless.
"Oh, big brother, your hands are so cold!"
Nezuko exclaimed, subconsciously reaching out her hands, wanting to hold Tatsu's hand to help warm him up.
Tatsu was startled and instinctively wanted to pull his hand back.
His skin was not only cold but also hard, feeling nothing like human skin.
If Nezuko held it, he would likely be exposed.
But at that moment, a soft hand grabbed Nezuko's hand first.
It was Kanae.
At some point, she had come to their side, smiling as she stood between Tatsu and Nezuko.
She gently held Nezuko's small hand and said softly:
"Nezuko is such a gentle and good child."
"But don't worry, Tatsu's illness is just like this; it's normal for his body temperature to be low."
"As long as he covers up with more quilts and gets some rest, he'll be fine."
"Is... is that so?"
Nezuko looked at Kanae with some confusion, then looked at Tatsu huddled in the quilt.
In the end, she chose to believe this beautiful older sister.
"Then... okay then."
"Big sister, you should also take care of yourself. Even though it's spring now, it's still very chilly in the mornings and evenings."
"Mm, I will."
Kanae nodded with a smile, her eyes full of doting affection.
"Thank you for your concern, Nezuko."
"Then I'll go get breakfast for you guys."
"Mama made delicious miso soup and rice balls."
Nezuko seemed to remember her task, and a bright smile returned to her face.
"You must eat a lot. Only when you're full will your body warm up."
After saying that, she turned and ran out like a happy little deer.
"Wait a moment."
Tatsu suddenly spoke up to stop her.
Nezuko stopped in her tracks, turned back, and looked at Tatsu in confusion:
"Is there something else, big brother?"
Tatsu looked at Nezuko standing in the faint light, and images from the original story suddenly surfaced in his mind.
That demon girl biting a bamboo muzzle, that ultimate being who struggled painfully in the sun but eventually conquered it.
Where exactly was the blue spider lily that Muzan Kibutsuji had searched for for a thousand years hidden?
Why was only Nezuko able to conquer the sun?
Was it because of the Kamado family lineage?
Or was it because... she had accidentally eaten something?
Although the original work didn't explicitly state that Nezuko had eaten the blue spider lily, it remained a huge mystery.
As a transmigrator, and one who was also a demon,
Tatsu had a stronger desire than anyone else to "conquer the sun."
If he could get a clue from Nezuko, even just a little bit...
"Nezuko."
"I have something I want to ask you."
"Eh? What is it?"
Nezuko blinked her eyes.
"Have you... ever seen, or eaten, a certain kind of flower?"
Tatsu weighed his words and asked,
"A... blue flower."
"It looks a bit like a spider lily, but it's blue."
"Or, have you ever been to a place where blue flowers grow?"
"Blue... spider lily?"
Nezuko tilted her head, her finger resting on her chin as she tried hard to remember.
The room fell into a dead silence.
Tatsu's heart began to race, and he even held his breath.
Beside him, Kanae also sensed Tatsu's abnormality.
Although she didn't know what the "blue spider lily" signified,
she keenly felt that this question was of vital importance to Tatsu.
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