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Chapter 174: A Sister's Happiness is the Most Important Thing
"Lord Warabihime, look, look! It's candy! Really yummy candy!"
Koharu suppressed the urge to immediately devour the sweet Kanae had just given her. Looking back at Ume—who seemed entirely different from her usual self—Koharu hesitated, then trotted over and held the candy out, offering it to the former Oiran.
"Don't get cocky, you little brat." Ume glared at Koharu, her lips curling in a haughty sneer. "You think I care about garbage like that? With my status and power, I can have as much of that as I want!"
"Oh, come on, Lord Warabihime, don't be like that! This is the first time I've ever gotten something this nice. I want to share one with you!"
Despite Ume's sharp insults, Koharu wasn't bothered in the slightest. She had lived in the Kyogoku House; she knew exactly what Ume's personality was like. Before today, even if she had ten times the courage, she never would have dared approach the violent Oiran.
But seeing Ume acting as docile as a kitten on Suyan's back had completely shattered that terrifying image. Koharu felt like Ume had changed. Plus, since they had all been bought by Suyan, they were bound to spend a lot of time together. Koharu genuinely wanted to bridge the gap.
Without waiting for a response, Koharu generously pressed the candy into Ume's hand.
"What is this? You think I'm going to thank you, brat? Keep dreaming. The line of people begging to win my favor stretches all the way to France!"
That was what Ume said out loud, but looking down at the candy in her palm, she couldn't stop herself from quietly gulping.
Before being turned into a demon, Ume's family was agonizingly poor, arguably worse off than even the Kamado family's humble charcoal business. Because she was born with bizarre silver-white hair, and Gyutaro was born hideous, their parents completely despised them. They were abandoned at a very young age and had to rely entirely on each other just to survive.
In this era, candy was a luxury item. Hundreds of years ago, when they were human, it was practically a myth. Ume had never tasted a piece of candy in her human life.
She had tried eating human food after becoming a demon, but by then, her biology had completely rejected it.
Ume remembered Suyan's promise—that he would let her stand in the sun and taste human food again. She didn't know how he did it, but she was standing in the sunlight right now, feeling its warmth.
So… she could eat this candy, right?
She peeked at Koharu, who was happily distracted, and carefully unwrapped the paper. She tossed the crystal-clear, jewel-like sweet into her mouth.
The moment it hit her tongue, a putrid, horrifyingly repulsive flavor exploded in her mouth.
"What is this garbage?!" Ume violently spat it out. "Disgusting! Blegh! Blegh!"
It was only natural. Suyan could use Greed Island's rules to protect her from the sun, but he couldn't magically rewrite her demonic biology to make her human again. If he could do that, there would be no need to form Equivalent Exchange pacts—he could just instantly grant anyone superpowers and immortality with a snap of his fingers.
"Lord Daki, how could you do that?! It was so delicious, you completely wasted it!"
Koharu, happily savoring her own candy, stared in heartbreak at the sweet lying in the dirt. She carefully picked it up, figuring she could just wash it off with water, and turned to scold the former Oiran without an ounce of fear.
"You call this repulsive garbage delicious?!"
Ume had no memory of what candy was actually supposed to taste like, nor did she realize the disgusting flavor was due to her own demonic biology. She just assumed the candy itself was vile.
She glared fiercely at Koharu. "You little brat, you were messing with me on purpose, weren't you?!"
"So scary~"
Faced with Ume's murderous glare, Koharu suddenly felt like a rabbit locked in a viper's gaze. She started trembling violently and reflexively huddled together with the other girls.
Koinatsu stepped forward, shielding them with her body. "Lord Daki, please do not bully Koharu."
"Hah? What the hell are you talking about? You want to defy me? Do you want me to eat you alive?!" Ume sneered, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she threatened the girl. "Though I suppose with a face like yours, you might actually be worth eating."
"I… I don't believe you!" Koinatsu wavered for a moment, but thinking of Suyan gave her courage. She firmly planted her feet, staring back at Ume with unwavering resolve.
"You little bitch!"
Seeing Koinatsu brazenly standing up to her, Ume gritted her teeth. She felt deeply insulted. But remembering Suyan, she knew she couldn't actually hurt the girl.
But she could absolutely terrify her.
Vibrant, prehensile sashes erupted from Ume's back, twisting and coiling through the air like the tentacles of a colossal octopus. They hovered menacingly, radiating a lethal intent that promised to shred Koinatsu the second she twitched.
Yet Koinatsu merely bit her lip, refusing to yield a single inch.
Ume suddenly found herself riding a tiger with no easy way to get off.
"Now, now, everyone needs to get along peacefully," a gentle voice called out, saving Ume from her awkward standoff.
Ume eyed Kocho Kanae out of the corner of her eye. "And who the hell are you?"
"I'm Kocho Kanae. And your name is Ume, right? If you'd like, you can call me Big Sister, just like the others do."
After her long conversations with Suyan, Kanae had finally abandoned her naive dream of peaceful coexistence with demons. She would never recklessly attempt to befriend another demon besides Ume, because she had felt the crushing, suffocating despair her sister Shinobu endured when she died.
But she was still thrilled. Just a couple of nights ago, Suyan had brought Tamayo and Yushiro—two good demons who refused to harm humans—into the island, though he housed them in a separate area. She definitely planned to introduce herself to them later.
Ume looked at Kanae like she had completely lost her mind. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I am Daki, Upper Rank 6! Not some peasant named Ume. I've lived so long I can't even remember my own age, and you want me to call you 'Big Sister'?"
"But… you aren't Upper Rank 6 anymore, are you?" Kanae tapped her chin, blinking innocently at Ume.
"What?!"
Ume was stunned. She quickly scanned herself. After forging the pact with Suyan and surrendering her ownership, the kanji marking her as an Upper Rank had completely vanished from her eyes.
While she still retained her Blood Demon Art, the intrinsic, soul-deep link tying her life to Gyutaro's—the failsafe that meant they both had to be decapitated simultaneously to die—was completely gone.
Realizing this, a bizarre, suffocating wave of emotion crashed into her chest. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but tears began to well up in her golden eyes, causing ripples in her vision.
"Having lived for so long, Ume must have suffered so much, right?"
Kanae stepped forward, her heart aching for the girl, and pulled Ume into a tight, maternal embrace. "So it's okay. Ume can treat me like an older sister. You can let it all out and lean on me."
"So… so warm…"
With so many people watching, Daki normally would have violently shoved her away to save face. She instinctively tried to break free, but Kanae's aura was so profoundly gentle and soothing that it drained the fight right out of her.
The unique, floral scent clinging to Kanae's skin was incredibly comforting. She possessed a strange, almost magnetic magic that made Ume want to stay locked in her arms forever.
It was an entirely different feeling from what she felt with Suyan.
Unconsciously, her mind drifted back to a freezing winter night during her childhood. She and Gyutaro had just run away from their hateful parents, relying solely on each other to survive. Huddled together in the freezing snow beneath a torn, drafty straw mat, her body had been shivering violently, constantly teetering on the edge of death.
But despite the agonizing cold, her heart had felt impossibly warm.
And now, she felt that exact same warmth radiating from Kanae.
"Brother?" Ume whispered unconsciously.
As the word left her lips, the cold, arrogant gold in her eyes slowly began to fade, shifting back into the vibrant, innocent blue of her human years.
She finally remembered. She remembered all the human memories she had forcefully suppressed the day she became a demon.
She wasn't Daki. She wasn't Upper Rank 6.
Her name was Ume! Ume, like the plum blossom!
Kanae smiled, gently holding the newly awakened girl. She could feel the dramatic shift in Ume's emotional state. Suyan was right, she thought. This child is special.
"Not Brother," Kanae corrected gently. "It's Big Sister."
Ume suddenly shoved herself out of Kanae's arms.
In that moment, she realized with horrifying clarity just how many awful, selfish things she had done to her brother Gyutaro over the last few centuries.
Ume practically flew over to Suyan, violently grabbing him by the collar. "Where is my brother?! I can't feel him anymore! What did you do to him?!"
Suyan was surprised to see her eyes had shifted back to blue. He was even more surprised to see the usually selfish Daki showing such desperate concern for Gyutaro. But after the shock faded, a wave of satisfaction washed over him.
Even if she was currently prioritizing another man, it proved that the Daki persona was dead. This was Ume.
Suyan gently patted her head, softening his voice to calm her. "I didn't do anything to your brother. The only reason you can't feel him is because you belong to me now. Relax, I'm not going to hurt him."
Suyan wasn't lying. If he could tolerate Daki's horrific personality, he certainly had no issues with the much more agreeable Gyutaro.
However, since he couldn't forge a Contract with Gyutaro, he couldn't bring him into Greed Island. Instead, Suyan had ordered Gyutaro to stay behind and clean up the massive underground larder Daki had created beneath the Yoshiwara—freeing the living victims and burying or burning the dead.
Once night fell, Gyutaro was to make his way to the Butterfly Mansion, where Suyan had arranged for him to be transported to Tamayo's clinic. Ume had just been too distracted earlier to hear the arrangements.
"Really?" Ume stared at him, her blue eyes wide and desperate. "I want to see him."
"Right now?" Suyan asked.
"Right now!" Ume demanded, leaving no room for argument.
"Fine, follow me." Suyan didn't refuse. He shot Kanae an apologetic look. "I'm taking her out for a bit."
He grabbed Ume's hand and led her back to the Dimensional Gate. Luckily, he hadn't yet relocated the exit to the Butterfly Mansion, or this would have been highly inconvenient.
Stepping back through the portal, they arrived exactly where they had left. Suyan activated En to sweep the area, quickly pinpointing Gyutaro's location. He led Ume straight to her hardworking brother.
"Brother?!"
The moment Ume spotted Gyutaro's filthy, exhausted figure, she sprinted toward him in tears.
"Ume? Why are you back?"
Gyutaro scratched his head, completely bewildered. He was currently hauling a corpse over his shoulder and had no idea whether to drop it or keep holding it as his sister charged at him.
Stopping right in front of him, Ume looked up at his dumbfounded expression and sobbed, "Brother… I'm so sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" Gyutaro was genuinely lost.
"I…"
Before Ume could explain, Gyutaro suddenly froze, staring intensely into her eyes.
"Ume, your eyes!" Gyutaro gasped in shock.
"My eyes?" Ume blinked, confused.
But Gyutaro knew those eyes. Only one person in the entire world possessed that brilliantly beautiful shade of blue.
"You're back…" Gyutaro mumbled, his voice trembling. "Ume, you're really back?"
"Yes, I'm back, Brother." Understanding what he meant, Ume nodded tearfully and offered him the gentlest, most heartbreakingly pure smile.
"Thank god… thank god!" Gyutaro unceremoniously dumped the corpse off his shoulder and began waving his arms and dancing around in a frantic, awkward celebration.
"Pfft~"
Seeing her brother's ridiculous, uncoordinated happy dance, Ume couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter. She reached up and wiped away a stray tear from her eye.
Tears of pure joy.
"Thank you. Thank you for bringing my Ume back to me." Gyutaro turned to Suyan, his expression suddenly dead serious. "Letting Ume follow you was the right choice."
Even if he had to repeat his life a thousand times, he would choose to become a demon every single time, solely for the chance to see Ume smile again. Now, seeing the pure, innocent sister he thought he had lost centuries ago, he had zero regrets.
If Suyan ordered him to go assassinate Muzan right now, Gyutaro wouldn't hesitate for a second.
"Please, take care of Ume for me!" Gyutaro grabbed Ume's hand and firmly placed it into Suyan's.
A man capable of restoring Ume to her true self was a man worthy of entrusting her entire future to. To Gyutaro, nothing in the universe mattered more than his sister's happiness.
"Brother?!" Ume stared at him in utter shock.
Suyan coughed awkwardly. "We're not parting ways forever. Isn't this getting a little too melodramatic?"
"O-oh, is it?" Ume blinked.
Gyutaro scratched his head, returning to his usual dopey expression. "I guess it kinda is?"
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