Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

"What the hell is this—" Akaza stared at the strange object in his hand, gritting his teeth, "Doma—!"

Doma leaned closer, tilting his head to examine his expression. "Oh dear, do you find it interesting too?"

"You're asking for it—!" Akaza gripped the music box in one hand, while his other fist slammed into Doma's face.

"Such a novel thing, you must have never seen it before, right? I thought you would like it—" Douma rubbed his head, which had been hit again, without caring.

Akaza has been really annoyed lately.

In recent years, humans have been very strange. They have cut down forests one after another, and then started planting trees again. The places he used to stay are always disturbed by humans.

I was planning to go back to Infinite City to train quietly for a few days, but I bumped into this deadbeat as soon as I entered.

He felt he would rather stay outside.

Akaza shoved the music box back into Doma's hands with a quick and forceful motion.

"Your Excellency—" Douma held the music box, watching the rapidly receding figure, and reached out his hand to stop him.

Akaza didn't even turn his head.

"Ah, alright, alright." Douma withdrew his hand, looked down at the music box in his hand, then looked up at the empty corridor. "It's just me again."

He stood there for a while, then looked up and shouted in a certain direction.

"Miss Pipa—Miss Pipa—Are you there?"

There was no ghostly response.

Doma waited a few seconds, then called out again, "Miss Biwa, aren't you here?"

The air was very quiet, there wasn't even a breeze.

"He's not here... So if I leave now..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

"Zheng—"

A familiar pipa melody came from all directions.

Doma: "...?"

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he was enveloped by the clear and melodious sound of the zither and disappeared into the Infinite City.

……

Within the Blissful Religion.

When it was time to receive the believers, Qinye stood in the corridor for a while.

The cult leader's door was not yet open.

As a newly appointed maid, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

The cult leader is very punctual in receiving believers; he always sits in the reception room beforehand, waiting for her to call him.

Today is...

She was hesitating whether to knock on the door when it suddenly opened from the inside.

"Huh—" Douma poked half his head out, his cult leader's hat askew, and saw Kotoha standing in the doorway. He blinked his seven-colored eyes, "What's Kotoha doing standing here?"

Qin Ye breathed a sigh of relief and quickly lowered her head. "Master, it's time to go to the reception room."

"Oh, is it already this late?" Douma straightened his hat, walked out of the door, and closed the door behind him.

He straightened his clothes and looked at Qin Ye with a smile.

"Kotoha is so responsible~"

Upon arriving at the reception room, Douma sat down on the cushions, straightened the hem of his robes, and then looked up, his eyes crinkling.

"Then I'll trouble Xiao Qinye to inform them that they can come in."

Qinye responded and left.

One by one, the believers waiting outside went inside.

Some lamented the death of their husbands, leaving behind a mountain of debt; others lamented the loss of their children, which they had been searching for for over half a month without success; still others lamented that they had contracted an incurable disease and didn't know how many days they had left to live.

Qinye stood at the door, watching those people walk in with sorrowful faces, and then watching them walk out with renewed composure.

Some of them still had red eyes, but their expressions were much more relaxed than when they went in. She thought to herself, "The cult leader is truly a good person."

The last female believer I met looked somewhat unusual.

She looked quite old, but she went in with a smile.

Qinye led her to the door, pushed it open, and stepped aside. "Please come in."

The female believer nodded to her with a gentle smile.

Qinye withdrew, gently closing the door behind her. She waited by the corridor, when another maid standing beside her tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Do you know who she is?"

Qinye looked up at the closed door and honestly shook her head.

"That's the owner of Fukusuke Restaurant." The waitress's voice was filled with excitement. "That restaurant is super popular; there's always a long queue every time you go."

Qinye blinked.

"I heard that this boss was originally just an ordinary woman who lost her husband and had a child," the maid continued. "She couldn't make ends meet raising her child alone, and then the cult leader helped her."

"Did they pay?" Qinye remembered that someone had mentioned something similar before.

"Yes, it's said that the cult leader gave her money, a lot of it." The maid nodded. "She used that money to open that shop, and it grew bigger and bigger. Now it's the most popular restaurant on that street."

Qinye listened quietly. Although it was the second time she had heard this story, a strange feeling welled up in her heart after seeing the believer.

"When did Fukusuke Restaurant open?" she asked. "Has it only been open a few years?"

The maid was taken aback, not expecting her to ask that, and tilted her head to think for a moment. "Of course not, it's been open for over twenty years, and there are many branches."

"More than twenty years..." Qinye murmured, repeating herself. She finally understood the strangeness in her mind.

She looked up at the closed door.

"The cult leader looks to be only around twenty years old. When did he start helping that boss?"

Moreover, many of the stories circulating in the church are from many years ago.

"Eh? This..." The maid was stumped by her question, blinked, and thought seriously for a while. "I'm not really sure either. Maybe it was the previous leader."

"The previous leader?"

"Most of the believers who are regularly in the church now are people who have only come in recent years. It seems that only Mr. Endo has been here for decades."

The maid lowered her voice, her tone tinged with mystery, "However, there's a legend in the church that the High Priest was born a son of God and will never grow old."

"Won't get old?" Qin Ye's voice unconsciously rose a little, then she quickly covered her mouth and lowered her voice, "How is that possible?"

The maid smiled and leaned closer: "This is also a rumor in the church—I'll let you in on a secret, what everyone is guessing is that every leader looks a lot alike, which is why it feels like it's always the same person."

Qinye listened, silently convincing herself.

This sounds much more plausible. It's not that they won't age, it's just that they look alike. She took a deep breath and suppressed those chaotic thoughts.

"Let's not talk about that." The maid suddenly turned to look at her, her tone becoming lighter. "Kotoyo, I heard that when you were helping out in the kitchen, other people said you were very good at cooking."

Qin Ye paused for a moment, her face flushing slightly. "No, no—" she quickly waved her hand, "I don't have any special skills. I just learned a little cooking from the adults in my family when I was little. It's nothing compared to running a restaurant."

"That's not necessarily true." The maid smiled and took her arm. "Isn't the government encouraging this now? Maybe Kotoha will be able to open a shop later, one that's even more popular than Fukusuke's restaurant."

Qin Ye was amused by her and was about to say something when the door suddenly opened.

Qinye and her maid stood up straight and looked towards the door.

Doma walked out of the reception room, followed by the female believer.

The two stopped at the door, one after the other.

Doma turned around, clasped his hands together, and looked compassionate and gentle.

"Lady Kako - Eternal Bliss".

The lady also put her hands together, bowed slightly, and had a smile on her face.

"Eternal bliss".