Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

Yukina felt the scenery before her eyes suddenly change, and a familiar, slight feeling of weightlessness swept through her body.

She instinctively tightened her arms, holding the soft little one in her arms even tighter.

When her vision cleared again, she was in the room she knew so well.

Her father stood in the center of the room.

Muzan, who had been wearing a cold expression, was thinking to himself:

After that idiot comes over, he'll most likely rush over, hug him tightly, and say that he misses his dad so much.

He would only push her away and scold her, "Stay away from me."

Although when I checked her memories just now, I found that she hadn't heard that damned flattery from that human at all.

But that doesn't mean he'll easily forgive this idiot!

They're all ghosts...

They couldn't even hear a conversation this close up clearly; they had absolutely no sense of vigilance!

It's made me become like this for no reason...

However, when Muzan saw that what Nakime had brought over was not only Yukina, but also the yellowish-brown fur ball that she was tightly holding in her arms.

The already cold expression on his face immediately turned even more displeased.

He coldly questioned in his mind:

"Nakime, who gave you permission to teleport this stray dog ​​along?"

"My lord, they were too close together to be teleported separately; it was my dereliction of duty."

Nakime recounted the truth.

"Since they were so close, couldn't you have waited until they separated before sending the message? Can't you even make that kind of judgment?"

"...Yes, sir. Should the dog be sent back separately now?"

"..."

Muzan watched as Yukina crossed her arms, almost burying her face in the dog fur, her arms tightly wrapped around herself.

I really want to get rid of this dog...

He cut off contact with Nakime and stopped responding.

Ok……

The adult disconnected the connection...

That means it's not my business anymore.

Narumi gently stroked the biwa in her arms and silently came to a conclusion.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Yukina blinked, and when she looked up, she met Muzan's red eyes.

It was almost a reenactment of the scenario Muzan had envisioned.

She did indeed rush towards him.

This time, however, she still held that unsightly yellow ball of fur tightly in her arms, and the puppy's ears twitched gently with her steps as she ran.

"dad!"

"Dad, what's wrong with you? Who said you weren't Xue Nai's dad? And that you weren't lucky enough to be with her!"

"Dad, don't believe those wicked words! They're definitely false!"

Naming the puppy is important, but what's occupying the top of her little mind right now is her father's nonsensical and terrible words.

Did Dad hear someone saying bad things about him outside?

However, before she could get close with her dog-smelling body, a long, slender finger pressed against her forehead, stopping her in her tracks.

"Put this stray dog ​​down, or don't come near me!"

Xue Nai glanced at the dog in her arms and whispered in protest, "Daddy, this is Xue Nai's puppy, not a stray..."

But under Muzan's cold gaze, she pursed her lips and finally slowly bent down, gently placing the puppy in her arms on a clean wooden floor spot next to her.

The movement of putting it down was very gentle, as if afraid of dropping it.

She gently patted the puppy's head with her little hand and whispered soothingly, "Little puppy, sit here obediently and don't run around."

Dad is clearly in a bad mood right now. He doesn't really like puppies to begin with, and if I insist on holding it, it will definitely make him even angrier...

"Nothing happened, don't ask about what just happened."

At this moment, Muzan finally responded to her long string of words.

His tone was harsh, even somewhat menacing, as if he was trying to mask something with impatience.

He would never let that idiot know that he had such absurd associations and annoyances because of a single, overheard human remark.

What would happen if she found out?

Wouldn't that make me seem like I care a lot about whether she sees me as her father?

This idiot's tail is probably getting too big for his britches, and he'll become even more lawless in the future.

He turned away, avoiding her gaze, and looked to the other side of the room, leaving only Xue Nai with a profile view.

It was clear that the message was, "Let's let this matter rest and never mention it again."

Seeing Muzan's cold and hard attitude, Yukina was not annoyed.

Dad probably has his own little secrets that he doesn't want to tell others, right?

Fine, I won't tell you then.

As long as Dad isn't as unhappy as he was just now, that's fine!

She took a few steps, walked around halfway, and came to the side that Muzan had deliberately turned to the side. She looked up at him with her eyes crinkled and raised one hand to wave gently.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I think I've run into my dad again!"

Fool……

They've been in the same room the whole time, okay...

Muzan lowered his eyelashes, his gaze falling on the face of the child who had sidled up to him.

He neither spoke again to drive him away nor turned away.

Having received this silent permission, Xue Na smiled even more happily.

She immediately took advantage of the situation and reached out her small hand to grab one of Muzan's hands hanging by his side.

"Daddy! Xue Nai misses Daddy so much..."

"I wish I could be with my dad every single day!"

"snort……"

"Who wants to see you every day?"

Muzan almost reflexively chuckled, and the sarcastic words slipped out of his mouth.

However, only after he finished speaking did he belatedly realize:

How could I have let this idiot hold my hand?

I haven't forgiven her yet!

Moreover, those hands had just been holding that dirty stray dog!

This made him stiffen, and he immediately pulled his finger out.

"you……"

He quickly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and vigorously wiped the area that had just been touched.

After wiping his own clothes, he seemed unsatisfied and sharply swept his gaze over the bewildered Yukina, commanding:

"Hands! Open them!"

Xue Nai obediently stretched out both of her little hands, palms up, in front of him.

Her hands were small, with short, rounded fingers.

The palm is soft with shallow lines.

Muzan frowned, picked up a new handkerchief with his fingertips, wrapped it around his fingers, and began to wipe his two small hands.

From the palm to every finger, not even the spaces between the fingers are spared.

The wiping was much gentler than before, but the rubbing of the cloth against my palm caused a tickling sensation.

"Daddy, it itches so much!"

Yukina finally couldn't help but twitch her fingers, her little face showing an expression between wanting to laugh and holding back. In the end, she couldn't help but mutter something under her breath.

Muzan paused, lifted his eyelids, and glanced at it.

"Troublesome." He scoffed coldly, then deftly shoved the handkerchief into Xue Nai's outstretched hand. "Then wipe yourself."

This is absolutely outrageous.

For him to condescend to do such a meaningless thing was already an unprecedented act of tolerance.

If the pressure is too strong, the little devil will struggle and feel uncomfortable; if it's too gentle, she'll complain of being itchy.