Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

Previously, he had a feeling that the girl had a pair of beautiful pinkish-purple eyes, and he always felt that she was very similar to the female swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps. At that time, he suspected that she might be Kanao Awahana.

Therefore, he asked her name at the time, only to learn that she didn't have a name. She was just called "Little Eight" because she was the eighth child in her family. In addition, her skinny appearance was too different from the beautiful girl Aoi Hanarou. Kanao who later grew up. So, at the time, he just thought she was a girl with pink and purple eyes like Aoi Hanarou. Kanao. He didn't think she was Aoi Hanarou. Kanao.

But at this moment, as he listened to the girl talk about her past, he carefully recalled the background information he knew about "Demon Slayer". Before Kanao Awaka was taken in as a "stepchild" by Kanae Kocho, she had a very sad past. It was this painful childhood experience that caused the girl to become a taciturn girl who had difficulty expressing her emotions. Even when she faced the death of her stepsister Kanae Kocho, she was sad and wanted to cry but could not.

Because of her childhood experiences, Kanao lacks her own opinions and is not good at thinking. Even when faced with a decision, she only remembers the method taught by 'Koyo Konae' to decide by flipping a coin.

Until she met Tanjiro Kamado, and with Tanjiro's encouragement, she gradually began to listen to her inner voice and act according to her own will.

Unconsciously, Su Mu turned his gaze to the girl again.

The girl was thin and bony, but after being fed every night for several days, her complexion had regained a slight rosy hue.

"Lift your head up and let me see."

Su Mu looked at the girl and spoke in a low voice.

Although she didn't know why her uncle wanted her to look up at something, the girl obediently raised her head and looked at the man with her beautiful pinkish-purple eyes.

Her face, which had been dull and grayish due to lack of care, now had a bit more color thanks to the food she had been given in the past few days. You could tell that the girl's features were still quite good, and you could almost see her becoming a beautiful young woman.

"If only my cheeks had a little more flesh..."

He imagined it for a moment and immediately sensed the other person's exquisite appearance. Clearly, she was a beauty in the making and would surely grow into a stunning young woman.

With the current facial features and the same pinkish-purple eyes, the girl's future appearance in Su Mu's eyes gradually overlapped with that of Kanao Aoi.

If nothing unexpected happens, the person in front of me is probably the future Kanao Awahana, a future Demon Slayer.

"Let's continue eating."

Seeing that the girl was still trying to lift her head and was being obedient, Su Mu couldn't help but reach out and tap her head.

The girl obediently lowered her head and ate her rice in small bites.

Su Mu sat by the campfire, staring blankly at the flickering flames.

If he didn't interfere, the girl in front of him would probably become Kanao Awahana, a demon slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps, embarking on the path of demon hunting, while he, this evil demon, might become the target of her slaying.

This was originally the future that belonged to the girl.

Without thinking, he turned to look at the girl, who at that moment looked up at him, her beautiful pinkish-purple eyes sparkling with a bright light. Only when she looked at him did her usually dull, seemingly emotionless eyes regain their luster.

"Tell me, if I were a ghost, would you be afraid of me?"

Suddenly, he couldn't help but ask, "If he knew his true identity as a ghost, would he still rely on me like this?"

What is a ghost?

The girl was confused and puzzled: "Why should I be afraid of Uncle?"

Upon hearing this, Su Mu couldn't help but chuckle; clearly, the girl understood nothing.

He smiled, then got up from the campfire, walked to the girl, reached out and gently placed his hand on her head, softly ruffling it: "Shall I give you a name?"

The girl closed her eyes slightly, feeling the warmth of the rough, large hand stroking her head. She heard her uncle's voice and couldn't help but open her eyes.

Will I have a name too?

"Ah."

Su Mu gently rubbed the girl's head: "From now on, your name will be Su Hualuo. Kanao."

"Chrysanthemum petals fall. Kanae."

The girl murmured softly, as if trying to memorize the name.

Chapter 19: Say Goodbye to the Past

"Chrysanthemum petals fall. Kanae."

The girl murmured the name repeatedly, and a long-lost joy welled up in her silent, barren heart. This sudden surge of emotion left her somewhat bewildered.

Su Mu had been observing the girl. Seeing how she reacted to something so simple just because of her name, he felt a pang of sadness. At the same time, he couldn't understand how parents could be so heartless towards their own child.

He inexplicably harbored murderous intent towards someone he had never met before.

Everyone says that evil spirits are terrifying, but some people's hearts are even more cruel than those of ghosts.

"Kanao, eat properly."

He spoke gently to the girl, who was experiencing a long-lost sense of joy.

The girl blinked her pretty pinkish-purple eyes, and after a while, she realized that "Kanao" was referring to her. So, she obediently lowered her head again and ate her meal. But her numb heart was like a dried-up pond that suddenly had a spring. The cool spring water gushing out of the spring gradually moistened the pond that had been dry for who knows how long.

She ate her food in small bites, while secretly glancing at the man.

The man had returned to the campfire. At that moment, the gentle moonlight shone through the window and fell on him. The flames on the campfire burned, and the flickering light fell on the half of his face that was visible.

The girl held the small bowl in both hands, and a feeling of satisfaction suddenly welled up in her heart. How wonderful it would be if she could stay by his side like this every day.

The thought that she would be sold by her father in two days, and that she would never be able to see her uncle at night again, or stay by his side again, filled her with fear, and she felt as if she were suffocating.

I used to feel fear and anxiety, but I silently endured them. Gradually, I stopped feeling these emotions. Now, feeling them again, I feel like I can't bear it anymore.

Without any apparent reason, she took a step forward and came to the man by the campfire, reaching out her small hand and gripping his sleeve tightly.

Su Mu looked down at the girl's gesture of pinching his sleeve, then reached out and tapped her on the head.

"Tell me, if I asked you to stay by my side in the future, would you be willing?"

As the chestnut blossoms fell, Kanao froze, her eyes suddenly turning red, her small body trembling, and her little hands clenching tightly.

"But following me might be dangerous, and besides, I... how should I put it, I'm actually not the same person you think I am right now. When you grow up and know what I am, you might start to feel fear and apprehension..."

After all, he was a demon, and the girl didn't yet understand what a demon was, nor did she know how terrifying it was to be around one.

It is important to know that evil spirits are 'human-eating'. Many people who have become ghosts have had their former relatives not abandon them, but in the end, these relatives will become 'food'.

As he spoke, he seemed to imagine what 'Kanao Awaka' would look like in the future: "If you don't stay by my side, you might meet a very kind older sister in the future who will take good care of you. In the future, you will also meet someone you like..."

Although the girl is like a withered flower now, just as Kanae Butterfly said, Kanae's heart will bloom in the future when the right opportunity arises, and she will change when she meets a boy she likes.

But Kanao didn't seem to hear much, or rather, she didn't care at all. Her little hands were tightly gripping his sleeve, and her pinkish-purple eyes were fixed on him.

For Kanao Awaka now, he seems to be more important than she imagined.

"Since you've made this choice, I'll take you back to say goodbye."

Su Mu looked at the girl's behavior and spoke.

Kanao Suhana didn't quite understand what Su Mu meant, and Su Mu didn't explain. He simply stood up and gently picked Kanao Suhana up.

The girl was very thin and light; to Su Mu, who was a demon, she was as light as a willow catkin.

Holding the fallen chestnut blossoms, Kanao returned to her front door.

"boom."

There was a loud noise as something was smashed on the ground.

"Where did you run off to, you little beast? If I catch you, I'll skin you alive."

From inside the room came a man's angry roar.

At this moment, Su Mu's embrace caused Aoi Hanako to tremble involuntarily, her eyes clearly revealing fear.

For children, home is undoubtedly a warm harbor, but for Kanao Aoi, home is more like a terrifying thing.

Sensing Kanao's emotions, Su Mu reached out and gently stroked the girl's head, saying softly, "It's alright."

Although Kanao still instinctively felt afraid, the warmth of her uncle's large hand stroking her head suddenly made her less afraid. Even if her father whipped her later, she could endure it.

…………

Pushing open the door and walking in, one sees a man dressed in tattered clothes with messy hair. Upon seeing this man, Kanao Aoi, who is being held by him, visibly trembles.

This person in front of me is probably the girl's father.

"Who are you? What are you doing holding my daughter? Put her down right now..."

The man turned around when he heard the door open and saw Su Mu holding his girl, which made him very angry.

Su Mu ignored the man and gently stroked Su Hualuo Kanao's head, lowering his voice to say, "I killed your father, so what?"

These are clearly cruel words, but for Kanao Awaka, they don't seem as cruel as one might imagine. In fact, as her father's daughter, she doesn't seem to have much resistance to them.

"What did you say? What do you mean, how?"

The man didn't quite hear what Su Mu had said earlier, since Su Mu's voice was too soft. Moreover, seeing that Su Mu was reluctant to put his daughter down, he stepped forward, intending to snatch his daughter away from the stranger.

After all, he had already sold his daughter, and if she disappeared, he wouldn't know how to explain it when the employer returned.

As for the man who came back with his daughter, he didn't care at all, nor did he take him to heart.

"you……"

The man stopped in his tracks. The pain in his abdomen made him look down. A knife, glowing with the color of flames, had somehow pierced his abdomen. In his vision, crimson blood was dripping from the blade onto the ground.

The man stared wide-eyed as he looked up at Su Mu, who was holding his daughter so close to him, not quite understanding why.

"I said, how about I kill you?!"

Su Mu looked at the man with a gentle smile, but in the man's eyes, he seemed like the most terrifying demon in the world.

Chapter 20 Things That Cannot Be Asked For

The Nichirin Blade was withdrawn from the man's corpse and sheathed. Blood gushed out as if it were free. The man tried to stop the bleeding by tightly clutching the wound with both hands, but it was all in vain.

Feeling his life slipping away bit by bit, his desire to survive made him look at Su Mu again, but all he saw was coldness. So, he turned his yearning for life to his daughter.

If his daughter had taken him to see a doctor in time, perhaps he would still have had a chance to live.

"help me."

The man made a plea to his daughter.

Su Mu had already put Kanao down. She stood there quietly, watching the man kneeling on the ground, clutching his chest wound. She simply watched silently.

Watching the life of the person in his bloodline known as 'father' slowly slip away, his beautiful pinkish-purple eyes remained completely devoid of emotion.

Just as she felt no sadness upon learning that her parents had sold her, the death of her parents would not cause the slightest ripple in the girl's heart.

In the cruel days of the past, the girl's original affection for her father had long since vanished with each beating and each pain.