Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

Perhaps one day when she wakes up, she will have completely forgotten...

I just hope that when I see Butterfly again, she won't blame her.

In the dim candlelight, the room was so quiet that the only sound was the soft rustling of a wet brush tip gliding across the paper.

Time passed slowly, and the sounds of fireworks outside the window gradually subsided, marking the end of the first round of fireworks tonight.

Suddenly, a sharp sound came from the window behind me, as if something had snagged on the window frame.

Although she heard the noise, her sluggish brain failed to react immediately to the anomaly. Mitsuha simply focused intently on the book in front of her.

Until that familiar, cheerful voice rang out.

"Wow~ Mitsuha, your room is really high! It took me so much effort to climb up here..."

That's the sound of a butterfly.

Strange, why is her voice here?

Her brain finally sensed something was wrong, and Mitsuha turned around in confusion, only to witness the most unbelievable scene.

Under the moonlight, the butterfly's figure crawled in through the window. She was carrying a large basket on her back, leaning against the wall, one hand on her hip, panting heavily.

Unable to comprehend the situation at first, Mitsuha stared blankly at the figure that had inexplicably appeared in her room, and subconsciously stood up.

Why are you here?

"Is that even a question? Of course I came to find you, Mitsuha!"

Finally catching her breath, Butterfly raised her hand to her chest and said helplessly:

“These past few days you haven’t come to the clinic, nor have you sent anyone to tell me what’s going on… Do you know how worried I am about you?”

"No, I'm asking you, how did you get in?"

Mitsuha pressed for an answer.

The room she was in was located at the highest point of this castle, at least ten meters above the ground. How did she manage to sneak in?

Chapter 22 The fireworks festival is not to be missed!

"Is that even a question? Of course, we'd climb through the window!"

Setting down the large basket on her back, Butterfly raised her eyes and gestured to the hook behind her that was attached to the window frame, explaining with a hint of pride:

"I told you before, Mitsuha, that when I first ran away from home, I often went hiking and collecting herbs in the mountains by myself."

It was only a dozen meters or so, a piece of cake for me!

"Even so, what about the guards outside...?"

"I observed this a few days ago. At this time every day, the guards below will change shifts."

During this period, there will be about half an incense stick's time when no one is patrolling nearby. As long as you seize this opportunity, you can naturally enter without anyone noticing!

"So? Doesn't your Dr. Butterfly have a real talent for being a ninja?"

As she explained, Butterfly stepped forward and, taking advantage of Mitsuha's shock and confusion, scooped her up in a princess carry.

"Alright, alright, stop asking so many questions, let's go! It's a rare fireworks festival, I'll take you out to have some fun!"

As she said this, she turned around and put Mitsuha, whom she was holding, into the large basket that could easily fit an adult.

"Wait! Get out? You're taking me out?"

Mitsuha instinctively tried to get up, but Butterfly pressed her back down into the basket.

"Otherwise what? Mitsuha, what do you think I climbed up here with such difficulty?"

"The annual fireworks festival, you're not really planning to stay in this dark room alone, are you?"

"But……"

"Don't worry, I know that Mitsuha has a special identity and can't just wander around the streets... Look, I've even prepared secret tools for you!"

As she spoke, Butterfly took off the fox mask hanging from her waist and knelt down to help Mitsuha put it on her face.

"Yes, the mask of Inari is perfect for concealing one's identity!"

Looking at the masked clover curled up in the large basket, Butterfly nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the basket and walked towards the window.

"wait wait wait!"

Mitsuha, still reeling from the shock of the situation, was carried on the butterfly's back and instinctively tried to stop it.

"I have things to do tonight, I can't..."

"Yes, yes, I know. Xiao Sanye is a very busy person. She has endless things to do every day. No one cares if she gets too busy..."

She casually replied, and Butterfly, carrying Three Leaves on her back, nimbly flipped over the window and slid quickly down the rope hanging outside.

"Let's play a game, Mitsuha. I'll ask you, what is 97 + 42 + 69? If you answer correctly, I'll put you down."

As an experienced physician, Butterfly has encountered stroke patients like Mitsuha before, and her past experiences have given her a wealth of experience in dealing with such patients.

She knew very well that Mitsuha's brain was now incapable of complex, multi-faceted thinking.

Therefore, all you need to do is casually give her a difficult math problem to completely capture Mitsuha's attention and make her temporarily forget about what she's doing.

And that's exactly what happened.

"It's 208."

After Mitsuha carefully calculated the answer to the math problem that Butterfly had casually mentioned, Butterfly had already slipped away from the castle tower and onto the streets outside.

"Oh? You actually figured it out? That's amazing, Mitsuha!"

Under the pitch-black night sky, people came and went on the streets. Without a doubt, they were all citizens of the city who had come to attend tonight's fireworks display.

The colorful lanterns hanging along the street stretched all the way to the end of the road. Shops that should have closed long ago were still open, with shop assistants standing at the entrances, constantly calling out to passersby.

The night was as lively as the day, and the butterfly, carrying three leaves on its back, strolled through the crowd, smiling as it said:

"So tell me, Mitsuha, where do you want to go now? I'll take you there right away."

"you……!"

Mitsuha finally realized that she had been fooled by the butterfly using a trick meant for children, and she was immediately furious.

She opened her mouth, intending to say something, but looking at the crowds coming and going around her, and worried that her identity would be exposed and cause trouble, she ultimately said nothing.

Instead, it shrank into the large basket beneath it, expressing its dissatisfaction through this silent resistance.

"Alright, my dear master, don't be angry~"

Sensing the movement behind her, the butterfly smiled and comforted her:

"Since we're already here, why not have some fun before we go back?"

The basket remained silent.

After a long while, Mitsuha finally responded softly.

"Let me go back. I promised to teach you the breathing technique, but I haven't finished memorizing it yet."

Butterfly paused for a moment upon hearing this, and the smile on her face dimmed slightly.

"We can do this anytime, Mitsuha. You should relax now."

Mitsuha's voice came from the basket again.

"My memory is getting worse and worse. If I don't hurry, I'm afraid I'll forget them someday..."

"Three leaves..."

"Oh! Dr. Butterfly!"

Just as the atmosphere between the two was starting to turn sour, a father and son walked towards them from the opposite direction.

"Mr. Murata?"

Upon seeing the father and son, Butterfly immediately smiled and greeted them as well.

Mr. Murata, the owner of the "Murata General Store" in town, is usually a very kind-hearted and lucky person.

A while ago, his youngest son suddenly developed a high fever in the middle of the night, and even became delirious.

Just when the other doctors in the city were trying everything to bring down the fever, they happened to run into Butterfly, who was returning from gathering herbs, and she helped the child bring down the fever.

After that, Murata and Chocho gradually became acquainted.

"What a coincidence, Dr. Butterfly! I never expected to run into you here."

As he spoke, Murata glanced curiously at the large basket on the butterfly's back.

"Um, what are you carrying on your back...?"

Due to the angle of view, Murata could not see Mitsuha, who was huddled in the basket.

"Ah, this is my cousin who came from our hometown to see me for medical treatment. The child is not in good health and is really shy, so she begged me, her older cousin, to carry her out to play..."

"This, this is it..."

After telling the lie she had already prepared, Butterfly suddenly felt the large basket behind her shake violently twice.

It seems to be someone inside who is still throwing a tantrum, expressing their dissatisfaction in this way.

"Haha, it seems my cousin is a bit too eager to have fun..."

With a smile still on her face, Butterfly raised her hand and tightened the strap on her shoulder to make sure that Mitsuha in the basket wouldn't move no matter how much she shook it, before asking the Murata father and son, whose eyes were wide open:

"Mr. Murata, could you tell me if there are any fun things to do at this year's fireworks festival?"

"A fun place? It should be near the market, right? I just brought my son here, and I heard they've launched several new activities this year that weren't available last year..."

"Okay, thank you!"

Upon receiving the crucial information, Butterfly did not hesitate and immediately carried Trifoliate on her back, rushing towards the market.

Chapter 23 Ring Toss Game

Even centuries later, Mitsuha still vividly remembers every detail of what happened at the fireworks festival that night.

This is not only because it was the last night she spent as a human.

More importantly, this is one of her most precious memories.

"Only two left! Keep it up, buddy!"

The evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, and the market was brightly lit late at night. Among the people walking around were parents with their children or young couples holding hands.

Among them, the butterfly carrying a large basket is particularly eye-catching.

At this moment, she was standing at the front of a crowd, holding two strings of glutinous rice balls she had bought on the way, staring intently ahead along with the surrounding onlookers.

There, a young man with delicate features, dressed in faded linen clothes, stood behind a white line, holding a small bamboo ring in his hand, staring intently at a pile of objects placed a few meters in front of him.

Clay figurines, wakizashi (Japanese war elves), hairpins, kitchen knives, bracelets, wooden clogs, and even glutinous rice balls... A whole bunch of items were scattered on the stall in front of the young man.

This is a very simple ring toss game, and it's a new game that made its debut at this year's fireworks festival.

Participants simply need to stand behind the white line and throw their bamboo rings; whatever they ring, they can take it home.

Bamboo rings cost only one coin each, but the prizes on the stalls vary in price. There are wooden clogs worth more than ten coins, and wakizashi that cost at least several hundred coins.

Although the game looks simple, there are actually quite a few tricks to it.

The distance between the prizes, the weight difference of each bamboo ring, and the size comparison between the bamboo rings and the prizes, etc., all significantly affect the probability of participants winning the prizes.

Due to its inherent gambling nature, the game attracted quite a few players at the market tonight.

With just those bamboo rings that cost one coin each, the stall owner had already earned at least several hundred coins that night.

The young man standing behind the white line, intently aiming, was naturally one of them.

Judging from his clothes alone, the man was not wealthy. He had only managed to take out five coins to exchange for five bamboo rings from the street vendor.

Compared to the participants who had used a dozen or twenty bamboo rings at a time, this number was indeed rather small.

In stark contrast, the young man's target was not something relatively easy to get, like wooden clogs or rice balls.

It was the jade bracelet that was the second most valuable item on the stall, and also the second furthest away.

The material used for this bracelet is not of high quality; the jade contains many impurities and its luster is somewhat dull.