pen pal

Ubuyashiki Kagaya and Rengoku Kyojuro left.

During the day, they had no problem coming and going, but at night, they certainly had to return to the Demon Slayer Corps' base to ensure their safety.

The demons outside were not only constantly searching for the blue spider lily but were also looking for any traces of the Ubuyashiki family.

Kibutsuji Muzan hated this family, which stubbornly refused to let him go, with a passion.

However, before the two left with the first-generation UV Light, Ubuyashiki Kagaya left a bird—what they called a Kasugai Crow—for Chen Nuo to serve as a bridge for future communication.

Usually, the Kasugai Crows bred by the Demon Slayer Corps were actual crows.

Because such birds are relatively intelligent and can mimic human speech, they are easier to train, but this isn't an absolute rule.

For instance, the one Ubuyashiki Kagaya gave to Chen Nuo was a cockatiel.

It was yellow and white, with two red patches on its cheeks like a young girl's rouge. It looked very cute and was clearly carefully chosen; all it lacked was a bow tied on its head.

"Chirp chirp~ Nuzzle nuzzle~ Baby~ Nuzzle nuzzle~"

The cockatiel stood on Chen Nuo's shoulder, rubbing its head against his chin back and forth in a quite intoxicated manner.

It was obvious that it truly liked its new master, Chen Nuo.

"This is my husband!!"

However, seeing this, Kanroji Mitsuri grew somewhat anxious. She never expected that one day she would have to compete with a little yellow bird for her husband.

Are you even human? Just sticking there wanting to nuzzle!

"Bad woman~ Chirp chirp~"

The cockatiel pressed its body even closer, lifting one foot and leaning most of its weight against him, as if it were glued to Chen Nuo's face.

"This is infuriating!"

Kanroji Mitsuri wanted to reach out and grab it, but considering her gentle and quiet image in Chen Nuo's heart, she could only stamp her feet in frustration.

Actually, she was overthinking it.

In Chen Nuo's heart, Mitsuri could at most be called gentle; "quiet" had absolutely nothing to do with her.

"Alright, let me find a place for you to perch."

Chen Nuo found a suitable wooden stick and hung it under the windowsill with a rope. cockatiels sleep standing up, so a stick was enough.

"Chirp chirp~"

The cockatiel hopped twice on the stick and then rubbed against Chen Nuo's outstretched palm, expressing its joy.

"Mitsuri, I'll leave this bird in your care. Let's call it Xiao Bai from now on."

"Hmph~"

Kanroji Mitsuri turned her head away, somewhat unwilling, but she wouldn't refuse Chen Nuo.

"Alright, time for bed."

Chen Nuo pulled Kanroji Mitsuri into bed.

There weren't many entertainment options at night in this era. "Sleeping" often served as a verb. Obviously, Mitsuri understood the meaning. She was no longer in the mood to be jealous of a bird and shyly burrowed into the covers.

...The next day, the businessman arranged by Ubuyashiki Kagaya found Chen Nuo to discuss the construction of the factory and the manufacturing and sales of incandescent lamps.

The electric lights in this country still used incandescent technology imported from the West, but it was relatively primitive. Commercial lamps on the market hadn't been updated for many years, and carbonized bamboo filaments were still being used.

Chen Nuo only needed to introduce tungsten filaments as a replacement to easily break into the local electric light market.

Not to mention with the full support of the Ubuyashiki family, the process would become even easier.

Chen Nuo didn't need to worry too much about business matters. Once the new electric lights could go into production, he would push Chens Father to the front, while he himself could relax as a wealthy second-generation heir, staying home and collecting money.

"There shouldn't be any problem building it according to these blueprints, right?"

Chen Nuo took out the planning blueprints he had drawn for the factory and machinery. He had fully considered the limitations of the era and simplified the processes as much as possible.

Just by looking at the difficult expression on the face of the person in charge, he knew his requirements were still too demanding.

In an era where manual labor still dominated productivity, semi-mechanized production methods were still too advanced.

However, remembering the Ubuyashiki family's orders to cooperate fully, the person in charge gritted his teeth and stated he would do his best.

"If you encounter any problems you can't solve, you can come to me."

Seeing this, Chen Nuo knew he couldn't just leave everything alone, or who knows what the final result would be.

Hearing this, the person in charge was clearly much more relieved... Meanwhile, on the other side, Tamayo also received the first-generation UV Light sent by Ubuyashiki Kagaya. Along with it was a letter. After Tamayo opened and read it, the doubt in her eyes turned to surprise.

Tamayo was a demon who had escaped Kibutsuji Muzan's control; she could even suppress her man-eating instincts through sheer willpower.

Furthermore, through modifications to her own body in the past, she now only needed a small amount of human blood to satisfy her survival needs.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya had known this lady for many years.

Sharing the same long-cherished wish, the human and the demon had reached a cooperative relationship in private. However, limited by Tamayo's identity, the other Hashira had never been informed of this.

After all, all the Hashira harbored immense hatred toward demons.

Even Ubuyashiki Kagaya found it difficult to make everyone understand his perspective, so he simply kept it a secret to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Since the effects of the UV Light on demons needed to be tested, Tamayo, being a demon herself, was undoubtedly the best person for the job. Moreover, she had deep knowledge and research regarding demons.

"A lamp that can eliminate demons?"

Miss Tamayo read the letter again from the beginning. After confirming that the contents written by Ubuyashiki Kagaya were indeed what she understood, she still found it somewhat hard to believe.

"Let's give it a try for now."

Tamayo called for Yushiro, the demon she had created who did not belong to Kibutsuji Muzan.

The reason was simple.

At that time, Yushiro could only survive by becoming a demon. Tamayo had only done so after seeking his consent.

"Lady Tamayo, what do you need me to do?"

Yushiro usually appeared to be a cold-faced, unlikable youth, but as soon as it involved Tamayo, he instantly transformed into a different demon, exuding an air of infatuation.

"Please plug this lamp in, and then bring out a sample of the demon blood we extracted and stored earlier."

"Doing things for Lady Tamayo is only natural. How could you use the word 'trouble'? I'll do it right away."

Yushiro's efficiency was at its peak, and he quickly finished everything.

"And then? What else do you need me to do, Lady Tamayo?"

"Let's step back a bit."

In her heart, Tamayo didn't actually think this oddly shaped electric lamp could really harm a demon, but she chose to trust Ubuyashiki Kagaya and stepped back a distance with Yushiro.

As the switch was pressed, a gentle violet-blue light lit up.

Following that, a burning sensation came from Tamayo's exposed skin, making her let out a muffled groan of pain.

But stronger than the pain was the joy in her heart.

This UV Light could actually cause harm to demons.

However, an angry voice from the side interrupted Tamayo's thoughts.

"You damned thing! You actually hurt Lady Tamayo's delicate and smooth skin!!"

Yushiro flew into a rage and charged straight forward.

Then he was burned by the ultraviolet rays, screaming and smoking all over. Fortunately, Tamayo cut the power in time, preventing him from suffering more serious injuries.

Even so, Yushiro was like a fish out of water, with only enough strength left to flop around a few times.

Seeing this scene, Tamayo couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes she was truly speechless regarding this boy.

To Tamayo, Yushiro, a demon who had lived for some thirty years, was indeed no different from a child.

"Are you alright?"

"With Lady Tamayo's concern... of course I'll be fine."

Yushiro felt like he was about medium-rare, but his mouth remained stubborn, especially in front of Tamayo.

"Then I'll have to trouble you to draw some more blood."

"Of course, no problem!"

Yushiro exuded a sense of happiness from being needed, which even the smell of charred flesh all over him couldn't hide.

The demon blood Tamayo had originally taken out for testing had vanished under the UV Light. At first, she never expected this lamp to have such lethality against demons.

Of course, it could be because the demon blood had been stored for too long and its activity was far lower than before.

Since Yushiro had been burned himself, she decided to test the demon blood in his body.

Tamayo was now extremely impatient. The appearance of the UV Light gave her another possibility to kill Kibutsuji Muzan. No wonder Ubuyashiki Kagaya placed such importance on it in his letter.

Shortly after, Ubuyashiki Kagaya also introduced Tamayo to Chen Nuo and frankly stated her identity as a demon.

For Chen Nuo, Ubuyashiki Kagaya felt no need to hide anything; he was more accustomed to treating people with sincerity.

Thus, Chen Nuo gained another female demon pen pal.

"Something's wrong... something is at least twelve parts wrong..."

Yushiro peered through the crack in the door, muttering incessantly. His body felt like ants were crawling all over it, an internal and external discomfort.

Tamayo had recently met someone unknown. All day long, she was either sitting at her desk writing letters or surrounding that damned UV Light. The frequency of her conversations with him had plummeted.

Today, they hadn't even said two sentences in total!!

What was even more heart-wrenching was the touching smile that unconsciously appeared on Tamayo's face while she was writing. It was a joy from the heart.

Even though he had been by Lady Tamayo's side for so many years, he had rarely seen her smile. Usually, she was more often frowning or forced a smile.

With a heart full of hatred for Kibutsuji Muzan, how could Tamayo ever truly smile?

But the current situation clearly involved something Yushiro didn't know about.

Actually, the reason was simple: Chen Nuo's knowledge had impressed Tamayo, and his delicate writing touched her heart.

Although Miss Tamayo had become a demon, she was still a traditional woman at heart. Admiring the strong was almost etched into her genes.

At the same time, Miss Tamayo, like Ubuyashiki Kagaya, saw the future in Chen Nuo and unconsciously placed her hope in him, which naturally led to a different emotional change.

The term "simp" didn't exist in this era yet.

Simping wouldn't get one anywhere with Miss Tamayo; she only felt guilt and regret toward Yushiro.

Having lived so long, how could Miss Tamayo not see Yushiro's love for her? Not responding was the most polite way to refuse. Deep down, Yushiro actually understood, but he just pretended not to know.

If he weren't worried that Miss Tamayo would be angry, Yushiro would have wanted to rush in and eat that damned little yellow bird right now.

"Chirp chirp~"

Tamayo was exceptionally fond of Chen Nuo's cockatiel. After teasing and feeding it for a while, she tied her reply to its leg.

"Thank you for your hard work. Give my regards to Nuo."

"Chirp chirp~"

The cockatiel arched its neck to enjoy Tamayo's petting before flapping its wings and flying out the window... "Who is this Tamayo? She sounds like a very beautiful woman."

Mitsuri's annoyed voice came from Chen Nuo's room. While tidying the study, she had accidentally seen the stack of letters from Tamayo, which was already several centimeters thick.

Kanroji Mitsuri didn't flip through the envelopes, but from the handwriting of the signature, it wasn't hard to tell that this was definitely a lady from a prestigious family.

Great, even with her at home, someone was seducing her husband. What would happen if she left the house?

Although monogamy had already been implemented, it hadn't been around for long, and its influence on a secular level was almost non-existent.

It wasn't easy for ordinary people to even get one wife, so the target audience for this system wasn't them at all. As for the rich and powerful, they didn't care about the government's piece of paper.

If they just got married without registering, they wouldn't be breaking the law.

"She's just a pen pal of mine, discussing some technical issues with me. I bought a few pairs of stockings the other day; why don't you try them on?"

Chen Nuo didn't intend to explain this topic in detail. Even though he and Tamayo only talked about serious matters, women are emotional creatures.

Facts aren't very important to them; getting the emotions right is the key.

Moreover, their conversations mostly involved demons, so it was better not to let Kanroji Mitsuri know.

"Don't think that just buying me a few gifts will make it okay."

Kanroji Mitsuri stood with her hands on her hips, indicating she wouldn't fall for that. How could she know that these gifts were actually bought by Chen Nuo for his own enjoyment?

Stockings of this era were mainly made of wool and silk. They were warm and aesthetic, but they lacked the thin and delicate feel.

Chen Nuo was already considering manufacturing nylon stockings to expand the family's clothing business and, incidentally, satisfy his own needs.

A world without stockings is surely incomplete.

I, Chen Nuo, said this. Who agrees and who disagrees?

"Then I'll add a box of sakuramochi."

"This... still won't do."

Kanroji Mitsuri's voice was clearly not as confident as before.

"If a box isn't enough, then forget it. Do whatever you want."

Chen Nuo lay on the bed, spreading his limbs out in a 'da' shape, as if letting Kanroji Mitsuri do whatever she pleased.

Mitsuri wasn't polite either. She swung her shapely leg over and sat directly on Chen Nuo's stomach, saying with mock ferocity.

"You said one box, and not one piece less."

In the end, she still wanted to eat.

Kanroji Mitsuri actually didn't want much. Being able to feel Chen Nuo's love for her was enough; she didn't care that much about who Tamayo was.

Given the status of women in this era, they did indeed appear somewhat humble in marriage and emotions.