Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

"We're going to Yuguo this time. Do you want to come with me, Rinko?"

This is Douma extending the invitation.

If I had to point out the similarities between Akaza and Douma, Rinkou would think it was that they both didn't consider each other's opinions. When they extended their hands and spoke words, they weren't waiting for your response, but rather telling you what they were thinking. The only thing the listener could do was agree.

This is true for Akaza and Douma as well.

Rinkou was convinced of this after being pulled out from the pile of books.

The term "Yukaku" wasn't unfamiliar to Rinko, as she'd been there once before. It was a coincidence, a word she'd heard while strolling through the night, and since there were no references to it in the book, Rinko naturally sought help from Douma, who was sitting nearby.

-

"What is Yuguo?"

"Yugoku...ah—is Rinkou old enough to be interested in places like that?"

Douma's expression was a bit surprised, and his smile and eyes revealed subtle emotions, as if Rinkou had mentioned something extraordinary. Rinkou didn't understand what being curious about an unknown word had to do with his age. If anything, he should be older than Douma.

He couldn't read or understand, so he continued to ask questions, trying to get the answer he should have gotten from the beginning.

"So what is Yuguo?"

"Hmm—that's hard to explain. Why don't you just go and see for yourself and find out?"

Douma was always like this, refusing to speak clearly. Rinkou felt that there was a tacit understanding between him and Douma that couldn't be called tacit understanding. Douma didn't know what Douma was thinking, and he didn't know what was going on in Douma's head. It was like he didn't understand why Douma liked playing house with humans, while why a man-eating demon was obsessed with the flesh of another demon.

Douma would say that he was heartless, but Rinko still didn't know what exactly he was heartless about. Moreover, in what position did a demon who greeted the other person in the morning and ate the other person in the evening have to say that he was heartless.

Youguo is very lively and brightly lit. If you don’t know, you might think it is some kind of ghost gathering place. After all, most humans need to rest at night, but here they seem to have no idea what rest is.

"Does Rinko like it here?"

Douma's voice came from above, but Rinkou, whose eyes were filled with lit lights, just opened her mouth subconsciously, surprised by what she saw, and it took a long time before she responded.

"like."

-

"Rinko—you're not listening to me again—"

Douma's voice pulled Rinkou away from his memories. When his eyes refocused, he met the pair of colorful eyes with words written on them, wide open, staring at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Remember the last time you brought me here."

"Ah... that time, I thought little Rinkou had finally come to his senses, so I brought you here with great enthusiasm. But it turned out that you really just wanted to see what Yuuko was. It was really disappointing, but it was also rare to see Rinkou so happy."

Douma's expressions are rich, and his helplessness and regret are vividly expressed, and the subsequent changes to happiness are also vivid enough. In such a contrast, it is no wonder that Douma always says that he is a little wooden man.

Yukaku is a good place for ghosts. It is quiet during the day and lively at night. People coming and going are not familiar with each other and will not leave any impression on each other when passing by. With just a mask covering her face, even Rinko, who has not yet learned to imitate humans, can look around through the crowd.

Douma seemed to know this place better, and he had his own way of entertainment. Rinko was forced to be taken there once, but he couldn't understand the dances and was not interested in the music. The only things Rinko was interested in were the fruits and pastries that looked beautiful and smelled sweet, but ghosts can't eat those. When Douma is present, he will refuse first, so the things in those houses are unlikely to arouse Rinko's interest.

I don’t know what’s so fun about chatting with those women for Douma.

In comparison, Rinko prefers to take off the mask, let Douma tie the rope, and walk around the long street to see if there is anything that can arouse his interest. Occasionally, he will sit on the high eaves and just watch the people coming and going in Yuguo.

For example, today, Rinkou was placed by Douma on the highest roof, dangling her legs from the eaves. It was a great spot, at least with a good view and no one would notice her.

At this time, in addition to looking at the scenery, Lingguang would also think about other things, such as what to do now and what to do in the future.

Douma often asks him why Muzan likes him.

Rinko felt that this sentence was more like Douma asking why Muzan liked 'Rinko' more than 'Douma'.

Asking him, he was probably asking himself more, but this was Rinko's guess. Maybe Douma really expected to get an explanation from him, or maybe Douma was just teasing him again.

Because Rinko really doesn't know why Muzan likes him. Like is not a very precise word. The concept of liking is vague, but the manifestation is very concrete. Muzan will not let Rinko be like other ghosts, always looking for flowers, or trying hard to eat people to become stronger. It doesn't matter if she is weak, and it doesn't matter if she can't face ghost hunters. She won't be wiped out if she is not strong enough, and she doesn't even need to think about how to become stronger.

He is just himself. If he is not good at fighting, he won't fight. If he can only hide, he will hide.

Muzan's only request to him has always been that he just stay alive.

Even when he was handed over to others time and time again, it seemed like there was a plan. For example, Kokushibo, the Upper One, whose strength was impeccable; Akaza, who was loyal and capable and close in age to him; and Douma, who, though a little strange, did have his own sphere of influence. When he was with Douma, he only had to be an insignificant puppet and didn't have to worry about anything.

Muzan didn't have any requirements for him, and most of his requests to these temporary guardians were just about "staying alive". As for himself, whether he could really master any skills or learn any knowledge by following them didn't seem to matter, because Rinkou had never received any substantial punishment. On the contrary, Muzan gave him more blood every time.

Rinko knew very well that he could not do more, and the only reward he could give to Muzan was to obey him as much as possible and try not to cause trouble for him. If Muzan wanted him to learn how to protect himself, then he would learn; if he wanted him to learn how to hunt, then he would learn that; if he wanted him to learn some skills from Akaza, then Rinko would work hard.

But this raises a new question: what does Muzan hope he'll learn from Douma? It seems he left no instructions or hints this time. Does he need to figure it out on his own, or does Muzan simply want him to get to know Douma, just as he did with Kokushibo and Akaza, to get used to his presence?

But what is the purpose of doing this?

This was the consequence of not participating in discussions. The adults always made the plans, and the process and results were always discussed in meetings, but Lin Guang never listened to them, so now he had no idea what was happening. Faced with this pile of questions, all he could do was sit quietly and hope for the answers to come out on their own.

"Rinko—"

A familiar voice called from below. Lingguang tilted his body and fell silently from the beam. He was enveloped by a sense of weightlessness, and his free fall was intercepted by a pair of hands.

"Rinkou really trusts me. Aren't you afraid that I'll let you fall to the ground?"

Douma had that smile on his face again, with ambiguous meaning and mixed with malice.

"If I drop it on the ground, I will recover quickly, but you have to pick up a dirty little piece of wood. Are you sure you want to do this, Lord Douma?"

"That sounds terrible—never mind."

Douma's evil thoughts disappeared instantly. Rinko felt that Douma would really do that sooner or later, but since ghosts wouldn't die from hitting their heads on the ground, he wasn't worried.

The moon was high overhead. It was already very late, even for ghosts, but Youguo was still as bright as day, with bright lights and people coming and going.

It's strange. It's such a bustling place.

But when you walk out of that street and turn a corner, it's like stepping into another world. The street is quiet, with only the moonlight illuminating the road ahead. On the empty street, at the next corner, a woman walks out.

"Ah, that's a surprise."

Of course this was a lie. Even Rinkou realized that there was someone here when he walked into the darkness. Douma obviously walked over here on purpose.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if I didn't bring back some souvenirs?"

The voice with the laugh was so gentle that the woman who saw Douma and Rinkou didn't even scream at first because of those two pairs of glowing eyes.

She missed the opportunity to leave a last message.

Really sorry.