Bzzz bzzz— The phone vibrated again.
This time, it wasn't from under the futon—but from Souta's hand.
He glanced at it and saw that someone had tagged him in the group chat.
Altair: "@Souta. What's going on? Why'd you ping the newbie? Wasn't Kamado Tanjiro supposed to be mute or something?"
Souta didn't reply right away. Instead, he turned to Tanjiro and said:
"There's no doubt about it. Your sister is the one who received the phone."
"Nezuko? But... I didn't see any phone," Tanjiro said, puzzled.
All he saw was Souta tapping on his system phone for a bit, and... that was it.
How did that confirm anything?
"I said earlier—if Nezuko doesn't want to show the phone, none of you will sense it at all. I sent her a message, her phone vibrated, but none of you could hear it."
Souta explained, then muttered to himself as he looked at the sleeping girl's peaceful face:
"No wonder she hasn't said a word this whole time—she's been asleep."
"She's been asleep for two years," Tanjiro added, then asked with concern, "But... why has she been asleep for so long?"
He looked at his sister, eyes filled with worry.
It had been two years. Not a single sign of waking. He was almost at the end of his rope.
"Most likely, she's been using all her willpower to suppress her demonic hunger. That's why she's in a comatose state."
A golden gleam flashed in Souta's eyes, as if he were peering into her very soul:
"Her consciousness and mind are still active. She's suppressing her instincts with sheer willpower. Once she gains full control, she'll probably wake up."
"That matches my own theory," Urokodaki suddenly chimed in. "If she manages to suppress it completely, she might be able to survive by eating things other than humans."
"But suppression is just a temporary fix," Souta shook his head. "If the instinct to eat humans still exists, it's only a matter of time before it resurfaces."
Tanjiro looked at Souta anxiously. "Then... Souta-san, do you have a way to cure it for good?"
"Of course I do. I told you—don't underestimate me."
Souta stared intently at Nezuko's face, his vision piercing through to her very consciousness.
Thanks to divine power, he could actually see the consciousness—something even more abstract than the soul.
And right now, Nezuko's consciousness was busy suppressing a red entity inside her.
That red presence was the primal urge to consume humans—deeply embedded in her blood by Muzan Kibutsuji.
"I'll start by erasing her hunger instinct, so she can wake up."
Souta raised his hand, and a radiant golden light formed in his palm.
He focused on the red essence and willed it away.
Tanjiro and Urokodaki both stared, tense.
Souta clapped his hands lightly.
"All done," he said softly.
"...What?" Tanjiro blinked.
"She's fine now," Souta said casually. "She won't crave human flesh anymore."
"That's it?" Tanjiro looked at his sister, puzzled. "But she hasn't woken up..."
"She's been out for two years—probably just a little groggy. Give her a moment."
Souta headed toward the door and said, "Let's wait outside."
Tanjiro and Urokodaki looked at each other. Though they were still worried, they followed Souta out.
Both wore expressions of uncertainty.
They'd only seen a flash of golden light and a little clap. Nothing else.
Was this really legit?
But seeing how confident Souta looked, Tanjiro didn't push for more.
"Well, let's eat first," Urokodaki said, calming himself quickly. He began setting out the bowls and chopsticks.
The hotpot had been ready for a while. If they left it any longer, the ingredients would go bad.
He invited Tanjiro and Souta to sit down and eat.
As Souta sat cross-legged, he pulled out his phone and rejoined the group chat.
Souta: "@Altair. Sorry, I was busy healing the newcomer, couldn't reply earlier."
Altair: "It's fine. No need to apologize."
Altair: "So why'd you ping the newbie? Wasn't she mute or something?"
Souta: "Just wanted to confirm the phone's location. She's still asleep, and I didn't want to frisk a sleeping girl. So I sent a message and waited for the vibration. That confirmed it—she got the invitation."
Altair: "Oh? I didn't realize you were the type to be so considerate toward girls."
Souta: "Do I have that bad of a rep in your eyes?"
Altair: "Not really. You just... seem a bit dense sometimes."
Altair recalled their first meeting.
Back then, Souta had his left arm around Shinobu and his right around Kurumi, swaggering toward her like it was a grand entrance.
He even waved and told her, "Hey, there's a spot open—come sit with us!"
If she hadn't known that was just how the crossover rules worked, she might've whipped out her 48 swords and cut him down on the spot.
She'd known then—this guy was bold.
Souta: "Honestly, I was planning to check her pockets... but Tanjiro was right there, so I went with the less invasive option."
Altair: "I take back what I said."
She was now almost sure he was messing with her on purpose.
Altair: "Oh right, I've uploaded the mythology data to the marketplace. Chelsea already bought it. I'm guessing your church will have a fresh doctrine and mythos in no time."
Souta: "You didn't upload any weird stuff, right?"
Altair: "Of course not. It's all relevant mythology and folklore. Even included ones from your home country. Should be plenty of material to work with."
Souta: "Alright, thanks."
Altair: "No big deal."
She went quiet after that.
Souta updated Nezuko's group nickname to her real name, then stowed the system phone away.
At that moment, the aroma of food wafted toward him.
He glanced to the side—Tanjiro sat eating, but his expression was still heavy with thought.