Priceless Smile 2

Chapter 82: Escort

     Their scene changed again as Kazumi's now walking to the estate of the person she's about to escort. They saw how big and wide the place is even when they haven't even fully reached the inside. Outside are some men waiting for their Master as Kazumi stopped facing them. She's still wearing her blinfold.

"You must be the slayer sent to accompany us." One of the men spoke.

"I am sir."

"Your voice is quite calm and soft, you must be very young." The same man complimented.

"Tch! Has the corps gone crazy? They sent us a blind person to escort us. I bet you'll just be a hindrance instead of protecting the lord." The other man clicked his tongue insulting her.

The rest laughed except the one who spoke to her first as he sigh.

"Please don't mind them. Thank you for coming."

"It's quite alright. I'll try my best not to be a hindrance." Kazumi kept on smiling despite the fact that she's being mocked by most of those men.

Shortly after that, they heard the gates opening that made them stop laughing and stand properly. They all bowed as they greeted their lord. But the slayers watching has their eyes wide open and mouths agape in surprise of seeing the man. The man who just showed up, the lord to be escorted, is no other than Kibutsuji Muzan himself.

"This.... can't be...." Shinobu muttered out.

"How?" Tanjiro whispered as if his throat is dry.

He currently has a long hair and a slightly pale skin unlike before when they saw him at their current timeline where he has a shorter hair and paler skin. His eyes then landed on Kazumi as he walk towards her. But unlike when they saw him before too, his red plum eyes radiates loneliness instead of anger and hatred.

"He still sent me one. What's your name?" He asked looking down at her.

His voice sound cold but Kazumi didn't get affected at all.

"Momiji Kazumi, greetings to you my lord." She bowed before standing straight up again still smiling.
"I am the slayer sent here to escort you on your travel."

Muzan didn't say anything as he just noded. As he's about to step into the palanquin, the same man who mocked Kazumi spoke.

"Kibutsuji-sama, are you really sure about this? This slayer here is obviously blind. How can he escort us?"

"Did I send the slayer away? No. Now let's go, don't waste my time." He replied without even facing the man.

The man just flinched as he gulped down. They all started to move as the palanquin's being carried by a pair of mules placed on the front and the back.

"Is that really.... Muzan? Or just someone who looks like him?" Sakonji asked facing Hanare.

"That's him, the Muzan you feared as the progenirator of demons."

"But.... wait.... So, is this why those three said that he's a thousand year old demon and at the same time no?" Kyojuro asked.

"Yes."

Just that, their scene changed again as it's now dark yet they still haven't reach their destination. They couldn't hear anything but the sound of the leaves dancing with the wind and the insects.

"Kazumi." He called from inside his palanquin.

"Yes?"

"Are you perhaps, the daughter of the deceased Pillar Momiji Haru?"

"Yes but, not by blood. He took me in and saved me."

Kazumi could sense how surprised are the other men as they started to whisper at each other. She didn't mind it at all as she kept on walking. Shortly, they entered a village as they all went to another huge estate. There they were met by several men outside the estate's gate and let them in. Just as Muzan step out, him and his men were invited to come inside.

"Thank you but, I suppose I'm an exception as I'll stay here." Kazumi politely declined which got Muzan's attention.

"No, you're coming in with us."

This surprised his men even more as they now all look so confused. As Muzan and the others entered, Kazumi's left behind together with the same man who talked politely with her during the time she arrived at Muzan's place.

"You might be confuse as to why we're all so surprised." He said as the both of them are walking at the very far back of the line.

"Yeah."

"Kibutsuji-sama's usually cold and doesn't talk that much. Even with the past slayers who escorted us during our travels like this. That's why it's quite surprising seeing how he talked to you. To me, or perhaps to us, he seemed like he felt comfortable enough to talk to you."

"So that's why. Was he always like that?"

"To be honest, no. I watched him grow up as the men of my family served their family for years as samurais. As far as I remember, he started acting like that after his father's death. It must be because he felt so alone."

They all watched and wondered in curiousity in who he really is and on why he became a progenirator after hearing that. They all thought of things that could've possibly led him to it. But they all wondered mostly on how come he felt comfortable at someone he just met.

With those thoughts in mind, their scene changed again, Kazumi's now sitting on the rooftop facing up despite not exactly looking at anything at all.

'Comfortable? How? Maybe he just got curious because of my surname. Or maybe he just didn't expect a blind person to escort him at all.'

She then stood up and jumped down from one roof to another and swiftly landing on the veranda. As she do so, Muzan stood there far from her who just landed on the veranda from above. His presence made Kazumi face him.

'.... Oh.... I was so deep in my thoughts I didn't sense him before landing..... Did I made him uncomfortable?'

"That's quite an impressive one. I didn't even hear a sound from your feet." He complimented breaking the icy silence between them.

"Thank you my lord but, why are you still out here? It's quite late already."

"It has been my hobby to take late night walks alone at places like this in order to get familiar with it."

Muzan glanced at the beautiful garden as his eyes went back to her. From the time he saw her until now, she kept on smiling without fail. He walked closer as he's now facing her. He then turned to the side as he sat down.

"Sit." He said patting the space beside him.

Kazumi obeyed as she sat down with him, the both of them facing the garden in silence.

"Are you really blind? Or are you just wearing that for training?" He asked facing her.

"Unfortunately, I am. Does it bother you being escorted by a blind person, my lord?"

"Honestly, it does but at the same time, no. It's surprising how you even became a slayer despite that kind of condition. You look quite young too. If you don't mind me asking, just how old are you?"

'Here we go again. I wonder, what if I lie and they found out the truth, will I lose my head?'

"I-I think I'll just tell it to you my lord when the right time comes. I promise I will."

'Beacause I really can't right now. You might just react the same way as them.'

Muzan just nodded in response as he face the garden again. Silence covered the two as they sat still. No men nor any servants came at all so they remained unseen by the others.

"Kazumi, do you have a mother? I mean.... what I want to say is that, do you remember who your mother is?"

"Of course I do."

"What's her name?"

"..... Hanare."