Chapter 56: Zero, the Warm Guy. Heading to the Bliss Sect

“Xiao Banei, why do you think you’re a sinner?”

“…”

Zero’s question plunged Xiao Banei into silence.

He touched the gauze on his face, recalling the dark past of the Xiao family…

Such a family—every man, woman, and child among them was a sinner, a scum! And he, born into that family, was no different from them.

“It’s none of your business!”

Saying this, he walked away without looking back.

Zero said nothing in response.

Everyone’s experiences differ; only those who have lived through it truly understand the pain within.

Never advise kindness to one who has never known suffering.

He would not try to console Xiao Banei, nor tell him to let go of the past.

At most, he would simply talk with him.

But it seemed the barrier in Xiao Banei’s heart… was deep.

Moreover, Xiao Banei’s past reminded him of one thing he could never forget.

When Zero was 1500 years old… he killed fifty people!

Those people… were his fellow soldiers!

He had killed them with his own hands!

…………

He returned to his mansion and went to the second-floor room.

Just as he was about to open the door, he heard voices from inside—among them, a faint cry of pain.

Zero thought Kanao and Mitsuha were in danger, and rushed in without hesitation.

“Kanao, Mitsuha, what’s wrong… with… you…? What happened?”

Kanao and Mitsuha sat on the bed, clutching their stomachs.

Their faces were pale, twisted in pain, clearly suffering.

“Master, you’re back.”

“Xiao Yue, what’s wrong with them?”

“I don’t know. When I woke up, they were already like this.”

Looking at the two women on the bed, Zero stepped forward and asked, “How are you? Is something wrong with your bodies?”

Kanao blushed slightly and replied, “I… I’m… on my period…”

“Period…? What’s that?” Zero, confused, activated his [Analysis Glasses] to scan their physical conditions.

[Analyzing… Analysis complete]

[Kanao Butterfly: Menstruation]

[Mitsuri Kanroji: Menstruation, endocrine imbalance]

“Oh…”

Seeing the results, Zero understood their condition immediately.

He hadn’t expected their periods to coincide on the same day—what a coincidence.

As for Mitsuri, she constantly ate all kinds of sweets—even sour, bitter, spicy, salty, or sweet snacks delighted her.

Combined with her large appetite and binge-eating habits, this caused her endocrine imbalance.

Xiao Yue didn’t know about this because she was a high-intelligence precision robot; it was only natural she didn’t understand.

“Wait here for me.”

Knowing their condition, Zero left the room, went downstairs to the kitchen, boiled some hot water, took out two hot water bags, filled them, and tested the temperature—perfect.

Kamo no Kiri saw Zero’s actions and was puzzled.

Only when Xiao Yue explained did she understand.

She couldn’t help but think: Zero truly doted on his girlfriends.

After finishing, he carried the two hot water bags upstairs and instructed, “Place these on your stomachs. For the next few days, avoid strenuous activity—I’ll handle patrols in your areas.”

“Especially you, Mitsuri. For now, stop eating snacks. I’ll ask Kiri to prepare lighter meals for you.”

Hearing she couldn’t eat snacks, Mitsuri’s face drooped, her eyes pleadingly fixed on Zero.

She hoped her cuteness would make him lift the restriction.

Seeing that look, Zero felt a pang of softness.

But he hardened his heart and declared firmly: “Don’t look at me like that. Begging won’t work. I have to be responsible for your health.”

“Fine~”

Mitsuri knew Zero meant well, so she’d endure for these few days.

Yet inside, she felt deep happiness.

“Zero, won’t that be too much for you? Our patrol areas…”

“No such thing as too much. You and Mitsuri rest well—this is my order!”

Seeing she couldn’t argue with Zero, Kanao submitted to his will.

Besides, Kanao herself was a doctor and knew her own condition best.

She had experienced menstruation before, but never with such intensity.

The two women pressed the hot water bags against their abdomens, and their discomfort eased slightly; color returned to their faces.

Seeing this, Zero relaxed a little, turned, and left the room to prepare something in the kitchen.

Following the [Analysis Glasses]’s [Menstruation Guidelines], he prepared red sugar water and hot milk.

But remembering Mitsuri’s sweet tooth, he made extra portions of red date and lotus seed soup.

Jukou and the other children peered from the kitchen doorway, curious eyes fixed on Zero’s busy figure.

The aroma made them swallow hard.

Zero had sensed them long ago. He smiled slightly and said, “You four, standing there doing what? Come help.”

The four children stepped in, scratching their heads shyly.

“Zero-nii, what are you making? It smells so good,” Hana asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

“It’s red date and lotus seed soup—for regulating your bodies and replenishing nutrients. Take these five portions to the living room table, and invite your mothers to join you.”

“Thank you, Zero-nii!” the four children chorused.

He loaded the red sugar water and red date lotus seed soup onto large trays and carried them upstairs.

Mitsuri had smelled the scent long ago and immediately grabbed a bowl to eat.

Kanao quietly sipped her red sugar water, spoon by spoon.

“Mitsuri, eat slowly. If you need more, I’ll make more.”

“Kanao, eat more too.”

Then Zero wrote down the precautions, handed them to Xiao Yue, and entrusted her and Kamo no Kiri to care for Kanao and Mitsuri.

Having finished all this, Zero checked his gear, preparing to depart tomorrow for patrol.

…

Half a month later.

In a certain cave, Zero gripped a demon’s throat with one hand and roared, “Where is Doma no Can? Answer me!”

The demon, choking, rolled his eyes, unable to speak.

Seeing he still wouldn’t talk, Zero dragged him by the neck to the cave entrance.

He casually tossed the demon into the sunlight.

As he died, the demon spat out a final curse: “You’re choking me, how can I—”

Before he finished, he turned to ash.

“Do I need a reason to kill you?”

Zero said this with absolute certainty.

After finishing here, he returned the large gold brick to his [Nanotech Space].

Before leaving, he glanced back at the black bear inside the cave and said, “Lonely Bear!”

Pfft!

Those words pierced the bear like a sword.

The bear felt a million-point critical hit to his soul.

This was the second time this human had called him that.

He wanted nothing more than to punch the human’s face in.

But he couldn’t.

So the bear decided to leave this place—find somewhere else.

Under the blazing sun, he found a large, leafy tree and rested beneath it.

At that moment, three kirimaru crows flew in from the sky and landed on the trunk.

One was Zero’s crow; the other two belonged to Kanao and Mitsuri.

Kirimaru [Hibiki] and Kirimaru [Rei].

Both were female crows.

The two women worried that Zero would be overwhelmed helping them patrol their zones, so they asked their Hukou Crows to accompany him and relay information.

“Snow, Yan, Li—how is the situation in your zones?”

Snow: “Master, there are no more traces of demons in your zone. A few demons, unable to bear it, ran into the daylight and were burned to death.”

Yan: “Report to Zero Pillar, the Flower Pillar’s zone is the same—no demons have appeared for now.”

Li: “The Love Pillar’s zone is the same too—all the demons have fled to other zones.”

“Huh…” Hearing the three Hukou Crows’ reports, Zero’s eye twitched slightly.

“These demons probably packed their bags and moved overnight… They have no respect for my demon-hunting profession—this is the how many times now…?”

The three Hukou Crows on the tree trunk shook their heads in a distinctly human way.

Snow, at least, was used to this laziness.

But Yan and Li thought differently.

For the past half-month, they had prepared themselves for constant travel.

Who would have thought it ended up being pure laziness!

The mission hadn’t even reached Zero’s hands before the demons were already gone.

They had even seen Zero, to save time, personally search for demon hideouts even during daylight.

He’d drag them out, hold up a giant gold brick, and ask only one question: “Where is Kibutsuji Muzan?”

If the answer wasn’t satisfactory, he’d smash the gold brick onto the demon’s head.

Sometimes he even took them on sightseeing trips and treated them to snacks.

Snow told the other two this was just daily life—get used to it.

“Forget it.”

“Snow, Yan, Li—earlier I asked you to look into the [Wan Shi Ji Le Jiao]. Any news?”

Snow and Li shook their heads—no findings.

“Zero Pillar, I found some clues, but they’re vague. Directly southeast, about two hundred kilometers from here, there seems to be a patriarch.”

The Hukou Crow Yan relayed her findings to Zero.

“A patriarch… Unlikely, but I’ll go take a look.”

“Thanks, Yan.”

“Also, Yan and Li—fly back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters and tell Kanae and Mitsuri I’ll return a few days later. Snow, you go back with them too—tell Xiao Yue that once my business here is done, I’ll take her out for a trip.”

Snow was uneasy and insisted on going with Zero, fearing he’d do something reckless again, like last time.

Yan and Li felt the same.

“No need to worry—I’m only gathering intelligence. Rest easy.”

Seeing his resolve, the three Hukou Crows reluctantly compromised and flew back to headquarters.

As the three Hukou Crows flew away, Zero retrieved his gear and inserted [Energy Crystals] for emergencies.

For absolute safety and to ensure nothing went wrong, he also stored his mech inside the [Energy Crystals].

Only after completing this did he finally relax slightly.

“Dōma… Heh… I hope it’s really you! The injury Kanae suffered years ago—I’ll repay you tenfold!”

As he spoke, Zero’s eyes gleamed with mockery and icy fury.

As if merely killing Dōma wouldn’t satisfy his hatred!

He then pulled out the [Dark Alloy Motorcycle] and set off toward the southeast—the location Yan had described.

…

Night.

After riding all day, he finally arrived at his destination.

It was a town, modest in size but seemingly prosperous.

He dismounted, retracted the motorcycle into his [Nanotech Space], and walked the remaining short distance.

Walking down the street, he scanned his surroundings.

Vendors shouted, children laughed, and even some traveling merchants passed by.

Everything appeared normal—but inside, Zero felt an inexplicable unease.

He stopped overthinking and found a hotel to stay in.

As he paid the hotel owner, the man’s gaze seemed odd.

Like a predator eyeing prey.

After paying, the owner led Zero to his room.

“Guest, are you new here?” the owner asked.

“Yes, just arrived for a trip.”

“Really? Would you like to join the Ji Le Jiao? Even if you don’t join, just learning about it is fine!”

“No thanks. I’ll only stay a few days before leaving.”

“Don’t say that, guest! Our Wan Shi Ji Le Jiao’s patriarch is incredibly powerful—he’s a Child of the Gods, able to hear the divine voice…”

“Sorry, I need rest.”

“Alright then, please, please…”

After the owner left, he went downstairs and summoned his men: “Watch that guest—he’s unusual! His attire screams wealth or nobility! If all else fails, sell him to the Flower District—you’ll make a fortune!”

“Yes!”

As the owner and his men spoke, a [Destroyer Mini-Drone] in stealth mode recorded everything.

Then, while they were distracted, it flew back to Zero’s room.

Zero observed it all through his [Analytical Glasses].

Just as he suspected—something was off.

“Heh… So it’s not good at all! Fine—I’ll let you live for now. Tomorrow is Dōma’s death day.”

“But if you dare bother me again… I won’t mind erasing you from this world.”

He then released all his mini-drones from the [Nanotech Space], activated stealth mode, and sent them out the window.

Before acting, Zero needed to fully map his surroundings—to ensure tomorrow’s plan was flawless.

“Wan Shi Ji Le Jiao… A few years ago, when I first encountered Dōma, Xiao Yue and I heard something about this…”

[Search: Wan Shi Ji Le Jiao]

[Searching… Search successful]

…