"I..."
Caught off guard by Mitsuba's all-seeing ability, Tanjiro paused briefly before hurriedly speaking:
"I just thought we should have a proper conversation. After all, during our past two meetings, we barely talked at all..."
"Mhm, mhm. So, little one, what do you want to ask me?"
"It's just, just... why did you choose to become a demon back then?"
Scratching his head, Tanjiro asked his first question.
"A mediocre opening, but acceptable enough to start a conversation..."
Making no effort to hide her disdain, Mitsuba casually replied:
"What else could it be? Of course because I was about to die.
I was sick, on the verge of kicking the bucket. Then His Lordship suddenly appeared, willing to give me a chance to continue living, so I agreed...
See, that's how simply it happened. Nothing particularly special about it."
"But! Demons survive by consuming humans!"
Upon hearing this, Tanjiro subconsciously stood up and shouted loudly.
Seemingly stimulated by Mitsuba's dismissive attitude, his voice rose several degrees higher.
But strangely, not a single person in the entire restaurant looked at him.
As if in their eyes, he didn't exist here at all at this moment.
This was also an effect of Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art.
"Huh?"
Facing his agitation, only a puzzled expression appeared on Mitsuba's face.
"Little one, I was about to die back then. Why would you think I'd care about that?"
"B-but..."
"Of course, if I had died of natural causes at a proper old age, I probably wouldn't have accepted His Lordship's proposal either.
But the problem is I didn't. Regarding this point, you should be clear about it, right?
Our God seems to have some inexplicable reason for particularly wanting me dead, leaving me with one foot in the coffin at such a young age.
So you see, since He's so determined not to let me have a good time, it's only natural that I'd try to defy Him a little, right?"
"But still, no matter what, we can't sustain our own lives by plundering others' lives..."
"Wow, you really are a persistent child."
Looking at Tanjiro's expression that clearly wanted to say something, Mitsuba sighed lightly. She straightened her posture, sat up, and tapped her knuckle lightly on the table.
"Very well, Tanjiro. Answer me one question—why can't I do this?"
"Why?"
"Is there some rule stating I can't do this, or is there some reason determining I can't do this?
Don't bring up your notions of kindness, morality, and such. You know I don't have those things."
"I-I just feel that, from humanity's standpoint, no matter what, we can't sustain our own lives by plundering the lives of our own kind..."
Tanjiro gave his answer.
"So what you're saying is, you think I'm human?"
Mitsuba's expression showed surprise mixed with curiosity.
"I just feel that you're different from most demons."
In Tanjiro's eyes, a light called sincerity flickered.
"On you, I don't sense that cruelty present in other demons. You're different from them—"
"Stop, stop, stop, little one. I think some of my previous behavior may have led you to misunderstand me."
Seeing that Tanjiro was growing increasingly off-track, Mitsuba immediately raised her hand to interrupt him and explained:
"I don't deny that I bear no hatred toward humans. I don't deny that I'm not bloodthirsty. Occasionally, when the mood strikes, I even do things that from your perspective could be called kind.
But all of this is premised on the fact that doing so makes me happy.
I don't despise or hate you because my enemies were never you to begin with. Most of them, in fact, had already died on their own before I became a demon.
The only one still remaining is hanging up in the heavens right now, putting on airs every day, just waiting for me to kill Him.
I'm not bloodthirsty, and I'm occasionally willing to help some pitiful people—this is only because I was once such a pitiful person myself, desperately hoping for someone to save me.
When I see them, I always recall who I was back then. When I help them, I'm merely helping my past self.
So you see, Tanjiro, none of my actions are motivated by 'I want to do good.' They're all purely based on my personal preferences.
Therefore, essentially speaking, I'm no different from other demons at all. It's just that the things I care about differ slightly from theirs. Understand?"
After listening to Mitsuba's explanation, Tanjiro fell into silence.
"Of course."
Looking at the somewhat sad and disappointed expression on his face, Mitsuba spoke again to add:
"If you truly feel upset in your heart, little one, I can add one more thing.
Out of respect for life, for the past several hundred years, I've always limited the humans I consume to Demon Slayers.
I've never harmed a single ordinary human who could be called good.
See, doesn't that make you feel much better when you think about it that way?"
"Demon Slayers are also humans, they..."
"Different, different~ Perhaps from your standpoint, their lives are lives, but not to me.
From my standpoint, once they pick up a sword, they become enemies. I don't have the bad habit of being soft-hearted toward enemies."
"This world isn't only about things like standpoints..."
"Youth is always like this—always believing this world shouldn't have standpoints, always thinking that with love, justice, and a little bit of passion, you can accomplish everything.
It's fine. Once you grow up a bit more, once you're thoroughly educated by boring, dirty adults like me, you'll change."
Having said this, Mitsuba's interest was gradually exhausted.
"Alright, that's about enough..."
Lying on the table, propping her chin, her gaze directed toward the chef preparing meals in the distant kitchen, she said:
"I still have matters to attend to. If you have no other questions, little one, then I should be going."
"I-I still have questions I want to ask you!"
Seeing this, Tanjiro hurriedly spoke:
"Flame Hashira-senpai and Serpent Hashira-senpai, they..."
"Oh, them? I've already locked them away in a place where no human can find them. By now, their bodies have probably rotted away..."
[So... it really is like that...]
Although he had long suspected this outcome, when Mitsuba personally spoke this answer, Tanjiro still felt a deep sorrow.
"Any other questions?"
"Yes, one last one..."
Nodding lightly, Tanjiro asked in a dejected voice:
"Can you tell me, since you bear no hatred toward Demon Slayers, why have you suddenly decided to completely eradicate the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Well, that's of course because I find God's chess pieces utterly detestable."