"Mmph."
Feeling the hand stroking her head, Kazama Aoi froze instantly, as if a paralysis spell had been cast over her.
It was an incredibly light touch, carrying a faint chill. As his fingertips brushed through her hair, a shiver of pins and needles raced down her spine.
He... he actually did it! Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira, was actually patting her head!
[Ding! Mission complete. Reward issued. Please check your inventory.]
"You..." Muichiro's voice drifted over her again. His usual detached tone seemed to carry a trace of almost imperceptible confusion. "You don't smell like sunlight anymore."
Aoi: "..."
So, you specifically leaned in to sniff me, only to conclude that I 'don't'? Then was everything you said before just nonsense?!
Aoi took several steps back, putting some much-needed distance between them.
A flicker of fleeting bewilderment crossed Muichiro's eyes, as if he were trying to process why she was backing away. He tilted his head, seemingly unable to grasp the meaning of the gesture. Then, his expression returned to its usual vacuous state. He turned his gaze back to the sky, looking for all the world as if he hadn't just been the one to initiate a head-pat.
"..." Aoi felt her fist clench.
This Mist Hashira didn't just have strange logic; his behavior was completely inscrutable!
Back at her quarters, Aoi immediately pulled up her System panel. She needed something "normal" to heal the consecutive mental shocks she'd endured today.
[Host]: Kazama Aoi [Status]: Mildly fatigued, mentally dazed. [Breathing Style]: Wood Breathing [Mastered Techniques]: > * First Form: Sprouting Slash
Second Form: Verdant Leaf Whirl [Special Skill]: Super-Regeneration [System Points]: 0 [Current Mission]: None
"System Points?"
Aoi's eyes zeroed in on the new entry. She was certain this hadn't been there before. Was it a new feature unlocked after completing a few missions?
She focused her mind on the "System Points" option.
[System Points]: Earned by completing special missions, challenging high-difficulty targets, or achieving hidden milestones. Points can be used in the System Store to exchange for items, skills, or attribute boosts. [System Store]: Locked.
Aoi's eyes lit up. A store?! She could actually trade for things?
Even though the missions this System spat out were increasingly ridiculous, if she could trade points for life-saving items or powerful skills, then... maybe it wasn't entirely unbearable?
In her mind's eye, she could already see a future where she used points to buy "Infinite Stamina" or "One-Hit Kill" cheats, allowing her to stroll through the Demon Slayer Corps with ease.
"Hehe... hehehe..." Aoi hugged her pillow, letting out a laugh that bordered on predatory.
[Ding! Host's emotional state detected as stable. Criteria for mission issuance met.]
[New Mission: Complete "Intimate Contact" with Inosuke Hashibira.][Success Reward: One High-Grade Healing Agent, +500 Points.][Failure Penalty: Permanent Blindness.]
"Wait!" she reacted violently. "Didn't I just finish a 'Skinship' mission?! System, you're repeating yourself!"
[Ding! The 'Skinship' mission is complete. This is a brand-new mission. Please note: The keyword for this mission is 'Intimate Contact.' The criteria for success are slightly lower than 'Skinship.' Please explore the parameters yourself.]
Explore them myself? Explore what? Explore how to have 'intimate contact' with him without being punched into orbit?!
Her gaze fell on the rewards and the penalty.
A high-grade healing agent? That sounded useful, but compared to the failure penalty, it was a drop in the bucket!
"Blindness?!" Aoi shrieked. "Are you kidding me?! If I fail, I lose my sight?! Is this a romance system or a 'Welcome to Hell' system?!"
The penalty was malicious. This wasn't just social suicide anymore; this was literal, physical destruction!
Aoi felt the world turning gray. She seriously suspected the System didn't actually want her to "romance" anyone; it just wanted to see her make a fool of herself—to see how many ridiculous missions she could survive before being tortured to death in this demon-infested world.
"Calm down, Kazama Aoi. You need to be calm." She took a deep breath, forcing her heart rate down. "It's just 'intimate contact' with Inosuke. There has to be an easy way..."
She began to brainstorm.
Hand-holding? No way. Given Inosuke's personality, he'd probably think she was challenging him to a feat of strength and crush her hand into powder.
A hug? Even worse! That was like walking into a tiger's den. She had no doubt he'd accidentally snap her ribs.
Then... a head-pat?
The memory of Muichiro's hand on her head flashed through her mind, and Aoi's cheeks flushed slightly. Then she imagined reaching out to pet that wild boar mask... The mental image was too much; she couldn't look. Besides, he'd likely take it as a provocation and headbutt her into the dirt.
A kiss?!
The moment the thought surfaced, Aoi shook her head violently as if to physically eject the terrifying idea.
Wait.
Aoi froze. A bold (and somewhat shameless) plan began to take shape in her mind.
The next day, Aoi headed to the Butterfly Mansion carrying a box of homemade sweets.
"Tanjiro!"
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she spotted the familiar, gentle figure.
"Ah, Kazama-san!" Tanjiro beamed at her. "What brings you here today? Have you fully recovered?"
"Yeah, I'm doing much better. Also, you can just call me Aoi."
"Alright, Aoi-chan." Tanjiro accepted the change naturally, his smile growing even warmer.
Tanjiro led her into the infirmary. Zenitsu was sprawling on his tatami mat, alternately humming to himself and sighing at the ceiling beams as if mourning his tragic fate. Inosuke, meanwhile, lay listlessly on another bed.
"Zenitsu, Inosuke, how are you guys feeling? Any better?" Aoi placed the food container on the low table, a gentle smile plastered on her face.
To be honest, since arriving in this world, Aoi felt like she wasn't herself anymore. She was a natural "I-person"—an introvert—who had been forcibly transformed by the System into an "E-person." And a high-tier method actor of an extrovert at that.
"Aoi-chan!" The moment Zenitsu saw her, he sprang up like he'd seen a savior and lunged toward her. "I'm doing great! It's just my heart... my heart was stolen by you, so it's been aching ever since!"
"..." The smile on Aoi's face twitched. She subtly dodged his attempt at a hug. "Zenitsu, you're still injured. Don't move around so much."
She looked past Zenitsu, her eyes landing on Inosuke. The boy remained in his uncharacteristically moping posture.