Chapter 256: Before Eight
The Demon Slayer Corps branch was on the west side of Marcus’s residence, separated by a path of blue stone tiles, the courtyard walls covered in the green foliage of the wisteria.
Marcus arrived at the gate carrying several large bags. But before he could knock, the door opened.
Inasujiro poked his head out—a fifteen-year-old boy with slightly harder features than his sister Mitsuri.
When he saw him, his eyes lit up.
"Marcus-san, you’re here!"
"Yeah, are your parents home?"
"Yeah, they’re inside," Inasujiro replied, his eyes never leaving the bags.
Marcus walked inside. Inasujiro stuck close to his side, sniffing the air with a frown.
"What’s that smell?"
Marcus freed one hand to give him a pat on the head.
"A tropical fruit that just arrived, durian. I brought it for everyone to try."
"Can it be any good if it smells that bad?"
"The only way to know is to try it."
Inasujiro stuck out his tongue, spun around, and ran into the courtyard shouting, "Dad! Mom! Sis! Marcus is here and he brought poop!"
Marcus’s smile twisted.
He quickened his pace and kicked the kid in the butt.
Inasujiro stumbled, laughing, and vanished inside.
Mitsuri’s family had seven members; her parents had five children, and Mitsuri was the eldest. Unlike her rowdy siblings, Mitsuri was reserved in front of her parents, merely watching him shyly.
The mother came forward with a radiant smile.
"You come by so often, young man—why do you keep bringing things?"
"I know you’re not short on the usual, so I brought some new things. Please accept them."
The woman took the bags, delighted.
Having a son-in-law with strength, money, presence, and who treated her daughter well was a complete relief.
The father, on the other hand, kept a cold attitude.
He nodded slightly toward Marcus without warmth, though without open rejection either.
And it didn’t bother Marcus.
Mitsuri’s mother was of the old school and didn’t come from an upper-class family, so she understood the matter of polygamy perfectly well.
But Mitsuri’s father came from an important family and firmly believed in monogamy; in his youth he’d even run away from home to marry his wife.
To him, marriage was sacred.
And Marcus broke every one of his principles, on top of his protective devotion to his eldest daughter.
Still, over these months Marcus had won over the mother, the siblings, and above all, he had Mitsuri’s unconditional love.
So the father, unable to force anything on his daughter, could only resign himself.
That’s why Marcus respected him: their interaction was limited to a "Father-in-law" and a sober nod of the head.
Behind her father, Mitsuri wore a light pink kimono, her face flushed as she winked at her mother, who only shook her head with a smile.
The mother called the other children to come inside, went over to her husband, and took him by the arm.
"Stop bothering them~ let them go out for a walk."
Mitsuri’s father grunted in response, but was dragged inside all the same.
The courtyard fell silent, leaving Mitsuri standing there, head bowed, fingers twisting the edge of her clothes.
Seeing her like that, Marcus stepped forward, gently took her hand, and without saying much, walked toward the exit.
"Mitsuri, be back before eight," her father’s voice rang out from inside.
Knowing exactly what her father feared, her face flushed even deeper.
"Marcus-kun... where are we going today?"
"Some new movies just came out—shall we go see them?"
Mitsuri’s eyes lit up. "Chaplin ones?"
"Yeah."
"I’m in!"
...
The theater’s small private box was set up to be cozy and intimate.
The two settled onto a plush sofa, Mitsuri nestled against Marcus’s chest as the light from the screen lit up their faces.
A silent comedy played on the screen.
Chaplin shuffled along in his baggy pants with his cane, tripping at every turn.
It amused Mitsuri, who brushed her shoulder against Marcus’s arm and let her hair tickle his neck.
Marcus, however, wasn’t paying attention to the film.
How could he, with Mitsuri sitting in his lap?!
Taking advantage of Mitsuri’s distraction, he started to get a little playful with his hands, running them over her waist and thighs.
Mitsuri was wearing a thin kimono, so... how could she not feel Marcus’s mischievous hands?
But she didn’t stop him; over these months, this game had become something habitual between them.
From holding hands, to embracing, kissing, and even...
Little by little, Mitsuri’s laughter faded, replaced by increasingly quickened breathing.
Just as he tried to go further, she grabbed his hand and looked at him with misty eyes.
"N-No... Marcus... my father..."
The Kanroji name came from a traditional lineage with strict rules about marriage: they couldn’t go all the way before being wed.
Marcus understood and didn’t want to pressure her... but his incursion into Infinity Castle to meet Nakime was imminent, and he needed to increase his power.
So today he had to obtain Mitsuri’s Level Four reward: Transparent World!
Luckily, he knew he didn’t need to hit a home run to get the reward; there were other ways.
Since the mood had already built up to that point, Marcus intended to use the most convenient way to get it.
Leaning in to her ear, he brushed his cheek against hers. "But... I’m having a rough time here, Mitsuri..."
Mitsuri blushed, her heart pounding like crazy, her small hands clenching nervously. "Th-Then... can I... help you like before... is that okay?"
"Not today..." he whispered mischievously in her ear. "Today... I want to try a different way."
"W-What way...?"
Brushing aside Mitsuri’s hair, Marcus softly kissed her juicy lips.
"Today I want you to use your lips..."
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