This is Mount Natagumo. A place with steep slopes and dense trees. It is difficult enough to pass through during the day when the sun is up, so imagine how it is at night when the moon is out. If you take a wrong turn once, it would be easy to forget the way out and wander forever.

Even in such rugged mountains, surprisingly, there is a house. A single old wooden residence. Mysterious spider webs are scattered here and there, and a strange energy seems to linger. Of course, this is not a house where humans reside. In the village at the foot of the mountain, it is whispered as a place where a real pack of demons lives, whether you believe it or not.

Instead of wasting time wondering if these messy webs hanging all over the house were made by a single real spider, wouldn't it be better for your well-being to run far away from this mansion immediately? You never know what might happen to you on the pretext of disturbing the peaceful daily life of the 'family.'

Right now, inside this old wooden house, a mother and son are spending time together. The moment this time is considered interrupted, nothing can be guaranteed. ...What is even less certain is the truth of whether that mother and son are actually related by blood or not.

•••••

That's right, there's no way this relationship is bound by blood. In the first place, the existence of this old wooden mansion on this mountain is nothing more than for the sake of Rui, Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki, to play family. For demons to gather and play house is a very great privilege in itself.

In the deepest part of the wooden mansion, the only place where the wooden walls are not rotting and a lamp shines like a human room. This is the residence of Guest, who has taken on the role of the new mother, and the place where Rui, now the rank one of this family group, lays his head.

...Mother, you should pet my head.

Whether Guest likes it or not is not a consideration for Rui. All Rui wants is for Guest, whom he made the new mother of the family, to love the family. ...Somehow, though he calls it a family, his attitude suggests his true desire is for that affection to be directed solely at him.

Did he keenly notice that the look in Guest's eyes as they look down at him is mixed with fear or some unknown emotion rather than love? Soon, the surrounding air seemed to turn chilly, and Rui's voice, low and incredibly cold, flowed out.

...Mother, you're our mother now. You have to love your family. Do it now, while I'm being nice.