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"L-Lord Narukami Hashira!" Sanemi knelt stiffly in front of Hozuki, his face flushed red.
"Good boy." Hozuki lowered her head and took a sip of hot tea.
"Don't get carried away!" Sanemi roared. "Once I become a Hashira, I'm going to pay you back double!"
"Then I shall await your good news, Shinazugawa-kun. If you become the Wind Hashira, I'll call you Lord Wind Hashira, you know." Hozuki gave a small, amused laugh.
"All right now, don't get yourself worked up. This tea was sent over by Fujiwara. Give it a try."
Sanemi picked up the cup and emptied it in one gulp, only to start coughing violently the next second.
Hozuki immediately put on a concerned look. "Shinazugawa-kun, are you all right? Shinazugawa-kun?"
"You bastard!" Sanemi kept blowing hot air from his mouth.
"You're not supposed to drink tea like that, Shinazugawa-kun." Hozuki shook her head and poured him a cup of water.
Sanemi downed that in one go as well, and only then did he finally recover. The moment he came back to himself, he found Yajima Hina sitting beside Hozuki, staring at him with naked disgust, the sort of look one would give an idiot.
"Hey!"
"Hey, brat!"
Hina pretended not to hear him.
"One should keep quiet in a shrine," Hozuki said, stopping Sanemi from huffing any further. "Now then, about the trail of the Twelve Kizuki you mentioned earlier. Would you tell me about it, Shinazugawa-kun?"
Sanemi sat back down and thought for a moment. "That, I can do."
When the talk turned to demon hunting, he finally became serious. At moments like this, he at least stopped looking like a delinquent.
"This was a recent discovery. Near an estate in a certain village, people began disappearing. All the missing were children, boys and girls alike. Before I got assigned to it, plenty of swordsmen had already received the same mission, but aside from three, every last one of them vanished. From that, it was inferred that a demon on the level of the Twelve Kizuki might be lurking there."
"And the three who came back?"
"They were completely fine. They never even ran into a demon. They searched the so-called estate from top to bottom and found nothing."
"If it really is one of the Twelve Kizuki, what happens if you can't handle it?" Hozuki asked.
Sanemi shook his head. "As if. What, do you seriously have that little faith in my strength?"
"You are saying that to the very person who put a blade to your throat in an instant?" Hozuki accepted the red bean sweet Hina handed her and took a small bite. Seeing Sanemi about to start huffing again, she smoothly changed tack. "Though I do have plenty of faith in your strength, Shinazugawa-kun. Still, facing one of the Twelve Kizuki alone brings too many unknowns. What if it turns out to be something like the one from Mount Kurama?"
"I'm not going alone."
For once, a strangely mixed expression of delight and awkwardness crossed Sanemi's face.
"With Kumeno-san?" Hozuki exposed his secret in a single sentence.
Sanemi let out a sigh. "You really do know everything."
"Because you're in a very good mood today, Shinazugawa-kun. There's even a smile on your face. If there's anyone who could make you wear that expression, it would have to be Kumeno-san." Hozuki smiled faintly. "Still, if I remember correctly, both you and Kumeno-san are only Kinoe-rank swordsmen right now, yes? If you fail this mission, that estate will have to be investigated by a Hashira."
"Yeah." Sanemi narrowed his eyes. "I've heard the Hashira are the true pillars of the Corps. Unless it's absolutely necessary, they don't move, because every one of them is busy. But you? You seem awfully free. Sitting around in this shrine looking perfectly at ease."
"That's because I killed every demon here," Hozuki said blandly.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. There are no more demons here that require me to leave the mountain. Unless I receive a letter from the Master, I will remain here and stand guard over Osaka."
"You said 'stand guard,' didn't you?" Sanemi latched onto the word at once. "What is there in Osaka that makes the Demon Slayer Corps keep a whole Hashira stationed here no matter the cost?"
"When you become a Hashira, you'll know the answer."
Hozuki lifted her teacup, only to find it empty.
Sanemi left the shrine.
After seeing him off, Hina returned and found Hozuki changing out of her pure white shrine robes and fastening the collar of her teal-blue dress.
"Lady Hozuki, where are you going?"
"I'm uneasy."
"That estate is suspicious. You can tell that much just from the description. Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen are extremely sensitive to a demon's presence. If they walk into a demon's territory and still cannot sense one at all, then it is at the very least a Lower Rank."
"Even if it's a Lower Rank, you should still have no reason to worry, Lady Hozuki," Hina said. "This is the Master's test for that man. As much as I hate to admit it, he really is strong. An ordinary demon couldn't possibly threaten him."
The girl watched as Hozuki continued dressing and hurriedly added, "If you're going, can you take me with you?"
"Stay at the shrine, Hina." Hozuki reached out and patted the girl's head. "I'm only uneasy, so I'm going to follow them and watch from a distance. If they can complete the mission through their own strength in the end, I won't reveal myself."
The girl slowly lowered her head and loosened her grip on Hozuki's sleeve.
"If one day I become a Kinoe-rank swordsman and go to slay one of the Twelve Kizuki, will you protect me from the shadows too, Lady Hozuki?"
Hozuki paused, then couldn't help but smile. "I probably would."
Joy immediately bloomed across the girl's face.
"But if I have to step in, then you will no longer be permitted to remain a swordsman," Hozuki said as she finished dressing and secured her hair with her hairpin.
"Ah? Why?" the girl asked, puzzled.
"Because in the future, you must become a swordsman who can stand alone. Only then can you face demons and protect innocent lives. If you cannot do that, then the moment you are defeated before a demon, the people behind you will die at that demon's hands."
Hozuki spoke softly.
"Hunting demons is revenge, yes. But at its core, it is protection. Hina, I believe you can understand that."
Then she took the Nichirin Blade Hachiqiu from the sword rack.
Hina had already recognized the strength and status of a Hashira, but she still had yet to understand the responsibility a Hashira must bear.
Since Hozuki had brought the girl back with her, it was only natural that she teach her these things.
"A Hashira is a swordsman who will stand before a demon and protect everyone, no matter what. Remember that. Everyone."
Hozuki draped her haori over her shoulders, and the golden crane-cry pattern seemed to leap to life.
She stepped out beyond the shrine's torii gate, and the pure, immaculate shrine maiden once again overlapped with the figure from the ghost stories people told.
There was a demon-slayer bearing a blade, one who closed her eyes and cut demons down.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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