Kyoujurou stared blankly at his father. His father, once so imposing and full of vigor, was now unshaven, his back slightly hunched, showing the ravages of time.
His eyes, stained by alcohol, were not clear, and his red-rimmed eyelids were bloodshot.
He remembered his father striking him down more than once.
Saying he had no talent and was completely unsuited to be in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Staying there was just waiting to die.
"Father, I will not leave the Demon Slayer Corps."
Kyoujurou's every word was a resounding, powerful reply. Even if this was the father he respected most, he absolutely could not agree.
"Kyoujurou!" Staring at his son, who looked almost exactly like him, he already knew. His son might not live past 25... yet he was still so young.
"You're only 20! Wouldn't it be better to live as an ordinary person?"
Clutching the sake flask tightly in his hand, his fingertips turning white, the veins on Shinjuro's forehead bulged, betraying his extreme instability at this moment.
Even the creator of the Breath of the Sun couldn't kill that being, so how could they, these inferior derivatives, possibly defeat it!
"Father, I am already an ordinary person," Kyoujurou still looked directly at Shinjuro, his resolute gaze so intense that Shinjuro instinctively looked away.
The sake flask in his hand was raised and then lowered; he ultimately didn't drink. Annoyed, he ran a hand through his hair, the disheveled strands falling across his face, making him look even older.
But Kyoujurou's words continued, each sentence like a clap of thunder, exploding in Shinjuro's mind, the roar leaving him utterly devastated.
"I am just an ordinary person who is stronger than others."
"Having inherited the mantle of Flame Pillar from Father, then slaying demons and protecting the weak is my mission."
"I want to be like Father in his youth, a person who protects a region."
"I also hope to live up to Mother's teachings."
Kyoujurou's hands, placed on his knees, clenched tight, his back straightened even more firmly, and in his orange-red pupils, there seemed to be an unquenchable blazing fire.
"Helping the weak is the duty of those born strong!"
"It is a mission that must be accomplished!"
"I promised Mother I would become such a person."
When his deceased wife was mentioned, Shinjuro's body stiffened, and his back, which had straightened in anger, suddenly bent a few more degrees.
He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't make a sound, his lips trembling.
Looking at Kyoujurou, he seemed to see his younger self. He had once been like this too; after suffering successive blows, he began to lose heart, and the sword skills he was supposed to teach Kyoujurou were abandoned.
Kyoujurou had come this far with just a few guidebooks. As his father, how could he not know his talent?
He couldn't bear to experience the pain of losing a child again; his wife's death had already made him wish he were dead.
But now, he knew.
Kyoujurou had long been prepared; he couldn't stop him.
"Father, I hope you can support me."
"Please take care of yourself!"
Kyoujurou bowed at the waist, forcefully kowtowed, and was about to get up and leave when a hoarse voice called out to him.
An unopened bottle of sake was tossed into his arms.
Shinjuro sat down with his back to him, his voice muffled.
"Come, have a drink with me before you go."
Looking blankly at his father, then at the sake bottle in his arms, Kyoujurou smiled faintly and agreed.
The cool sake poured into his mouth. Shinjuro glanced sideways at Kyoujurou. He was still young, and before he had even drunk half, the alcohol had already gone to his head.
Shinjuro scoffed, but a sigh echoed deep within him.
Ruka... our son...
He is already a man of his own... "Meow~"
Yoizumi, who had just finished training his squad members, found a fluffy kitten at his feet.
"Chachamaru."
He knelt down and stroked his small head, then took out the letter from his small satchel.
Opening the letter, he scanned its contents, then spoke to Chachamaru.
"I understand."
"Meow~"
With Chachamaru's meow, it disappeared from Yoizumi's sight.
The activity-enhancing potion has been completed... It was developed while researching a potion to combat Muzan and suppress the side effects of the Mark.
Tamayo must have had a difficult time.
I should find a chance to thank her properly.
Hmm... shouldn't he ask Yushiro what Tamayo likes?
As the demon closest to Tamayo, Yushiro must know her preferences. He'll ask him then.
"Brother!" Nezuko, with a wreath made of many different kinds of flowers on her small head, ran up to Yoizumi. Her little face was flushed, and she was full of smiles.
"Does it look good?"
Seeing his sister's cute smile, how could Yoizumi dampen her spirits? He gently patted her head.
"It looks good. Did Nezuko make it herself?"
"Yes!"
She held another flower wreath in her small hands behind her back, signaling her brother to bend down. Yoizumi cooperated by bending over, and the flower wreath was placed on Yoizumi's head.
Nezuko put her hands on her hips, very satisfied with her masterpiece. In her demonic vertical pupils, there was only pure, innocent joy.
Noticing that she still had another flower wreath in her hand, Yoizumi understood it was for Tanjirou.
"Does Nezuko miss Tanjirou?"
"Mm."
Little Nezuko held Tanjirou's flower wreath in one hand and her brother's hand in the other. Her small face wrinkled; this was the first time she had been separated from Tanjirou for so long.
"Tanjirou is training desperately so he can come back to see Nezuko sooner."
"When Tanjirou comes back, we'll weave an even better and more beautiful one for him."
"Mm!" Nezuko raised her small hand in agreement.
Yoizumi looked down at his sister, a faint smile playing on his lips, but he quickly suppressed it.
Because he remembered that since the activity-enhancing potion had been developed, the potion to turn her back into a human wouldn't be far off.
He and Nezuko were the ones who survived that night, losing everything and becoming demons.
When Nezuko remembers everything that happened that night... will she still have her carefree smile?
A worried feeling filled his heart. Yoizumi tightened his grip on his sister's hand a little more. He hoped his sister could keep this smile.
But... as a human.
Nezuko will be very sad when she remembers all of that, won't she?
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