The table was covered in delicious food, no different from the meal on the night the old man had first brought her back. It seemed that every time he welcomed a new student, he would bring out his signature cooking.
Perhaps, to Mr. Jigoro, these were not merely students.
They were family.
Sui withdrew her attention from the food and looked in Gyomei Himejima's direction. He did not seem to have any intention of staying for the meal.
"You won't sit for a while?"
"There is no need." The man pressed his palms together. "This humble monk still has matters to attend to. Being able to entrust Kaigaku to Mr. Jigoro has already fulfilled one of my long-cherished wishes."
He was crying?
Sui sensed two streams of burning-hot tears running down the man's face, hard and rugged as bedrock. No matter how one looked at it, a man whose appearance resembled living stone shedding tears over a wish fulfilled struck Sui as profoundly strange.
"It is merely an affliction of the eyes, my lady need not concern herself with it." The man shook his head. "Speaking of which, your eyes ought to be perfectly healthy, should they not? Why then do you choose to keep them closed and experience the life of darkness?"
"Sometimes what eyes see is not the truth either, wouldn't you agree?" the girl replied with a smile.
"I am instructed by your words." The man softly intoned another Buddhist invocation. "Then this humble monk will take his leave."
"I'll see you out." Sui set down her chopsticks.
"And while I'm at it, I'll look around in town for a good cane for the old man."
"Mm." The old man answered from the side, but he had noticed something.
From beginning to end, Sui had not looked at Kaigaku even once, as though the boy simply did not exist.
That was not right.
The moment he had laid eyes on Kaigaku, he had known the boy was proud to the bone. The fact that Kaigaku had not exploded at being completely ignored by the girl was likely only because he had just arrived and was still holding himself back. And Sui's suggestion to leave the table was probably because of Kaigaku as well. Could it really be that the mere presence of this boy was enough to ruin her appetite? The old man did not know. Her expression had not changed even once. There was no disgust there, but neither was there the slightest hint of fondness.
He would wait for her explanation after she returned from town.
"Old man, I'm taking Mr. Gyomei part of the way, then I'll head off," the girl said with a wave.
"Mm. Be careful."
That was nonsense, Jigoro thought as he took a drink of strong liquor.
With the Stone Hashira and her together, what danger could possibly befall them? It was not as though they were going to walk out and bump into the legendary Demon King, Muzan himself.
Walking beside him, Sui found herself experiencing a rare sense of deep peace, as if simply staying near this Hashira meant there was nothing to worry about. He truly lived up to his name: like a massive rock standing firm against storm, calamity, and ruin.
"Would it be convenient for you to tell me about the child called Kaigaku?" the girl asked.
The man remained silent for a long time. By the time they reached the end of the peach grove, Sui had begun to think he would stay silent all the way through. Then, at last, he spoke and began to tell his story slowly.
"Kaigaku is a pitiful child I took in back when I was still a monk. He had no family, no one to rely on, and lived in great misery. So I brought him to my temple. There were many children like him there."
"In other words, you took in quite a few poor souls who had lost their families?"
"That is correct."
"And yet you became a demon slayer."
The girl's clear voice was like a knife, mercilessly cutting open the old wound in the man's heart.
"Yes. That night, for reasons unknown, the wisteria incense went out. Then a demon invaded the temple. My children, one after another, seized weapons and fought to protect me. But even grown men are no match for a demon. How could such small children possibly resist one? In the end, the only survivors were Kaigaku and another frail little girl. Kaigaku survived because he was not at the temple that night. As for the girl... I do not wish to speak of her now. It is enough that she is living a happy life."
"And Kaigaku wants to become a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"He grew up in hardship and thought only of surviving. Now that he has seen both demons and demon slayers, he believes that strength is the foundation of survival."
"I believe that," said Sui. "But there is something else you ought to add, Mr. Gyomei."
"What is it?"
"That, for the sake of survival, he could even cast aside his dignity."
The girl's voice was very soft, and yet it startled the man.
He studied the girl before him carefully. The crimson haori fluttered around her as he gazed for a long while, until mountain wind sent peach blossoms drifting down onto her shoulders. She casually brushed the petals away, and only then did the powerful Hashira recover himself.
Her perception of the human heart was too sharp.
She was like a wise one walking through the mortal world, yet also like a demon that could beguile the soul. All she had to do was smile at you with her eyes closed, and you felt as though she had seen through you from the ground up.
"So you dislike Kaigaku?" Gyomei asked.
"Not exactly. I'm only worried that he may lose his way in the future. That in itself doesn't matter to me. If he truly goes down the wrong path, I'll give him a gift called death. But the old man wouldn't see it that way. He would think it was all his own fault—that he had failed in teaching him."
"But none of that has happened yet."
"Yes. You're right." The girl smiled, sly as a fox. "Even if it really does happen, I already have a way to deal with the old man."
How remarkable.
Gyomei praised her silently in his heart. That composure and eerie allure existed together in the girl as one, making her beauty almost lethally intoxicating.
"It is time for us to part ways, Mr. Gyomei."
Her voice rang out as Sui stood at the fork in the road and waved.
The man lowered his head and brought his palms together.
"Amitabha."
"When we meet again after this parting, I imagine you will already be a Hashira capable of standing on your own."
"I'll gladly borrow your blessing."
Sui smiled as she saw him off and watched him walk away into the distance.
All right, guest sent off. Time to get that old man a cane.
Now that a new Kaigaku had arrived, one way or another that cane should no longer be coming down on her head. She was thinking exactly that when someone suddenly called out to her.
"Hey! Sui-chan! Sui-chan! Over here!"
At the roadside behind her, a girl in a white apron waved enthusiastically.
It was Ayaumi Fei, the flower shop owner's daughter. Spring was peak season for peach blossoms, and more and more people came near Mount Momoyama to see the flowers. The otherwise quiet flower shop became extremely busy at this time of year, so Ayaumi Fei was helping her parents now.
She had first met Sui while gathering flowers on the mountain, and ever since, it was as if something strange had awakened in her. She kept using flower-picking as an excuse to run to Sui's place whenever she could.
The Demon Slayer Corps did not especially mind ordinary people being vaguely aware of their existence, but Jigoro absolutely could not stand her showing up every other day. At one point he had given Ayaumi Fei a furious scolding.
Things like:
"You're getting worse by the day,"
"You're obsessed with beauty,"
"Sui is my student—do you understand that you're interfering with her training?"
Thankfully, afterward Sui had explained to the girl that the old man was harsh with his mouth but actually liked her very much. Otherwise, one retired swordsman might well have ended up being secretly resented by Ayaumi Fei.
Still, Sui had truly wanted to argue with Jigoro's accusation of "being obsessed with beauty." What kind of nonsense was that? That woman had once joked with her that Great Beauty Sui's charm was unmatched and irresistible, but could girls really be drawn to her appearance too?
She had not understood before.
Now she did.
"Sui-chan, I haven't seen you for a whole week! I've had no motivation even to pick flowers, no motivation to make money. Every time I count cash at night, I can't help asking myself—what am I even earning all this money for? It can't buy me Sui-chan's love!"
Before Sui had even gotten close, the girl came rushing at her, already sobbing dramatically.
So girls really could pine after her.
Sui calmly stepped back, letting Ayaumi Fei throw herself at empty air. She had no intention of letting her clean self be stained with tears and snot.
"Sui-chan... you don't love me anymore..."
And so someone only escalated further.
"Stop. You're too loud."
The girl's face remained expressionless.
"...Hmph. Heartless woman," Ayaumi Fei muttered in an extremely small voice after a moment of silence.
Sui heard her, but could not be bothered to point out that she had.
"I came down the mountain because I have something to do."
"What is it? I'll go do it for you right now!" The girl's eyes lit up instantly.
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 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter95)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 55
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 45
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 32
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 31
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 31
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