“Oh, shit!
Don’t pass out!
Whatever you do, don’t pass out!!”
Kiyohiko had only just experienced the terror of the “Sleep Hashira.” If this guy fell asleep again, the neck he had only just regenerated would probably be in danger once more.
Without thinking, Kiyohiko thrust out both hands and grabbed Zenitsu by the cheeks.
He pulled them apart as though stretching a lump of dough while wiping every frightening expression from his face and replacing it with the exasperated look of someone disappointed in an incorrigible child.
“Shut up!
You’re not allowed to faint!
I’m not going to eat you!
I don’t eat people!
Do you understand?!”
“Mmph, mmph?!”
Zenitsu’s face was distorted by the pulling, and tears sprayed from his eyes.
At the very least, however, the pain forcibly dragged him back to reality.
He stared at Kiyohiko in terror, his entire body trembling like a sieve as tears streamed down his face.
“W-Waaaah… You’re lying!
You clearly said, ‘Dinner time!’ just now!
I heard you!
You’re going to eat me, aren’t you?!
You’re going to start chewing from my ears, aren’t you?!
I can’t take this… I’m going to die… Gramps, I’m sorry!
I’m going to become demon poop…”
Zenitsu cried while muttering at an astonishing speed, both hands tightly protecting his head.
[Zenitsu Agatsuma detected.]
[Current Bond Value: -10.]
If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have scared him.
Another negative number.
Kiyohiko released his cheeks and rolled his eyes dramatically.
He dropped onto the grass opposite Zenitsu, casually plucked a blade of grass, and placed it between his lips.
All the while, he struggled to suppress the hunger churning inside him from being so close to a living human.
“If I wanted to eat you, do you really think you’d still be sitting there with snot running down your face?
I was just trying to scare you.
Understand?”
Kiyohiko was genuinely afraid of him now.
“Look, I haven’t laid a hand on you.
Besides…”
He pointed at the large patch of blood that had yet to dry on his collar and complained irritably:
“I’m the one who got hurt just now, all right?
Your sleeping habits are terrible.
You even slash people apart in your dreams!
You nearly cut my head off and sent it rolling like a ball.
Which one of us is supposed to be the monster here?”
Zenitsu froze for a moment and sniffled.
He cautiously peeked at Kiyohiko through the gaps between his fingers.
Although the person before him did possess a demon’s fangs and gave off a terrifying presence, he genuinely had not lunged at him or tried to bite him.
Instead, he was sitting there complaining like some grumpy old man.
More importantly…
He was actually kind of handsome.
“Y-You really won’t eat me?” Zenitsu asked in a trembling, tearful voice.
“No.
You’re covered in tears and snot.
Just looking at you ruins my appetite.”
Kiyohiko waved a hand in disgust, though he was actually trying to hide the fact that he had just swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Only heaven knew how difficult it was for him to restrain himself.
After Zenitsu’s slash, his hunger had returned with a vengeance.
“My name is Kiyohiko.”
Then he looked at Zenitsu.
“What about you, blondie?
What’s your name?
Why would someone as cowardly as you dare participate in Final Selection?
Do you have a death wish?”
Kiyohiko knowingly asked the question in an attempt to steer their conversation in a more normal direction.
The word “cowardly” seemed to strike Zenitsu where it hurt, but his desire to survive outweighed his indignation.
He hunched his shoulders and slowly sat upright, though he remained poised to flee at any moment.
“I-I’m Zenitsu Agatsuma… I didn’t want to come here either!
Gramps beat me up and kicked me out here!
Waaaah… There are demons everywhere!
It’s terrifying… I want to go home…”
As he continued speaking, Zenitsu began crying again.
Kiyohiko helplessly covered his forehead.
This guy was exactly the same as he was in the original story.
He truly was loud, and he truly was a coward.
Still, seeing such a vivid character standing right in front of him made the reality of his transmigration finally sink in, improving his mood slightly.
If I help him pass Final Selection, his Bond Value should increase dramatically.
His hearing is excellent too, so he can help me find people.
That would be much better than wandering around like a headless fly.
There was only one thing Kiyohiko could not understand.
How had the original Zenitsu managed to pass Final Selection?
Had he slept through the entire thing?
Kiyohiko sighed, rose to his feet, and brushed the dirt from the seat of his pants.
“All right, all right.
Stop howling.
Since you were forced into this too, I suppose I can reluctantly protect you for a while.”
“Come on.
Staying in one place is even more dangerous.
The smell of blood will attract demons that actually want to eat you.”
“However…”
Kiyohiko wagged a finger.
“The great Lord Kiyohiko has conditions.
Since your ears are so good, you’ll have to help me find someone.”
“Y-Your ears… How did you know my ears were good?”
“Ahem… Ahem…”
Kiyohiko coughed evasively.
Zenitsu immediately stopped asking questions and merely nodded.
Kiyohiko patted Zenitsu on the head.
The texture was surprisingly pleasant, so he gave his hair another vigorous rub.
“Relax.
It won’t be difficult.
That person should be easy to find.
As for his distinguishing features…”
Kiyohiko remembered that Zenitsu had probably not met Tanjiro yet.
He thought long and hard before finally producing what he considered a reliable description.
“He probably has a voice that sounds extremely gentle, but his head is actually ridiculously hard—like a rock.
Have you heard anyone with that kind of distinctive sound?”
“Huh?
The sound of… someone with a hard head?”
Zenitsu sniffled and gave him a look that clearly said, Are you making fun of me?
“How could anyone possibly hear whether someone’s head is hard?!
Besides, this entire mountain is filled with horrible crunching and chewing noises, along with people screaming, ‘Save me!’ It’s terrifying!
I want to go home!!”
“Shut up and concentrate!”
Kiyohiko slapped the back of Zenitsu’s head.
“Block out all that useless fear and search for something that sounds… Uh, full of vitality!
Or someone who’s currently fighting!”
“Hurry up, or I’ll leave you here as food for the Hand Demon!”
Driven by his terror of being abandoned, Zenitsu was forced to activate his high-precision radar mode.
He closed his eyes, and his ears twitched slightly as he filtered out the sound of the wind and rustling leaves.
“Ugh… Over there…”
“There’s a sound in that direction.
It’s very faint… It feels like it’s about to disappear…”
Zenitsu pointed southeast, his finger still trembling.
“About to disappear?
Did Tanjiro run into trouble?”
Kiyohiko’s heart tightened.
Although Tanjiro had been extremely capable in the original story, no one could predict the effects of the butterfly effect.
He grabbed Zenitsu by the back of his collar and dragged him along like a helpless chick as he broke into a sprint.
“Come on!
Let’s take a look!”
However, when they pushed through the bushes, they did not see the dark-red-haired boy Kiyohiko was searching for.
Instead, a Final Selection candidate dressed in a similar outfit lay collapsed in a pool of blood.
His body was covered in claw marks, making it obvious that he had just endured a fierce battle.
The demon responsible was nowhere to be seen, but the candidate himself had only a single breath left in him.
“…”
Kiyohiko stared at the completely unfamiliar face, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“This is the ‘hardheaded’ person you were talking about?”
“I-I only said his sound was about to disappear!
I never said he was that hardheaded guy!”
Zenitsu hid behind a tree and poked half his head out to defend himself.
“Besides, he’s lost so much blood… There’s really no saving him, is there?”
“What are we supposed to do?”
As Zenitsu spoke, he began crying yet again.
Kiyohiko sighed.
Since they had already come this far, he could hardly stand by and watch the man die.
He strode toward the wounded candidate.
The young man was still conscious.
When he saw a demon approaching, he tried to grasp his sword in terror, but he lacked even the strength to move his fingers.
“D-Don’t… Don’t come any closer…”
“Shut up and save your strength.”
Kiyohiko crouched down.
Ignoring the fear in the candidate’s eyes, he gently pressed his palm against the young man’s mangled chest.