In a dark alley deep within the city, Muzan Kibutsuji snapped his fingers.
Two man-eating demons appeared behind him without warning, each dropping to one knee the instant they arrived.
Muzan did not even turn around.
In a cold, flat voice, he gave his order.
"Find the Demon Slayer wearing the hanafuda earrings. Kill him, and bring me his head."
"As you command."
The two demons answered in unison.
Then they vanished.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Tanjiro led Yushiro back to the quiet street outside the city center.
Nezuko was still sitting on the bench where he had left her, sleepy and obedient, while the noodle stall owner behind her wore a thunderously dark expression.
The moment Tanjiro saw that face, his heart skipped.
He hurried forward alone and bowed at once.
"I'm very sorry. Something urgent came up just now. I'll pay for it immediately—"
The stall owner cut him off, his voice full of irritation.
"Do you think this is about money?"
He jabbed a finger toward the spot where the broken bowl had fallen earlier.
"You took one sip of my broth and threw it on the ground. That's not just wasting food. That's insulting my craft!"
Tanjiro straightened, then bowed again even deeper.
"I'm truly sorry," he said earnestly. "Please give me another bowl of Ise udon. I'll finish every bite this time."
Inside the blade, Alex watched in silence as Tanjiro sat down and obediently ate his replacement bowl of noodles under the owner's harsh gaze.
At the same time, the system kept chiming away in the background whenever small bits of Emotion Points came in.
Alex's brow twitched.
He was already sick of hearing it.
"System," he said at last, "can you adjust the notification settings? This thing goes off nonstop. It's annoying."
The reply came immediately.
[Ding! Notification settings may be adjusted or muted.]
Alex went quiet for a second.
Then he asked flatly, "And you didn't think to mention that earlier?"
[Ding! You didn't ask.]
Alex had no answer to that.
After a long pause, he said, "Fine. Adjust the Emotion Point notifications. Don't notify me unless it's at least one thousand at a time."
[Ding! Adjustment complete.]
With that handled, Alex opened his personal panel again.
His Emotion Points were closing in on thirty thousand.
That was enough to make him start thinking seriously about his next unlock.
Outside, Tanjiro finished the entire bowl of udon under the stall owner's close supervision. Only after that was he finally allowed to leave with Nezuko.
Yushiro had been waiting nearby the whole time, looking increasingly impatient.
Once they regrouped, he led the siblings through a maze of back alleys, weaving through the city until they reached what appeared to be a dead end. There was nothing ahead but a wall, with intersecting alleys branching off to either side.
Tanjiro was just wondering whether Yushiro had taken a wrong turn when the boy glanced around cautiously, then walked straight at the wall.
And passed right through it.
Tanjiro stopped dead.
For a second, he could only stare.
Then he reached out and touched the surface in front of him.
There was nothing there.
No resistance at all.
After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward with Nezuko behind him and passed through as easily as if he were crossing a curtain of air.
The view beyond made him stop all over again.
A mansion stood hidden behind the dead end.
Tanjiro blinked.
"There's... actually a mansion behind there?"
Yushiro, already walking ahead, turned and shot him a dark look.
"Listen carefully," he said in a grim voice. "If you show even the slightest disrespect to Lady Tamayo, I will never forgive you."
Tanjiro was caught off guard by the intensity of it.
"Ah... right. Understood."
The three of them went inside.
The first thing Tanjiro saw was a brightly lit room, warm and quiet, as though it belonged to an entirely different world than the streets outside.
Tamayo was already waiting there.
The moment she saw him, she asked the question that had clearly consumed her ever since their first meeting.
"May I ask," she said, her gaze fixed on him, "do you know Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
Hearing the name again, Tanjiro could only answer honestly.
"I don't know who that is."
Tamayo studied his expression carefully.
He was not lying.
She was certain of that.
But she still pressed on.
"Then why did you take on that demeanor just now? Why did you say those things to Muzan Kibutsuji? Every movement, every word... it was exactly like Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
That question hit the center of the matter so precisely that Tanjiro almost choked.
He had no idea how to explain it.
So, as usual, he immediately retreated inward.
"Asuramaru," he asked in his mind, "how should I answer?"
Alex was instantly annoyed.
He had been listening quietly until then, but now he snapped.
"Say whatever you want. Don't run to me for every little thing. Are you the Sword Master, or am I?"
Tanjiro nearly lost his composure on the spot.
But after the initial shock, he caught the meaning.
So... he could answer however he liked?
With that thought in mind, he looked back at Tamayo, considered it seriously for a moment, and then decided to tell the truth.
"The one who acted like that just now... wasn't really me," he said. "It was the sword at my waist. Asuramaru controlled my body after seeing Muzan."
The room went still.
Inside the sword, Alex was momentarily speechless.
Tanjiro had really just told her everything, without even trying to soften it.
Then again, Tamayo was on their side. So while it was reckless, it was not exactly disastrous.
Tamayo, however, was left staring at him in genuine confusion.
For the first time since they met, her expression lost its composure.
A sword controlling a person?
That sounded less like reality and more like something torn from an old myth.
Yushiro reacted even more strongly.
His already sour expression darkened further as he stepped forward and snapped, "Are you making fun of Lady Tamayo? Unforgivable."
He looked ready to lunge.
Fortunately, Tamayo recovered in time and immediately stopped him.
"Yushiro. Stop."
Her voice was calm, but firm.
"Do not resort to violence."
That was enough.
Yushiro instantly suppressed his anger and stepped back, though his glare remained murderous.
"I understand, Lady Tamayo."
Tanjiro hurried to clarify.
"It's hard to believe, I know. But it's the truth."
There was not a trace of deceit in his eyes.
And that, more than anything, gave Tamayo pause.
She turned her gaze toward Asuramaru at Tanjiro's waist and fell silent in thought.
A moment later, she asked, "Then where did you get this sword?"
Tanjiro answered immediately.
"It's been passed down through my family."
Tamayo nodded faintly, then continued, "And... would it be possible for it to take control of you again? There are questions I'd like to ask it, if that can be arranged."
Tanjiro hesitated.
The first answer had been easy.
The second was not.
If he asked Asuramaru again now, he had a very strong feeling he would just get yelled at.
Still, he could not ignore the request entirely.
So he tried to phrase it as safely as possible.
"Actually, I can't command Asuramaru," he admitted. "The reason it took control before was because Muzan appeared. That was its own choice."
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"But... I can ask."
Then, in his mind, he asked.
As expected, the answer came back immediately.
"Get lost."
Tanjiro's shoulders drooped.
He really had no argument against that.
It was his sword, yes.
But that did not mean the sword listened to him.
So after a brief, painful pause, he looked back at Tamayo and repeated the answer exactly as he had received it.
"I'm sorry. He told me to get lost."
For one dangerous instant, Tamayo looked as though she might lose her composure too.
But she managed to rein it in.
Then, with admirable grace, she simply said, "It's all right. If he doesn't wish to meet me, then I won't force the matter."
Her tone remained calm.
But the fact that she accepted such an answer at all made Tanjiro feel even worse.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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