Call Me King of the Hunt X Kamado's Shock

Without the guidance of its head, Sato Takeichiro's body immediately stopped struggling; caught by the cold wind, it crumbled directly into ash.

Demons are "dead things" by nature, so how could they die a second time?

Complete dissipation is their only end.

It was just a pity... having finally encountered an experience pack, it was gone just like that.

Roy's mood was not actually as beautiful as one might imagine.

Fortunately, the system prompt... [Combat Experience +10], made his expression look a little better.

"Nii-san, is he really dead just like that?" Tanjiro finally felt safe enough to crawl out from behind the tree.

Though the child was stubborn, he wasn't stupid; in fact, he had a great deal of self-awareness. He knew clearly that with his own meager strength, he wasn't capable of participating in this battle, so he had stayed put obediently, not dragging Roy down.

Roy tidied up his gains and allocated all twelve points of experience he had just received into Shadow Step. Only then did he glance at the boy and say irritably, "What? You wanted to have a grand battle with him?"

Tanjiro was startled and waved his hands repeatedly...

He had seen the strength of this evil demon with his own eyes.

If it weren't for Roy, and it had been him instead, he would have undoubtedly ended up just as pitiful as the woodcutter who had been half-eaten.

It was just that...

"I actually... wanted to fight alongside Nii-san."

Tanjiro lowered his head, secretly glancing at Roy from the corner of his eye, and said cautiously.

That request and longing made Roy pause for a moment.

That was true... in the original story, he was the eldest brother, the pillar of the family, and the one his younger siblings relied upon.

Therefore, he had to be strong; he had to let his wings grow full so he could shelter his family from the wind and rain.

So... being unable to stand being useless and striving for strength his whole life was his true nature.

Roy patted Tanjiro's head and couldn't help but sigh, "Same as a younger brother, yet you are quite different from someone else."

"Is Nii-san talking about that brother from your dreams?"

"Mm..."

"What is his name?"

"Illumi..."

"Illumi..." Tanjiro repeated the name in his heart and said firmly, "He must really admire Nii-san."

Roy gave a mocking laugh, thinking to himself that if that person didn't stab him in the back, it would be considered an act of mercy.

He raised his hand and gave Tanjiro a crisp, clean flick to the forehead: "Did Mother agree to let you come along just so you could ask questions?"

"Shut up! Get to work!"

"Oh~" Tanjiro clutched his head, aggrieved.

He shouldered his basket, picked up his hoe, and followed Roy toward the open-pit coal mine deep in the forest.

Those who live on the mountain live off the mountain, and those who live by the sea live off the sea; the forest was vast enough and had existed long enough to hold plenty of treasures.

In less than half a day, Roy and Tanjiro wandered around a bit, and both baskets were completely filled with coal.

It was now three o'clock in the afternoon, with one hour left until sunset. Taking advantage of the remaining time, Roy tossed two rice balls to Tanjiro, while he himself had a simple meal with some hot tea.

He lifted his feet and leaped onto a large tree.

His movements were smooth and fluid, and Tanjiro watched with envy.

"Nii-san's speed... has it become faster again?" The child chewed on his rice ball, tilting his head to look up at Roy.

Thanks to Sato Takeichiro, after the proficiency of Shadow Step increased, Roy could indeed feel his body becoming lighter.

He broke off a tree branch, held it in his hand, and unleashed [Gyo] to search the surroundings for game. Relying on his enhanced vision, he keenly captured two clusters of "Qi."

Then, "Whoosh..." "Whoosh..."...

The branches left his hand, thrown by Roy with lightning speed!

"Squeak—" Two miserable cries...

The moving "Qi" instantly stagnated... Tanjiro understood immediately and hurried over to look, returning with a wild pheasant in each hand.

"Nii-san, it's a pheasant." The boy shouted excitedly, "This is perfect to take back for Father and Nezuko to nourish themselves."

Roy didn't commit to an answer, leaping again and darting into the deeper woods. This time, when he returned, he had a roe deer in his hand.

"Wow..." Tanjiro's mouth hung open as he circled the roe deer.

It was his first time seeing such a creature, neither quite deer nor not-deer, and he was fascinated by his curiosity... but he didn't notice Roy lift his hand and toss the neck-snapped roe deer at his feet before turning and disappearing again.

Until... ten minutes later, a shrill howl echoed through the woods.

Tanjiro heard the commotion and turned his head back... Roy appeared once more, dragging a wild boar out of the forest.

The foolish little brother stared wide-eyed, repeatedly confirming whether he was hallucinating...

It wasn't until Roy patted him that he finally came back to his senses.

"It's getting late, let's pack up and head out." Roy kicked the wild boar up, hoisted it onto his shoulder, then leaned over to strap on his basket, picked up the roe deer, and tossed the hoe and two pheasants to Tanjiro.

Roy led the way, heading back toward the edge of the forest in the direction they had come.

In this day and age, with demons running rampant and wolves prowling the paths, just as Koizumi Saburo at the foot of the mountain had said, no one dared to venture out at night. Naturally, that meant there were no other hunters around.

This resulted in an abundance of game in the forest, with animals roaming freely, all of which worked to his advantage.

It's a pity... I only know [Gyo], not [En]...

Otherwise, with the enhancement of [En], hunting would be even more like adding wings to a tiger.

But... there was no rush... one must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time... For now, the priority was to master Sun Breathing and strengthen his physique.

The young man, his deep red hair swaying in the breeze, walked through the snowy landscape with his smaller counterpart following behind, chasing the setting sun and leaving two shallow trails of footprints in the woods...

Tanjiro lagged behind, perhaps because he was burdened by too much weight... or perhaps because the incident of the demon devouring humans had shattered his worldview...

Throughout the journey, Roy didn't speak, and neither did he, until a wisp of cooking smoke appeared in the distance...

Only then did he quicken his pace, catching up to Roy in a few strides, and said with a determined expression, "Nii-san, I want to learn from you."

"Learn what?"

"You know, the 'hey'... 'ha'..."

Tanjiro used the pheasant like a sword, gesturing a few times...

The chicken feathers nearly poked Roy in the face, making him roll his eyes in frustration.

"Alright, I get it... you're always full of trouble..."

"Hehe..."

Tanjiro rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin, and the pheasant in his hand went "thud" as it hit the ground.

Then, he received a kick from Roy. He appeared before Kie, Tanjuro, and his younger siblings, limping along.

"I'm home~"

"Where is Nii-san?"

"He's right behind..."

Tanjiro handed the pheasant to Kie and took off his shoes and socks to step onto the veranda...

With him out of the way, Roy, who was clutching a roe deer, carrying a basket of charcoal on his back, and hoisting a plump wild boar on his shoulder, stomped the snow off his boots and tossed the boar onto the ground with a swing of his arm.

He smiled and said, "I'm home."

The Kamado family: "..."

Their eyes widened.

Just like Tanjiro had an hour ago.