"How long? Two days?"
"Nii-san, I don't need new clothes. We'd be better off using the money to buy something for the younger children to eat."
Nezuko smiled, her eyes curving just like Kie's. She was gentle and considerate.
"We're buying clothes, and we're not short on food for now."
They'd just slaughtered a pig yesterday, so they wouldn't have to worry about running out of meat for half a month.
"But that's still so long..." Kie looked at Roy with concern. "Why are you going to Mount Sagiri again?"
The town at the foot of the mountain could easily absorb the charcoal the Kamado family had stockpiled over the past two days.
"To learn something." Roy peeled a dumpling and took a small bite. "Tanjiro's grown up enough to help out. The family doesn't really need two coal miners, so I'll see if I can learn a trade down below and help with household expenses."
He couldn't mention the demons, and he certainly couldn't tell them about the Demon Slayer Corps. Takeo, Shigeru, and Delia were still at home, and he didn't want to frighten them.
But after living under the same roof for so many years, all bound by the same blood... Roy's explanation was unlikely to satisfy Kie or Tanjuro, let alone Tanjiro, who had already experienced a demon attack.
"Nii-san's lying." Tanjiro kept sneaking glances at Roy.
When Roy glared at him, he quickly lowered his head and pretended to drink his soup.
"You don't need to help with household expenses. Nezuko and I can both weave baskets. We can trade them in town for some pocket money, enough to buy a few new outfits."
"That's right, Nii-san... I've already learned how to weave with vines."
Nezuko pulled a handbasket out from under the table. It held things like needles and thread, and the weaving was very beautiful.
The patch on her sleeve was clearly another of her own handiworks.
"My Nezuko really is capable." Roy praised her without reservation, then looked up at Tanjuro, who had been silent all this time. In the end, he stood firm and told Kie, "No. I'm going."
"Maybe I can find a way to cure Father down below."
Kie opened her mouth, but in the end, no words came out.
Tanjuro's illness had long been a source of worry for the whole Kamado family. If they could truly find an effective treatment, it would be a blessing for them all.
Nezuko and Tanjiro glanced discreetly at their father. In silence, Tanjuro reached into the handbasket, pinched out a needle, and stood up.
He spoke gently to Roy. "Eiichiro, come with me."
Heavy snow weighed down the pine trees until their branches bent...
With a thick coat draped over his shoulders, Tanjuro led the way down the veranda, followed by Roy in silence...
The father and son rounded the corner and stopped behind the house. The two sets of footprints they had just left in the snow were soon wiped away by the wind.
"Show me your ear. Bear with it, and don't complain about the pain." Tanjuro held up the fine needle, gestured for Roy to bare his earlobe, and pricked it.
A brief sting, like an insect bite, vanished in an instant... Then...
Roy watched as Tanjuro took off the sun earrings passed down from Tsugikuni Yoriichi and put them on him. As he adjusted their position, he said, "Your father isn't good for much. I can't give you very much."
"This pair of earrings has been passed down in our family. I'm entrusting them to you."
"May the Fire God protect my child from sickness and calamity, and grant him peace and good fortune."
"Mm... ngh..." The earrings hung from Roy's earlobes, swaying in the wind...
Tanjuro smiled as he looked at him. Just as his own father had looked at him when he was young, he said with satisfaction, "Very good. You look full of spirit."
Roy's throat felt tight. He wanted to say something...
For some reason, all he could manage in the end was a stiff promise: "I'll find a way to cure you, Father."
Tanjuro patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "Let's go."
He turned away, leaving Roy with the sight of his thin back.
The boy lingered behind, standing silently for a while. Then his neck suddenly felt cold. Snow had been blown from the trees and fallen inside his collar... He took a deep breath and followed.
It was six fifty-five in the morning.
The two foolish wild chickens kept in a basket still hadn't learned to crow.
The Kamado brothers were already prepared to set out. They had their baskets on their backs, packed tea and dumplings, and fastened two sharp axes at their waists.
Snow Walk couldn't be brought along in its Anti-Conjuration form, so they could only use axes to defend themselves.
If the path became difficult, they could also chop through the brambles and clear a way forward.
Their mother, Kie, kept tucking Tanjiro's hem into place, then tightening Roy's scarf, all the while fussing over them:
"Take it slow on the way..."
"If you run into danger, don't try to be a hero, and don't go wandering around where there are crowds..."
"At night, spend the money to stay at an inn if you have to. Don't go into the mountains..."
Tanjiro was an outspoken boy, the very picture of a straightforward personality. He blurted out, "Mother, Nii-san and I are coming back. There's no need to worry."
It was his first time going down the mountain, and he excitedly slapped his axe. Confidently, he added, "If we run into danger, I'll protect Nii-san right away!"
"You'd be doing well just not to hold your big brother back." Kie shot him a look, then turned and gazed deeply at Roy. "Look after your younger brother..."
Roy gave a soft acknowledgment. His gaze passed over Kie, Tanjuro, and Nezuko before finally settling on Grandma, who had come out carrying Delia.
"Ah-ba... ah-ba..." Delia reached both arms out toward Roy.
The little girl had just woken up. She hadn't even washed her face, and there were still a few bits of sleep in the corners of her eyes...
Roy didn't mind. He stepped forward, kissed her tender little cheek, and smiled at Grandma. "I'll be back."
Grandma smiled and nodded. She sat down on the veranda with Delia in her arms and watched Roy lead Tanjiro away. Her eyes grew hot, and two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.
He had left home as a boy and returned as an old man, his accent unchanged but his hair turned gray.
"Eiichiro's mother, why do I feel like once he leaves, we'll never see him again?"
Kie stood in the snow, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I'll go check on Takeo and Shigeru. Those little rascals will make a fuss when they find out their big brother left without calling for them."
She didn't answer Grandma's question. Turning away, she disappeared into the courtyard...
The snowfall grew heavier and faster. The vast courtyard stretched out toward the mountain forest. Only Tanjuro remained standing in the snow, staring blankly for a long, long time...
Until the two small figures were no longer in sight...
Tanjuro began to dance the Hinokami Kagura...
"Dance," "Clear Blue Sky," "Burning Sun Mirror," "Fake Sun Rainbow"...
His movements swept and soared. He was like a flame spirit, stirring up flurries of snow...
But this time, he had no earrings to accompany him... The item that symbolized the thousand-year bond between Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the Kamado Family had found a new owner. It had set off on a new journey and, with it... a new life...
A brilliant life that Tsugikuni Yoriichi himself could never have imagined, even if he knew of it in the afterlife!
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