Physique Increase X Sabito & Makomo

Minamino Hirotomo was an ordinary man, the most inconspicuous speck of dust among billions of living beings. Aside from his family, no one cared about him—until now, with the addition of Roy.

Roy carried that copper coin as he walked through the deep, desolate Mount Sagiri, opening his interface to add Minamino Hirotomo's "Life Energy" to his "Constitution."

[Reminder...]

[Constitution: 10.55→11.55]

"Hiss... hiss..."

Wisps of heat steamed out from the top of his head...

Tanjiro followed behind him, stumbling with every step. At one moment, he looked up and was startled to find that Roy had suddenly expanded in size. He hurriedly rubbed his eyes and looked again, only to see Roy "shrink" back down, as if the previous "expansion" had just been a trick of the eyes from his foolish younger brother.

"Strange... could it be that I didn't sleep well last night and am feeling muddled?"

Tanjiro took a few quick steps to catch up and circled in front of Roy.

After looking closely, he realized Roy's brows were tightly furrowed, as if he hadn't yet emerged from the shadow of Uncle Minamino's passing. He asked with concern, "Are you alright, Nii-san?"

Should he say he was alright?

Roy couldn't agree with that. He was in excruciating pain, and just forcing himself to walk had nearly exhausted all his strength.

The instantaneous increase in Constitution had a direct physical reaction: cells accelerated their division, bone density increased and tightened, cardiovascular vessels thickened, and muscle fibers tore and regenerated...

This should have been a process of "growth" occurring subtly over time—a process that might take a year, two years, or even five or six years for an ordinary person—yet Roy had been forced to complete it in the span of a single breath.

The price he paid was—

He had to lean against a cedar tree to rest for a moment.

"Here, have some water." Tanjiro took out his canteen and gave Roy a drink.

Only then did Roy feel slightly better. He patted Tanjiro on the back, glanced at the sky, and continued to push deeper into Mount Sagiri.

Mount Sagiri was famous for being covered in thick fog year-round. In winter, heavy snow fell, temperatures dropped below freezing, and there were even occurrences of ice fog.

Tanjiro's nose was frozen red, and he reached up to wipe the ice crystals from his hair. It was hard to imagine who would choose to live in such a bitter, cold place. At the very least, following Minamino Hirotomo's example and settling at the foot of the mountain would be much more comfortable.

"Nii-san, would anyone really choose to live here?"

"The mountains here never see the sun, and you can't even find a single green plant. It's colder than our home."

Their own mountain didn't have fog, and they had built their wooden cabin on a sunny slope facing the light, so at least the days weren't too difficult...

"Hardship creates greatness." Roy threw a cryptic remark at Tanjiro, his gaze sweeping around until it landed on a birch tree to his front right.

Standing on the branches of the birch tree were two figures, one large and one small. Their beautiful eyes, hidden beneath fox masks, flickered slightly...

They were somewhat surprised...

"Hey~ Sabito, did he discover us?" The smaller one was a girl.

She wore a kimono patterned with flowers and appeared to be about eleven or twelve years old. Despite the season, her calves were bare, and a fox mask sat askew on top of her head. She froze when she noticed the gaze Roy had cast their way.

"Unless we approach them ourselves, no one should be able to discover us." The larger one was a boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old.

He wore a white outer garment over a haori with a green, orange, and yellow tortoiseshell pattern. His long pink hair draped over his shoulders, and one corner of his fox mask was chipped.

"That's true. Even Master Urokodaki can't see us."

When the girl mentioned their master, her mood dampened. She had stood beside her master many times, watching him eat, sleep, carve, and stare blankly... hoping that one day he would respond, but—

No matter how she followed, reminded, or even called out to him, he remained completely unaware.

Perhaps this was how it would be for the rest of his life...

"That won't happen." Seeming to sense the girl's distress, the boy gently patted her head. "You have to have faith in Master, Makomo. Look... there are still people insisting on coming to learn his craft, aren't there?"

"But, Master doesn't want to take any more students..." The little girl named Makomo hugged her knees and crouched down, her beautiful green eyes dimming...

"Master is heartbroken..."

"He doesn't want to see anyone else die in vain because of him anymore..."

"That thing has eaten so many people; it has become increasingly difficult to deal with..."

"Even you..."

"Yes, even I am no match for it." The boy took over the girl's words, looking down as Roy and Tanjiro walked past beneath the birch tree, and fell into silence...

Before long, his figure flashed, and he and the girl vanished into Mount Sagiri one after the other.

Roy noticed their movements and his ears twitched, causing his hanafuda earrings to sway slightly. Without the others realizing it, he committed their words to memory.

This was the purest soul, letting out the most authentic cry...

Roy tightened the straps of his basket and reached out to pull Tanjiro, as the fool had accidentally stepped into a snow pit and nearly twisted his ankle.

Fortunately, the further they went, the more the view opened up. Gradually, they could see a sliver of morning light filtering through the thick fog in the dense forest, and...

Under the morning light, An old man sat on a tree stump, carving all by himself.

The old man wore a tengu mask and held a carving knife and wooden mallet, "Click~ click~ click..." as he chipped away wood shavings. Hearing the movement behind him, he didn't even turn his head.

It was as if he were completely immersed in a world of art, the only thing capable of mending the heart that had cracked from his injuries.

"Nii-san, there's someone there."

"I see them."

Roy stopped Tanjiro from attempting to disturb the other party.

He simply unslung his basket, took out a hoe, cleared a patch of open ground, and started a fire right there to keep warm.

The water canteen was empty, and since he had given Roy a drink earlier, Tanjiro followed suit, grabbing a handful of snow to stuff into the canteen before hanging it over the fire with a branch; soon, it began to bubble and steam.

"Why don't they go inside?"

Just then, the girl who had vanished reappeared; she sat with her back to the old man, resting her chin in her hands as she watched Roy and Tanjiro, her eyes full of curiosity.

The boy wearing a fox mask with a scar mark stood right beside her, and in the dense forest behind them, many figures began to appear, dimly visible.

These figures were blurred and their faces unclear, yet they all wore identical fox masks; some watched the old man carve, some leaned against the doorframe dozing off, some saw a sparrow fly past and reached out to grab it out of mischief, and others still...

They walked toward Roy and Tanjiro, the bold ones circling the pair, only to...

Be startled by a seemingly unintentional glance from Roy, causing them to stumble back several steps...

Nearly falling headfirst into the fire...

"Haha... stop messing around, Shinsuke. Do you really think anyone can see ghosts?"

"Who's messing around!" The boy named Shinsuke scrambled up from the ground in a disheveled state, indignantly waving his right hand in front of Roy's face. Seeing that Roy remained completely unaware, focused on peeling a dumpling, he let out a sigh of relief before turning and viciously pouncing on the companion who had mocked him...

"Fukuda, you hateful guy, I'm going to tear your mouth apart..."