I'm not disliked!

"Kagaya."

Amane Ubuyashiki opened the door and entered, finding Kagaya Ubuyashiki sitting by the veranda.

She walked over and gently rested her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Have they left?"

Kagaya watched the wisteria swaying in the courtyard, turning his face slightly with a gentle smile.

"After choosing their tamahagane and collecting their uniforms, the three young gentlemen received their Kasugai Crows. Rather surprisingly, Mr. Takanashi received a parrot, white mixed with a soft blue, just like his hair."

"A parrot? Just as unique as he is." Kagaya paused, then smiled. "Amane, you can call him Haruto. He likes people to call him by his name."

"All right. You and Haruto seem quite close?"

Amane remembered the radiant smile Kagaya Ubuyashiki had worn when she came in carrying the food box.

It had been a long time since she had seen her husband smile so happily.

"Quite the opposite." To her surprise, Kagaya shook his head.

"Although Haruto and I met very early in life, we haven't seen each other often, and I wouldn't say we're particularly close.

But he's different from other people. Even after only a handful of meetings, he makes you feel safe entrusting your feelings to him."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki drifted into his memories. "He's a very wise, open-minded person. He was different from other children from the very beginning.

When we first met, I was six and he was only five. Even then, I felt that he and I were alike.

Except my openness and maturity were an act. Deep down, I was still a timid child who had to muster the courage to take the position of Oyakata-sama.

Haruto was different. His precocious wisdom and maturity came through in everything he did and said. It was truly enviable."

Amane poured him a cup of water.

She rarely heard Kagaya talk about his past, so she listened with keen interest.

"He never called me Master, even though he had always lived in the Swordsmith Village, apprenticed to his master, Mr. Godogawa.

But I heard he had no talent for forging swords. Since he was little, he'd been carrying charcoal and delivering materials for Mr. Godogawa.

He called me 'the Ubuyashiki kid,' then 'the Ubuyashiki lad' when we were a little older. Today was the first time he ever called me Master."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki couldn't help chuckling. "Though I'm quite sure he said it through gritted teeth."

"Mr. Taka-Haruto seems to have quite an appetite."

Kagaya stared at Amane for a moment, then broke into a broad laugh, laughing until he began coughing violently.

Amane hurriedly patted his back. It took quite a while before his breathing settled.

"What do you mean, 'seems to have quite an appetite'?" Kagaya raised his voice. "That fellow is a bottomless pit! He once ate three hundred pieces of Hand-Pressed Sushi in a single meal! Mr. Godogawa nearly disowned him over it!"

Haruto Takanashi, who had nearly been disowned, was preparing to return to Mount Sagiri with Sabito and Giyu.

Fighting side by side had brought the three boys much closer. And with the exceptionally kind Sabito smoothing things over between them, Haruto had also revised his first impression of Giyu.

Though the black-haired boy rarely showed any expression, he was simply bad at expressing himself. He was kindhearted and a little timid.

Visiting the Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, on Mount Sagiri wasn't a whim on Haruto's part.

In fact, finding a proper trainer to identify and correct the flaws in his Breathing Style was something Haruto had wanted to do for a long time.

Although he had never met Mr. Urokodaki in the Swordsmith Village, swordsmen who practiced Water Breathing tended to be calm, steady, kind, and gentle. That was what finally prompted Haruto to ask to accompany them to Mount Sagiri.

"Of course." Sabito nodded. "You saved my life. I certainly wouldn't refuse such a small favor.

But... could I ask you for a favor, too?"

"Go ahead."

Sabito glanced at Giyu before speaking. "Master cares about us deeply, so before any of us leave, he carves us a mask to ward off evil."

Haruto shifted his gaze to the fox mask worn at the side of Sabito's head and immediately understood what he meant.

If Mr. Urokodaki learned that the disciples he had sent away had been singled out and devoured by the Hand Demon precisely because they wore the protective masks he had made himself... that would be far too cruel.

"Don't worry. I won't mention it once we reach Mount Sagiri."

A grateful smile appeared on Sabito's face. "...Thank you."

Giyu Tomioka let out a quiet breath. "You're very clever."

It came out of nowhere, with a slightly condescending tone. If not for the sincerity on his face, Haruto would have suspected he was trying to provoke him.

"No one uses that tone to thank someone, Giyu."

The white-haired boy patted his shoulder. "If you talk to people like that... they'll dislike you."

Giyu's face went pale, and he looked a little lost.

[Senior brother: I'm not disliked!]

[Sabito's smile is so doting...]

[You're very clever... how did he even come out with that? lmao]

A row of scrolling comments floated before his eyes, making even Haruto laugh.

"Is he like this at home, too?"

"Yes. Makomo always calls him her big brother who 'doesn't understand the art of conversation.'"

"...I can talk."

"He doesn't mean you're physically mute. He means you're mentally mute."

"Mr. Takanashi..."

"Just call me Haruto."

"Mr. Haruto..."

"It's Ha-ru-to."

The three boys, fresh from their ordeal of life and death, followed the wisteria-lined path down the mountain. For the first time in a long while, the sound of boys bickering filled the air.

Sabito held the hilt of his broken sword as a breeze scented with wisteria brushed his face.

Ahead, an earnest Giyu chased after Haruto, insisting he wasn't lacking in emotional intelligence. Around them, sunlight spilled over the greenery, alive with birdsong and the chirping of insects.

Huh? What's going on?

An unfamiliar feeling welled up inside him.

Why... did it feel as though I'd been born anew?

As though sunlight had finally embraced me after so long...

He scratched his peach-pink hair, pushed the thought aside, and ran after them. "Hey! Slow down, you two!"

At the foot of Mount Sagiri

Makomo opened the door and saw her master, Sakonji Urokodaki, standing outside the house, gazing up toward the mountain path.

There was no telling what expression lay beneath that ever-unchanging Great Tengu Mask.

"Master..."

Makomo called softly, and Sakonji Urokodaki turned around. "You're awake?"

"Don't worry, Master. Sabito and Giyu will definitely come back safely."

The girl with dark green hair tilted her head and smiled brightly. "They're the best swordsmen on Mount Sagiri, after you."

Sakonji nodded. Just then, the sound of beating wings reached his ears.

It was Sakonji Urokodaki's Kasugai Crow, flapping its wings and calling hoarsely, "They passed! They passed! Sabito and Giyu both passed the selection!"

After decades, Sakonji had finally received good news about his disciples.

His shoulders eased slightly, and he let out a long breath of relief as Makomo beamed at him in delighted surprise.

"Thank goodness. At last..."

"Sabito and Giyu are coming home with a friend! Prepare food! Prepare food! Prepare food!

Sabito says that boy named Haruto-

Can! Really! Eat!"