Pillar Appointment

Seeing that Nezuko had actually resisted the temptation of his blood, Shinazugawa clicked his tongue. Reluctant though he was, he accepted her.

Before joining the Demon Slayer Corps, he had not even possessed a Nichirin Blade. He had relied on his super rare blood to intoxicate ordinary demons, then tied them up until dawn and let the sunlight kill them.

That trick had never failed him, so he had great confidence in the effect his blood had on demons. Since Nezuko had actually resisted it, he would trust her this once.

Shinazugawa did, in fact, have a slightly prickly side that concealed his softer feelings. In the original story's ending, after Muzan was killed, he apologized to Nezuko, who had become human again. Nezuko told him she had already forgotten about it and that he should not worry. During the few years he survived after awakening his Demon Slayer Mark, he and Nezuko became friends.

Oyakata-sama smiled with his eyes narrowed. As the only man present capable of smoothing things over and changing the subject, he raised his hands and clapped softly.

"By the way, Giyu and Shinobu mentioned in their letters that this young lady defeated Lower Rank Five single-handedly. Under the rules of our Demon Slayer Corps, she clearly qualifies to become a Pillar."

The Pillars had not known this before Oyakata-sama mentioned it. In an instant, the way they looked at Chinatsu changed.

Flame Hashira: What an impressive young lady!

Sound Hashira: Now that's flashy!

Love Hashira: So cool!!!

Serpent Hashira: It was only Lower Rank Five, but she's passable.

Wind Hashira: She defeated a Lower Rank, huh? No wonder...

Chinatsu could distinctly feel the unusual looks everyone was giving her. Honestly, it was uncomfortable.

Chinatsu had never liked attracting too much attention. She had been that way before transmigrating, and this body's original owner had been the same. That was one of the reasons the original owner had preferred staying home and taking care of household affairs.

Oyakata-sama continued with a smile, "It seems no one has any objections. In that case, let us appoint her as a Pillar. To think that our era already has nine Pillars, and now we can welcome a tenth. We may even look forward to an eleventh in the future. This is the worst of times, but it is also a golden age!"

As Oyakata-sama grew more excited, his body nearly gave out, and he almost coughed up dried blood.

Why was this the worst of times? Because the average strength of the Demon Slayer Corps' members was plummeting. Not a single Upper Rank demon had been slain in hundreds of years. Even within headquarters, some people whispered that the Corps would not last much longer.

And why was it a golden age? Because despite that declining average, this generation had produced an extraordinary nine Pillars, most of whom had earned their positions by slaying Lower Rank demons. At the Pillar level, the Demon Slayer Corps had reached a peak second only to the Sengoku Era.

We must kill Muzan in this generation, Oyakata-sama thought. If even this generation's powerful Pillars could not defeat Muzan, then the Demon Slayer Corps, with its declining average strength and dwindling numbers, would inevitably fall into ruin until the demons could wipe it out with ease.

"Chinatsu, that is your name, correct? You use Water Breathing, but we already have a Water Hashira. You may choose a title for yourself," Oyakata-sama told her.

Chinatsu froze at his words. A title? Oh no, I haven't thought about that at all.

Water Hashira-that one's out.

Fire Hashira? Sunlight Hashira? Sun Hashira? Thousand Hashira? Summer Hashira?

A flurry of hastily conceived titles flashed through Chinatsu's mind, but she shook her head and rejected every last one.

Watching her, Oyakata-sama chuckled softly. "You need not answer now. We can leave it undecided for the time being. There is no harm in settling on it later."

With Oyakata-sama's closing words, the "commotion" at Demon Slayer Corps headquarters quickly came to an end.

Chinatsu and the others were assigned a small residence within headquarters, just like the other Pillars. The difference was that the others had attendants or designated successors who were much like apprentices, while Chinatsu only had Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke.

"Come to think of it, why did you two come along?" Chinatsu asked, giving Zenitsu and Inosuke a peculiar look.

Zenitsu, who had been staring at Nezuko the whole time, snapped back to his senses in alarm at the question. His reason for tagging along was actually very simple: he had done it without thinking.

He had followed them out of habit, and no one had said anything, so he had ended up here without really knowing how.

But he certainly could not give that answer now.

"I'm learning from Tanjiro! I want to get stronger too!" Zenitsu clenched his fists and suddenly shouted, brimming with fighting spirit.

Chinatsu had nearly believed that spirited declaration. Nearly.

Seeing that his declaration seemed to lack a little something, Zenitsu hurriedly winked at Tanjiro and Inosuke beside him, pleading for backup.

Tanjiro: "Sis, Zenitsu really is learning Total Concentration: Constant. I'm teaching them."

Inosuke: "Why do you keep twitching your eyes like that? Got an eye infection?"

Seeing the three of them acting like this, Chinatsu let out an amused chuckle.

Really, whether they explained themselves or not made no difference. Chinatsu could chase them out like some kind of demon.

"Then keep working hard. With Tanjiro here, I'm sure you'll learn it." As Chinatsu spoke, she let out a soft breath.

I'm a little tired. I'll get some sleep first.

Once I wake up, I'll go find the other Pillars. The Mugen Train arc isn't far off. Next, I need to figure out how to keep the Flame Hashira alive.

After saying a few words to the others, Chinatsu turned and went into a bedroom in the residence. The moment she lay down, she fell asleep.

Once Chinatsu had returned to her room, Zenitsu pressed a hand to his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Tanjiro."

"What are you talking about? I only told the truth."

"..."

Tanjiro smiled at Zenitsu and Inosuke with his eyes narrowed. Zenitsu knew he was serious. Although Tanjiro's eyes were currently narrowed, if he opened them a little wider, they would undoubtedly be blazing with flames called "motivation."

Nezuko was sitting nearby, fiddling with her Training Wooden Sword. Zenitsu's heart lurched. He knew that if he chose to run away now, her opinion of him would plummet.

I'm going all in!

Zenitsu clenched his fists and drew a deep breath, preparing to make another bold declaration so Nezuko would know just how motivated he was. Just then, Inosuke planted a foot on him from behind and shoved him to the ground. Holding his twin swords, he shouted excitedly, "Come on! Come on! I'm gonna master that whatever-concentration thing!!!"