I'm not disliked

Feeling Obanai's resentful gaze on him, Chiba Yo had nothing left to say.

Phew...

Chiba Yo took a deep breath, then lowered his head and started eating rapidly, ignoring everything else.

Thump!

A short while later, Chiba Yo set his bowl and chopsticks back on the table.

"I'm finished! Thank you for the meal!"

As soon as he said that, Chiba Yo stood up and said to Obanai, "Mr. Iguro, isn't it a little cramped over there? I'm done eating, so why don't you take my seat?"

Obanai was sitting with the Stone Hashira and the Sound Hashira, both of whom were big, burly men. There really wasn't much room on his side.

By now, Chiba Yo also understood that as long as Obanai and Mitsuri hadn't made their relationship official, Obanai would keep getting resentful. After all, Mitsuri was carefree and warm toward everyone, while Obanai couldn't stand seeing her have any contact with other men.

So Chiba Yo decided to see whether he could bring the two of them together. Otherwise, not just he but every male member of the Demon Slayer Corps might end up on the receiving end of Obanai's resentment.

Honestly, though, Chiba Yo felt a little sorry for Obanai. Being so prone to jealousy and falling in love with such a carefree girl must have left him fuming all the time.

Obanai froze for a moment at Chiba Yo's words. All his resentment vanished in an instant, and his gaze toward Chiba Yo became filled with goodwill.

That change of face was way too fast...

Seeing the change in Obanai, Chiba Yo silently grumbled to himself.

"Hmm... it is a little cramped." Obanai got up and walked over to Chiba Yo's side. Chiba Yo had already stepped away from his seat, so Obanai sat down in his place, then gave him a look that was almost affectionate.

Then Obanai turned to gaze tenderly at Mitsuri, continually placing food from the table in front of her while barely eating anything himself.

This is exhausting...

Chiba Yo sighed inwardly, then left the dining hall at the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

He had planned to practice his Sword Techniques at the training grounds, but he had only taken a few steps when he spotted Giyu sitting all alone on the steps outside the Corps Barracks.

Giyu was holding a lunch box and eating by himself. Inside was salmon with radish.

Even while eating, his face remained stern.

"Mr. Tomioka, why aren't you eating with everyone else? Why are you sitting here eating all alone instead?" Curious about Giyu's behavior, Chiba Yo walked over, sat beside him, and asked.

Hearing Chiba Yo's question, Giyu swallowed the food in his mouth, then slowly said, his face expressionless, "I'm... not all alone."

!

Tomioka's answer left Chiba Yo utterly astounded. There isn't a single person beside you. How is that not being all alone?

Sigh. Forget it.

Giyu's single sentence left Chiba Yo unable to pursue the question any further. He let the subject drop and offered a suggestion instead. "Mr. Tomioka, I think you should try to fit in a little more and talk to everyone. Opportunities like this are rare enough as it is. If you keep going like this, even more people might dislike you."

!

At Chiba Yo's words, Tomioka showed a rare look of surprise. He turned toward Chiba Yo and said, "I'm... not disliked!"

!!!

Mr. Tomioka... isn't he a little too oblivious? Does he really believe that?

Chiba Yo felt that this conversation was going nowhere. At the same time, he found Tomioka's obliviousness hard to believe.

Obanai and the Wind Hashira had made it so obvious, especially Obanai, who had said it outright, yet Giyu still hadn't realized.

"Uh... hmm... you... never mind..."

Chiba Yo tried several times, but in the end, he still couldn't think of anything to say. He had even started sweating. Talking to Tomioka put him under immense pressure, unlike anything any demon he had encountered had ever made him feel.

Chiba Yo considered himself fairly emotionally intelligent, but he truly had no idea what to say to Giyu Tomioka. Giyu always managed to shut down everything he wanted to say next with a single sentence.

Suddenly, a name flashed through Chiba Yo's mind. He had thought of a topic that might keep the conversation going, so he immediately asked Giyu, "Mr. Tomioka, do you know a boy named Tanjiro? He uses Water Breathing too. He's a friend I met during Final Selection."

At that name, Tomioka finally reacted. He nodded and said, "Yes. I referred him to a cultivator so he could join the Demon Slayer Corps."

Just as I suspected!

Giyu had finally given a reasonably normal answer, and Chiba Yo felt encouraged. Giyu's behavior had stirred a strange competitive urge in him, and he vowed to keep a conversation going with Giyu for a while today.

"I never would have guessed. Then you must be Tanjiro's senior fellow student, right? Was Mr. Urokodaki your teacher too, Mr. Tomioka?" Chiba Yo continued.

Ever since learning that Giyu was the Water Hashira, Chiba Yo had suspected that he must have some connection to Tanjiro. After all, cultivators were retired Hashira, and very few Hashira survived long enough to retire. It took not only great strength but also a fair amount of luck.

Giyu and Tanjiro weren't far apart in age, and both used Water Breathing, so there was a strong chance they had trained under the same cultivator.

"Yes," Giyu replied, confirming Chiba Yo's guess.

"Then how did you meet Tanjiro, Mr. Tomioka? And what made you guide him toward joining the Demon Slayer Corps?" Chiba Yo asked next.

He had nothing else to talk about with Giyu at the moment, so he could only keep bringing up Tanjiro. Otherwise, their conversation wouldn't go anywhere.

Giyu was also a little happy to have someone to talk to. He thought for a moment and answered, "I met him while on a mission one winter. His family had been killed by a demon. His younger sister..."

Giyu paused there, then continued, "After that, I told him to find Mr. Urokodaki."

Although Giyu's explanation was somewhat unclear, and he seemed to have left something out in the middle, Chiba Yo more or less understood what he meant.

It was the same experience most members of the Demon Slayer Corps had suffered: their happy lives had been destroyed by demons, setting them on the path of demon hunting.

"I see..."

Even after demons killed his family, he could still sympathize with their circumstances. That kind of compassion is truly rare. More importantly, although he sympathizes with them, he shows no mercy toward demons who have killed humans.

Kind without being foolishly kind, gentle yet strong-that was the impression Tanjiro gave Chiba Yo.

"Let's go. It's time for the afternoon meeting," Giyu said to Chiba Yo as he stood up.

"Oh... all right... huh?"

Chiba Yo responded, but then immediately looked up in astonishment.

Just now... did Mr. Tomioka start a conversation with me?