A demon who didn't eat humans

Tanjiro looked around at the Hashira and slowly stood up, enduring the pain in his body as he spoke. "My... my sister... cough, cough..."

Before he could finish a single sentence, Tanjiro broke into a violent coughing fit.

Seeing this, Shinobu Kocho took out a gourd, opened it, and handed it to Tanjiro.

"You should have some water. I put a painkiller in it, so it should ease your pain a little. Your wounds haven't healed, though, so don't push yourself too hard," Shinobu Kocho told him gently.

Tanjiro took the gourd and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, feeling a little better.

After taking a few breaths, Tanjiro raised his head and continued.

"That demon is my sister. Our home was attacked while I was away, and when I came back, everyone was dead. My sister turned into a demon, but she's never eaten anyone. She doesn't eat people now, and she never will. She would never hurt anyone."

Phew...

So that really was it?

Chiba Yo felt relieved after hearing Tanjiro's words. He chose to believe him. During the Final Selection, he had already noticed that Tanjiro was an exceptionally poor liar, someone who would rather say nothing than make something up. The other Hashira, however, didn't seem convinced.

"Stop spouting such tiresome nonsense. Of course you'd protect your own family. Nothing you've said is remotely convincing. I won't believe you," Obanai said from his perch in the tree, pointing a finger in front of him.

Gyomei didn't believe Tanjiro either. Pressing his palms together, he shed tears as he lamented, "Ahhh, he's been possessed by a demon. Hurry and kill this poor child. Put him out of his misery."

Gyomei disliked children. In his eyes, they loved to lie and were utterly untrustworthy. Likewise, he didn't believe what Tanjiro was saying now.

Yet Gyomei hadn't been like this in his younger years. Back when he was a monk at a temple, he often took in helpless, orphaned children and treated them as his own family.

But something that happened later completely changed his view of children, altering both his circumstances and his personality.

One night, a child at the temple named Kaigaku broke Gyomei's rule against returning after dark. After encountering a demon, he even extinguished the wisteria incense Gyomei had lit in the temple to save his own life, leading the demon inside.

The children in the temple immediately fell into a panic.

Gyomei, who couldn't see anything, told the children to stay beside him and not run off. He knew his body was extremely strong, and he could protect them if they stayed close.

Yet apart from a four-year-old girl named Sayo, all the children ran outside. Every child who left was killed by the demon. Blind and eating very little each day, Gyomei had no way to save them.

All he could do was protect the little girl who remained beside him. To do so, Gyomei risked his life fighting the demon barehanded. With his extraordinary physique, he smashed the demon's head apart despite being human.

After dawn, the demon turned to ash and vanished. But instead of receiving thanks from Sayo, the little girl he had risked his life to protect, the exhausted Gyomei found himself accused by her of murdering the other children, as she was overwhelmed by terror.

The demon had already turned to ash, erasing all evidence. Gyomei was thrown into prison as a result. If Oyakata-sama Kagaya hadn't saved him, he might have been executed as a murderer.

From then on, Gyomei lost all faith in children and the human heart, becoming deeply distrustful.

Listening to Tanjiro speak before him, Gyomei thought he was no different from those children who lied incessantly. Demons had to be slain, and so did anyone who sheltered them.

Tanjiro grew anxious after hearing Obanai and Gyomei's words. Nezuko was still nowhere to be seen, and he was terribly worried.

"Please listen to me! I became a swordsman to cure Nezuko. It's been over two years since she turned into a demon, and she's never eaten anyone in all that time!" Tanjiro said urgently, doing everything he could to make the Hashira believe him.

But in his anxiety, he was merely repeating what he'd already said. It did nothing to change the minds of the Hashira who hadn't believed him in the first place.

"You're just going around in circles, you idiot. She's never eaten anyone, and she never will? Don't just tell us. Prove it flamboyantly," Tengen said, looking at Tanjiro. He had noticed the same thing.

Just then, something occurred to Mitsuri. She glanced at the Hashira beside her and spoke softly. "Um, there's something I'm wondering about. I don't think the Master is unaware of this. Are we really allowed to punish them without his permission? Shouldn't we wait for the Master to arrive..."

Chiba Yo also understood that Oyakata-sama certainly knew about this. Since the messenger crow's orders hadn't told them to execute Nezuko outright, Chiba Yo believed Oyakata-sama probably approved of Tanjiro taking his demon sister along on missions. He therefore wasn't in a hurry to say anything, intending to wait until Oyakata-sama arrived and speak according to the situation.

Of course, if the other Hashira tried to forcibly execute Tanjiro before then, he would intervene.

Tanjiro now realized that simply repeating himself wouldn't convince the other Hashira, so he tried a different approach.

"My sister...! My sister can fight alongside me! She can fight as part of the Demon Slayer Corps to protect humans! So..."

Tanjiro shouted, but another voice interrupted him before he could finish.

"Hey, hey. Looks like something interesting is going on." Sanemi Shinazugawa had entered the courtyard at some point. The scars covering his body made him look extremely fierce, and he held a wooden box in one hand.

"So that's the idiot Corps member traveling with a demon? Just what the hell is he thinking?" Sanemi said in a somewhat raspy voice, his lips curling.

A member of the Kakushi hurried after him, trying to get the box back. "You're putting me in a difficult position, Lord Shinazugawa. Please put that box down."

With his attention focused on Tanjiro, Chiba Yo hadn't noticed the Wind Hashira's arrival either.

Is Tanjiro's sister-the one who became a demon-in there?

Chiba Yo thought as his gaze settled on the box.

"Mr. Shinazugawa, wouldn't it be better to wait until the Master arrives before dealing with this?" Chiba Yo asked, sensing that Sanemi seemed somewhat emotionally unstable.

Sanemi ignored them, however, and continued looking at Tanjiro. "What did you say about demons, kid? She can fight as part of the Demon Slayer Corps to protect humans? Something like that..."

As he spoke, Sanemi placed his right hand on his sword's hilt.

"Like hell she can, you idiot!"

His Nichirin Blade left its sheath, its green edge plunging toward the box in his other hand.

But in the next instant, the box in Sanemi's hand disappeared, and his blade struck empty air.

"Chiba Yo, what's the meaning of this? Are you going to shelter a demon along with this idiot?"

Sanemi slowly turned around. Chiba Yo, who had been beside Shinobu Kocho, now stood behind him, holding the very box containing Nezuko.

"I just think we should wait for Oyakata-sama to decide this matter," Chiba Yo said, handing the box to the Kakushi member.

"Th... thank you..." The Kakushi member took the box in alarm and thanked Chiba Yo.

Sanemi was about to say something else, but two children's voices stopped him.

"The Master has arrived."