When Xia Xi came up,
Tamayo and Kanae's attitudes were surprisingly alike.
As the strongest member of the Demon Slayer Corps,
the Dawn Hashira was powerful yet willful.
He often broke with convention, acting on his own will and ideas.
He even disregarded the Far East's unwritten custom of "reading the room," along with its traditional etiquette.
He was so freewheeling that he bordered on rude.
Tamayo had once felt that a young man as powerful and unpredictable as Xia Xi, who did not even care about other people's opinions or feelings,
was, in some ways, rather like Muzan before he met Yoriichi.
But...
"Yet deep down, he's someone who really puts you at ease," Kanae added.
Unlike demons, his blood was warm, after all, and his heart was warmer than those of most people in this era.
The casual manner he displayed
essentially meant that he treated everyone as a friend with whom he could speak as an equal.
And that willfulness
came from his unwavering convictions and values that no outsider could bend.
He would never treat other people as disposable tools the way Muzan did.
And precisely because of that,
whether it was the rather hot-tempered Sanemi Shinazugawa
or Yushiro, who had always rejected outsiders,
both were inexplicably comfortable and relaxed around Xia Xi.
Hearing Tamayo express her approval of Xia Xi made Kanae happier than if she herself had been praised.
Then the Flower Hashira suddenly fell silent for a few seconds, as though working up to something.
She tilted her head slightly. "Miss Tamayo, you've met Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni, haven't you?"
"Is Xia Xi... very much like Mr. Tsugikuni?"
Everyone around her said that Xia Xi was the Demon Slayer Corps' hope now.
He was this era's Yoriichi.
He was the Swordsman closest to defeating