Night deepened. Steam rose from the Swordsmith Village's open-air hot spring, blurring even the moonlight into a hazy glow.
Tanjiro felt as though his whole body was about to melt into the warm spring water.
Everything that had happened during the day had shaken him deeply. The unfathomable strength of the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, and the incredible, godlike analytical ability of the Thunder Hashira, Uesugi Sasuke, had both left him doubting himself.
So this was the world of "geniuses"?
So the distance between him and them was even greater than he had imagined.
"Tanjiro, you look a little down!"
An energetic voice rang out beside him, pulling Tanjiro out of his dejected thoughts.
The Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, was cupping her cheeks and looking at him curiously, her emerald-green eyes filled with genuine concern.
"Ah... no, no!" Tanjiro hurriedly waved his hands and smiled a little sheepishly. "I was just thinking about a few things."
"Were you thinking about Mr. Uesugi?" Mitsuri Kanroji's eyes instantly lit up, as though she had found a fellow enthusiast. "I heard all about it! Mr. Uesugi saw through every secret of that 'Yoriichi Type Zero' with just one glance! Oh my goodness! How cool is that!"
A lovely blush began spreading across her cheeks again. She clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"More than just cool..." Tanjiro shook his head with a wry smile. "That was already a level... I can't even begin to understand."
"Yes, exactly!" Mitsuri Kanroji nodded in wholehearted agreement, then lowered her voice and leaned toward Tanjiro's ear, as though sharing some earth-shattering secret.
"Let me tell you, Tanjiro, there are so many strange people among the Hashira! Someone like Mr. Uesugi, who's strong and handsome and just a little aloof, is already about as normal