A gentle voice came from the doorway. Kanae Kocho walked in carrying a tray of steaming pork cutlets and udon. She still wore her butterfly-patterned haori, and a smile like a spring breeze graced her face, but her gentle eyes held a trace of unquestionable composure.
At the sight of Kanae, Rokuya immediately felt his stomach rumble with hunger. He let go of Shinobu, sat down at the table without ceremony, and lifted the bowl of udon to take a huge mouthful.
"Slow down. No one's going to steal it. Activating the Arcana Armor this time took a lot out of you, didn't it?" Kanae walked over and lightly tapped Rokuya's forehead with a finger, her eyes full of tender concern.
"A lot? It practically drained half my life away. If that bastard Muzan hadn't run so fast, I would've scattered his ashes." Rokuya swallowed his noodles and muttered the curse indistinctly.
"Muzan..." At that name, Kanae and Shinobu both gave a slight shudder.
Rokuya set down his chopsticks, dropped his flippant expression, and recounted everything that had happened on Mount Kumotori exactly as it had unfolded.
From Muzan's attack to Nezuko's horrific condition; from his earth-shattering battle with Muzan to Nezuko's strange behavior in risking her life to protect Tanjiro despite having become a demon; and finally, his guarantee to Oyakata-sama and Oyakata-sama's ultimate decision.
The entire laboratory fell utterly silent.
Kanae listened quietly to the end, her eyes already slightly red. She walked to the window and watched the butterflies dancing in the courtyard, her voice heavy with sorrow and sympathy. "Nezuko... that poor child. She was turned into a demon because she was protecting her family, and even after becoming like that, she still had to endure inhuman hunger to protect her brother... Just how much pain