Shinobu Kocho slapped her cheeks hard, instantly snapping back to her senses.
Honestly!
Shinobu, what on earth are you thinking?
Your great grudge remains unavenged. You must keep your distance from Su Chen!
Shinobu Kocho hurriedly pushed those unrealistic thoughts out of her mind.
At the same time, she glared resentfully at Su Chen.
It was all Su Chen's fault.
Whenever Su Chen was around, her heart was thrown into turmoil.
This man kept teasing her thoughts into disarray.
Looking at the young man's figure, so relaxed and at ease, Shinobu Kocho wanted nothing more than to bite Su Chen hard.
Su Chen saw all of this.
How strange.
Su Chen really was utterly baffled!
For an eighteen-year-old girl, Shinobu Kocho's temperament was as deep and complex as the sea.
He had clearly helped her out of a tight spot.
It was one thing not to thank him, but she had actually slapped herself twice instead.
Then she had glared defiantly at him afterward.
As though he had been the one to slap her.
Unable to figure out what Shinobu Kocho was thinking, Su Chen simply stopped trying.
It was wasting time he could spend getting stronger.
"Anyway, what kind of contest should we actually organize?"
That single question from Kyojuro.
It instantly brought Su Chen and Shinobu Kocho back from their thoughts.
Kyojuro's earlier proposal had also been rejected.
For the moment, no one had any ideas left.
Of course, Inosuke did not count. His suggestions were basically worthless as references.
Aoi Kanzaki and Kanao Tsuyuri also stood quietly to one side.
They waited for Su Chen and the Hashira to come up with something.
Everyone lowered their heads.
Their thinking had hit a snag.
Just then, a remark from Su Chen suddenly gave everyone a direction.
He smiled and said, "Everyone, this is the Butterfly Mansion. Why don't we hold a Rescue Competition?"
"A Rescue Competition?"
A glint flashed through Kyojuro's large eyes. "That sounds pretty good!"
Shinazugawa said indifferently, "Whatever. I'll win no matter what we do."
Inosuke broke free of Aoi Kanzaki's restraint. "Is it fighting? Can the great me join in?"
Thump!
Aoi Kanzaki punched Inosuke in the head.
"Didn't you hear him say Rescue Competition?" she said irritably. "Mr. Su Chen probably means something involving the Butterfly Mansion's patients!"
Everyone ignored the buffoon that was Inosuke.
They continued discussing the Rescue Competition.
Kyojuro spoke first. "Then could you explain exactly how we would compete, Mr. Su Chen?"
Su Chen glanced around at everyone.
He gave a brief explanation.
"It's simple. Doesn't the Butterfly Mansion have a lot of patients today?"
"We can compete by helping the injured. That way, we'll not only fulfill our duty as members of the Demon Slayer Corps, but also train our first-aid skills."
Shinazugawa spoke up then. "It's not that simple. None of us have studied medicine. How exactly are you going to lay out the rules?"
Su Chen glanced at Shinobu Kocho.
After all, no one knew the Butterfly Mansion's work better than she did.
Originally, Shinobu Kocho had not wanted to acknowledge Su Chen so soon.
But since Shinazugawa was questioning it, she had to step forward and say a few words.
The moment Shinobu Kocho spoke, she established the basic framework of the contest.
"I have an idea. We can divide the Rescue Competition into three stages."
"Stage one: bringing the wounded to the Butterfly Mansion."
"You'll be scored according to the number of wounded you bring in. Each patient will count as one point, and whoever scores the most wins."
"Stage two: treatment."
"You'll assist the Butterfly Mansion's staff in treating the wounded. Each patient you help treat will count as one point, and whoever scores the most wins."
"Stage three: rehabilitation training."
"You'll help the wounded with their rehabilitation training so that our members can quickly return to fighting condition. Each person who recovers will count as one point, and whoever scores the most wins."
"Whoever has the highest final score wins!"
"That covers the Butterfly Mansion's entire workflow. I hope you'll all do your best!"
Shinobu Kocho certainly lived up to her specialty in pharmacology.
With just a few sentences, she had laid out the basic rules of the contest.
It was clear that her powers of logic and calculation were also among the very best of the Hashira!
After hearing her out, everyone sank into thought.
Su Chen could not help nodding.
This plan was much like what he had envisioned.
His own idea was just a little more detailed and comprehensive than Shinobu Kocho's.
So Su Chen suggested several improvements to Shinobu Kocho's proposal.
They made the contest plan even more comprehensive and polished.
Apart from Shinazugawa, everyone was impressed by Su Chen and Shinobu Kocho's ingenuity after listening.
With that, the contest was settled.
Next came the matter of the wager.
Shinazugawa's objective was obvious.
If he won, Su Chen would teach him how to awaken his mark.
But Su Chen had yet to say what Shinazugawa would have to do if Su Chen won.
Su Chen did not reveal his objective.
Instead, he first glanced toward Shinobu Kocho.
"Shinobu, what do you think?"
Shinobu Kocho replied, "About the wager?"
"Yes." Su Chen looked at Shinobu Kocho and said, "We'll need to use your premises for the contest, so you can make a request too."
"You can decide for yourself, Mr. Su Chen." Shinobu Kocho smiled gently.
She indicated that she had no requests.
Su Chen pressed his lips into a smile.
Looks like this girl won't take the easy way and insists on doing things the hard way.
You're broke but won't say it, huh?
Fine, I'll say it!
Su Chen said calmly, "My request is simple. If I win, Shinazugawa will be stationed at the Butterfly Mansion."
Everyone froze in unison at his words.
Aoi Kanzaki and Kanao Tsuyuri immediately looked at Shinobu Kocho.
Shinobu Kocho's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
Shinazugawa asked in confusion, "Stationed at the Butterfly Mansion? You want me to save people?"
"Su Chen, aren't you taking a bit too much for granted?" he said irritably. "Never mind whether you can beat me."
"Hashira-level swordsmen alone are valuable combat assets to the Demon Slayer Corps. How could we possibly be assigned somewhere like this?"
Su Chen looked at Shinazugawa as though he were an idiot.
"Did I ever say that being stationed at the Butterfly Mansion meant you had to come here in person?"
Shinazugawa froze. "Then what do you mean?"
"I only want your status. If I win, you'll register your Hashira status under the Butterfly Mansion, but you'll still be free to go wherever you want."
Shinazugawa was even more puzzled.
What kind of condition was that?
To him, that hardly seemed like a condition at all.
But Kyojuro enlightened him then.
"Shinazugawa, you don't seem to understand. Let me explain!"
"Actually, every month, the Master allocates a fixed amount of funding to official Demon Slayer Corps organizations with a Hashira stationed there."
"In other words, registering your status there actually means committing your personal funds!"
"What the hell?" Shinazugawa was stunned.
What stunned him was not that Su Chen wanted his money.
It was that the Demon Slayer Corps sent a fixed amount of money to those whatchamacallits!
How come I never knew?!
Before you continue