Following Chachamaru, Kanzaki Kumo rounded a few corners and entered a secluded alley. At first glance, it was a dead end.
But Chachamaru strolled straight through the wall at the side of the alley's far end. Clearly, this wall was an illusion.
Choosing the side wall rather than the one sealing off the alley at least showed that the person-or rather, the demon-who had made the decision had a good head on their shoulders.
Without dwelling on it, Kanzaki Kumo also passed through the false wall and entered a quiet little courtyard.
A small two-story villa stood inside. Both the courtyard walls and the villa's walls were covered with paper talismans identical to the one on Chachamaru's chest. Together, these talismans concealed the courtyard completely.
In front of the villa, a woman who appeared to be in the prime of her life waited with a somewhat frail-looking man.
"Sir, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tamayo, and this is Yushiro."
Tamayo wore a deep-purple kimono adorned with pale-purple branches and leaves and vivid red flowers. Her thick black hair was gathered into a low bun at the back of her head and secured with a hairpin. Her smoky-purple eyes held a calm and gentleness cultivated over hundreds of years.
But beneath that calm, some more intense emotion seemed to lie suppressed.
Yushiro was a man with blue-green hair. He looked very young, but he had actually been over thirty when he became a demon. He had delicate features and a slight build, and wore a traditional white kimono. His pale-purple eyes were filled with wariness toward Kanzaki Kumo and a measure of hostility.
"My name is Kanzaki Kumo, the Demon Slayer Corps' current Rumble Hashira."
"He's a Hashira! Lady Tamayo, run! I'll hold him off!"
Kanzaki Kumo had barely