Unless something unusual happened, Hashira Meetings were held once every six months.
To accommodate the changes to the Final Selection, one of those meetings was held a week before it, to determine whether any Hashira could spare the time to supervise.
Now, only about three months had passed since the last meeting.
So even though Ink Shadow had not had time to explain the reason for the meeting, Kanzaki Kumo and Kanae had guessed it.
Kanae watched Ink Shadow fly away as a black silhouette and chuckled softly before turning to Kanzaki Kumo.
"It's Makomo, right? Going by the timing, she should be becoming a Hashira about now."
"Probably."
"Hey, Kanzaki-kun, make sure you congratulate her properly. Better yet, invite her to stay at the Butterfly Mansion. You've been keeping me company all this time. She'll feel sad."
Looking into those eyes without a trace of insincerity, Kanzaki Kumo tightened his arm around her before nodding gently.
"All right. I'll do as you say."
Early on the morning of the meeting, Kanzaki Kumo set off for the Ubuyashiki Estate.
At the entrance, he ran into Shinjuro and Gyomei, who had arrived together.
Just as he was about to greet them, a voice called out behind him.
"Kumo."
Hearing that familiar voice, Kanzaki Kumo instinctively turned around, and a graceful figure threw herself into his arms.
Nearby, Shinjuro froze for a moment at the sight of her. After all, the girl he had seen at the Butterfly Mansion, whose closeness to Kanzaki Kumo had led him to take leave several times, was not this one.
"Amitabha."
Gyomei pressed his palms together. He was very happy that the boy he had looked after for quite some time had found a partner.
"Oi, Kanzaki, the girl with you back at the Butterfly