Aftermath

Lin Yoriichi was genuinely stunned by those words.

What an awful thing to say...

Was that Giyu Tomioka knocking, or Aunt Xue?

But considering how bad Giyu Tomioka was with words, Lin Yoriichi wasn't surprised at all.

He opened the door while silently snarking to himself.

Seeing the door open, Giyu Tomioka said in a low voice:

"I'm Giyu Tomioka of the Demon Slayer Corps. Please tell me what happened here."

His tone was so calm that it sounded stiff, even carrying a hint of command.

Even though Lin Yoriichi knew Giyu Tomioka's quirks very well, he still felt a little annoyed.

Yes, Giyu Tomioka had precisely that peculiar talent.

Even speaking normally, he could rub people the wrong way.

Fortunately, this situation didn't last long. Another set of footsteps came from outside.

Someone dressed in black, wearing a white mask with thick black stripes, ran over, panting.

When Giyu Tomioka heard the screams from the summit of Mount Kumotori, he had sent word out through his Kasugai Crow.

A demon whose screams could echo across all of Mount Kumotori was anything but ordinary in strength!

So the Kasugai Crow had not only relayed the news to the nearest Kakushi, but had also passed it all the way back to Headquarters.

As the Kakushi closest to Mount Kumotori, she was the first to arrive.

Yet when she saw Giyu Tomioka "facing off" with a swordsman with dark red hair and a red haori, alarm bells immediately went off in her mind.

During Hashira Meetings at Headquarters, she had seen Mr. Tomioka say just one sentence and end up surrounded by the Wind Hashira and the Serpent Hashira, looking as though a clash was about to erupt, more than once.

Even Miss Shinobu Kocho, who normally smiled at everyone, had to keep taking deep breaths when speaking with Mr. Tomioka just to barely maintain her smile.

Under these circumstances, letting Mr. Tomioka talk to anyone was definitely not wise!

She ran over, stepped in front of Giyu Tomioka, and said helplessly:

"Mr. Tomioka, please let me explain instead."

Giyu Tomioka looked at her and nodded slightly.

"Go ahead if you want."

The moment he said that, Lin Yoriichi could clearly tell, even without the Transparent World.

The veins at the temple of this Kakushi, whose eyes and brows were clearly feminine, bulged after she heard Giyu Tomioka's words.

She took a deep breath and smiled at Lin Yoriichi.

"Hello, I'm a Kakushi responsible for logistics in the Demon Slayer Corps."

"You can call me Momoki Haruko."

"The Demon Slayer Corps is an organization dedicated to slaying demons. We..."

After introducing the Demon Slayer Corps, Momoki Haruko looked past Lin Yoriichi into the house.

"As a Kakushi, I'm responsible for the aftermath and first aid."

"You can tell us the details when it's convenient."

"But everyone inside seems to have passed out. May I check on them first?"

It had to be said that this female Kakushi was far better at communicating than Giyu Tomioka.

And looking into her dark green eyes, Lin Yoriichi kept feeling that she looked familiar.

It seemed that in the original story, this was the Kakushi responsible for the first leg of Tanjiro's journey from the Butterfly Mansion to the Swordsmith Village.

Could she still introduce herself now because she hadn't started working as a guide yet?

These thoughts flashed through Lin Yoriichi's mind.

He looked at Momoki Haruko and said:

"Just call me Yoriichi. I suppose I'm a... swordsman for fun."

"When I passed by, I scared off a demon and protected this family."

Momoki Haruko paused, assumed he simply didn't want to reveal his surname, and didn't press him.

She nodded.

Although she still had plenty of questions, the most important thing right now was to check on the family inside.

But once she went inside to examine them, Giyu Tomioka and Lin Yoriichi were left staring at each other again.

For a moment, the atmosphere at the doorway grew awkward.

Lin Yoriichi could only lower his head and check his Restoration Level System.

Although he had only swung his sword twice in this fight, his Restoration Rate had risen to 17%.

As expected of Muzan Kibutsuji.

That Demon King might have been cowardly scum, but slashing him really did earn "experience" fast.

Of course, Lin Yoriichi had considered fleeing a thousand miles away as soon as this crisis was resolved.

After all, in the original story, Muzan Kibutsuji had lived for a thousand years without ever leaving Japan.

As long as he went far enough away, he wouldn't have to fear Muzan Kibutsuji coming after him.

But before transmigrating, all he could do was leave a Muzan Kibutsuji figurine out in the sun.

Now that he had actually transmigrated, wouldn't it be a shame if he couldn't leave Muzan Kibutsuji himself baking in the sunlight?

Besides, the person he was cosplaying was Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Muzan Kibutsuji's "ultimate nemesis"!

For others, the difficulties in destroying Muzan Kibutsuji were "finding him" and "destroying him."

But for Lin Yoriichi, after raising his Restoration Rate, there would probably be only one difficulty left-

"Finding him"!

While Lin Yoriichi was still thinking, he saw that Momoki Haruko had finished examining the Kamado Family and was looking at him and Giyu Tomioka.

"This family is all right. They just seem to have suffered a shock, and it'll take some time before they wake up."

"But there are signs that a demon was here, so this place isn't safe."

"So I suggest contacting the other Kakushi nearby and the nearest Wisteria Family House, and moving this family out first."

"Once they wake up, we can decide whether to send them to the Butterfly Mansion based on their condition."

Momoki Haruko's suggestion was perfectly reasonable.

Giyu Tomioka summoned his Kasugai Crow again and sent out everything he had seen and heard since coming up the mountain.

Lin Yoriichi interjected, "Wait. There should be another member of this family down the mountain. He'll probably be back early in the morning."

Hearing this, Momoki Haruko paused, and new questions arose in her mind.

But she still didn't say anything more, only replying:

"No problem. Once the other Kakushi arrive, someone will go look for him."

"Then we'll send him to the Wisteria Family House as well."

Lin Yoriichi nodded and said nothing more.

He had considered following Giyu Tomioka or Momoki Haruko next, using the opportunity to establish ties with the Demon Slayer Corps, or even joining them.

After all, whether he wanted to go to the Swordsmith Village and obtain Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Nichirin Sword,

or prepare a few "little surprises" for Muzan Kibutsuji and Kokushibo, he would need the Demon Slayer Corps' cooperation.

Besides, he had transmigrated without a penny in his pockets. Even getting food was a problem.

The only "high-paying job" he currently knew of was being a swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps.

But thinking of all the things about himself that were difficult to explain, Lin Yoriichi hadn't yet figured out how to bring it up.

Flap, flap-

Just then, the sound of beating wings suddenly came from above.

"Caw!"

"Orders! Orders!"

"Orders from Headquarters!"

"Hashira-ranked swordsman Giyu Tomioka, please invite the swordsman on Mount Kumotori back to Headquarters!"

Lin Yoriichi froze.

Could Kasugai Crows relay messages that fast?