Master Blacksmith in Demon Slayer

Tetsu no Sosuke nodded and was about to speak when Shinobu Kocho's towel, still dripping with water, came smacking straight into his face without warning.

The words he'd meant to say all got swallowed back down. Once Shinobu took the towel away, Tetsu no Sosuke said very seriously, "I think I can handle this myself!"

"No, you can't."

Shinobu shot him a glare and circled around to the other side. "You can't move around recklessly right now, or your wounds will split open again. I'll come by tonight to change your bandages."

She paused there, glanced at him, then let out a breath. "My sister should be back before noon. She'll come see you then."

"Ah? Oh, okay."

Tetsu no Sosuke suddenly felt like this girl's attitude toward him had shifted a little.

He was pretty happy about it, honestly.

After all, a sister-in-law is half a brother-in-law's burden—if their relationship was bad, the future would be a real headache.

Wait... was that how the saying went?

Tetsu no Sosuke sank into deep thought.

When he snapped out of it, Shinobu Kocho had already left sometime without him noticing.

Staring at the empty room, gazing up at the ceiling overhead, Tetsu no Sosuke suddenly smiled. "Does this count as... rewriting it?"

He closed his eyes and decided to rest properly. In this world now, the Flower Pillar was still alive... and she would stay that way forever!

When Tetsu no Sosuke opened his eyes again, he saw Kochou Kanae sitting beside him, watching him.

The moment their eyes met, Tetsu no Sosuke snapped fully awake and immediately tried to sit up.

"Don't get up."

Kochou Kanae pressed a hand on his shoulder, so he had no choice but to lie back down.

They faced each other, and for a moment, neither spoke.

The atmosphere in the room, starting right then, grew awkward again.

"Say... say something?"

Tetsu no Sosuke racked his brain. Breaking this awkward tension was the key, right?

But for the life of him, he couldn't think of what to say.

Then he heard Kochou Kanae ask softly, "Say what?"

"Huh?" Tetsu no Sosuke blinked.

"You... you said, we should say something?" Kochou Kanae asked.

Tetsu no Sosuke finally realized. "Did I... say that out loud?"

Pfft!

Kochou Kanae couldn't help it. She turned her head and fixed her gaze on his face.

Her eyes looked a little strange, like she was surprised...

Tetsu no Sosuke suddenly remembered something. He reached up and touched his face—sure enough, the mask was gone.

Meeting Kochou Kanae's gaze, he asked quietly, "Is it ugly?"

So many online romances died the moment they met in person!

Tetsu no Sosuke had no idea if his face counted as handsome or just average. Suddenly, he felt a serious lack of security.

"It's nice..."

Kochou Kanae spoke without thinking, then quickly stopped herself and shook her head. "I didn't say anything."

"...Then I didn't hear anything?" Tetsu no Sosuke held back the smile threatening to spread across his lips and asked softly.

A glare of half-annoyed embarrassment shot his way. Kochou Kanae just stared at him.

Tetsu no Sosuke caved. "S-sorry..."

"Hmph."

Kochou Kanae let out a cute little sound of reproach, then unconsciously pressed her lips together, as if she wanted to smile but forced it down.

"What... time is it now?"

Tetsu no Sosuke started changing the subject.

"Almost noon," Kochou Kanae answered.

"I slept the whole morning?" Tetsu no Sosuke glanced at the door on one side of the room, near the veranda.

But Kochou Kanae shook her head. "You can't be exposed to the wind yet."

"Oh." Tetsu no Sosuke could only nod, then asked, "How did the Pillar Meeting go?"

"The Master and everyone were very happy. Killing a Twelve Demon Moon is a huge victory for us."

She looked at Tetsu no Sosuke. "But there are some questions... the Master hopes you can answer them. That will happen after you've recovered from your injuries."

Tetsu no Sosuke nodded. That wasn't unexpected.

The Nichirin Blade forged for Kochou Kanae was bound to draw attention due to its unique properties.

At the same time, Tetsu no Sosuke was deeply curious about it. "That sword—what effects did it show when you fought the demon?"

"You don't know either?" Kochou Kanae blinked in surprise.

Tetsu no Sosuke shook his head. "Just guesses and experiments. More detailed information requires feedback from the swordsman."

"I see." Kochou Kanae nodded. "When I used it, this Nichirin Blade was incredibly light, like it was part of my body. Yet it didn't feel weightless or lacking in force—it seemed to follow my will, letting my swordsmanship reach its full potential. Beyond that, I felt a strange warmth constantly replenishing my stamina, allowing me to fight for much longer... And most importantly, it suppressed the demon's regeneration. But what puzzled me was that small wounds inflicted on the demon seemed hard to heal, while injuries like a severed arm were only suppressed for a very short time."

"Severed arm..." Tetsu no Sosuke recalled the final scene from last night. Kochou Kanae had cut off Doma's arm, and then Doma unleashed a big move. The freezing mist obscured his vision, so he couldn't see the details after that.

Now it seemed—had that arm regenerated in a very short time?

After losing his arm, Doma exchanged a few words with Kochou Kanae, and their subsequent clash unfolded in the span of a Lightning Flash.