Master Blacksmith in Demon Slayer

He carried the box over to Iguro Obanai. "As you requested, this blade should have a certain degree of demon-suppressing properties. But how effective it is, I'll need your help to verify. For example, how long it takes for wounds inflicted on demons to heal. Whether there's any difference in recovery time between small and large wounds."

With that, Tetsu no Sosuke spoke solemnly: "There's one thing I must stress—while this blade can suppress demon regeneration, don't underestimate them. Caution is the first rule of battle. If a weapon I forged leads to your death from carelessness, that's a responsibility I can't shirk! Though you're a swordsman yourself and don't need me to remind you of this, I still hope that by repeating it, I can help you avoid mistakes and emerge victorious in every fight!"

Iguro Obanai's expression shifted slightly, and he gave a small nod. "Suppression isn't severance—I understand what you mean. I won't underestimate any demon!"

After saying this, he suddenly leaned close to Tetsu no Sosuke's ear and hissed through gritted teeth: "Just one unspoken reminder, and you're already this close? Tetsu no Sosuke... I will not lose!"

Tetsu no Sosuke stood dumbfounded. So, the reason you hesitated to speak that day was because of this?

You wanted to warn me to keep my distance from the Love Pillar?

Then why the hell didn't you just say it?!

No... wait—the key point is, I was keeping my distance, wasn't I?

That earlier moment was just a damn misunderstanding!

Author's Note:

(298316354)

Chapter 37: Reality

Misunderstanding or not, Iguro Obanai clearly had no intention of clearing things up in front of Kanroji Mitsuri.

He took his new Nichirin Blade, then walked away, looking back with every step.

His glances followed two rhythms: one toward Kanroji Mitsuri, his eyes calm and gentle.

The other toward Tetsu no Sosuke... his eyes were... well, very aggressive!

Tetsu no Sosuke's face darkened to an extreme.

After Iguro left, Tetsu no Sosuke turned to Kanroji Mitsuri. "You're not leaving?"

"Where would I go?" Kanroji Mitsuri asked without a hint of self-awareness. "Is there something here you need help with?"

"...As a Pillar, shouldn't you be busy?" Tetsu no Sosuke was flabbergasted. "There's clearly nothing here that needs your help right now!"

"Oh." Kanroji Mitsuri nodded. "Alright then. I've already prepared the materials and left them with Shinobu for now. If you ever need me as a sparring partner, feel free to write to me anytime. I'll be going now—I suddenly remembered I actually am pretty busy. Bye!"

With that, she bounced away and vanished in an instant.

Tetsu no Sosuke let out a long breath, feeling much lighter.

But thinking about Kanroji Mitsuri and Iguro Obanai, he was at a loss for words. This kind of situation... well, whatever. It had nothing to do with him.

Just as he was about to head back to his room, he stopped in his tracks. "Why am I going back to my room? I was supposed to go eat!"

It was early morning, and he'd been so flustered he'd nearly forgotten.

The atmosphere at breakfast, however, was much better than Tetsu no Sosuke had expected. Shinobu Kocho, who had only returned a few days ago, had already set out on another mission last night.

Thinking about it, the members of the Demon Slayer Corps really were incredibly busy.

By comparison, the Pillars had it relatively easier.

Only when ordinary members couldn't handle a situation would a Pillar step in.

But the problem was, if they couldn't handle it, it usually meant they were about to die—using their lives to testify to a demon's strength, until a Pillar arrived to slay it.

Considering that, Tetsu no Sosuke found himself worrying about Shinobu Kocho's safety.

"As long as a Pillar doesn't run into one of the Twelve Demon Moons, they're generally fine. By contrast, ordinary Demon Slayer Corps members are the ones truly walking the razor's edge between life and death every moment."

He rubbed his chin. "Looks like I need to prioritize my sister-in-law's Nichirin Blade. I can't say whether it'll be a game-changer, but at least it should significantly improve her survival rate."

Tetsu no Sosuke knew that Shinobu Kocho was strong.

Though she lacked physical strength, she could compensate through other means.

And according to the original story, after Kanae died, she became the new Pillar... the Insect Pillar.

"She created the Breath of the Insect and became a Pillar in no time—was it fueled by the power of hatred?"

Tetsu no Sosuke frowned. "But Kanae is still alive now. Will she lose that drive to push forward? Well... in any case, I need to get it done as soon as possible."

He nodded. Soon—today, even!

He already had the Poison Forging Method. While he didn't yet fully understand her swordsmanship, he could at least start forging the Iron Material.

So, after eating his fill, Tetsu no Sosuke went back to write a letter requesting the materials needed for forging.

Not only did he need Scarlet Sand Iron, but also a large quantity of extracted wisteria flower poison.

He set the finished letter aside, then picked up his brush again to write a second one.

He also needed to figure out the issue with Kanroji Mitsuri's Nichirin Blade.

He had no idea how to forge such a soft blade—the flexibility was preserved to an extreme degree. It must have involved some special technique.

He organized his questions clearly, wrote them down one by one, then reviewed the letter to make sure everything was correct. Satisfied, he handed both letters to a member of the Hidden to deliver.

For the rest of that day, Tetsu no Sosuke had nothing to do.

While the material request would likely be processed quickly, it wouldn't be completed in a single day.

As for the Village Chief... that would take even longer to hear back.

After all, the journey was quite long.

So he went to the Back Mountain to practice swordsmanship for a day, and felt that he had found a subtle sensation when swinging the blade.

But unlike Iron Head, he couldn't see the lines of weakness. Still, Tetsu no Sosuke wasn't in a hurry, taking it slow and steady every day.

However, when evening came, something caught Tetsu no Sosuke completely off guard.

Shinobu Kocho was injured!

At dusk, as Tetsu no Sosuke carried the sun back to the Butterfly Estate, he saw members of the Hidden carrying a stretcher into the estate.

At first, he didn't think much of it—after all, many injured were brought to the Butterfly Estate every day.