"In other words, the final result of this meeting was..."
"Should we make Kato commit seppuku as an apology?"
Seeing that the situation seemed to have reached a conclusion regarding his actions, Teiichi spoke up:
First, I want to make a statement.
If the final outcome of this meeting is that I must commit seppuku.
So...
terribly sorry!
Please forgive me, I cannot do that!
Upon hearing Teiichi's words, everyone present felt a surge of dissatisfaction. Tengen Uzui, who had been helping Teiichi, was the first to speak.
"Hey, Kato, this isn't glamorous at all! I don't think you deserve to die, but now that the discussion is over, don't you even have the guts to take responsibility for the consequences?"
Teiichi shook his head. "It's not because I don't want to take responsibility, but because I don't agree with this punishment."
If I have indeed done something wrong, then I admit it!
But at least this time, I don't think I did anything wrong!
"Amitabha..." Gyomei Himejima hands together, "Do you think you did nothing wrong this time?"
Teiichi firmly. "Yes, I don't think I did anything wrong!"
Gyomei Himejima spoke up, "Let's put aside the fact that you directly killed someone, since you killed a bad person. But what do you think about using people as bait to lure ghosts?"
Teiichi said, "Since I've done it, I naturally believe there's nothing wrong with what I did! They deserved to die anyway, wouldn't it be better to let them do some good deeds before they die to atone for their past sins?"
Gyomei Himejima said, "Perhaps they did indeed do unforgivable things, perhaps they truly deserve to die, but it is not our place to judge them, much less use them as bait to lure out evil spirits!"
Teiichi, "But they have connections in the government. If we hand them over to the police directly, they might be released without any problems!"
Is the world still so corrupt...?
Upon hearing Teiichi's words, Gyomei Himejima slowly clasped his hands together, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Nevertheless, I still think it's unacceptable to use them as bait to lure evil spirits!"
After saying that, Gyomei Himejima looked at Kagaya Ubuyashiki and asked, " Master, what was the original intention behind the founding of our Demon Slayer Corps?"
"It is the progenitor of demon slaying— Muzan Kibutsuji!"
"So what was the purpose of Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of demons?"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up, "It's to eliminate evil spirits and protect humanity!"
Gyomei Himejima: "That's right. Our ultimate goal has always been to eliminate demons and protect humanity! This can be said to be the most fundamental principle upon which our Demon Slayer Corps was founded."
"Of these two points, protecting humanity is arguably even more important than eliminating evil spirits!"
"Using humans as bait is undoubtedly a direct violation of the Demon Slayer Corps' most fundamental principles! It is unforgivable!"
"You know, if a trainer produces a demon among their team members, the trainer is also required to commit seppuku as an atonement!"
"What's more, you're basically using people as bait to feed the ghosts!"
"It's because you successfully eliminated the evil spirits this time, and they were bad people, that your punishment is lighter."
"If you let the evil spirit escape, this meeting won't even need to be held!"
Teiichi, "Therefore, I also disagree with the idea that if a trainer's team members become demons, the trainer must also commit seppuku to atone for their sins!"
"Let's not even talk about the possibility that the team members might be forced to become ghosts!"
"Even if the team members turned into demons voluntarily, I don't think the trainer should have to commit seppuku to atone for their sins."
"After all, everyone has their own thoughts, and how can an ordinary person accurately grasp the thoughts of others?"
"To make a breeder commit seppuku as an apology for this reason is utterly ridiculous!"
"This is a complete waste of our Demon Slayer Corps ' own resources!"
"If that's the case, then if a Pillar becomes a demon in the future, who will take responsibility?"
"Was it the trainer who nurtured him? Or one of the other Pillars who worked with him? Or perhaps the leader of the Pillars?"
Gyomei Himejima spoke up, "The Pillars all emerged victorious from countless battles against demons; they will not become demons!"
Teiichi spoke up, "Human hearts are unpredictable. Some people become pillars because of their high talent, but what if their will is not strong enough and they become demons?"
"This..." Gyomei Himejima speechless for a moment.
Kyojuro Rengoku chimed in, " Mr. Kato, are you saying all this to try and escape responsibility?"
Teiichi shook his head. "No, of course, if you think that way, there's not much of a problem."
However, I do disagree with some of the rules within the Demon Slayer Corps.
For example, what I did this time, I think that letting those two guys die directly without subjecting them to any other punishment was already very merciful to them."
Giyu Tomioka said, "Doesn't Kato claim that everyone is equal? If everyone is equal, then why can you take other people's lives?"
Upon hearing Giyu Tomioka's words, Teiichi couldn't help but glance at him.
Sure, you know how to attack from the most basic concepts.
Because my principle of equality for all applies only to 'human beings'!
You can't expect me to preach equality to ghosts when I'm slaying them!
Giyu Tomioka said, "Weren't those two people you killed human beings?"
"Yes and no!"
Giyu Tomioka asked in confusion, "What do you mean by 'yes and no'?"
"They may be human in terms of physiology, but their actions, in my opinion, place them in the category of ghosts! And I don't think their behavior is much better than that of ghosts!"
"And my definition of a 'person' is based on their heart and the actions that arise from it."
Giyu Tomioka murmured, "Look at the heart and actions..."
Kyojuro Rengoku shook his head firmly.
"Please forgive me for being unable to accept this, but I believe that a person is a person and a ghost is a ghost, and the boundary is very clear."
Even if a person does something bad, he is still a person, just a bad person!
Our mission as members of the Demon Slayer Corps is simply to kill demons and protect humanity!
How could I kill him just because I thought he wasn't human?
If that's possible, then could we later use other reasons to categorize people as ghosts and treat them like ghosts?
Teiichi, "Alright, let's assume you're right!"
Then what?
Are we just going to hand them over to the police, only to let them run away again and harm other people after a while?"
"This is a human matter, not something our Demon Slayer Corps should concern itself with!" Kyojuro Rengoku said firmly.
Kyojuro Rengoku's words left Teiichi momentarily at a loss for how to reason with him.
What's the difference between this and burying your head in the sand? Just because it's not your business, you're pretending it never happened?
"I do think Kato- kun's distinction between humans and demons does have some merit!" Gyomei Himejima said. "However, even though they are evil, I still strongly oppose using them as bait!"
Teiichi sighed, "This is also to eliminate the evil spirit as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the evil spirit moves to a different location, it will only cause more people to die! Isn't it worth it to exchange the lives of two evil people for the life of one evil spirit?"
"Namo Amitabha Buddha..." Gyomei Himejima's eyes were filled with tears.
"Life can never be measured so easily!"