After the hidden team members left, Teiichi headed towards the village.
Although the houses in the Swordsmith Village are all relatively nice, there aren't many of them.
Teiichi roughly calculated that there are only about twenty or thirty buildings.
But thinking about it, it makes sense.
The Demon Slayer Corps ' combat units only number a few hundred people, although there are instances of blades breaking and new members joining.
But all things considered, the number of knives forged in a year is unlikely to exceed 100.
And it doesn't take a long time for a swordsmith to forge a single sword.
Some inferior knives can even be forged in just a few days.
Of course, this is also because bladesmiths take their knives very seriously.
The swordsmiths in the Swordsmith Village certainly couldn't have forged Nichirin Blade in just a few days.
After all, doing so would not only waste their hard work, but also make it easy for team members to be injured or killed when fighting demons due to the poor quality of their Nichirin Blade.
In conclusion, a dozen or so swordsmiths are actually enough for the Demon Slayer Corps ' daily needs.
Teiichi our journey.
There aren't many houses here, but they are really big.
Even a single house can occupy several tens of meters in width.
If you walk slowly, it will really take several minutes to reach the end.
and...
I didn't encounter many people along the way.
Did they all go to forge swords in broad daylight?
But that doesn't make sense; there should be other family members involved.
Teiichi walked forward while thinking.
Suddenly, a child's voice came from behind me.
"Hey! Who are you? I've never seen you in the village before!"
Teiichi turned slightly, and behind him was a little boy of about half height wearing a red haori.
He was wearing a Hyottoko Mask, the same kind worn by everyone in the Swordsmith Village, with his thick eyebrows standing out prominently on the mask.
"Seriously, do I have to wear this mask for the rest of my life?" Teiichi wondered.
"Hey! You still haven't told me! Who are you? Why are you in the village?" the little boy asked again.
Teiichi squatted down, looked the little boy straight in the eye, and threatened him:
"Ah! I'm a ghost! I've come over here to see if there are any naughty children I can catch and eat!"
Upon hearing this, the little boy trembled and froze on the spot.
Teiichi tilted his head, carefully examined the little boy for a few moments, and said:
"Hmm, I think you're pretty good; your meat must be very tender!"
The voices rang out again, startling the little boy awake. He turned and ran, shouting:
"Ah! A ghost! A ghost has entered the village! Help! Help..."
Yeah, it's quite fun to tease kids sometimes!
Teiichi smiled gently as he watched the little boy run away.
He turned and continued walking towards the village chief.
Before long, Teiichi arrived at the village chief's house.
It's obvious that Kagaya Ubuyashiki had already notified them in advance through Kasugai Crow ).
The village chief was not surprised by Teiichi's arrival.
Teiichi to the tea room, and everyone took their seats.
Behind the village chief sat a middle-aged man, who looked like a bodyguard.
The village chief raised his hand and gestured for Ding Teiichi to proceed.
"Please have some tea!"
"Thanks!"
Teiichi his thanks, then picked up the teacup from the ground and took a small sip.
After the village chief saw that the guests had already started drinking tea, he introduced himself:
"Hello, I am the village chief here, my name is Tecchin Tecchikawahara!"
"He's the shortest man in the village, but his forging skills are the most superb, and he's also the highest-ranking person in the village!"
A six-character name? That's quite rare!
Teiichi thought to himself, and was about to put down his teacup and introduce himself when the village chief continued speaking.
"Right now, right here, kowtow to me loudly, so loudly that it gives you a bump on your forehead!"
Teiichi hearing this, Ding Yi choked and coughed several times.
Although I know the people of the Swordsmith Village can't be judged by ordinary standards, this is just too much...
Upon hearing the village chief's words, the man behind him quickly stepped forward, leaned close to the village chief's ear, and whispered in what he thought was a voice only the two of them could hear:
" Our Master has sent word that this is a very important Demon Slayer, and we are to treat him with utmost respect, like pillars of the state! He's not one of those useless Demon Slayer!"
Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately chuckled awkwardly twice and waved his hand lightly in front of him.
"I was just joking to lighten the mood, please don't mind, sir!"
If we compare the Demon Slayer Corps to a company, then the village chief is at least a department head.
Ordinary team members are subordinates.
In this day and age, it's not unusual for subordinates to kowtow to their superiors.
But this class consciousness...
Forget it, I can't be bothered with Teiichi anyway.
Different mindsets cannot be controlled by Teiichi.
As long as you don't make me do it, it's their business if others want to do it!
Teiichi coughed lightly twice, cleared his throat, bowed slightly, and said:
"It's alright, I don't mind! I'm Kato Teiichi, and I hope you two will take good care of me during this time!"
The village chief and the man behind him bowed slightly in return.
Please take good care of me!
The village chief asked, "You've come here to have a new Nichirin Blade custom-made, right?"
Teiichi nodded and said, "Yes, the Nichirin Blade I was using before broke during battle, so I want to have a new one made to suit my current needs!"
"I see!" The village chief nodded and asked, "Who forged the knife for you before?"
"It's Mr. Tetsumoto Homura!" Teiichi replied.
I still have a fairly deep impression of Teiichi Tetsumoto Homura.
As for why...
Perhaps the swordsmiths in the original story were all a bit neurotic.
This caused Teiichi to worry, even as he sheathed his sword, that he might encounter someone who was also somewhat neurotic.
But it turned out to be normal.
Well, it's also possible that we didn't get to know him well enough to notice whether he was acting normally or not.
In short, the contrast between the two sides made Teiichi leave a deep impression on him.
Well, the village chief certainly left a deep impression on Teiichi.
They made him kowtow right away...
"It's actually Yan?" the village chief asked in surprise.
"Is there a problem?" Teiichi asked.
"The swords forged by Yan haven't broken in a long time!" the village chief exclaimed.
Teiichi nodded in understanding upon hearing this.
That old sword was indeed quite useful. If I hadn't encountered Kokushibo back then, Teiichi n't think I would have needed to make this trip to the Swordsmith Village.
The man behind the village chief added, "Yan's knife-forging skills are now very strong, possibly even stronger than the village chief's!"
Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately retorted, "Didn't you hear? The sword he forged broke during the battle! What does that mean? It means he still has a long way to go in terms of training compared to me!"
"..."
It seems the village chief values his knife-making skills, which are the best in the village.
Click!
The door was pushed open, and a man also wearing Hyottoko Mask walked in.
The village chief looked at the newcomer and asked, " Okahira, I asked you to go and find out what happened. Why did it take you so long? What happened?"
Okahira said, "We were chasing Kotetsu, and that guy kept running around the village, saying something about a ghost entering the village! How could there be a ghost in broad daylight!"
At this point, Okahira said angrily:
"I don't know who's so bored as to fool a kid like that!"
If I catch him, I'll teach him a lesson!