Uchida waved his hand hastily and said:
"No, no, I didn't become a ghost!"
Hase clicked his tongue impatiently, turned his head back to look at the courtyard entrance, and said:
"You've been with me all this time, do you think I wouldn't know if you've turned into a ghost? Alright, enough nonsense! Let's pay close attention to what's happening over there!"
Hearing Hase's words, Uchida finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the entrance to the courtyard.
The two remained quietly in the woods, observing the situation at the courtyard entrance.
The quiet atmosphere between the two lasted for a long time.
At one point, Uchida suddenly spoke softly:
"What I meant was that if we don't have family, no one will mourn for us if we die in battle!"
The sudden words touched Hase, and he turned to look at Uchida in disbelief.
However, Uchida remained quietly watching the courtyard entrance, and even though he had just made a loud noise when he turned his head, Uchida showed no intention of turning his head back.
Hase opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn't, turning his head back to look at the courtyard entrance.
So having family brings its own troubles... Hase murmured to himself.
The two said nothing more and quietly watched the entrance to the courtyard.
They weren't too worried about the safety of the people going in at this time.
Ghosts only eat people after the event has ended.
Eating before or during an event makes it easy for other believers to notice.
Once discovered, there is no better way to conceal the news than to kill them all.
The two waited outside for a long time, until the servant who greeted the believers at the door closed the door and went inside. They waited another fifteen minutes before exchanging a glance and quickly walking towards the courtyard.
As expected, the two arrived at the foot of the wall without any problems.
This wall is over three meters high and is used to keep wild animals and malicious people out of the yard.
But it's clear that it can't play its proper role today.
Regardless of whether Hase and Uchida are ill-intentioned, their ranks within the Demon Slayer Corps —one Kinoto and the other Hinoe Rank— mean that this wall is utterly ineffective against them.
The two pushed off with their feet and... grabbed the tiles on the wall.
The two men cautiously peeked half their heads out from under the wall, their eyes scanning the area inside.
Hmm, nobody's here!
After exchanging a glance, the two exerted a little force with their arms, and with a soft 'plop' sound, they flipped inside.
Hase got up and carefully examined the situation in the courtyard.
Artificial hills, flowing water, stone paths, long corridors, and a large house...
Looking at everything before him, Hase couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Rich people deserve to die!"
Actually, the rewards in the Demon Slayer Corps are already quite generous, especially for combat personnel.
Even a newly recruited member of the Mizunoto earns enough each month to support a family of three in a relatively comfortable life in this day and age.
Moreover, even if someone dies in battle, they will receive a substantial pension.
Moreover, as one's social class rises, their salary and pension will continue to increase.
In this day and age, Demon Slayer is definitely one of the highest-paying professions.
This is also why many people who haven't been harmed by ghosts but whose families have been destroyed choose to become Demon Slayer.
After all, this money is really tempting.
But there's nothing to envy, since Demon Slayer are fighting demons with their lives on the line.
In the past, the average professional lifespan of Demon Slayer was less than ten years.
There are very few Demon Slayer Demon Slayer for a long time and still live to a ripe old age.
Of course, this does not include those who quit halfway through their careers.
If we include them, the average working lifespan could be increased significantly.
Hearing Hase's words, Uchida chuckled softly, then said:
"Many people would consider us wealthy!"
Hase clicked his tongue and whispered:
"But with our salaries, we don't know how many more years we'd have to work to afford a courtyard like this."
"That's true!" Uchida nodded in agreement, then said with a wry smile, "But what can we do? We're just not good at business!"
Hase nodded and said:
"Alright, enough talk. Let's find where they were, and after they leave, that ghost will definitely leave one person behind. Then we'll rush in to rescue that person and kill the ghost!"
"Okay, sure!" Uchida nodded.
The two quickly arrived at the edge of the house, and seeing that Uchida was about to go from room to room in the corridor to inquire, Hase quickly pulled him back.
"What are you doing?" Hase asked Uchida in a low voice.
"Didn't you say you wanted to find where they were active?" Uchida looked at Hase with surprise.
"You can't just look like that! If you wander around here, you might accidentally run into people from this area, and then you'll be discovered!" Hase looked at Uchida with a disappointed expression.
"What should we do then?" Uchida asked with a forced smile.
Hase pointed to the roof.
"Let's go up from there!"
" Hase, when did you become so smart?" Uchida, somewhat puzzled.
"I'm much smarter than you think! Alright, enough talk, let's go up!" Hase said with a laugh.
He would never tell Uchida that he learned it from someone else!
"Yes, yes!" Uchida nodded repeatedly.
The two quickly climbed onto the roof, which was covered with tiles. Lacking control over their own weight, each step they took made a soft 'crackling' sound.
Uchida asked with some concern, " Hase, won't that ghost hear us?"
Hase said, "Don't worry, they can't possibly be that quiet when they're having an event! This little noise won't be heard. We just need to be careful not to fall on the roof and make a big commotion!"
Hase's words relieved Uchida slightly.
The two said no more and walked quietly on the roof, occasionally bending down slightly to listen for any sounds coming from below.
In a dark room in the courtyard.
A figure sat quietly cross-legged inside.
The room was dark, making it impossible to see the figure's face clearly; only the short, dark blue-black hair stood out.
Suddenly, a soft 'clicking' sound came from above.
The figure sitting cross-legged inside the room slightly opened its eyes and looked up at the roof above.
at the same time.
In another spacious hall.
A dozen or so candles were placed on a candlestick, allowing the room to be roughly visible.
Dozens of people knelt below, facing one direction.
In that direction, a figure with deep blue-black hair sat upright on a large cushion, his eyes slightly unfocused, as if his attention was not in this direction.
"Your Excellency, this is what I wanted to say today!" A believer bowed to the leader from below.
The believer's words brought the dark blue-haired cult leader back to his senses. He first glanced in a certain direction before looking at the believer, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Okay, I understand!"