As night falls and the stars twinkle, a warm and cozy atmosphere fills the quiet Butterfly Mansion.
Five people were sitting around a spacious dining table in the restaurant, enjoying a simple dinner.
This was the first time in five days that Teiichi had left her hospital room to dine with everyone at the dining table.
For the first five days, his movement was greatly restricted due to his chest injury, and he would feel intense pain whenever the wound was slightly aggravated. Therefore, he could only stay in the ward and rest quietly most of the time.
During these five days, Kanon became Teiichi meal delivery person. Every day, she would deliver the meals to the ward on time, then sit by the bedside, sharing interesting stories from the past two years while waiting for Teiichi eating, before clearing away the dishes and leaving.
In fact, the Butterfly Mansion also has members who are specifically responsible for taking care of the wounded, but Kanon insists on personally delivering meals to Teiichi.
After five days of careful care and rest, Teiichi's chest injury has improved significantly. As long as it is not accidentally pressed, he will no longer feel pain in most cases.
However, compared to the recovery of his chest injury, Teiichi felt somewhat helpless about the recovery of his left arm injury. The ancients often said that "it takes a hundred days to recover from a bone or tendon injury," and he now deeply understood this. Although five days had passed, he had not felt any significant improvement in his arm at all.
Even now, while I'm eating, my left arm is still in a sling around my neck.
At this moment, crisp instructions could be heard from time to time at the five-person dining table.
" Kanao, eat eggplant!"
"Even the meat should be eaten with a sandwich!"
Following Shinobu Kocho's instructions, a little girl with a single ponytail methodically carried out the task of eating.
Teiichi sat to the side, quietly watching the scene unfold before him.
Although he knew what Kanao met Tanjiro by reading the original work in his previous life, Teiichi was still somewhat surprised when he actually met her.
The current Kanao Tsuyuri more taciturn and more reliant on others' instructions than she was at the beginning of the main story.
Now when they call for dinner, they really mean dinner; it's just dinner. This forced Kanao Shinobu Kocho to ask Kanao to order some side dishes halfway through the meal.
Watching Kanao eat step by step as instructed by Shinobu Kocho, Teiichi asked curiously:
When was Kanao found?
"Found?" Shinobu Kocho looked at Teiichi with a puzzled expression.
Realizing he had overlooked the Teiichi, he changed his story.
"Uh... no, I meant when did you bring it back?"
Shinobu Kocho glanced at Kobayashi Kanon, Teiichi Kanon for Kanao knowing about Kanon, and said indifferently:
"What, are you curious?"
"Uh... just a little bit."
"A while before you arrived, I suppose." After saying this, Shinobu Kocho glanced at Teiichi, seemingly afraid Teiichi Kanao was an idiot, and continued explaining:
"This child's life used to be very tragic. Because her family was poor, her parents sold her to human traffickers. A while ago, my sister and I saw her walking on the street. At that time, she was being led by a rope by the traffickers, and then we bought her from them."
At this point, Shinobu Kocho's tone was filled with anger and dissatisfaction. "That human trafficker didn't treat Kanao a human being at all! Who leads someone by a rope? I shouldn't have given him the money in the first place; I should have just run away with Kanao."
After venting her frustrations, Shinobu Kocho continued to explain Kanao's situation to Teiichi:
Because of her past experiences, Kanao become very taciturn. She's not stupid, she just doesn't know how to make decisions when faced with choices.
After saying that, Shinobu Kocho looked at Kanao and said:
" Kanao, take out the coin."
Kanao put down her chopsticks and took a coin from her pocket. Shinobu Kocho pointed at the coin and continued:
"This is a coin my sister gave to Kanao, so that when Kanao faces a choice, she can flip the coin to decide what to do."
Teiichi nodded upon seeing the coin. "Haven't you thought about how to change her, to make her more confident and independent?"
"She's a normal person now, she just doesn't know how to choose!"
Shinobu Kocho first refuted Teiichi's statement, and then continued:
"We want to too! But I can't do anything about her. Maybe my older sister could help, but she's a Pillar now, she doesn't have time to deal with Kanao!"
"Why..."
After saying this, Shinobu Kocho sighed deeply again. Her eyes revealed deep worry and helplessness, as if she was thinking about how to help Kanao out of the shadows and rediscover herself.
After hearing Shinobu Kocho's words, Teiichi frowned.
"Your sister is Zhu?"
Shinobu Kocho raised her head slightly, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes, and said with a touch of smugness:
"Yeah, unlike you. We've both been in the team for two years, but you're still only at Tsuchinoto Rank, while I was already at Hinoe Rank after only one year, a level higher than you!"
Teiichi Shinobu Kocho's teasing, Teiichi frowned and continued to ask:
How old is your sister now?
Seeing Teiichi's serious expression, Shinobu Kocho also stopped joking and answered with a puzzled look:
"You're 16 now, you'll be 17 next year. What's wrong? Why are you asking this?"
Suddenly, Shinobu Kocho seemed to realize something. Her eyes widened, and she said with a hint of anger:
"You're not thinking of making a move on my sister, are you? Let me tell you, my sister is a pillar now, you..."
Teiichi had no time to pay attention to Shinobu Kocho's misunderstanding and incessant chatter; his mind was racing.
In the original story Kanae Kocho died at the age of 17, encountering Doma while on a mission and tragically perishing. Now, Kanae only 16, and she must find a way to change this fate.
but.
Regardless of whether I can defeat Doma right now.
Even if I could win, how could I change that?
Does that mean I have to follow Kanae around for a whole year?
Stop joking, okay?!
This doesn't seem very plausible at all!
But what if I don't stay by your side?
Just as he was lost in thought, a white Kasugai Crow suddenly flew into the restaurant. Its arrival interrupted Teiichi's thoughts, and he looked up at the unexpected Kasugai Crow.
Why are you here?
White Feather found a suitable spot to stop and shouted.
" Kato Teiichi, my Oyakata-sama has ordered me to inquire why you were injured. Did you encounter some kind of ghost?"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall couldn't help but cast curious glances at them.
After scanning the hall Teiichi his gaze, Ding Yi slowly began to speak.
"I met him there before..."
" Lower Rank Three "
"..."