"Takeo-san? Do you have a mission?"
Senjurō asked curiously as he stepped out with a tray of tea and sweets, seeing that Takeo had already put on his haori and picked up his pack, clearly ready to depart.
Takeo nodded. "I already sent my crow to request a mission for me."
"You're not continuing your training?"
"I've already trained as much as I can here. Staying longer won't help me improve."
Kyojuro had left two days ago to carry out a mission. Technically, he could've stayed behind a few more days to continue mentoring his Tsuguko, but perhaps he trusted Takeo's current strength—or maybe the mission had been too urgent. Either way, he chose to go.
Takeo staying behind at the Rengoku estate to continue training alone didn't seem productive anymore. More importantly, a certain drunkard hanging around the estate had been getting on his nerves lately, adding to his frustration.
The birth of the new Mist Hashira had conveniently given Takeo a reason to leave.
His peer—someone from his own generation—had already become a Hashira, while he remained stagnant. At most, his rank had jumped two levels, from Mizunoto to Kanoe, thanks to his involvement in the last mission.
But in the face of the ten total ranks within the Corps, jumping two steps didn't feel like much of a difference.
Well… except that the pay was slightly better.
Takeo wanted to continue slaying demons—continue tracking down Kibutsuji Muzan. At the same time, he was unwilling to fall behind.
He wanted to become a Hashira as soon as possible.
So, he couldn't afford to stay here any longer.
Hearing this, Senjurō didn't say anything more. He personally walked Takeo to the gate and, just like he always did with his older brother, called out as Takeo left:
"Take care out there!"
"Yeah."
Takeo didn't look back. He just waved behind him and disappeared around the corner.
...
Before Takeo became a Demon Slayer, there were eight active Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps.
It was said that, excluding the original generation that first created the Breathing Techniques, this was the strongest lineup in history.
In earlier generations, it had been rare to have all nine Hashira positions filled at once. Often, when someone was newly promoted, another would retire—or worse, be killed by demons.
When no skilled candidates were available among the Kinoe-ranked swordsmen to take their place, vacancies remained.
At the worst point, there had been as few as three or five Hashira in a single generation.
Only in this generation had there been a full eight active Hashira who had all held their positions for a considerable time—none retiring, and none dying in battle.
Now that the ninth Hashira had emerged, the Demon Slayer Corps had reached its strongest peak since the generation that first created the Breathing Techniques.
Takeo felt this marked a turning point—the Corps now had the strength to truly challenge Kibutsuji Muzan.
Once the main character arrived, the final countdown for demons and the fate of the Demon Slayer Corps would begin.
"…But now that all the Hashira are in place, even if I manage to slay a member of the Twelve Kizuki, can I still become a Hashira?"
As he walked, Takeo pondered this question.
The number of Hashira had always been set at nine. According to tradition, this was because the kanji for "Hashira" (柱) has nine strokes.
Under normal circumstances, nine was the maximum—rarely could the Corps find enough swordsmen capable of reaching the level of Hashira.
Takeo had once looked through the Rengoku family's scrolls and records, but found no precedent or guidance for what to do if someone with Hashira-level strength emerged beyond the existing nine.
After all, even gathering nine of them had always been an incredible feat. Expecting more than that was practically impossible.
So naturally, the Rengoku records had nothing to say about such a scenario.
"…Whatever. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Let's focus on the mission first."
Takeo looked up at the sky.
His Kasugai Crow, Kotaro, had already returned from its flight with a new assignment. Takeo caught him gently in his hand and quickly learned the details of his next destination:
Mito.
…
Mito, during this era of Japan, was still considered one of the relatively large cities.
While not among the major urban centers, it was still quite prosperous—at least enough to show signs of early modernization.
You might wonder why Takeo thought so.
It was because he had arrived here via the Mito Line, the railway that connected Mito to Tokyo, completing the journey in less than a day.
Railway development often brings prosperity to cities, and Mito was no exception.
All around him were people dressed in refined clothing—some even wearing formal Western-style suits—giving Takeo a strong sense of déjà vu.
However, having already seen Tokyo in this era, the relatively less advanced Mito didn't leave much of an impression on him.
After all, someone who had lived in modern society wasn't likely to be awestruck by scenes from the past.
So, after taking a brief look around, Takeo quickly got his bearings and set off toward his destination.
Takeo's destination this time was near Kairakuen in Mito.
It was a well-known local attraction located on a hill. Once at the top, one could enjoy a wide view of the forests below and the distant Lake Senba.
Because of its beautiful scenery, many scholars, poets, and well-to-do individuals often chose to visit during holidays to admire the blossoms, drink, or go picnicking.
And spring—right now—was the peak season for such picnics.
However, not long ago, someone had gone missing in the area. The first was an unpopular scholar, so his disappearance initially drew little attention. But soon after, another scholar vanished, and only then did the Demon Slayer Corps begin to take notice.
It had been a month since the first incident. In that time, there had been a total of four disappearances. The local authorities had no leads and couldn't find any of the missing.
The Demon Slayer Corps suspected that a demon was involved.
Since Takeo was already in Tokyo and could reach Mito quickly by train, the mission had been assigned to him.
"All four missing individuals were scholars, it seems."
Takeo pondered the details the Corps had provided. After asking around the area, he confirmed this to be true.
All four victims were fairly young—the oldest was only twenty-nine, and the youngest had just turned twenty-one.
They shared no similarities in appearance, height, features, or age.
The only thing they had in common was that they were all writers contributing to local newspapers or publishing houses.
But even then, their work had nothing in common.
One of them was more like a reporter, jotting down interesting things he saw and sending them to the newspaper.
Two were third-rate novelists who wrote cliché love stories full of romance and sentimentality.
The last one specialized in horror—more specifically, niche tales resembling urban legends and local folklore.
None of them were famous, and they visited Kairakuen at different times. However, they all went missing at night.
"Hm… well, the place does get pretty lively in the evening."
Takeo glanced at the streetlamps as he pondered.
The main roads in the city were lined with electric streetlights. Every household had access to electric lights, and even the upper floors of traditional-style buildings had bulbs hanging.
At night, the city glowed almost as bright as daytime.
In ancient times, it was rare for people to witness such sights, and Mito's development had only taken off in the last few years. That's why many scholars and writers would choose to go up the mountain at night to enjoy the view.
Some would sketch what they saw, others would record it in writing—and perhaps it was exactly because of that habit that demons lurking in the shadows found their opportunity.
"But if it's specifically targeting writers…"
Takeo thought it over for a moment—and then suddenly came up with an idea.
However, before he could put it into action, he suddenly heard someone calling out to him:
"Hey! Kamado-nii!!"
"?"
Turning toward the voice, Takeo spotted a small child bouncing through the crowd.
Miura… Miura Ichirō?
Takeo looked at the familiar figure in surprise and immediately remembered who he was.
It was the child of that wealthy merchant family—the very household that had given him work back when he first crawled out of that grave.
Miura Ichirō.
_________
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