Without paying any attention to the other three idiots still "casting spells," Naofumi Iwatani reliably walked over to Gyomei Himejima and placed the Max Potion in his hand.
"Try it. I don't know if it'll really work, but…"
"To survive is a good thing."
"I understand." Gyomei also accepted the Max Potion handed to him by Naofumi and placed it into his mouth.
While chewing, the potion's taste wasn't unpleasant—in fact, it was surprisingly decent.
Once swallowed, Gyomei could clearly feel a surge of life force radiating from his throat to his stomach, quickly spreading throughout his body and taking effect.
Unlike the recovery from previous potions, Gyomei now noticeably felt that his body was becoming more powerful.
He even thought… he could see faint light before his eyes.
"...?!"
Gyomei instinctively raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, then saw in front of him—
a young man with black hair, holding a shield, was looking at him.
Naofumi Iwatani had a similarly confused expression.
After taking the Max Potion, Gyomei's white, blinded pupils had unexpectedly returned to normal—he could even make eye contact.
Gyomei looked at everything before him and turned his gaze toward the others.
Kairo Retsu and the other three hadn't yet noticed what was happening over here, but the sound of their "brainpower-activation ritual" allowed Gyomei to identify each of them.
As for the Demon Slayer Corps gathered nearby—
Though it was his first time seeing them with his own eyes… Gyomei still somehow felt that he could recognize who each person was.
"Meow."
Grandma Felyne pushed Kairo Retsu with a paw.
"Guildmaster, Naofumi has already solved the problem over there."
"Whaaaaat?!" Kairo Retsu finally turned around, seeing all the Demon Slayers now rushing toward Gyomei.
Even Ubuyashiki, the Master, though unmoved from his spot, was quietly shedding emotional tears.
Naofumi shrugged at the three entirely useless guys and motioned toward himself with a smirk:
"Looks like the 'Idea King'… is me."
"So it really was just a Max Potion?!" Kazuma groaned in despair.
"I literally had one in my mouth earlier! I was saving it for an emergency! If I'd just taken it sooner, we could've solved this hours ago!"
"Damn it! The spotlight got completely stolen by Mr. Shield Hero!" Joseph Joestar clenched his fist in frustration.
"Good thing I at least got the final blow on Muzan. I still had the biggest moment…"
"Ah, about that… Actually, Muzan…"
Kazuma finally remembered to bring up what happened with Muzan.
"WHAT—?!" Kairo Retsu yelled again upon hearing it.
But after straining his voice like a broken gong, he quickly lowered it and said,
"I'll talk to Ubuyashiki about this later… Kazuma, it's thanks to you."
"Wait a second—doesn't that mean the biggest spotlight got stolen by Kazuma?!"
Joseph covered his face in despair. "Oh! NOOOOO!!!"
"At least you guys all helped take down Upper Moons. I didn't even get any final kills," Naofumi said as he spread his hands.
"I barely gained any EXP…"
Even as Naofumi said that, the twitch at the corner of his mouth clearly betrayed his profits.
"Oh yeah! EXP!" Kazuma suddenly remembered he had an experience system too.
He pulled out his little card and cheered: "YEAH!!! So much EXP!!!"
"What! That means I'm already at Guildmaster-level?!"
Joseph's whole body burst with energy.
"What the hell do you mean by that?! Let's settle this right now! Don't you realize how much stronger your Hamon has gotten?! You damn protagonists!!"
Kairo Retsu shouted furiously, then turned and threw himself into Grandma Felyne's arms, sobbing:
"Grandma! These jerks are bullying me, waaahhhh!"
"No fighting~" Grandma Felyne gently patted Kairo Retsu's head.
"And, you know~ after a hunt, it's time to eat your fill! That's how everyone stays happy~"
She continued:
"I already had the Felynes bring over all the ingredients and cooking equipment…"
"A banquet… That's awesome!!" Kairo Retsu instantly perked up.
"I'll go invite all of the Demon Slayer Corps! Let's all smack some dumplings together!"
"Grandma Felyne! Can you bring the projector over too?"
Kairo Retsu asked eagerly.
"Besides feasting, of course we've gotta show everyone the original plotline!"
He immediately took off running.
"I'm gonna go ask Ubuyashiki for a place to set this up!"
After confirming that Gyomei was no longer in danger, Ubuyashiki also heard about Kairo Retsu's banquet request.
At first, he was going to arrange for some high-grade ingredients, but Kairo Retsu firmly insisted the ingredients were covered by their team.
Though helpless, Ubuyashiki couldn't win the argument and eventually agreed. He began preparations for the banquet venue—
Although he didn't quite understand why they needed a large wall, due to this, the feast would have to be held outdoors.
When the sky finally brightened, the members of the Demon Slayer Corps confirmed that the long night… had truly passed.
The warriors who had gone a full night without sleep could no longer bear the mental fatigue, and one after another collapsed into slumber...
In his sleep, Tanjiro seemed to have a dream.
In the dream, he stood in a sea of flowers. Far in the distance, a man stood with his back to him.
Tanjiro felt he couldn't catch up, but he vaguely sensed he knew who that person was.
That silhouette shone like the sun… but also carried a certain sorrow.
And when the dream ended, he seemed to hear a heartfelt voice from that person:
"Thank you."
The dream faded. Tanjiro opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling.
He sat up in bed and looked outside—it was nighttime again. But this time… the dark of night no longer carried the terror of man-eating demons.
"Big Brother!"
A voice Tanjiro had longed to hear resounded in his ears.
Nezuko had seen that her brother was awake. She rushed over and threw herself into his arms, crying.
"Nezuko… so, you really did turn back into a human, huh?"
Tanjiro couldn't hold it in either. He embraced Nezuko and wept as well.
The siblings held each other and cried for a good while—
until there came a knock at the door.
Tanjiro looked up and saw that Kairo Retsu was somehow already at the doorway, knocking on the doorframe to get his attention.
"Sorry to interrupt your touching sibling moment, but… you've been asleep for a whole day! Time to eat!"
Kairo Retsu declared boldly:
"Tonight! Grandma Felyne herself is cooking for everyone!!"
"Time for you to taste a real Hunter's meal!!! We've prepared a huge surprise for the Demon Slayer Corps!!!"