Returning to the shrine with wisteria in full bloom, Haruto saw a sea of people.
The swordsmen who had successfully passed the Demon Slayer Corps selection chatted amongst themselves, their faces mostly showing the relief of surviving a disaster.
Sabito stood with his arms crossed under the torii gate, his broken nichirin blade still in its sheath, hanging dutifully at his waist.
Tomioka Giyu stood beside him. After being looked after by Murata, he had regained consciousness after half a day and found Haruto and Sabito, who were teaming up to clear monsters, and joined the fight without a word.
"This is my fellow disciple, Tomioka Giyu."
Sabito had quietly told Haruto, "Don't let him fool you; he's a kid who likes to put on a grumpy face, but he's actually quite timid."
Upon hearing that Sabito had almost been killed by the Hand Demon, Tomioka Giyu's face went pale.
To lessen the burden on Sabito, who held a broken blade, the black-haired boy fought with all his might.
At this moment, they watched Haruto frown as he sought out the Ubuyashiki Family's guide to argue with him—
"I say, isn't it a bit much for a demon that's survived over 40 years to appear in the selection?
Don't you inspect every year? A creature that big staying in the mountains for 40 years, do you know how many infinitely promising youths he's devoured?"
The guide's expression was very solemn: "We are very sorry. Although we did conduct detailed inspections…"
"Do you know how much stamina it takes to stay in a mountain like this every day? Do you know what stamina means to a swordsman?"
"We are very sorry…"
"I am very sorry, Haruto."
A gentle voice, like a breeze, suddenly came from beside him.
Haruto turned around, and before him stood a handsome young man with long black hair.
He had a pair of beautiful purple eyes, the only flaw being some terrifying scars around his left eye.
Yet, even so, a gentle smile remained on his face: "It's been a long time. How is Godo-sensei?"
The young man waved his hand, and the guide bowed to him before retreating.
It was Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the current Master of the Demon Slayer Corps, only 15 years old. Haruto knew him.
Although their statuses were vastly different, they were similar in age and had met several times in the Swordsmith Village.
The first time they met, Kagaya, then 6 years old, had already been Master for two years. Though his face still held a childish innocence, his words and actions were already very dignified and graceful.
"Ubuyashiki…" Haruto opened his mouth, intending to call him by his usual title, but then remembered he had passed the Demon Slayer Corps selection, and changed his address: "Master, my Master is doing well."
The last time he saw him was two or three years ago, when Kagaya's face didn't yet have those scars.
By the time these scars covered his entire face… Haruto lowered his eyes, no longer wanting to think about it.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's bright eyes flickered, and the smile on his face grew even gentler.
"If you don't mind, would you like to talk inside?" He gestured towards the shrine: "You haven't met my wife, have you? Her name is Amane, and she's the daughter of a shrine maiden family."
Of course, of course.
Only by marrying into a shrine maiden family could the Ubuyashiki children delay the curse of their fate, barely extending their lifespan to 30 years.
This was… the destiny of the Ubuyashiki Family, the punishment from the gods for the Ubuyashiki lineage giving birth to Kibutsuji Muzan.
Haruto's lips moved, and in the end, he could only nod.
"Urokodaki-sensei, Tomioka-sensei, please come with us."
The two fox-masked youths exchanged glances, then nodded, touching their toes together.
Amane, the daughter of the shrine maiden family, was a very beautiful and gentle young woman. She had married Kagaya two years prior, when he was 13, and had given birth to twin daughters for him.
Haruto, Sabito, and Giyu knelt on the smooth floor, while Amane served them tea.
The latter two seemed a bit uncomfortable; they didn't understand why the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps would appear here for what was just a Final Selection, and even invite them specifically.
Unlike Sabito and Giyu's discomfort, Haruto seemed a bit emotional.
Damn it, they were less than a year apart in age, so why did Ubuyashiki have a wife and daughters, while he, after so many years of training, couldn't even find an age-appropriate girl?
Don't even mention the village; it was full of Fire Men obsessed with ore and charcoal furnaces. Even coming out for the selection, all he met were boys like Sabito and Giyu… Haruto stared resentfully at the teacup in front of him, gritted his molars, and said, "I want to eat."
Sabito and Giyu both froze.
To say 'I want to eat' when meeting the Master?
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, however, didn't mind at all; he even curved the corners of his eyes into a "I knew this would happen" smile.
"Amane, I apologize for the trouble."
Amane Ubuyashiki went to prepare food, while Kagaya sat cross-legged on a cushion, first looking at the two uneasy fox-masked youths.
"How is Urokodaki-sensei's health?"
Sabito straightened his back and answered earnestly, "Master is in very good health. He's even still going out on demon-slaying missions recently."
"Thanks to him, the Mt. Sagiri area is so safe. And thanks to him, he has cultivated two such excellent swordsmen as yourselves. Urokodaki-sensei is not only an excellent Hashira but also an excellent cultivator."
Haruto perked up his ears. A cultivator? He needed an excellent cultivator to help him identify and fix shortcomings in his training path.
"Master would be very happy to hear your praise."
Sabito smiled softly, his eyes very similar to Kagaya's, both carrying a gentle light.
"Later, you can have your measurements taken at the same spot as before and receive your Demon Slayer Corps uniforms.
Next, you will receive 'Tamahagane,' the material for forging nichirin blades. Your personal nichirin blades will be forged within ten to fifteen days and delivered to you.
Haruto, I'm sure you're already familiar with this."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked at Haruto, his eyes curving into a smile.
"Who will be assigned to forge my nichirin blade?" Haruto asked.
"Who do you hope it will be?"
"Just as long as it's not Mr. Haganezuka," Haruto replied, "I don't want to be chased by him with a kitchen knife after a major battle…"
He thought of that eccentric swordsmith with wind chimes hanging from his hat and his powerful muscles, and couldn't help but shiver.
Kagaya chuckled, his bright smile causing Amane, who had just entered the room, to momentarily lose herself in thought.
"The meal has arrived."
Behind her followed two Ubuyashiki Family servants, each carrying heavy food boxes.
"We haven't yet asked about your appetites," Amane said with an apologetic smile, placing two exquisite food boxes in front of Sabito and Giyu.
"No need to trouble yourself, Madam, this will be fine."
Sabito looked at the generous portion of food in the box, then glanced at the nearly twenty boxes in the servants' hands, and quickly waved his hand: "These are too much; there's no way we could eat all of this."
Tomioka Giyu's face also showed panic for the first time: "One box is enough."
Amane breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I was worried I might have prepared too little."
Under the shocked gazes of Sabito and Giyu, she placed all twenty food boxes next to Haruto.
Twenty boxes!
Full of grilled eel and yellow rice!
The white-haired young man picked up his chopsticks and, with reverence, clasped his hands together over the food: "I'm going to eat."
In the dazed, wide eyes of the two fox-masked youths, box after box of meals was devoured, the eel and yellow rice seemingly falling into a bottomless black hole… Haruto treated his food with reverence and focus, completely ignoring the renewed stream of comments.
"Hashira of Food famous scene, reserved!"
"Yay, it's the handsome 15-year-old Master!"
"LOL, Sabito and Giyu were so scared they turned into their original drawings."
"I hope the two young men know that Master probably only called them here so Haruto could have a full meal, hahahaha…"