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Of course, there was no black pork at home.
Sakonji Urokodaki stroked Haruto's head, put his hands in his sleeves, and ran up the mountain like a fluttering blue butterfly.
The way he tucked his hands into his sleeves looked a bit familiar, reminding Haruto of his master, who was far away in Swordsmith Village.
His master also liked to tuck his hands into the sleeves under his armpits, but he wasn't as nimble when he ran.
As noon approached, Sabito set up the stove, Giyuu prepared the firewood, and Makomo used iron tongs to pull out roasted chestnuts from the stove, peeled them, and popped them into Haruto's mouth.
The chestnuts in early winter were dense and sweet.
There were two chestnut trees behind the house, and when the season came, chestnut burrs would clatter to the ground.
It was unclear which wild boar hiding in the mountain hollow had bad luck, but a blue haori appeared on the mountain path, carrying a dark wild boar on his back.
Wild boar wasn't particularly delicious at this time of year.
Before the cold weather, they would eat a lot of food to accumulate fat and then spend the winter in a sunny, sheltered mountain hollow.
If the wild boar, unexpectedly dragged out of its den and slaughtered, had seen Haruto's slightly disdainful look, it probably would have been so angry it would have charged him, sending him sprawling.
Sakonji Urokodaki threw the wild boar, estimated to weigh about three hundred catties, to the ground, and skillfully bled it, boiled water, removed its hair, and gutted it.
The lively pork feast left the patient Haruto completely satisfied, but it made Makomo increasingly worried.
She was leaving for Fujikasane Mountain tomorrow to participate in the Final Selection, and her two unreliable senior brothers had packed two pig trotters in her bag.
Last year's selection was still vivid in her memory; that fellow Sabito had practically killed all the demons on the mountain.
Without that Hand Demon as a roadblock, the other evil demons would be no match for Makomo's skill.
"Here."
Before carrying Haruto back to the wooden cabin, Sabito handed a string of prayer beads to Makomo.
For the first time, the young man did not look directly into the eyes of the person he was talking to; shyness crept up to his ears, dyeing his earlobes the same fleshy pink as his long hair.
Makomo took the prayer beads; they were a string of beautiful, clear agate beads with blue flowers.
"What are they doing?"
Giyuu squatted with his legs hugged in front of the stretcher, secretly revealing half of a poker face: "Such a strange atmosphere."
His voice wasn't quiet, and Sabito's ears turned even redder.
He quickly turned around: "Go, go, go."
Haruto looked at Giyuu, speechless.
Such a beautiful scene, ruined by his one sentence...
After Makomo left, Haruto suddenly felt Mt. Sagiri become quiet.
Sabito and Giyuu still needed to train on the mountain every day or go out on missions.
Every morning when the sun rose, Sabito would push Haruto outside, cover him with a layer of clothing, and cover his face with a towel.
Mr. Takanashi was not a talkative person; more often, he just sat there, quietly watching the mist drift through the mountains.
He heard that he was preparing to resign from his position as Water Pillar, just like Shinjuro Rengoku; he was getting a bit old.
"The Demon Slayer Corps has been severely short of Pillars these past few years," he told Haruto.
"A few years ago, it was the Thunder Pillar, Kuwajima Jigoro; after he lost a leg, he could only use a cane.
He is a user of Thunder Breathing, and in terms of speed, he has many similarities with Breath of the Stars.
If you have time, you can visit him in Peach Mountain."
Visiting others would have to wait until he was fully recovered; it was impossible while Haruto was still a bandaged monster lying in bed.
The Kakushi would deliver medicine every few days, and this time, when the time came, two slender figures appeared at the foot of the mountain.
Sakonji tilted his head to look; they were two young girls who looked somewhat similar.
"Excuse me, is this Mr. Takanashi's residence?"
They stopped on the mountain path, too intimidated to approach by Sakonji Urokodaki, who wore a large tengu mask.
"Yes," Sakonji nodded.
"Then, may I ask…"
Kanae Kocho looked around; besides this strange old man and the strange creature lying on a bed to the side, she did not see Mr. Takanashi.
The palm of Kochou Shinobu's hand was slightly sweaty; she was a little nervous.
"..."
The strange old man walked over to the strange creature and pulled off the towel covering his head—
Mr. Takanashi, who had saved the Butterfly Sisters' lives and was now wrapped like a mummy, groggily raised his head: "Hmm? Is it time to eat?"
...Well, he was quite different from the dashing, white-haired young man she had met before.
"Hoh!" Kochou Shinobu covered her mouth and gasped softly: "Mr. Takanashi…"
The white-haired young man's body was tightly wrapped in bandages; the only exposed skin was his neck, which was now covered in frightful purplish-blue bruises.
Haruto was startled: "Why are you here?"
He clearly remembered the two sisters he had saved in Takinogawa Village more than half a month ago, before killing Yamai.
The older sister had a very rare pair of pink eyes, while the younger sister's eyes sparkled like amethysts.
The older girl took off her backpack, placed it at her feet, and bowed her head: "Please forgive our abrupt visit.
I am Kanae Kocho, and this is my younger sister, Kochou Shinobu."
The amethyst-eyed girl looked up at Haruto, then quickly lowered her head to stare at her feet.
"After the last incident, because we were both immersed in grief, we couldn't properly thank Mr. Takanashi... This time, we came specifically to express our gratitude."
Kanae's voice was very gentle and pleasant to listen to, like a mountain spring flowing with melting snow in early spring.
She took out the items from her backpack, which were the replacement medicines that should have been delivered by the Kakushi: "After inquiring with the Kakushi, we took on the task of delivering the medicine."
"Thank you for your trouble; the mountain path must have been very difficult to traverse."
"It is we who should thank you.
If you had not appeared in time, perhaps both of us sisters would have been devoured by demons."
"Please give these medicines to Mr. Urokodaki.
Thank you."
Haruto noticed their hesitation and smiled softly: "This injury has nothing to do with that attack; it happened later."
Sakonji Urokodaki stepped forward, intending to take the medicine basket, but Kanae shook her head: "My sister and I grew up in a pharmacy; we are very skilled at changing dressings.
This time, please allow us to change your dressings."
She looked at the amount of medicine in the basket and suddenly choked up: "I originally thought these were many days' worth..."
Kochou Shinobu did not speak, but stubbornly lifted her face.
With that said, Haruto had no reason to refuse.
Fortunately, the fracture was almost healed, and only the almost-closed blood holes needed medication.
Although his body was covered in bruises, that was only because the fracture made it look severe.
The Butterfly Sisters skillfully removed the bandages and applied the medicine, showing that they had often helped in the pharmacy before.
Even with their nimble hands, it still took a lot of effort to change all of Haruto's dressings.
After tidying up the medical waste, the girls exchanged glances, looking a little nervous.
"It's getting late.
If you have something to say and don't say it soon..."
Haruto squinted at the approaching midday sun and, under the nervous gaze of the Butterfly Sisters, slowly said: "I'm going to keep you for lunch."
Sakonji Urokodaki had already gotten up and gone into the house; Sabito and Giyuu should be back soon, and more food needed to be prepared for lunch today.
"We inquired with the Demon Slayer Corps about demon hunting..." Kanae let out a soft breath.
"Please teach us how to hunt demons!"
Kochou Shinobu spoke for the first time; her words were filled with anger towards the evil demons, which made the girl's voice very firm and made her image distinctly different from her sister's.
The elder was like gentle flowing water, her affection sincere.
The younger was like a drawn blade, sharp and irresistible.