At the foot of Mt. Sagiri, Genya came out of the house and, seeing the dim sky, went to help Makomo prepare dinner.
After living here with a group of Water Breathing swordsmen for almost two years, Genya had changed from the scowling, spiky-haired boy he once was to someone a little more gentle.
Of course, just like his still-spiky hair, he would still get angry when the time called for it.
In the courtyard, there were only Makomo and Giyuu. Sabito was on a mission, and Urokodaki had gone to headquarters to hand over his current work.
Each Pillar has their own patrol area, and the Demon Slayer Corps is currently in desperate need of Pillars. Even if he was handing over his duties to retire, he would likely still have to maintain patrols for a period of time.
Genya looked left and right, then quietly asked Makomo, "Where's Teacher?"
"Haruto-bro went into the mountains to train. The stars are very bright tonight."
Every so often, Haruto would come to the mountaintop, just like the great mountains of the Swordsmith Village. The wilderness at night always brought him inspiration.
He lay down on the grassy meadow as usual. The autumn night meadow always carried a hint of dampness, but he didn't mind. He took a few deep breaths of the grass's scent, then closed his eyes to commune with the stars.
He lay carelessly in the grass because he had enough confidence in the safety of Mt. Sagiri.
Under the coverage of his Star Perception, no demon could bypass the monitoring of the stars and enter Mt. Sagiri.
More than half a year had passed since he returned from Tamayo's residence in Asakusa, Tokyo. He had been researching how to integrate his blood advantage into the Breath of the Stars techniques.
Tamayo was a very good person to exchange ideas with; she was a sufficiently excellent healer. If not for being a demon, she could have even studied modern medicine in this century and become a medical giant.
Haruto often communicated with her through Sora. Tamayo needed his blood for research, and sometimes Haruto would send her an extra vial for consumption.
Although Tamayo didn't say it, she was very interested in the feeling of fragmented time impacting her brain.
In return for the blood, Tamayo would also occasionally send back some things—her own flesh, made into pills, for Genya in case of emergency.
After Tamayo proposed making Haruto's blood into an enhancement agent, Haruto began to delve into breathing techniques.
In addition to the four techniques he originally mastered, he had developed two more sword techniques within half a year.
He raised his palm to the night sky, and on his fair palm were crisscrossing scars.
Oh, the drawback of blood ability users is like this; they always end up getting themselves covered in wounds.
He had tried it during his battles over the past six months: when fighting an enemy, he would coat his nichirin blade with his fresh blood.
Just like enchanting a weapon, the damage caused by the nichirin blade could allow some of his blood to enter the demon's body.
However, because the amount of blood coated on the blade was too little, the effect was not as good as when he fought Yamai.
Sigh, letting go of his obsession with the techniques, Haruto decided not to think about anything, just quietly watching the sky above.
The autumn wind in the wilderness was so quiet, cool and refreshing as it brushed over the stray hairs on his head.
All that was left was his own strong heartbeat and his soft singing, suppressed in his throat.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you."
Today was his birthday; after today, he would be seventeen.
Seventeen years old, no longer a child.
Haruto sat up and rubbed his eyes, then raised his hand to summon Sora… The last time he saw Kagaya Ubuyashiki was the last time.
In the courtyard of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Kagaya was playing with his two daughters, while Amane sat to the side, cradling her large belly, a faint smile on her face.
"Hinaki, Nichika, say 'Uncle'."
The two girls looked very similar; they wore hair clips Haruto had given them, one with a red knot and one with a yellow knot.
At two years old, they had just learned to toddle, and their speech wasn't very clear, so they could only clumsily say, "Un-un-cle."
Haruto, who had walked over with a smile, pulled a long face: "What does that mean? I haven't even held a girl's hand yet, so how did I become an uncle?"
"If you want them to call you 'Brother', I don't mind either," Kagaya replied calmly.
"…" Haruto glanced at him: "Taking advantage of me?"
Kagaya raised an eyebrow and changed the subject: "How did you get taller again?"
Haruto measured the scars on his face with his gaze, sighing inwardly.
He was constantly growing, while Kagaya's body was getting worse year by year.
Two teenagers of similar age, one was growing, while the other was heading towards death.
Haruto had come to fulfill a promise.
Around this time last year, Kagaya and Haruto made a pact that after one year, he would return to headquarters to be promoted to Pillar.
"You're finally not procrastinating today?"
"If procrastinating works." Haruto smiled helplessly, his lips curving upward: "Besides, some things always have to be done by someone."
"There's too great a shortage of Pillars. Sabito and Giyuu from Mt. Sagiri are growing very fast, but they still need the experience of fifty demons or one of the Twelve Kizuki to truly stand on their own."
"Wuwuwu, the Demon Slayer Corps at this time is really in a difficult situation."
"Luckily there's Stone Pillar-bro and Star Pillar-bro, otherwise there would really be a generational gap between the old and new generations."
Haruto rejected Kagaya's suggestion to hold a Pillar Meeting for him: "Let the seniors save their strength to subjugate demons." He gently rubbed Hinaki and Nichika's little heads, one with each hand: "Grow up quickly, oh, when you grow up you can…"
Kagaya's eyes flickered as he looked at Haruto.
"When you grow up, you can go to Kagoshima to play. Uncle went last month, and there were all big crabs and lobsters as thick as arms. The sea urchins on the beach grew with their claws out, and when you opened them up, they were golden yellow and tasted so good spread over soy sauce rice…"
Hinaki and Nichika didn't know what Kagoshima was, but they knew about crabs. The two little girls drooled into Haruto's ears with "yiyayiya" sounds, spreading their palms by their faces to imitate crabs walking sideways.
"And also, also, there were seals on the reefs! Do you know seals? They clap their bellies when they call…"
Kagaya and Amane exchanged glances, both breaking into brilliant smiles.
Let it end. Let it end in this generation. Don't leave the demons to Hinaki and Nichika anymore.
Let them also go to the beach in summer and see snow in winter like normal children, instead of having their skies obscured by Kibutsuji Muzan's dark clouds like them.
As noon approached, Hinaki and Nichika went for their naps, and Haruto put on his haori, preparing to leave.
Amane stood up, supporting her waist, her movements a little difficult.
"Aren't you staying for a meal before you go?"
"I won't trouble you." The white-haired young man shook his head: "The current selection ends today, right?"
Kagaya looked at the calendar hanging on the wall: "That's right. Why, do you know anyone?"
"Hmm." Haruto nodded gently: "Sort of."
The Butterfly Sisters had both participated in this year's selection.