"How can I kill a demon?"
"Decapitate it with a nichirin blade, or expose it to sunlight."
Sanemi didn't want to see his mother beheaded, so he carried his frail mother on his back and staggered out of the house.
Genya waited in the yard for a long time, watching many people dressed in the same clothes as Haruto's inner wear come in.
"Mr. Haruto."
A familiar Kakushi bowed to Haruto: "Are you feeling better?"
"Thanks to you, I've fully recovered."
Genya watched them exchange pleasantries, watched the Kakushi clean the Shinazugawa house, and collect the bodies of his younger siblings.
Where is big brother? Why hasn't he returned yet?
The sun had been up for a long time.
The white-haired swordsman's parrot flew in from outside, flapping its wings—"Eh?"
Genya heard the boy utter a very confused question.
Haruto looked back at the rooster-haired boy, who stood up nervously.
"Come here," Haruto beckoned to him.
Though referred to as a boy, he was still a child; if not for his spiky hairstyle, Sanemi would have looked even smaller.
"...Watching Mother painfully turn to dust before me, I thought more than once that perhaps I should just let her go.
But you were right, my brother and I have already experienced what it means to lose our family, and there's no reason to make others suffer the same pain."
Sora landed on Haruto's shoulder, relaying the message Sanemi had left.
"I wasn't there when my younger siblings were killed, and I even witnessed Mother's death with my own eyes.
I truly don't know what face to show Genya when I return; my entire life will be steeped in regret over this matter.
So I've thought about it for a long time, sir.
I've decided to leave and not return, to use the rudimentary demon-slaying knowledge you taught me to take revenge on the evil demons who turned my beautiful family into this.
Genya is a good child; he might throw a tantrum, but he has always been a good child.
If you don't mind, please take him with you.
Of course, if you're too busy, we still have an uncle..."
Genya was thunderstruck, muttering to himself: "What nonsense, what utter rubbish!"
He forcefully threw the tightly clutched slingshot to the ground and roared: "You're going to slay demons, what are you even?!"
Haruto stroked Sora's head, though his own brain was throbbing slightly.
There was no information feedback from Sanemi anywhere; he must have left a long time ago.
What was this? Entrusting a child? It felt more like taking advantage of his kindness, didn't it?
Genya rushed out of the house like a gust of wind, running wildly around.
"Go follow him."
Haruto nodded at Sora, and the white-feathered parrot flew off to chase Genya.
Haruto pushed open the wooden door and entered the house; the bloodstains had already been cleaned.
"Miss Yuko," he called out to a Kakushi he knew, who was holding a logbook and recording something.
Standing beside her was a government official from Kyobashi District who had just arrived, confirming relevant matters with her.
"What is this family called?"
"Shinazugawa," Taifu Yuko replied.
The two surviving children, the older one was called Sanemi Shinazugawa, and the rooster-haired one was called Shinazugawa Genya.
Haruto rubbed his chin: "Do they have an uncle?"
It was too inconvenient to have such young children around; he had no time to supervise small children during his daily missions.
"They used to," the official replied.
"Used to?"
"The Shinazugawa family did have a relative once, but he passed away three years ago," the official said. "His son sold the nearby house and moved somewhere unknown."
Doesn't that mean... Shinazugawa Genya has nowhere to go?
If Haruto didn't take him, the kid would become a true orphan, wandering through cities and towns.
Ouch! Haruto angrily punched the wall.
This Sanemi Shinazugawa, if he ever caught him, he'd pull out all his white hair!
Haruto said goodbye to Miss Yuko and walked towards Sora's location.
Genya hadn't gone far. In an open space outside the residential area, Haruto saw the rooster-haired boy curled up on the ground.
Many semi-dried bloodstains were scattered around him; they were Sanemi's.
He had curled himself into a ball, as if his big brother was still by his side, sleeping peacefully... Mt. Sagiri or Swordsmith Village, Haruto hesitated for a long time.
Although Master Godo was old, he still insisted on fighting on the front lines of sword forging. If he were to take care of another half-grown child, Haruto worried that his energy wouldn't keep up.
Moreover, Genya had clearly asked him if he wanted to learn demon-slaying methods like Haruto, and although he didn't say it aloud, Haruto could tell that he still wanted to do the same thing as his big brother.
While Master Godo was good at training people, he wasn't a professional cultivator, so he might not be able to teach him about Breathing Technique very well.
Haruto considered it for a while before deciding to leave Genya on Mt. Sagiri.
Genya was not talkative and often wore an unapproachable expression.
But he was still a child after all, and his hair would bristle if Sabito ruffled it a few times.
"So what are you now?" Makomo applied medicine to Genya's facial wounds: "His big brother?"
Genya quickly glanced at Haruto: "No..."
"Of course not," Haruto struggled to tear at the rock-hard smoked pork, chewing with a crunching sound: "I'm his dad, come on kid, call me dad!"
Genya, who had been tapped on the head with the smoked pork, didn't get angry; he just snorted with a raised nose.
As long as it didn't involve his runaway big brother, he wouldn't take anything anyone said to heart.
So, every day, a little one was added to the team going up the mountain; everyone carried rocks, but he went empty-handed.
"I don't seem to be able to use Water Breathing."
Genya, who had grown a bit taller, held Giyuu's old sword and said to Haruto with great frustration: "Whether it's Flame Breathing or Water Breathing, it's all the same to me."
Genya's inability to learn Breathing Technique surprised Haruto.
Because Water Breathing is the easiest of all styles to master; if he couldn't even learn Water Breathing, he was basically saying goodbye to being a Demon Slayer Swordsmen.
"It's alright, even without..."
He was about to say something to comfort Genya when a long-unseen bullet screen suddenly flashed across his vision.
"Wow, long time no see, another chapter before the main story!"
"It's Haruto! White-haired little husband, come here and let me kiss you—"
"How old is Star Pillar now? Why is he so tall?"
"16? Or was it 17? Genya has already arrived at Mt. Sagiri, so it should be after the Shinazugawa family's demise."
"The Shinazugawa family's bloodline is truly amazing; Sanemi is the Rolls-Royce among rare blood, and Genya is a Ghoul Eater."
"It's a pity only two are left alive; I wonder if those younger siblings had any innate abilities."
Wait.
Haruto raised an eyebrow, what did they mean by... Ghoul Eater?