Chapter 19 I Am Not Hated
Under the shining sunlight, Aomori, Absol, and Pidgeot sat on the ground.
Tanjiro, who had come running, breathed a sigh of relief. "Aomori Big Brother, I'm so glad you're okay!"
He looked around and whispered, "What about the Demon King? Is he dead?"
Aomori shook his head and said, "He escaped."
Afterward, he took out the earrings and handed them to Tanjiro. "Thanks for these earrings; they helped me a lot."
"Really? That's great." Tanjiro took them back with a smile. The earrings were a treasured heirloom of the Kamado family, and he had hesitated for a long time before lending them to Aomori. It was a relief that they hadn't been lost.
"Aomori Big Brother, you must be hungry too. How about coming to my house for a meal? My mom makes delicious rice with soybean stew!" Tanjiro waved his hands and drew a large circle in the air, proudly suggesting.
Aomori nodded, feeling a bit hungry after nearly a day without eating. "Sure."
"Wait a moment." Aomori walked into the depths of the forest, and soon returned carrying three pheasants and a large boar the size of a human.
These unfortunate creatures had been caught in the aftermath of last night's battle.
"An extra dish."
"Oh, okay." Tanjiro nodded in surprise.
Not long after they left, another person arrived at the scene. He had a stern face and wore a coat with two different patterns. Underneath, he had a black uniform-like outfit, and a sword hung at his waist, partially concealed.
Standing where Aomori had been sitting just now, he surveyed the surroundings and looked at the devastated landscape. His breath caught, and he could imagine the kind of battle that had taken place here last night.
"What is this..."
He crouched down slightly and noticed a fresh set of footprints on the ground. Gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist, he decided to follow the footprints.
Following the footprints, the stern-faced young man reached the edge of the forest, where a wooden house stood.
Outside the house, several children were playing with a large dog. Amid their laughter and joy, the vigilance of the stern-faced young man decreased significantly, and his hand on the sword's hilt loosened involuntarily.
Suddenly, his body stiffened, and he looked up. A large bird was staring at him with sharp, contemptuous eyes.
Contempt?
"Am I being looked down upon by a bird?" The stern-faced young man shook his head, thinking it must be a misconception. There was no reason for him to be disliked.
At that moment, a young boy burst out of the house and shouted towards the forest, "Hey, we found you! Come on out!"
Found? Was it because of this bird? The stern-faced young man looked up again, but the large bird continued to preen its feathers, completely ignoring him.
He thought for a moment, then walked out of the forest, nodding in acknowledgment without any embarrassment.
"Come with me. Aomori Big Brother is waiting for you." Tanjiro waved cheerfully to the stern-faced young man.
Aomori? The one who created that terrifying battlefield? He looked benevolent now.
The stern-faced young man, who had introduced himself as Tomioka Giyu, nodded and followed the silly-looking Tanjiro into the house.
Inside the house, he saw a young woman sitting on the bed, mending clothes, a cute girl tending to a child and tending to a fire, and a handsome young man skillfully handling chicken meat at the stove.
Aomori, now dressed in Tanjiro's father's old clothes, perfectly blended into this world, without any sense of incongDomaty.
He placed the plucked and cleaned chicken on a cutting board, and with a flash of his knife, he skillfully cut the chicken into evenly sized pieces.
"What a fast knife," Tomioka Giyu's pupils contracted. "Is it him? It must be him!"
"Sit down first. Aomori Big Brother is still busy. We can talk later when we eat," the young Tanjiro, invited.
"No, thanks," Tomioka Giyu felt a bit awkward and declined.
"Are you Tanjiro's friend? Don't be shy; just treat it as your own home," Tanjiro's mother, Kie, said with a smile.
"Uh, sure."
Feeling relieved, Tomioka Giyu was handed a cup of hot water by Tanjiro. Patting his head, Tanjiro introduced, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tanjiro, that's Mom, that's Nezuko, and the one on my back is Rokuta. The last one is Aomori Big Brother."
"Also," Tanjiro pointed outside and continued, "the ones playing outside are Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako, Absol, and Pidgeot. Everyone here is really nice."
Watching Tanjiro's innocent smile, Tomioka Giyu finally let go of his guard. He said softly, "I'm Tomioka Giyu."
"Hello, Tomioka Giyu," Tanjiro's mother, Kie, greeted warmly.
…
Aomori, who has been single for a long time, has good cooking skills. He fried a large pot of chicken, which was delicious, and Tanjiro's whole family praised him.
After Tomioka Giyu ate a piece of chicken, he exclaimed "It tastes really good" and joined the crowd of people grabbing the food.
After eating and drinking, Aomori took Tomioka Giyu and Tanjiro to the edge of the woods and started talking.
"Well, can I listen too?" Tanjiro said that he was just an ordinary charcoal-selling boy and there was no need to participate in such a "mysterious" conversation.
Previously, Aomori briefly mentioned Tomioka Giyu's identity, and Tanjiro knew that he was a member of the legendary Demon Slayer Corps.
Tomioka Giyu looked at Aomori. He didn't want this silly-looking boy to get involved in the scary world of evil spirits.
"Already involved." Aomori seemed to see what they were thinking, "The person I fought with last night was the ancestor of demons, Kibutsuji Muzan. Although I defeated him, I was not able to completely solve it and he escaped. He will send demons back here to investigate no matter what."
"Wait!" Tomioka Giyu became excited when he heard the name "Kibutsuji Muzan", interrupted Aomori and said, "What you just said What? Muzan Kibutsuji? Is it Muzan? Is it that bastard?! Yes, it must be him. Only he has that evil and terrifying demonic aura."
"Where did it go?" He wanted to grab Aomori's collar, but Aomori easily dodged it and restrained him with his backhand.
"Calm down!" Tanjiro said quickly.
"What do you know!" Giyu shouted hysterically, choking and saying, "Damn it! How could he escape! If I had come earlier, if I had come earlier..."
"Mr. Tomioka..."
Seeing Giyu's current appearance, Tanjiro finally understood what the name Muzan really meant.
'If Brother Aomori hadn't been here, I might have become like him.
Tanjiro squatted down, held Tomioka Giyu's hands, and said sincerely: "I'm sorry, I can't understand your sadness. But if it was me who died, I definitely don't want my mother and Nezuko to be sad all day long. . I think your family thinks so too."
"Sister..." Giyu calmed down.
Seeing that he slowly stopped struggling, Aomori let go of his hand and said, "As a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, you can't be more ignorant than a boy."
Tomioka Giyu raised his head and said with red eyes, "You know My identity?"
"Of course, I know more than you think."
"Who are you?"
Aomori said seriously: "I am the light of righteousness and the nemesis of evil. I Wandering around the world, cleaning up the filth in the world. My name is Aomori, and I am a hero who happened to be passing by."
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