"Your brother Tanjiro stayed at my place last night. You can use his bedding for now."
After entering the wooden house, the middle-aged man took out some bedding and spoke to Takeo.
Takeo politely thanked him, then sat with the man by the edge of the stove to warm up, all while sorting through the information he had gathered during dinner.
First, Takeo confirmed his current name.
He was now Takeo Kamado, the second son of the Kamado family, who lived in the mountains and made a living selling charcoal.
Above him were his older brother Tanjiro, and older sister Nezuko—siblings of the body he now inhabited.
Their father had passed away the year before last. Since then, Tanjiro had been the one supporting the entire household by selling charcoal, while their mother stayed home to care for the younger children.
Altogether, not counting the deceased father, there were seven members of the Kamado family, including Takeo.
His mother was Kie, his siblings were Tanjiro, Nezuko, Shigeru, Hanako, and the youngest brother Rokuta.
After learning all of this, Takeo was completely stunned.
The actual fuckety fuck?
What kind of superhuman is Kie Kamado?
She gave birth to six children in an era when childbirth carried such a high risk of death!
But when he thought about how the Kamado family might have been completely wiped out—except for him—Takeo's mood grew heavy once again.
For now, Takeo set aside the question of why the Kamado family had been wiped out. The fact that they had been entirely slaughtered proved one thing—this world was likely extremely dangerous.
This might not be the ordinary feudal Japan that Takeo had initially assumed.
After all, according to what Grandpa Saburo had said, it didn't seem like the country was currently at war.
Right—Grandpa Saburo was the middle-aged man currently taking care of Takeo. He was one of the few people living deep in the mountains and was familiar with the Kamado family.
Last night, Tanjiro had returned too late and had stayed at Saburo's house to rest.
Now, Saburo had temporarily taken in Takeo as well.
To be honest, Takeo was very grateful to him. But when he remembered that Saburo planned to send him home the next day, Takeo began to feel uneasy.
If the entire Kamado family, aside from Takeo, had really been wiped out—then once Saburo arrived the next morning and saw the devastated scene, and realized Takeo had come to his house asking for food and shelter without a word of grief…
He might think Takeo was possessed by a demon and try to exorcise him on the spot!
After all, Takeo's current behavior didn't look like someone whose entire family had just been killed.
Wait a minute…Wasn't the Kamado family supposed to have seven members? Why were there only five graves?
Lost in a tangle of thoughts, Takeo suddenly realized this discrepancy.
But before he could think further, he heard Grandpa Saburo say:
"Go to bed early. If you stay up too late, demons will come knocking."
"…Demons? Are there… really demons??"
Takeo was startled by Grandpa Saburo's words and asked in a hurry.
"Since long ago, demons have appeared after the sun sets," Saburo explained. "They feed on humans, attacking them out of hunger… So at night, don't go outside. And don't stay up too late, or a demon might come knocking."
He said it in the same calm tone an adult might use to tell a child, "If you stay up too late, a monster will come eat you."
But judging from the tone of Saburo's voice, Takeo didn't think he was telling a bedtime story meant to scare children into sleeping.
So… demons really exist in this world?
Well, considering the fact that he had just transmigrated, it wasn't too hard to believe that demons were real too.
Though now that he thought about it, was the "demon" Saburo spoke of the same kind of demon he imagined?
Lying in bed, Takeo let his thoughts drift as his mind wandered.
It had been an exhausting day. Not only had he just experienced the bizarre events of transmigrating and coming back from the dead, but he had also trekked alone through the mountains for most of the afternoon.
Both his physical and mental strength had reached their limit. So, the moment his head hit the pillow, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Beside him, Saburo—who was making paper umbrellas—glanced over at the now-sleeping Takeo. After a moment of thought, he looked at the empty bowls of food Takeo had completely polished off, took a puff from his pipe, and slowly exhaled a long ring of smoke.
At last, the lights went out.
The night passed without incident.
…
Tinn~~~
In the darkness, Takeo stood alone atop the surface of a rippling body of water.
He looked down at his hands and realized—they matched the ones of the body he now inhabited.
Even in this dream, he had become Takeo.
"Where… is this?"
Fully aware that he was dreaming, Takeo lifted his head and looked around.
The dim, shadowy space stretched endlessly in all directions. There were no landmarks, no boundaries—nothing existed except the water beneath his feet, smooth and still like a mirror.
Takeo began walking across the water, hoping to find something.
He had no idea how long he walked before he finally stopped—and looked ahead.
A figure had appeared in the distance.
Someone wearing a leather jacket, leaning against a transparent tree.
As Takeo approached, the person came into clearer view—a man with a rugged Western face and a full beard. From the looks of him, he didn't seem like someone easy to deal with.
When Takeo got close enough to see his face clearly, he couldn't help but blurt out in shock:
"Holy crap—Logan!"
That's right—the man sitting before him was none other than Logan, Wolverine from the X-Men series!
And not just any version—this was the movie version, played by Hugh Jackman!
But… this Wolverine looked a little older. No—a lot older.
Older than even Grandpa Saburo. If Takeo hadn't watched the X-Men films so many times and formed such a vivid impression of Wolverine, he probably wouldn't have recognized him at all.
Still, that begged the question—why was Wolverine in his dream?
Puzzled and curious, Takeo found himself walking toward him, unable to resist.
At first, Logan didn't react at all. Only when Takeo came right up to him did he finally lift his head and extend his right hand toward him.
"...?"
Takeo stared at the hand stretched out in front of him—offering a handshake—and pointed at himself in confusion.
"…You… want to shake hands?"
"Mm." Logan responded with a low hum from his throat, his expression unchanged.
Takeo still didn't understand what was going on, but at this point, it didn't seem like he had any other choice.
He looked down at the outstretched hand, took a deep breath… and grasped it.
Their fingertips touched. Palms met.
And in the instant their hands connected—something exploded inside Takeo's mind!
Countless fragments of information surged into Takeo's mind through the connection of their palms—complex, chaotic, overwhelming. Within moments, the sheer impact caused his consciousness to fade entirely.
Darkness engulfed his vision. His awareness vanished.
When he finally came to and opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was the ceiling of Grandpa Saburo's house.
The scent of freshly cooked rice drifted through the air, and the sound of someone chopping firewood echoed from outside.
Cold morning air seeped into the room, fully rousing Takeo from sleep.
With a quick turn, he sat upright on the tatami mat.
The fragments in his mind rapidly began to coalesce, coming together into a coherent form—allowing him to finally understand what had happened.
"So this is probably… my cheat ability, huh?"
As he sifted through the information in his mind, Takeo clenched his right hand into a fist.
Sharp bone claws suddenly shot out from between his knuckles, still streaked with traces of blood—making them look somewhat grotesque.
But Takeo didn't feel disgusted at all.
Because this was his power—inherited from Old Man Logan!
This was the cheat ability he had awakened upon transmigrating!