"Grandpa!" The little girl, her face streaked with tears, rushed into her grandfather embrace.
Yet, faced with his granddaughter who had returned from the dead, the old man holding several exquisite silver mirrors wore an unnatural expression.
Many villagers shared the same strange look as the girl grandfather. The demonic silver mirror had been reduced to ashes, yet only a few villagers smiled at Shinichi who had slain the demon.
While some of them harbored a faint hostility toward him.
Shinichi, observing everything couldn't care less about the greedy villagers' thoughts.
However, not everyone was so rotten.
With tears in his eyes, Komiyai Kaisuki grasped Shinichi hands and thanked him sincerely.
"Shinichi-san! I truly, truly, truly thank you! With that monster slain, Eiji soul can finally rest in peace."
Faced with Komiyai fervent gratitude, Shinichi felt slightly awkward—after all, he had once suspected the man of colluding with the demon. But aside from the villagers of Teranishi, two figures now approached Shinichi.
Two young Demon Slayer Corps members, seemingly around Shinichi age, wore expressions of shame as they stiffly thanked him for saving their lives.
These two had only recently joined the Corps and were still Mizunoto-ranked swordsmen.
Never did they expect to stumble so badly on their third mission, nearly losing their lives—and worse, losing their Nichirin Blades in the process.
"Shinichi-san, are you also a member of the Demon Slayer Corps? Why aren't you wearing the uniform?" one of them, Taiji, couldn't help but ask, pointing at the Nichirin Blade at Shinichi waist.
Upon receiving Shinichi denial, Taiji looked disappointed and urged.
"It's such a waste for an outstanding swordsman like you not to join the Corps. We desperately need talents like you. You could—"
Shinichi cut him off. "Hah, someone like me joining the Demon Slayer Corps? No thanks. I'd rather not cause trouble for your esteemed organization."
"But—"
"That's enough" Shinichi said firmly. "By the way, do you have a way to contact the Corps? I recall the old man mentioning that your organization has a dedicated department for handling aftermaths, right?"
Taiji exchanged a glance with his companion. Though they couldn't reach their Kasugai Crow at the moment, Demon Slayers naturally had backup methods of communication.
In fact, families bearing the Wisteria Crest were scattered across the nation, making it easy to relay messages to headquarters.
"Yes, we'll contact headquarters at dawn. Members of the Kakushi should come to assist with the aftermath. It's just... this is really embarrassing" Taiji admitted shamefully.
Shinichi nodded. "Then I'll leave this place to you."
As he turned to leave, he paused, hesitating briefly before adding.
"Some people in this village are consumed by greed. I don't know if the Demon Slayer Corps deals with morally corrupt humans, but I'll say it anyway—some humans don't deserve sympathy!"
With that, Shinichi strode toward the village entrance with Maru-ni in tow, leaving Taiji standing there, stunned.
***
Time flew and before long, the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon, its golden hues heralding the overture of the retreating night.
On the narrow path, Shinichi squinted at the gradually rising sun, his thoughts momentarily adrift. Just then, a faint call came from behind him.
"Shinichi-san! Shinichi-san! Please wait, Shinichi-san!"
Turning around, Shinichi saw Komiyai Kaisuke waving as he ran toward him.
Shinichi raised an eyebrow—what could this person want with him?
Soon, the panting Komiyai Kaisuke reached Shinichi, gasping for breath before finally speaking.
"S-Shinichi-san, this... this silver mirror has been passed down through generations in our family. You retrieved it from that demon grasp and though it was damaged, I managed to restore much of it. Please accept it as a gift!"
With that, Komiyai Kaisuke pulled out the exquisite silver mirror from his robe—the very one Maru-ni had bitten off the face of the demon Ginkan.
At the time, the mirror had seemed to contain a strange space where a little girl and two Demon Slayers had been trapped.
After destroying Ginkan Blood Demon Art space to free them, Shinichi had casually discarded the mirror.
He hadn't expected Komiyai Kaisuke to retrieve it, nor that its cracks would be repaired.
"This is your family heirloom—I can't accept it. It was just a small effort on my part. Slaying demons is my duty!" Shinichi tried to refuse, but Komiyai Kaisuke was adamant.
He insisted that Shinichi take the mirror, believing that Shinichi defeat of the demon Ginkan was something to be grateful for, both for his deceased younger brother and for the entire Teranishi Village.
If he didn't express his gratitude, his conscience would trouble him. He even threatened to kneel and kowtow if Shinichi refused.
Among humans, there are many greedy and corrupt individuals, but far more are kind-hearted and virtuous.
This is one of the beliefs that countless Demon Slayers fight for with their lives.
Unable to sway Komiyai Kaisuke, Shinichi reluctantly accepted the mirror.
In return, he gifted him a pouch of wisteria pills and a few "Shinichi Special" dorayaki, advising him to plant more wisteria at home and when the time was right, to leave the morally complex Teranishi Village.
With his mirror-making skills, he could find better opportunities in the city.
After bidding farewell to Komiyai Kaisuke, Shinichi officially concluded his visit to Teranishi Village.
Where to go next?
He wasn't sure.
He'd take it one step at a time—after all, the road lay beneath his feet.
As dawn broke, Komiyai Kaisuke watched Shinichi figure gradually disappear at the end of the path and sighed.
"Shinichi-san is truly a great man." He opened the pack of dorayaki Shinichi had given him, inhaling the sweet aroma, and chuckled.
"But in some ways, Shinichi-san is still a young boy at heart, liking such sweet treats."
Komiyai Kaisuke picked up a piece of dorayaki and took a bite.
Crunch!
A sound like stone hardening echoed.
His smiling face instantly froze, his entire body becoming as still as a statue.
Soon, his facial muscles began to twitch uncontrollably, his expression twisting grotesquely.
"Th-this! This taste! Ueeekkk!"
On the road, Shinichi patted Maru-ni plump head and muttered.
"That delicious dorayaki—Komiyai Kaisuke must be overjoyed to have it. I didn't bring much, so he really got a bargain."
***
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.
In a farmland, the massive body of a demon gradually turned to ashes, its shape vaguely resembling that of an ox-like demon.
Standing before the demon corpse, Shinichi, covered in mud wore an extremely grave expression.
Because Shinichi realized something might have gone terribly wrong.
His gaze shifted to his hand, where the Nichirin Blade of the Moriki family "Forest Dragon" now bore a clear crack on its emerald-green blade.
And as Shinichi watched—
Snap!
The blade... shattered.