The group fell into a thoughtful silence, mulling over Horitake's words. They had to admit—it made perfect sense. If you didn't take out a top-tier crowd-controller like Naru first, you'd never seize the advantage in battle.
As the quiet stretched on, the perpetually stoic Tomioka Giyuu surprisingly broke the ice: "This... Naru. Where does she usually hang out?"
Horitake answered: "Naru? From what I know, she's been cooped up in the Infinity Castle this whole time. Doesn't seem like she's ever left. Muzan's lair, the Infinity Castle, appears to be tied to her somehow. That's just my hunch, though—I'm not completely sure."
Another wave of silence washed over them. The enemy was hunkered down in her own fortress, refusing to come out. How the hell were they supposed to deal with that? How could they kill Naru? Without taking her out, facing the Upper Ranks—especially the top three—would leave them utterly helpless.
Iguro Obanai frowned at that moment, tossingily proposing an idea: "Does that mean... our only option is to force our way into the Infinity Castle?"
You know what? That was exactly the strategy the Demon Slayer Corps used in the original story. No risk, no reward, right?
Horitake scratched his head, looking troubled: "The problem is, we don't even know where the Infinity Castle is."
Silence again. The situation hit another deadlock.
After a long pause, Horitake decided to wrap it up: "Forget it. Let's not worry about this for now. Fretting over it is just borrowing trouble. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but even with ten Hashira in the Corps right now, if we charged into the Infinity Castle with our current strength, it'd probably end in total annihilation. We're not strong enough yet. We haven't built up enough. Thinking about storming the Infinity Castle is way too premature."
His words shifted everyone's focus. Yeah, they were getting ahead of themselves. With their current power, they weren't ready for the final showdown.
And just like that, the issue was shelved.
Yaoya stood on the veranda, gazing at the Hashira, and nodded: "Then, let's conclude the summary of this mission and battle for now. I hope everyone continues slaying demons with vigor and replicates victories like this in the future. Next up are some miscellaneous tasks—these are quite detailed, so Kiriya will assign them."
Just like the last Hashira meeting, Yaoya was still grooming his son, handing the reins over to Kiriya for the rest.
All eyes turned to Kiriya beside Yaoya. Thanks to his experience from last time, Kiriya wasn't nervous at all now. As Yaoya stepped back, Kiriya moved forward onto the veranda, facing the Hashira. He held a thick stack of documents, cleared his throat dramatically—like a pro—and got started.
Amid everyone's amused smiles, Kiriya took charge of the meeting. The following discussions were tedious and complex, but he handled them flawlessly, wrapping everything up smoothly. And with that, the Hashira meeting came to a successful close.
They bid each other farewell—especially bowing deeply to the Master—before dispersing. After all, the other Hashira weren't as free as Horitake. They had regions to guard, demons to hunt, and civilians to protect in their assigned areas.
As the newest Hashira, Rize had the same duties waiting for her.
After the meeting, Horitake and Rize walked hand-in-hand, leaning on each other as they slowly made their way to the Butterfly Mansion. Reluctant to part.
Why the reluctance? Simple—she was leaving. Heading off to station in her assigned region. For the past six months, they'd been inseparable, glued at the hip. Suddenly facing long-distance? Yeah, neither wanted that.
As they strolled, Horitake whispered: "When do you head out?"
Rize answered, even though it hurt: "Right away. I'll pack my things at the Butterfly Mansion, then rush to my post. I hear that area's bad—people vanishing or dying at night. There must be some nasty demons causing trouble. My hometown, my family... they're all there. I can't ignore it."
Horitake nodded understandingly: "Yeah, it's our duty. As much as I hate it, sometimes you have to let go."
Rize beamed up at him: "Why so dramatic? It's just temporary—we're not saying goodbye forever. Horitake-nii, you don't have a fixed region, right? You're always wandering, slaying demons everywhere. If you pass through or near my area, swing by and visit me!"
"Of course. I'll definitely come see you."
"When you do, I'll introduce you to my family!"
"Wait, what?"
Horitake snapped wide awake at that. The reluctance vanished, replaced by shock—and a hint of terror: "Meeting the parents already!? Isn't that rushing things a bit?"
Rize looked utterly innocent: "We've been together six months. Meeting my family is totally normal!"
Horitake thought about it... and yeah, she was right. In this era, couples eloping without family approval happened, but it wasn't common. And keeping a six-month engagement secret from both sides' parents? That was just weird.
So, Rize wanting him to meet her family? She was serious.
The realization made Horitake nervous as hell. In his previous life, he'd been a total lone wolf—no girlfriends, nothing. This life? Sure, he had Rize now, but meeting parents? First time ever. Facing Muzan might be less intimidating.
Spotting the cold sweat on his forehead, Rize pouted: "Horitake-nii, you don't want to meet my family?"
"Of course I do!" he blurted, panicking. "I'm just nervous! Okay, not just nervous—super nervous. I've never done this before, and... well, you know I'm not exactly exclusive. Shinobu-nee just got with me, and there's that little sister I've already claimed. Damn, even I think I sound like a scumbag! Anyway, a guy like me—will your family even accept it? They won't chase me out? Or beat me senseless?"
He had a point. Their precious daughter, the apple of their eye, snatched by some guy! Raised her with care, only for a random wild boar to come rooting around their cabbage patch!
Who wouldn't be pissed?
But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst? The guy who stole their girl was a player—who'd already snagged others! And their darling daughter was happily okay with being just one of them!
That would infuriate any parent!
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