"Wow—"
"Such a big wild boar!"
"Big Brother Eiichiro, did you guys raid a wild boar den?"
"Shut up, Shigeru. Father said wild boars are fierce beasts—you should avoid them when you see them... Big Brother Eiichiro, this boar must have run into a tree and killed itself, right?"
Ran into a tree? Roy knew wild boars had a habit of rubbing against trees.
He smiled and patted Takeo's head, praising: "Our Takeo is still the smartest."
Kamado Takeo puffed out his little chest proudly: "See, I told you I was right."
This earned him several eye rolls from his siblings
"Right... right... right, you're so smart..." Nezuko stepped in to discipline her little brother. Poor Takeo went from smug one second to being dragged away by his ear the next.
Mother Kie smiled and shook her head, stepping forward to help Roy remove the basket from his back, asking with concern: "You weren't hurt, were you?"
Roy shook his head, handed over the roe deer, and followed Tanjiro in brushing snow off their clothes before stepping onto the veranda.
In one corner of the veranda, a brazier burned warmly with a pot of hot tea warming on top. Tanjuro sat wrapped in thick blankets beside the fire. Seeing him approach, he waved him over.
Roy walked over and sat beside him.
A cup of hot tea was passed to him as Tanjuro said gently: "You've worked hard, Eiichiro."
"It was fine... Tanjiro helped me, so it wasn't much trouble." Roy took a light sip of the hot tea, sharing half the "credit" with Tanjiro.
Tanjiro was playing with baby Hanako in Grandmother's arms. Hearing this, he scratched his head embarrassedly: "I didn't really do anything—Nii-san did all the work."
The brothers shared an unspoken understanding, neither mentioning the demon encounter to avoid frightening their family members, including the younger siblings.
But Tanjuro was perceptive and thoughtful.
He understood Tanjiro's character too well—this child wouldn't lie.
Which meant... the roe deer, wild chickens, and that man-sized wild boar were all truly Roy's handiwork.
Yet a child of barely ten years could hunt wild boar alone...
Tanjuro looked deeply at Roy. The young man calmly drank his tea, using his free hand to play with Hanako, whom Tanjiro had brought over, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Unfortunately, he was soon called into the kitchen by Kie.
"Eiichiro, Tanjiro, come help butcher the pig..."
"Coming~" The two brothers left the veranda, followed by two little tagalongs.
Takeo and Shigeru clamored: "We want to watch the pig butchering..."
Their short legs moved faster than anyone's. In the blink of an eye, only Tanjuro remained in the main house, along with Nezuko and Grandmother caring for Hanako.
"Aba... aba..." Hanako couldn't speak yet and often sucked her fingers like a pacifier.
Nezuko patiently kept pulling her little hands away.
Tanjuro warmed his hands by the brazier, occasionally watching snowflakes drift in the courtyard, lost in thought.
Soon, the moon reached its zenith. Rich meat aromas wafted through the small courtyard.
The family rarely had meat for dinner.
Everyone was too focused on eating to talk, grabbing their bowls and eating heartily, afraid of wasting even a second.
In the end, everyone except Roy had round, full bellies.
Even Tanjuro rarely ate an extra bowl.
"Ugh~ I'm so stuffed. Takeo, come rub my belly." Shigeru sprawled on his back, stroking his stomach and "wailing," with Takeo equally sprawled beside him.
Kie wanted to scold them for their lack of proper manners but couldn't bear to speak up. She could only glare at them and instruct Roy and Tanjiro to take them to bed.
Nezuko voluntarily helped Kie clear the dishes.
Seeing this, Roy nodded and picked up Takeo and Shigeru, one in each hand, heading toward the side room adjacent to the main house.
The night deepened further.
After fussing for a while, Takeo and Shigeru fell into deep sleep.
Tanjiro, having experienced a day more eventful than his entire childhood, was physically and mentally exhausted. Rubbing his eyes, he bid Roy goodnight and crawled into his bedding.
"Puff~"
The oil lamp was extinguished. In the darkness, only Roy remained awake.
He was waiting—waiting for a figure, and he did wait for that figure.
Soon, a familiar cough came from outside the window, and Tanjuro's shadow faintly appeared on the paper window.
He stood silently by the wall for a while, seemingly with no intention of entering. Soon, wrapped in his coat, he prepared to leave.
But Roy suddenly called out to stop him.
"Father, don't you have anything you want to ask?"
A man-sized wild boar wasn't something an ordinary boy could handle. Roy could package facts as lies to fool Tanjiro about learning those killing techniques in dreams.
But he wasn't confident about repeating the deception to fool Tanjuro.
After all, though he appeared frail, he was the only person in the Demon Slayer world to awaken the "Transparent World" without being a swordsman!
It was precisely his teaching that allowed Tanjiro to first enter the "Transparent" realm three years later while pursuing Upper Moon Four, Hantengu.
Therefore, after hearing Roy's words, Tanjuro's body clearly paused. He was silent for a long time before smiling: "No."
This time, Roy was the one who fell silent. Earlier he still held a sliver of hope that Tanjuro might not notice anything unusual, but now... it was different.
Roy organized his words, instantly thinking of countless explanations before rejecting them all.
He steeled himself, deciding to come clean: "Father must want to know why I could hunt a wild boar alone. Let me tell you now..."
"I don't want to know."
A calm yet powerful low voice suddenly interrupted Roy.
Tanjuro repeated: "I don't want to know."