The Wisteria Crest House.
As the gate engraved with the wisteria emblem slowly opened, a hunched old woman appeared before the three of them.
"A-a monster granny?!"
Zenitsu shrieked in terror.
"A yokai! Definitely a yokai! Granny, how did you teleport here?!"
"How rude," Tanjiro hurriedly said, pressing Zenitsu's head down and bowing.
"I'm so sorry! This is the master of the Wisteria House—she's a kind person who helps Demon Slayers for free!"
Inosuke stood at the back with his arms crossed, emerald-green eyes slightly narrowed.
The old woman's posture reminded him a bit of his own butler, Sato.
"Hey, old lady."
Inosuke clomped in on his wooden sandals, swaggering forward.
Neither as restrained as Tanjiro nor as terrified as Zenitsu, he calmly stretched out one foot in front of her.
"The road was long. These shoes rubbed my feet.
Get me a pair with soft soles."
The tone was so natural, as if he weren't a swordsman asking for lodging—but a spoiled little emperor issuing orders.
"Inosuke-kun! You can't do that!"
Tanjiro cried out, about to rush over.
But the old woman moved so fast she left afterimages behind.
Expressionless, her movements smooth and practiced, she removed Inosuke's shoes, wiped his feet, and put on clean tabi socks.
Her efficiency was so refined it rivaled—even surpassed—that of Sato from the Eternal Paradise Cult.
"Oh?"
Inosuke raised an eyebrow, tapping his fan lightly against his palm.
"You've trained in serving people, huh.
Not bad. Here's your reward."
He casually flicked a copper coin from his sleeve into her hand.
The old woman remained impassive and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your generosity, my lord.
The meal is ready."
Tanjiro: "...…"
Zenitsu: "S-she just accepted it?! What kind of house is this?! And what kind of arrogant tyrant is he?!"
Dinner
The guest room was filled with rich aromas.
At the center of the table sat a mountain-like platter of tempura—golden, crispy, and fragrant with oil.
"Let's eat!"
Tanjiro and Zenitsu clasped their hands together and spoke in unison.
Inosuke had already picked up his chopsticks.
Though he was used to rare delicacies in the Eternal Paradise Cult, this kind of street-style fried food—full of everyday warmth—was something his idiot father rarely provided.
Whoosh.
A blur flashed.
The large shrimp Zenitsu had just picked up vanished before it reached his mouth.
"Huh?"
Zenitsu blinked, staring at his empty chopsticks.
Across from him, Inosuke delicately wiped the corner of his mouth, cheeks slightly puffed as he swallowed.
His movements were refined—if not for the chopstick speed that left afterimages, he would've looked like he was sipping tea.
"The heat's acceptable. The shrimp is fairly fresh,"
Inosuke commented calmly.
"That was my shrimp!!!"
Zenitsu wailed.
"Boss! You already have your own plate!"
"Yours?"
Inosuke put down his chopsticks, his beautiful eyes widening in exaggerated innocence.
He pulled out an imaginary ledger and pretended to flip through it seriously.
"Blondie, did you forget?
You owe me a life-saving fee from Mount Fujikasane,
mental damage compensation from that boar freak on the road,
and the bed-making service fee the granny provided for you just now.
With compound interest, you now owe me three million."
He pointed at the tempura with his chopsticks.
"That shrimp offsets ten mon of interest.
See? I'm very merciful."
"Merciful my ass!
When did I owe that much?!
What kind of interest math is that?!
Are you a loan shark?!"
Zenitsu cried pitifully, but seeing the cold gleam of the twin blades at Inosuke's waist, he could only swallow his tears and shovel down plain rice.
Tanjiro smiled helplessly and quietly transferred the shrimp from his own bowl to Zenitsu's.
"Zenitsu, eat mine.
Inosuke-kun may sound harsh, but he actually—"
"Shut up, Gonpachiro."
Flash.
Inosuke's chopsticks intercepted the shrimp midair and sent it straight into his mouth.
"You owe me money too.
Using my money to be a good person is embezzlement. Got it?"
Tanjiro: "...…."
The meal ended amid Zenitsu's sobbing.
Late Night
When the three were about to fall asleep, the box that had terrified Zenitsu earlier finally stirred.
Creak.
The lid opened, and Nezuko crawled out.
She shrank herself down, looking like a porcelain doll of a few years old, bamboo muzzle in her mouth, pink eyes blinking softly.
"A-a-a demon!!!"
Zenitsu's scream pierced the night.
"Tanjiro! You're carrying a demon!
You're going to get eaten! I'm going to get eaten!
Boss, save me!!!"
Inosuke snapped his eyes open, a vein bulging at his temple.
"So noisy."
He sat up with a dark expression, grabbed the iron fan beside his pillow, and hurled it at Zenitsu's head.
Smack! "Ow!"
Zenitsu clutched the swelling bump on his forehead, eyes watery.
"Look carefully, blondie."
Inosuke walked over to Nezuko and roughly ruffled her head, turning her silky hair into a messy nest.
Nezuko didn't resist—instead, she rubbed against his cool palm like a kitten.
That chill, unique to his ice-spirit physique, felt comfortable to demons with higher body temperature.
"This is Gonpachiro's sister,"
Inosuke declared loftily, voice full of the Eternal Paradise Cult heir's arrogance.
"And my Sidekick Number Three."
"Since she's a sidekick, she's my private property.
Other than me, nobody gets to bully her—or yell at her."
He turned toward Zenitsu, flashing a very kind smile.
Two small tiger fangs glinted slyly in the moonlight.
"If I hear you call her a demon again,
I'll saw off your tongue and serve it to my dad with sake."
Zenitsu looked at Nezuko's adorable face, then at Inosuke's murderous glare.
His face instantly flushed.
"T-then she's… she's our little sister!
Heh… little sister is really cute…"
"Tch. Changing faces fast,"
Inosuke scoffed.
Just then—
Flap flap flap!
Urgent wingbeats sounded outside the window.
The Kasugai Crow—usually too afraid to come within three meters of Inosuke—finally forced itself to land on the sill, voice trembling and rushed.
"Caw! Emergency order! Emergency order!
Proceed to Natagumo Mountain!
Proceed to Natagumo Mountain!
The vanguard is almost completely wiped out! Immediate support required! Caw!"
The room fell silent.
Spiders.
The moment he heard that word, the laziness vanished from Inosuke's eyes, replaced by razor-sharp focus.
He knew exactly what awaited there.
Lower Rank Five—Rui.
The unlucky brat who'd once barged into the Eternal Paradise Cult's villa years ago, tried to kill him with threads, only to have them ripped apart by brute force—and then got extorted by Inosuke on top of that.
"Finally, huh… spider-head."
A playful smile slowly curled on Inosuke's lips.
He remembered it clearly—Rui had sworn to kill him back then.
And Rui, with his deeply warped family complex, hated fake bonds more than anything.
"Heh…"
Inosuke stood from the tatami, straightening his haori while slipping his iron fans back onto his chest.
"What a coincidence."
He murmured softly, eyes glinting with a mischievous cruelty only he understood.
He glanced at Tanjiro and Zenitsu packing their things, then at Nezuko obediently climbing back into the box.
"Hey, you lot!"
Inosuke shoved the window open, cold wind rushing in.
He touched the hilts of his twin blades, feeling the spider silk wrapped around them as grip tape.
"Sleep's over.
We're going to see an old friend."
"And while we're at it,
we'll give that old friend a lesson in proper family education."
Tanjiro hoisted the box onto his back, looking at Inosuke's oddly excited figure with confusion.
"Inosuke-kun… do you know someone there?"
"Know them?"
Inosuke turned back, his mask pushed to the side.
On that devastatingly beautiful face bloomed a radiant smile—so bright it sent chills down the spine.
"Of course I do.
The threads wrapped around my sword handles?
I borrowed those from him."
"I'm hoping to borrow a bit more.
After all, my stock is running low."
[System Notification]
[Detected: Host is about to enter the Natagumo Mountain story node.]
[Current Target: Lower Rank Five — Rui.]
[Special Quest Triggered: 'Filial Piety Showdown.']
[Quest Description: Let Rui, who has a twisted view of family, witness what true 'filial devotion' looks like.]
Listening to the system's voice in his head, Inosuke's grin deepened.
"Let's go."
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