Upon returning home, my brother called out to me and took his seat in the chamber.
His atmosphere was vastly different from usual. Even his tempered muscles seemed to have constricted ever so slightly.
"Yoriichi, do not leave Uta alone at night."
The shadows of sorrow on my brother's face were deep. He was a man who never showed such an expression, no matter the hardship; what could have happened?
"A Demon appeared."
A Demon?
"And I... I could not protect the life of a child. I failed to find him in time."
Those shocking words followed.
My brother confessed the truth in a hushed, heavy voice.
So, that was why his face looked so...
"To be born is no different than being dead. However, that is no reason for one's life to be easily discarded. No—rather, because it is no different than being dead, one must not die so easily."
...
"Protect them, Yoriichi. Do not become a mediocre man like your brother, who cannot even save a single child."
Tonight, Uzui, Yoriichi, and I took turns keeping watch.
Rumors say that Demons are weak to Wisteria, and that the mere scent of it makes it difficult for them to approach. Thus, I managed to obtain some Wisteria flowers and burned them as incense.
Regardless, there was something that kept weighing on my mind.
In this world, man-eating Demons exist—and so do the hunters who prey upon them.
The Demon I slew mentioned they carry peculiar weapons capable of killing their kind... I wondered how such weapons were even forged.
It took me a staggering amount of time and three entire blades just to take down a single Demon. And that one didn't even seem particularly strong; the battle only dragged on because the creature simply wouldn't die.
The cost-benefit analysis just didn't add up. Rather than using a Japanese sword, it seemed more efficient to pin them down with an axe, a boulder, or a stake and wait for the sun to finish the job.
Using the creature as a training dummy was beneficial for me, but it would be impossible to continue fighting future Demons in this manner.
Moreover, there was no guarantee that a far stronger monster wouldn't appear eventually.
Securing those special weapons was our most urgent priority... but where on earth could I find these Demon Slayers?
I had lived fourteen years without knowing Demons existed, and I had only just learned of the hunters who kill them.
They seemed to be a group that remained deeply hidden. I had no idea how or where to approach them...
"Lord Michikatsu, you have a guest."
A guest?
At Uzui Ei's words, I ceased my ruminations and followed her guidance into the guest room.
Inside was a man of peculiar style, with a crow perched upon his shoulder.
What is this? What kind of combination am I looking at?
"Hmph! Greetings! Is this the famous establishment of the Fixers?"
A booming voice, overflowing with spirit.
Bright. No, this man's entire appearance was just damnably bright.
It might sound discriminatory, but in my combined 34 years of life—14 here and 20 before—I had never seen someone who looked so striking.
He had thick, upturned eyebrows and a charismatic impression. His long hair was a shocking yellow with red tips, appearing almost like flickering flames—an appearance so distinct I could hardly believe he was Japanese. His eyes were a piercing orange, even without the aid of contact lenses.
Well, considering my own eyes, Yoriichi's, and Uzui Ei's are all red—and Yoriichi has crimson hair while Uzui has silver—I suppose the time for me to nitpick such things had long since passed.
And then there was the crow sitting boldly on his shoulder.
"Indeed. It seems we have found the right place."