"Achoo!"
At this time, Yamada, who had already arrived outside a certain hidden deep mountain in Tokyo Prefecture, sneezed for no reason.
"Who's talking about me? Whatever, I just pocketed three thousand points."
Yamada stopped, deactivated the Chakra attached to the soles of his feet, and landed steadily on the ground.
Looking at the dimension points on the system panel, which had already broken the eight thousand mark, he was in a great mood.
Looking up, not far ahead, a vast manor filled with traditional Japanese style stood quietly in the sunlight.
Exquisite butterfly patterns were carved on the walls of the manor, and the courtyard was filled with various plants emitting strange medicinal fragrances.
This was the logistics and medical base of the Demon Slayer Corps—Butterfly Mansion.
Yamada didn't climb over the wall, but instead walked to the main gate like a normal guest and reached out to knock on the door.
Creak—
The door was pulled open a crack, and a girl with twin tails, wearing a nurse's uniform and looking somewhat serious, peeked out.
Kanzaki Aoi.
"May I ask who you are? This is the exclusive medical institution of the Demon Slayer Corps. If you aren't injured or don't have a uniform to prove your identity, you cannot enter as you please." Kanzaki Aoi sized up the young man in civilian clothes carrying a black blade, her tone very efficient.
"Can't I come if I'm not injured?" Yamada smiled, not getting annoyed.
"Your mistress Shinobu invited me. Go and report that Tanaka Yamada has arrived."
"Invited by Shinobu-sama?" Kanzaki Aoi froze for a moment and gave Yamada a suspicious look.
Although Shinobu was always smiling, she almost never brought strange young men back to the Butterfly Mansion except for official business.
This guy, who didn't even have a Demon Slayer Corps uniform... what on earth was his background?
Just as Kanzaki Aoi was hesitating whether to confirm first, a light voice suddenly came from above Yamada's head.
"Ara ara, Tanaka-san is truly fast. Even though I sent a message back by carrier pigeon first, you actually arrived a step earlier than my messenger."
Accompanied by a gust of fragrant wind, Shinobu, wearing a butterfly Haori, leaped down from a high tower inside the manor and landed steadily in front of Yamada.
"Shinobu-sama!" Kanzaki Aoi hastily bowed in greeting.
"Good work, Aoi. This is a distinguished guest I specifically invited. Go and prepare the best guest room, and also prepare some hearty meals." Shinobu turned and instructed, then looked at Yamada with burning eyes.
"Distinguished guest?!" Kanzaki Aoi's eyes widened.
This was the first time she had heard Shinobu use this term to describe a male of the same age.
"Alright, stop standing at the door like a greeter."
Yamada casually tossed aside the noisy Kasugai Crow on his shoulder and strode into the courtyard of the Butterfly Mansion, as comfortable as if he had returned to his own home.
"I'll be staying here for fifteen days until my nichirin blade and uniform are delivered. During this time, I'll have to trouble you, the big tycoon, for the food and lodging."
Yamada's words were extremely casual, not treating Shinobu, who was a Hashira, as some high and mighty figure at all.
This casual and free-spirited attitude actually made the smile on Shinobu's lips deepen.
"It is an honor for our place to have the monster who wiped out Mount Fujikasane by his own power stay at the Butterfly Mansion."
Shinobu walked by Yamada's side and lowered her voice, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear, "Master just issued an order. In fifteen days, he wants to meet you personally at the Hashira Meeting."
Yamada raised an eyebrow. "Hashira Meeting?"
According to the original story, the Hashira Meeting was generally held once every six months, or when a major event occurred.
As a newcomer who hadn't even put on a uniform, he actually had the qualification to participate in this highest-level meeting?
"That's right, and Master seems very interested in your ability to kill demons without a nichirin blade. At that time, the other Hashira won't be as easy to talk to as I am. Those with short tempers will likely be unable to resist testing you." Shinobu reminded him with a smile, seemingly looking forward to seeing Yamada suffer a setback.
"Test me?"
Yamada's footsteps paused, and he turned his head. Without any warning, three crimson tomoe appeared in his pitch-black eyes.
A sharp pressure that made Shinobu's hair stand on end instantly flashed past like something substantial.
"Then they'd better buy some medicine for bruises and injuries in advance. I don't mind giving these so-called strongest swordsmen a few free lessons in taijutsu on my first day of joining the corps."
Leaving behind this extremely arrogant remark, Yamada walked straight toward the guest room, leaving Shinobu stunned on the spot for a full two seconds before she couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
"He really is an arrogant and charming fellow."
Meanwhile, Kanao, who had just arrived at the Butterfly Mansion gate to hand over her mission, happened to see this scene.
She looked at Yamada's tall and slender back, then at Shinobu's smile which carried a hint of unusual color, and clutched the coin in her hand somewhat blankly.
—
Early morning at the Butterfly Mansion, the air was filled with the faint scent of herbs and the fragrance of wisteria flowers.
Three days had passed since Yamada moved into this highest-level medical and logistics base of the Demon Slayer Corps.
During these three days, his routine was so regular it was almost outrageous: eating, sleeping, occasionally finding a deserted corner in the backyard to increase his skill proficiency, and spending the rest of his time basking in the sun on the veranda.
"Aaaah! Just how much are you going to eat?"
In the dining hall, Aoi, with her hair in twin tails, held an empty wooden bucket as large as a washbasin, looking at Yamada sitting opposite her with a face full of exasperation.
"Another bowl, please, with extra katsuobushi. Thank you." Yamada said casually, putting down the seventh empty bowl stacked high in his hand.
After merging Sasuke's template, although the amount of Chakra in his body was massive, the refinement of Chakra required an extremely large amount of physical energy as support. To put it simply, his current appetite was basically equivalent to that of three adult men.
"You... do you think this is a refugee camp? Shinobu-sama clearly said you were a guest, but what kind of guest eats like a starving ghost reincarnated?" Aoi complained huffily, but her body turned toward the kitchen to fetch the eighth bowl of rice.
Nearby, the three little girl nurses of the Butterfly Mansion—Terauchi Kiyo, Nakahara Sumi, and Takada Naho—were hiding behind the door pillars, peeking at the extremely voracious Yamada like he was an alien.
After eating and drinking his fill, Yamada held a cup of hot tea and leisurely strolled to the backyard of the Butterfly Mansion.
Sunlight filtered through the lush canopy, casting dappled shadows.
Under a nearby corridor, Kanao, with her hair in a side ponytail, was sitting quietly on the wooden floor. In her hand was a specially made copper coin, and her eyes gazed at the sky.
Suddenly, Kanao seemed to sense Yamada's approach.
She looked down at Yamada, then at the empty spot beside her, seemingly hesitating whether to speak and say hello.
Her thumb flicked lightly.
Ding—
The copper coin tumbled and leaped in mid-air, tracing a graceful parabola.
She was accustomed to using a coin toss to decide choices she couldn't make herself.
Heads to say hello, tails to ignore.
However, before the coin could fall back into her palm, a hand suddenly reached out from the side, two fingers accurately clamping the high-speed spinning coin in mid-air.
Kanao's eternally blank expression finally showed a hint of astonishment.
"Leaving your will to a cold piece of copper, don't you think that's a bit too casual?"
Yamada casually pulled over a small wooden stool and sat down across from Kanao. He spun the coin twice on his fingertip, then flicked it, and the coin landed steadily on Kanao's skirt.
"A person's heart is constantly growing. If you don't want to talk, don't. If you want to space out, space out. If even a small thing like 'whether to greet someone' has to be decided by a coin, wouldn't life be too boring?"
Yamada took a sip from his teacup, not caring at all whether Kanao responded, just talking to himself, "The talent in your eyes is quite good, your dynamic vision is excellent. You're a good prospect for sword training. Don't waste your energy on this boring coin-tossing game."
Leaving those words behind, Yamada stood up and walked toward the infirmary without looking back.
Kanao stared blankly at the coin on her skirt, then looked up at Yamada's casual and free-spirited back.
For some reason, his nonchalant words just now were like a stone, suddenly crashing into her heart which was as silent as stagnant water, creating ripples that could not be calmed.
She slowly reached out and gripped the coin tightly in her palm, and deep within those hollow eyes, it seemed as if something was quietly breaking through the soil.
[Ding! Host's casual words touched Tsuyuri Kanao's closed heart, planting a seed to change her fate in advance.]
[Dimension points +300]