Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

Therefore, even now, the strongest 'Pillar' of the Demon Slayer Corps must kneel on one knee to show respect when facing the 'Head' of 'Ubuyashiki'. Of course, this situation mostly occurs at 'Pillar Meetings'; such formal etiquette is not common in ordinary meetings.

Even so, as the son of the "head" of the "Ubuyashiki" and the future successor, Ubuyashiki Teriyaki was maintaining the etiquette of kneeling while you, a swordsman, were sitting cross-legged, which was somewhat impolite. This made Ubuyashiki Hina, the older sister, very dissatisfied, and her cheeks almost puffed out.

Having always followed her father, Ubuyashiki Hinai had seen countless swordsmen. Even powerful swordsmen like the 'Pillars' would never show such rudeness to Su Mu in front of her father.

Su Mu seemed completely oblivious to the anger flashing in Hina Ubuyashiki's large eyes. Instead, he picked up the sake bottle with a hint of delight and poured himself a cup.

Then some eagerly took a sip, while others made sounds of enjoyment.

"For the past seven days on the mountaintop, the food has been really bland, just rice balls or rice balls and water. Now, finally, we have a drink to enjoy."

He let out a long sigh.

Seeing that his younger brother hadn't drunk any alcohol, the rude swordsman started drinking on his own, and Ubuyashiki Hina's eyes widened in surprise.

Regardless of whether your younger brother is very young or not yet has enough prestige, he is, after all, the future successor of 'Ubuyashiki' and the future 'lord', while you are, in the end, just an ordinary swordsman who has just embarked on the path of demon hunting.

After finishing his drink, Su Mu picked up the sake pot and poured a cup of sake for Ubuyashiki Teriyasu.

Ubuyashiki Hina stared wide-eyed, wanting to say something, but at her younger brother's prompting, she could only lower her head.

Compared to his older sister, Teruya Ubuyashiki was actually quite happy. Perhaps, in his sister Hinai Ubuyashiki's eyes, Su Mu's actions were extremely rude and uncouth, but in Teruya Ubuyashiki's eyes, it was an expression of great affection.

Moreover, every skilled swordsman has a temper to some extent.

For example, Sanemi Shinazugawa is extremely rude in character.

Not long ago, he was promoted to a 'Pillar' for killing the Lower Moon One of the Twelve Demon Moons, Ubume, so his father held a celebration ceremony for him.

However, Sanemi Shinazugawa was not interested. Perhaps it was because he lost his best friend in the process of fighting the Ubume. Therefore, Sanemi Shinazugawa felt that his father did not value the dead. He celebrated the dead while they were still alive. Was this behavior treating the swordsmen as expendable pawns?

Sanemi Shinazugawa could have easily addressed these concerns directly with his father in private.

But Sanemi Shinazugawa did not. He directly criticized his father at the "Pillar Meeting," in front of his father and the other "Pillars." He accused his father of abandoning swordsmen like expendable pawns, and how could someone with no fighting ability, a weak body, and no sword skills be the "head" of the Demon Slayer Corps and become everyone's lord?

He openly accused his father of being unworthy to be a 'lord'.

Even though they were separated by a room, Teruya Ubuyashiki heard these open accusations against his father. He was furious and even wanted to rush forward.

Teruya Ubuyashiki originally thought that his father would be just as angry as he was.

But the father did not.

The father apologized to Sanemi Shinazugawa on the spot for not considering Sanemi Shinazugawa's feelings about losing his teammates before hastily holding the celebration meeting for the 'Pillars'.

As the esteemed 'master' and lord, to publicly apologize to Shinazugawa Sanemi was an extremely humiliating act for Ubuyashiki Teriyasu.

The other pillars, including Shinazugawa Sanemi, were extremely dissatisfied that their lord had been forced to apologize, but their father said that none of that mattered.

After apologizing, the father also explained to Shinazugawa Sanemi with shame that he really couldn't fight on the front lines like everyone else.

I still remember my father saying, “I’ve tried to swing the knife, but my pulse would quickly become erratic, and I couldn’t even swing it ten times.”

"If I could also wield a sword, even if I had to stand up and fight alongside everyone, I would want to be like you, a powerful swordsman who can protect the lives of others with his own strength. But I cannot do it."

"terribly sorry."

The father apologized to Shinazugawa Sanemi once again.

Regarding Sanemi Shinazugawa's accusation that he used the dead swordsmen as pawns, his father told Sanemi, "If you treat you as pawns, then I am also just a pawn, at most capable of driving the Demon Slayer Corps. Even if I die, nothing will change."

“This is Sanemi’s first time attending the Pillar Meeting, so there may be some misunderstandings. I am not a person of high rank, and everyone is only treating me this way out of goodwill. If you do not wish to, you do not have to be like them.”

"Instead of dwelling on these things, Sanemi, as a 'Pillar,' only wish is to protect others. That's all I want."

"I'm so sorry to have summoned you so soon after Kuang Jin's death. You two were like brothers, so you must be even more heartbroken."

……

Sanemi Shinazugawa didn't believe his father's words, thinking that his father was just saying some high-sounding platitudes, like those high-ranking officials. He was used to such platitudes. But Sanemi Shinazugawa never expected that his father would remember the name of his dead teammate.

'Flower Pillar' Kanae Butterfly stepped forward and told Sanemi Shinazugawa that her father remembered the name of every team member who sacrificed their life during his tenure.

Sanemi Shinazugawa found it ridiculous and was about to expose his father in front of everyone. So he told his father about some of the demon-hunting squads from his memory. His father not only told the name of every single person in every demon-hunting squad, but also the name of every dead person, including those who had fought alongside Sanemi Shinazugawa and even many of his comrades whom Sanemi Shinazugawa himself had forgotten.

This immediately shocked Sanemi Shinazugawa.

Furthermore, in private, the father gave Shinazugawa Sanemi the last letter of Kyouno Masachika, who had died fighting alongside Shinazugawa Sanemi to defeat the Ubume.

Kuang Jin's suicide note was also very simple: "I hope that the people I care about can live happily to the fullest of their lives, and I hope that their lives will never be unreasonably threatened..."

…………

From that day on, Sanemi Shinazugawa never criticized his father again, and he respected his father more and paid more attention to etiquette than anyone else.

At the time, Teruya Ubuyashiki had asked his father about this matter. His father patted him on the shoulder and said, "We all come here with the same goal and the same ideal. As long as we are all here to eradicate evil spirits, must we reject someone just because they are rude to us? Must we keep them away just because they have various personality flaws? If everyone is someone you like, someone close to you, someone who respects you, then what kind of people will gather around you? Will they truly be people who are united in their desire to fight evil spirits? Will they truly be swordsmen who will slay evil spirits even at the cost of their own lives?"

"Remember, capable people are more or less arrogant, and they all have different personalities, whether they are rude, brutal, or stingy... As long as everyone is working towards the goal of slaying demons and is constantly striving to eliminate them, and as long as it makes the Demon Slayer Corps better and better, it is all tolerable."

“Kiriya, you too will become a ‘lord’ in the future. Have you thought about how you will face these powerful swordsmen?”

"And how should we manage these powerful swordsmen?"

"This is not something you can command everyone's obedience or respect simply because you are called 'Lord.' How do you prevent a powerful team from falling into disarray, and how do you unite everyone to face even stronger enemies? These are the questions that Kiriya needs to consider."

Recalling his father's past actions and words, Teruya Ubuyashiki looked at the wine that Su Mu poured for him, who didn't care about his 'Ubuyashiki' identity, and smiled innocently. He reached out, took the wine, and raised his glass.

Su Mu was slightly taken aback when he saw the young boy raise his glass to him, and then he also raised his glass.

However, Teruya Ubuyashiki, who had been frail and sickly since childhood, obviously did not drink alcohol normally. Under the worried gaze of his older sister, Hina Ubuyashiki, he took a sip and then coughed repeatedly.

But this frail boy, even while coughing, still finished the entire glass of wine.

This made Su Mu think more highly of the young man in front of him.

No wonder, later, when Ubuyashiki Kaguya was killed by Muzan Kibutsuji, this young boy was still able to quickly stabilize the situation. Perhaps his methods are still immature, but he already has some of the flair of 'Ubuyashiki'.

However, 'Ubuyashiki' might not excel in other areas. Even the swordsmanship exam at Fujikasane-yama resulted in the deaths of one passionate young man after another, and tragic incidents like those involving Urokodaki's disciples occurred.

However, it must be said that Ubuyashiki did a good job in managing the Demon Slayer Corps members, enabling all the swordsmen to work hard for the sake of hunting demons, and even risk their lives for it.

These are things that not just anyone can do.

After all, Ubuyashiki doesn't have the same ability as Muzan Kibutsuji to easily control the lives of his subordinates, nor can he understand people's hearts as well as Muzan Kibutsuji.

As the future 'head' of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki not only toasted Su Mu, an ordinary swordsman, but even personally served him food. Any ordinary swordsman would be impressed by such a lord, right?

Treat them with sincerity, and they will repay you with righteousness.

This is something many ordinary swordsmen would do, and it's a cultural practice this place learned from that mysterious Eastern country, although there are more and more examples of 'subordinates overthrowing superiors'.

But those who genuinely treat their subordinates as their lords are unlikely to betray them.

Su Mu drank his wine while looking at the seemingly frail young man.

The boy saw that although he couldn't drink much due to his health, he still raised his glass.

Su Mu smiled, but stopped the other party from drinking the second cup of wine. Under the somewhat puzzled gaze of Ubuyashiki Teriyaki, he smiled and said, "Although the wine is good, Teriyaki should also be moderate."

Ubuyashiki Teruya finally put down his wine glass. If Su Mu had told him that he couldn't drink alcohol due to his physical condition, the impetuous Ubuyashiki Teruya would definitely have told Su Mu that he could definitely drink it.

Su Mu told Ubuyashiki Teriyaki to be moderate and self-disciplined and not to continue drinking. This made Ubuyashiki Hina, the older sister with long white hair who was worried about Teriyaki's health, look much better.

While Su Mu was advising Teruya Ubuyashiki to exercise restraint, he showed no restraint or self-discipline, drinking fine wine and eating delicious food in large gulps, occasionally serving some food to Kanao, who was always by his side.

This made Hina Ubuyashiki, who is white-haired, open her eyes slightly. She hadn't expected that this rude swordsman would have such a gentle side.

They drank alcohol, ate meat, and chatted with Teruya Ubuyashiki, mostly about the situation on Mount Fujikasane.

Su Mu also described the situation of the 'Hand Demon' on Tengxi Mountain.

When Makomo heard Su Mu mention 'Hand Demon', she fell silent. Perhaps she was thinking of her senior brothers and sisters who had been lost over the years, Sabito who had been lost, and Urokodaki, who had been waiting for her in the mountains of Sagiri.

If Master Urokodaki knew that the deaths of his disciples over the years were all caused by the hand demon he had captured and placed on the summit of Fujikasa Mountain, Makomo couldn't even imagine how much his master would blame himself.

When Teruya Ubuyashiki learned of this, he was greatly shocked and stood up abruptly, his face showing pain.

Even Hina, the white-haired woman next to her, silently shed tears.

Seeing the drinking atmosphere ruined, Su Mu was completely oblivious. Instead, he raised his glass and even poured wine for the white-haired girl, Ubuyashiki Hina.

Looking at the bottle of sake poured on her table, Hina Ubuyashiki puffed out her cheeks; she had no intention of drinking.

Su Mu raised his wine cup, looking at the crowd immersed in grief: "This cup is to toast those who died on Mount Tengxi. They died for good."

The white-haired Hina Ubuyashiki stared wide-eyed, anger surfacing in her eyes.

Su Mu had already drunk it all in one gulp: "There is honor in dying, no shame in living. I respectfully acknowledge those who have passed away on their ghost-hunting journey."

"To die is an honor, to live is a disgrace."

Ubuyashiki Teruya muttered this phrase, clenching his teeth, his face showing both sorrow and longing. Even though he couldn't drink, he raised his glass and drank another cup.

Hina Ubuyashiki hadn't planned to drink, but at that moment, she raised her glass.

"To die is an honor, to live is a disgrace."

Makomo, immersed in grief, also kept muttering to herself.

"Clang."

After finishing his drink, Su Mu smashed the glass and laughed loudly, "I've had my fill of wine and food, time to go to sleep."

With that, he took Kanao's hand and, guided by the 'hermit' beside him, went to the room that had been provided.

The broken shards of the wine glass shattered on the floor, and the smell of the wine permeated the room. As he watched the gentle man lead the girl away without even saying goodbye, a longing appeared in Ubuyashiki Teruya's eyes. Unfortunately, he was too weak to wield a sword and kill them all.

Even Hina Ubuyashiki, who had been furious at the swordsman's rude behavior, now regretted her earlier outburst of anger. How could she be so harsh on someone who believed that "death is honorable, but life is shameful"?

He felt a pang of regret that he hadn't followed his brother's example and offered a toast to such a swordsman.

Chapter 143 Knee Pillow (4/4 (2-in-1))

After drinking, Makomo did not return to her room to rest. Instead, she walked alone on Mount Fujikasa, holding her Nichirin Blade.

The wisteria flowers are in full bloom all over the mountains and fields. When the wind blows, the wisteria petals rise and fall with the wind, which is so beautiful.

Standing here, the girl thought of Mu Jun's words when he drank and smashed the cup.

"To die is an honor, to live is a disgrace."

I thought of my senior brothers and sisters, and even Sabito's back as he went to Fujikasayama to participate in the assessment.

Everyone knows they will die

But no one backed down.