Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

It was as if the person she was talking about who was about to die wasn't herself, but someone else.

"The friend I just mentioned is a highly skilled doctor who has been working hard to treat my illness for the past few years."

I am truly grateful to her, but I can also tell from her reaction that my illness is incurable... just like my mother did back then.

If you couldn't save Mother back then, you certainly can't save me now.

So, rather than telling you and your brother Yan Sheng about this, it's better not to say anything, isn't it?

"That's not how it is, Mitsuha..."

Hearing Mitsuha's words, Yori shook her head subconsciously.

No, this shouldn't be... Mitsuha... something's not right...

"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements for matters concerning the country."

Ignoring Yoriichi's reaction, Mitsuha calmly continued:

“Our family has been passed down for hundreds of years, and even if we are in decline now, we still have a few loyal family retainers.”

I have tested their character many times over the years, and they are all trustworthy people.

I have already informed them of my health condition in advance.

After I die, they will work together to help Yan Sheng's young child through this turbulent period and will absolutely not cause you or Yan Sheng any trouble..."

"no!"

His thoughts suddenly became a bit chaotic, and he interrupted Mitsuha with an almost shouting voice. Yoriichi looked at his sister, who was already half-lying in the coffin, yet was still calmly arranging the country's funeral, making her incredibly worry-free. He forced himself to calm down.

“Mitsuha! That’s not what I wanted to tell you… I wanted to say…”

Yes, it shouldn't be like this.

Mitsuha Tsugikuni, his younger sister, she... she shouldn't be so calm.

How can a normal person remain so calm in a situation like this?

How could a normal person act so indifferent to her own death?

Was his sister always like this?

This isn't right, something really isn't right...

He lunged forward and grabbed Mitsuha's arms tightly, half-squatting on the ground. He looked up at his sister's calm yet slightly puzzled face and said, word by word, with utmost seriousness:

"Mitsuba, do you know that you are dying, you are dying very soon, do you understand that?"

"Yes, I know."

Looking down at Yoriichi, Mitsuha was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in response:

“Brother Yoriichi, I am well aware of this.”

"Then why are you still..."

"Because everyone dies eventually, it's not a big deal. I just died a little earlier."

Looking directly into Yoriichi's widening pupils, Mitsuha once again comforted him in that calm tone:

"You don't need to worry about me. As the daughter of the nation, I have fulfilled my duties."

I think that when I go down to see my father and mother, they will be proud of me...

Looking incredulously at Mitsuha who had said those words, and seeing her usual faint smile, Yoriichi trembled as he released his grip.

He instinctively took two steps back, and lost his balance, falling to the ground.

Even so, his gaze did not leave Mitsuha in front of him.

He just looked at her, shook his head slightly, and tears gradually welled up in his clear eyes.

"no……"

The girl in front of him... is she his sister?

"Brother Yoriichi?"

"no……"

His sister shouldn't be like this.

The Mitsuha he remembered was not like this at all.

Mitsuha is a lively and cheerful girl who can cry and laugh. She has always loved to play and has a rebellious nature. She would always sneak away from her father to that little room to find him...

If it were Mitsuha, she would be crying right now. She would throw herself into his arms, sobbing loudly about her fear of death, and begging him to find a way to save her.

She would never have spoken of her death with such a blank expression and indifference.

Absolutely not...

So, why is this happening?

Is something wrong?

Why did his sister suddenly become like this?

"Brother Yoriichi, are you sad for me?"

Mitsuha's voice rang in my ears again.

As if sensing Yoriichi's feelings at that moment, Mitsuha finally stood up from her seat.

Her movements were slow, her left leg was almost immobile, and she swayed as if she would fall to the ground if she wasn't careful.

However, it was with this extremely weak body that she walked step by step to Yoriichi's side.

Then, under his utterly shocked gaze, she slowly squatted down and finally gently hugged him with her only remaining arm that could still move.

“You don’t need to do that. I’m not broken. I’m perfectly normal. I’ve just… accepted my fate.”

Brother Yoriichi, do you know that death isn't actually such a terrifying thing? As long as we can accept it calmly... death won't threaten our hearts.

"Three leaves..."

As he listened to her words and felt her weight gently pressing down on him, Yoriichi's vision gradually blurred.

He felt something warm sliding down his cheek.

A tearing pain shot through his chest. Yoriichi remembered this feeling; he had felt the same way when he saw Shinobu being killed by the demon.

“Brother Yoriichi, I have no intention of blaming anyone, so you don’t need to feel any guilt or sadness for me.”

Everything is fate's arrangement; I was destined to die young, that's all.

I am just grateful that I was able to see you one last time before death truly came, to fulfill my promise to my friend.

I had thought I might not live to see you come back this time…

Slowly releasing Yoriichi, Mitsuha looked at her brother's tear-streaked face and smiled softly, saying:

"I beg you, at least until I leave, not to tell Brother Yan Sheng about my affairs, okay?"

Chapter 21 Of course I came to find you, Mitsuha.

Yoriichi went back, his back looking somewhat lost and dejected.

He didn't say anything like "I'll stay with her until the end," nor did he do it. Instead, he painfully and silently accepted all of Mitsuha's arrangements and returned to the Demon Slayer Corps alone.

This was an obvious outcome, something Mitsuha had already anticipated.

After all, Yoriichi's older brother is the "son of God".

The gods had already arranged his path, and it was not subject to his will.

Yoriichi still has his own mission to complete, and before this mission is accomplished, no matter how far Yoriichi strays, the gods will eventually pull him back onto this path.

Therefore, Mitsuha knew from the beginning that Yoriichi could not stay.

Even if he wanted to, fate would arrange for him to leave.

Everything was predetermined.

"Boom-boom!"

Under the cover of darkness, Mitsuha sat at a table lit by candlelight, meticulously writing down the breathing techniques and sword moves she had memorized in her mind, when she suddenly heard a series of explosions coming from outside the window behind her.

She looked back and saw that under the night sky, countless points of light were rising from the city, exploding into dazzling fireworks, echoing the lively scene of lanterns scattered throughout the city below.

"What day is today?"

Confused by this, Mitsuha asked.

Outside the door, a maid waiting to serve heard the voice and immediately replied:

“Lord, today is the day the fireworks festival begins. You specifically instructed a few days ago that this year's fireworks festival should be organized by the people of the city themselves…”

"Yeah……"

Mitsuha vaguely remembered that there seemed to be such a thing. She closed her eyes and raised her hand to her forehead.

Her memory seems to be getting worse lately; she forgets things from time to time.

Well, considering that her brain is practically half-dead, just like her, and only occasionally forgets some unimportant things, it's really trying very hard...

Forget it, I can make fun of myself after I'm dead. Right now, I should hurry up and memorize all the breathing techniques that Yoriichi demonstrated before, and send them to the butterfly...

Thinking this, Mitsuha was about to pick up her pen to continue drawing when she suddenly seemed to remember something, turned to look at the door, and instructed:

"Since it's a fireworks display tonight, you should all go out and have some fun. Don't wait outside."

“Master, we must stay and take care of you.”

"Alright, I'm in the room. There's no need for me to take care of you. Go on."

After being repeatedly persuaded by Mitsuha, the maids outside the door gradually began to hesitate.

After all, her maids were almost all teenagers, and kids of that age love to play.

"Yes... Master, we'll be back later. You should get some rest as well."

In the end, instinct prevailed over reason. After leaving those words, the maid's footsteps quickly faded away in the corridor outside the door.

You could tell they really wanted to go out and have fun.

With a slight smile, Mitsuha refocused her attention on the book in front of her.

The book contains pages of "little sword dancers" meticulously drawn with a brush.

Next to the illustrations on each page, Mitsuha not only carefully recorded the breathing techniques that Yoriichi had taught her, but also...

It also thoughtfully uses small print to provide detailed annotations on how high to raise the arms, how to step out, and how to coordinate the waist movements when performing these moves.

With such detailed explanations, Mitsuha believed that anyone who could read, even someone completely ignorant of martial arts, could learn a great deal from the instructions in this book, enough for Butterfly to use for research.

In order to finish this picture book as soon as possible, Mitsuha has not even gone to the butterfly's clinic for treatment these days.

Because she really doesn't have much time left.

Even without Yoriichi's clear-eyed world, Mitsuha could clearly sense this.

Every morning when she wakes up, she can clearly feel that her brain has died a little more.

Past memories remain clear, while recent memories are becoming increasingly blurry and confused.

Even though I've already finished reading the book, I can't remember anything about it when I look back.

Even though it was something I had instructed in advance, I completely forgot about it after waking up.

She can completely forget even things she did just a second ago.

At its worst, Mitsuha would even sit blankly at her desk, staring at the picture book on it.

But unlike the common sense of "daydreaming," she knew clearly what she should do now. She knew she should immediately grind the ink, then pick up the brush and continue writing and painting...

But for some reason, even though it was such a simple string of instructions, her brain seemed unable to comprehend it and she was completely unable to give any instructions.

As a result, Mitsuha could only sit blankly at her desk until the maid outside noticed her unusual behavior.

And similar situations are becoming increasingly frequent.

So, her time is really running out...

If you don't take advantage of the fact that you still remember them now and can maintain a certain amount of normal thinking ability each day, you should quickly memorize those breathing techniques.