Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

Chapter 62 This is just an ordinary small town

One morning more than forty years after Yoriichi's death, in an ordinary little town, Mitsuha, a master of a dojo, was helping out his neighbors before dawn.

"Whoa! Mitsuha, quickly help me hold the ladder!"

"Waaah~ Repairing the roof again so early in the morning... Uncle Kudo, did that crow bring stones to smash your roof again last night?"

"Mitsuha, don't laugh at something so unlucky..."

"Little Sanye! Could you please deliver this bag of flour to the old man at Baihe's house on your way? I've already put the delivery fee inside!"

"Okay~ Got it~ I'll be right there~"

"By the way, Mitsuha, about that thing I asked you to ask about Mihoko who lives on the next street..."

"Ah, I already asked last night. Miss Mihoko said that if you want to express your feelings, Uncle Kudo, please go there yourself."

"So... So Mihoko agreed?!"

"Who knows~ But if we give it a try, we might succeed... Hmm, it looks like the roof is almost finished. I'll be going now."

"Mitsuba! Come help me feed Xiaobao!"

"Auntie, I've already told you I can't help with this kind of thing..."

"If you know you can't do it, why don't you hurry up and find a husband! Look at how old you are, why are you still living alone?"

Let me tell you, Little Sanye, my little nephew…”

"Haha... Ma'am, I have to rush to the dojo, I'll be going now..."

"Hey? You little brat! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Finally free from the nagging old lady, Mitsuha, dressed in a kendo uniform and with her hair in a high ponytail, jogged towards the dojo.

This is a very ordinary town, with an average size, population, and business environment; there is nothing particularly remarkable about it.

Time moves slowly in the town, most of the neighbors know each other, and tourists or businessmen rarely visit.

The story of Mitsuha's appearance here dates back to five years ago.

She had just ended her previous identity and was wondering what identity she should use and where she should go next when she unexpectedly met an old man.

The old man seemed to sense Mitsuha's confusion at the time, so he took the initiative to invite her to this small town.

It was only then that Mitsuha realized that the old man was not only a very famous "centenarian" in the town, but also controlled a sizable dojo.

And so Mitsuha became a female master in the old man's dojo.

From that day on, Mitsuha began her life in the small town under the identity of "an albino patient who knows a little swordsmanship".

Yes, he has albinism.

Now, Mitsuha's appearance is not only blood-red pupils and snow-white hair, but even her skin is a bloodless white.

Clearly, this was a necessary disguise that Mitsuha made to make it easier for her to avoid going out during the day.

At first, the town's neighbors would instinctively feel fear because of her unique appearance.

But just a few months later, everyone was quickly drawn closer to her because of her enthusiasm and kindness, and even her unusual appearance gradually became a thing of the past.

Five years have passed, and Mitsuha has successfully integrated into the town, becoming the "kind and warm-hearted Master Mitsuha" in the eyes of the neighbors.

Of course, Mitsuha wasn't the only outsider in this town.

"Give me some money, I haven't eaten for days..."

"Mr. Tengu, are you lying here pretending to be blind to scam money again?"

Turning a corner, Mitsuha saw a handsome man in tattered clothes lying on the street pretending to be blind and begging, and she couldn't help but sigh deeply.

The man in front of me called himself "Tiangou" (Heavenly Dog). Of course, this was not his real name, but a name he had given himself arbitrarily.

As for his real name...

Although Mitsuha could trace back the cause and effect through the causal threads after activating the Blood Demon Art, she didn't want to do something so boring and meaningless.

Like Mitsuha, this beggar who called himself Tengu also wandered to this town about five years ago, when he was already dressed as a blind beggar.

The townspeople took pity on him and took him in. Also, because of his handsome appearance, he soon married a girl from town and even had a child.

But what no one expected was that this person was completely useless except for being handsome.

Not only did he idle away his days, living off his wife, but he also particularly enjoyed dressing up in rags and pretending to be a "beggar" to swindle money from visiting merchants, which he then squandered...

What's even more baffling is that Mitsuha had caught this beggar sneaking into the dojo to steal something one night not long ago.

Watching the agile Tengu fleeing desperately, Mitsuha finally realized after opening the Transparent World that this liar was not blind at all!

This guy has been pretending to be blind all along!

Thinking back to the frequent thefts that had occurred in the town over the past few years, Mitsuha suddenly felt that she might have discovered the truth.

Upon hearing Mitsuha's voice, the Tengu, who had been lying limply on the ground as if half-dead, suddenly jumped three feet high and turned to run without hesitation.

Look at his legs, they're so agile, you'd never guess he'd been starving for days!

"Help! Master Mitsuha is going to bully me, the blind man, again! It's so scary!"

Watching the swindler disappear into the end of the street as he ran and shouted, Mitsuha simply stood there, shook her head, and sighed.

"I really don't know how someone like that managed to get a wife. Is it just because he's handsome?"

Mitsuha didn't understand, and she was too lazy to understand.

After all, it was almost dawn, and she had to hurry to the dojo.

Just then, a chuckling middle-aged man's voice rang out behind Mitsuha.

"Oh! It's Little Clover! What, you went to help the neighbors again this morning?"

Upon hearing this voice, Mitsuha, who was about to leave, immediately stopped and turned back to respond enthusiastically:

"Yes, Mr. Keizo, did you just finish your work?"

Behind him was a warm and friendly uncle who always had a smile on his face.

The man was wearing a white training uniform with the words "Su Liu" printed on the back.

His name is Keizō.

Like Mitsuha, Keizo was also an outsider in this small town.

Several years ago, Qingzang, who was traveling, accidentally rescued an old man who owned the largest dojo in town from robbers, and inherited the dojo after the old man died.

It was a dojo much larger than the one where Mitsuha was located, but since Keizo took over, it still doesn't have a single disciple.

The reason is simple: it's not that Keizo's kung fu was bad, but that the sword dojo next door was sabotaging him behind the scenes.

Chapter 63 Mr. Keizang

There are three dojos in this small town.

If we're talking about area, then the top spot would naturally go to the "Soryu Dojo" now under Keizo's name, which mainly teaches karate.

The second-ranked school is the swordsmanship dojo located next to the Su-ryu Dojo, which is undoubtedly a place that teaches swordsmanship.

As for the one ranked last, it is naturally the "Centenarian Dojo" under the name of the centenarian where Mitsuha is currently located. Because of her, this dojo also teaches swordsmanship.

However, if ranked by the number of disciples, the swordsmanship dojo would be number one.

The last place to fall behind became Keizo's Soryu Dojo.

According to some townspeople, the reason behind this was that the old man who originally owned the Su-ryu Dojo had planned to entrust the dojo to the neighboring sword dojo after his death.

Even the people at the sword dojo had always assumed that this massive dojo was already theirs.

However, due to an unexpected encounter with Keizo and being saved by him, the old man eventually changed his mind and decided to hand over his dojo to Keizo.

The people at the neighboring swordsmanship dojo suddenly felt like the sky had fallen.

We've waited so many years, and finally you old codger have breathed your last, and yet you give this huge temple to an outsider on your last day?!

Old man, you fucking...!

In short, from the day Keizo took over the dojo, the people from the neighboring sword dojo were at odds with him.

Over the years, they have been secretly trying every means to slander Qingzang and obstruct anyone who wants to go to his temple to become his disciple.

Their ultimate goal was to force Keizo to leave and compel him to hand over the dojo again.

Keizo himself didn't care about this at all.

No, perhaps it should be said that this person possesses an extremely simple and kind heart.

He must have been somewhat aware of the underhanded tactics being made by the sword dojo next door, but Keizo said nothing and just kept doing his own thing.

Since he had no disciples, he went out to spread the word himself.

Without any income, he went to work at the Yorozuya (Odd Jobs Shop) to earn money.

When they encounter people from the swordsmanship dojo next door, they always greet them warmly with a smile.

Qingzang seemed to firmly believe that as long as he continued to treat others with kindness, one day, others would reciprocate with kindness in return...

Well, every human being in this world has their own unique rules for survival, and even if Mitsuha doesn't agree with them, she won't interfere too much.

In short, since they are both outsiders in the town, and given Keizo's kind and gentle nature, Mitsuha and Keizo have a pretty good relationship now, and they can be considered good friends.

"Hmm! I was just about to head back to the dojo! Is there anything I can help you with, Mitsuha-san?"

"Absolutely not."

Looking at Keizo beside her with a beaming smile, Mitsuha, who was almost at her dojo, first glanced at the children peeking out from the dojo entrance, then replied with the same smile:

"Alright, Mr. Keizo, stop chatting with me here and hurry home to take care of your daughter."

I just visited him last time. The child is in very poor health. You must take good care of him...

Keizo has a daughter.

If I remember correctly, her name should be Koiyuki. Mitsuha had met her a few times before. She was a very beautiful girl, but her health was never very good.

"Alright! Thank you for your concern, Miss Mitsuha! I'll head back now!"

"Well, walk slowly."

After waving goodbye and watching Keizo leave, Mitsuha turned and walked into the dojo in front of her.

As soon as she entered, several children around ten years old surrounded her, chattering incessantly.

"Sister Sanye is helping others again!"

"My mom told me that no matter what it is, as long as you ask Sister Sanye for help, she will agree."

"If Mitsuha-nee always acts like this, she's very easy to fool, isn't she?"

"Sister Mitsuha, please marry me!"

"Let's talk about it when you're older, you little rascal."

A sharp flick landed squarely on the forehead of the child who had shouted those words. Mitsuha smiled and waved, shooing them all into the dojo.

"Alright, hurry up and change your clothes, grab the bamboo swords, it's time to train."

That's right, these children are disciples of the dojo she works at.

Most of the students in the town who wanted to learn kendo were snatched up by another kendo dojo.

Both are sword dojos, but this one, with only Mitsuha as its sword master, is over a hundred years old. Naturally, it can only recruit these unwanted kids from next door.

Or to put it another way, the reason why the Hundred-Year-Old Temple can still recruit these children is entirely because of her, a female master.

The parents of these children seem less interested in their children learning anything here and more interested in her taking care of them while they are at work during the day.

Yes, she's called a master, but she's actually just a nanny.

Well, anyway, they're pretty much the same...

For Mitsuha, who is now over a hundred years old, this is simply a change from raising an adult to raising a child...

"You're full of energy every day, little clover."

Suddenly, an old voice rang out from the courtyard.