Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

Mitsuha, this is the place.

In my mind, it was as if I could vaguely hear the voice of Yoriichi, a brother whose voice had become so distant and unfamiliar.

Mitsuha subconsciously lifted her leg and walked towards the mottled tombstone in the woods.

She had a vague feeling that something was wrong with this tomb; what exactly was buried inside...?

"Hey! Mitsuha, where are you going? Come here right now!"

Behind her, Makijuro's voice suddenly rang out, bringing Mitsuha back to her senses.

"understood……"

She paused, the strange feeling in her heart instantly vanished, and Mitsuha came back to her senses.

She glanced one last time at the grave in the woods, puzzled, then quickly turned and walked toward Makijuro, who was waving at her from behind.

As she expected, the family was indeed a charcoal seller, and they had lived in this deep mountain for generations.

The person who opened the door for Makijuro earlier was the lady of the house, a young woman named Kamado Aoi.

Kui Zhi is a warm-hearted person. She was originally the daughter of a family in a town at the foot of the mountain, and she had just married into the family a few months ago.

Her husband, the true head of the household, was named—

Kamado Tanjuro.

He was a young man with long, dark red hair, a congenital scar on his left forehead, a sallow complexion, and a rather thin appearance.

Upon entering the house and seeing Tanjuro Kamado, Mitsuha froze, instinctively placing her hand on the hilt of her sword.

At the same time, Tanjuro Kamado, who was sitting smiling on the kang (heated brick bed), was also stunned the moment he saw Mitsuha.

The two looked at each other with astonished expressions, their faces filled with disbelief.

Why couldn't I sense her/his presence at all just now?

Why does she/he have absolutely no fighting spirit?

Wait, could it be... the Transparent World?

Did this person, she/he, also step into that transparent world?!

Are there other beings in this world besides my elder brother and me who can reach this level?

In her shock, Mitsuha also saw the lesions inside Tanjuro Kamado's body.

This man suffers from a chronic illness, a condition he was born with; he has no more than twenty years left to live.

At the same time, Tanjuro Kamado also noticed the unusual breathing rhythm within Mitsuha's body.

[Strange, why does this girl's breathing rhythm match the rhythm of Hinokami Kagura so perfectly?]

(Ugh, it's so cold lately, I really don't want to write anything~)

(Someone please date me, then dump me hard, leaving me heartbroken, enlightened, and forever addicted to writing...)

Chapter 139 This is Yoriichi Tsugikuni's last wish

"Come on, Makijuro, and Mitsuha, hurry up and drink your porridge first."

In the snowy night, in the warm little house lit by a kerosene lamp, Aoi Kozue smiled and served two bowls of freshly cooked hot porridge to Mitsuha and Makijuro.

Perhaps because she was a year or two older than Mitsuha and Makijuro, this simple and kind country woman naturally took care of the two of them.

Even though it was so late, they specially lit the stove again and cooked a bowl of rice porridge for each of them.

"Thank you, Miss Aoi."

She quickly got up and took the bowl from him, thanking him sincerely.

"Young lady, don't thank me. It's snowing so hard, why are you still walking outside? Hurry up and drink your porridge to warm yourself up..."

"What brings you two to this mountain so late?"

On the kang (heated brick bed) to the side, Kamado Tanjuro, who was quietly watching this scene, slowly asked a question in a low, hoarse voice.

While speaking, his gaze remained fixed on Mitsuha.

It seems he has already guessed that among the two people in front of him, Mitsuha is the one in control.

"We are hunters..."

"We were hired by hunters from outside to inquire about the tracks of wild animals in these mountains!"

Just as Mitsuha was about to speak, Makijuro, standing beside her, blushed and answered first.

It was obvious that this honest young man was not good at lying; his ears turned red as soon as he finished speaking.

However, there's no way around it; the Demon Slayer Corps has a rule that they absolutely cannot mention anything about demons or demon slayers to ordinary people.

Although Mitsuha never followed this rule, Makijuro was quite concerned about it.

It seems that in his view, this is also a way to protect ordinary people from being involved in these dangers.

"Is that right?"

With his clear vision, Tanjuro Kamado immediately saw through the unusual reaction within Makijuro's body and then turned to look at Mitsuha.

Glancing at Makijuro beside her, who was frantically trying to signal to her, Mitsuha sighed softly and nodded helplessly:

"Hmm, that's about right..."

[You naive kid, they saw right through you a long time ago...]

"I see."

Even so, Kamado Tanjuro did not ask any further questions.

He simply nodded calmly, and after a brief moment of contemplation, spoke again:

“The mountains have been quite quiet lately, and I haven’t heard any signs of wild animals.”

"With the snowstorm raging, I have a few empty rooms in my house. If you two don't mind, you can stay the night and continue your investigation tomorrow."

"Yes, the snow is so heavy outside. Why don't you stay here tonight, Xiao Sanye?"

From the kitchen came the enthusiastic voice of the stove door keeper, Kui Zhi.

Makijuro subconsciously looked at Mitsuha beside him.

But Mitsuha was staring straight at Tanjuro Kamado across from her.

The two locked eyes, and Mitsuha realized the hidden intention in Kamado Tanjuro's words.

The unusual man in front of her wanted to take this opportunity to speak with her alone.

In the dead of night, after Kamado Aoi and Maki Juro had fallen into a deep sleep, Mitsuha and Kamado Tanjuro went to the corridor outside the house.

Although the wind and snow had stopped, the night sky was still shrouded in thick clouds, making it impossible for people on the ground to see any moonlight.

"Succession of the Kingdom..."

Wearing a thick cotton coat, standing alone in the corridor, Kamado Tanjuro listened to Mitsuha's footsteps behind him and slowly spoke:

"I never imagined that this was actually a real surname."

"It sounds like you know something about my surname?"

Walking straight to his side, Mitsuha asked.

Her mind was filled with questions at that moment.

Or rather, ever since she saw this little wooden cabin deep in the mountains, her heart has been filled with doubts.

Everything here is so wrong.

"No, I don't know, and I can't answer the question in your heart, Miss Tsugikuni, but I think it might be able to."

Shaking his head slightly, Tanjuro Kamado turned his gaze to the grave in the woods not far away, a grave that looked to have been there for many years.

"Our ancestors in the Zaomen family all instructed their descendants on their deathbeds to take good care of the tomb and never let it fall into disrepair."

Who is buried in that grave?

"I really don't know about that, but her name is... Ji Guoshi."

【Mitsuha, do you know?】

The moment the name was uttered by Tanjuro Kamado, Mitsuha's mind went blank.

My dream used to be to live a peaceful and happy life, accompanied by poetry.

Beside him, a tall figure seemed to appear, shimmering with a faint light.

In a small room, a family sleeps side by side, able to see the faces of their loved ones when they look up, and touch them when they reach out.

This figure, speaking in a vague, distant, somewhat familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar voice, slowly recounted its story to Mitsuha's ear.

This was my dream, and it remains my only true dream to this day...

[Not being the son of God, but as a human being, this is the only thing I crave.]

Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, and Mitsuha turned her head in a daze to look at the figure that had suddenly appeared beside her.

He had long, dark red hair, wore a fiery red feather robe that resembled the sun, and on his forehead was a strange mark shaped like a flame.

[Yoriichi...his older brother?]

The datura flower within her body activated instantly, completely overshadowing the cause and effect of this scene. Mitsuha stared in disbelief at the scene before her that should never have happened.

The tears she had been holding back finally fell, sliding down her cheeks to her feet.

Mitsuha, this is the place.

With a smile, Yoriichi's spirit raised his hand and pointed to the grave in the woods as he looked at his younger sister.

[The poem is still there, I can feel it, she's still inside.]

"Mitsuha, could you please bring my brother's body here as well?"

The brother and sister looked at each other. Mitsuha raised her head and gazed deeply at her brother, who had been gone for hundreds of years but had never been able to enter the afterlife because of his lingering obsession.

Take a deep breath and nod gently.

Thank you, Mitsuha.

With his last wish fulfilled, Yoriichi's soul began to dissipate.

The body, emitting a faint glow, gradually transformed into tiny orbs of light, seemingly drifting away in the night sky like a breeze.

In the final moment before he completely vanished, Yoriichi looked at his younger sister in front of him and said his last words with a smile.

[Later, if you have time, visit your brother's grave more often. Perhaps you can find what you're looking for here, Mitsuha...]

【Yes, take care, elder brother.】

Mitsuha forced a smile as she watched her older brother depart for the last time.

May you, in your next life, be with the one you love and experience the life you truly desire.

"Miss Tsugikuni?"

Suddenly, the voice of Tanjuro Kamado rang out beside him.

He looked at Mitsuha, who had been staring blankly and crying beside him since earlier, and asked in confusion:

"Have you... thought of something?"

"It's nothing, just some strange hallucinations..."

Wiping her eyes, composing herself, and calmly glossing over what had just happened, Mitsuha quickly changed the subject.

"Mr. Kamado, can you tell me how you entered that transparent world?"

Chapter 140 Tanjiro Kamado, Destined to Be Born

The Kamado family, who make a living by selling charcoal, have passed down a ritual dance called "Hino-Kami Kagura" for generations.

To this day, the descendants of the Zaomen family have long forgotten the original origin of this dance, yet for some reason, its transmission has never been interrupted.

Every man in the Kamado family must diligently learn Hinokami Kagura every day from the time he can remember, not only the dance movements, but also the strange and tricky breathing rhythm that accompanies them.

Among the descendants of the Kamado family throughout the ages, Kamado Tanjuro is undoubtedly the most unique one.