…
"Gah! Karma!"
The crow flapped its wings across the sky.
The sky was a little dark and gloomy, as if it was going to rain.
A cold, damp breath blew slightly across the ground.
On the street where the houses look like, there is a mansion with a large area.
Inside the door of the mansion, facing the entrance, hangs a white haori with a red flame pattern.
Under the eaves of a Japanese-style mansion.
Bang!
A rough and generous hand slammed the wine bottle in his hand onto the corridor under the eaves.
A stream of crystal wine splashed from the mouth of the pot and landed on the wooden corridor.
"…boring."
The man was lying on the door frame, casually wiping the remaining wine from the corner of his mouth with his hand, looking at the dark sky in the distance.
Her originally golden hair with red edges seemed a bit dull now, and her sideburns, which had not been tidied up for many days, were also very messy.
His chin was covered with stubble, giving him a decidedly decadent look.
He breathed deeply and let out a heavy sigh of relief:
"…pointless, absolutely useless."
Thinking of how his son had shared his experiences with him with great enthusiasm, Purgatory Makijuro only felt entangled and depressed.
Even if... I can become a pillar.
So what…
in mind.
What I saw in [Book of Flame Pillars] lingered in my mind for a long time.
Every word written in it seems to have become the inner demon of Purgatory Makijuro.
Even such a powerful swordsman could not kill the Ghost King.
Ordinary people.
No matter how hard you try, it's useless.
"…ah."
Purgatory Makijuro's tired eyes were lowered. He picked up the wine bottle and poured it into his mouth several times.
The expected drink was not poured out, but a few drops were spilled.
Makijuro's hand holding the wine bottle froze for a while. He slowly put down his hand, held on to the door frame, and stood up stiffly:
"No more wine..." he muttered.
Just as he was about to turn around, he saw his youngest son hiding at the door of the house, looking over secretly.
After seeing Makijuro turn around, Qianjuro quickly retracted his head, hugged the broom in his hand, and ran away in small steps.
Makijuro didn't pay attention. He just stood up unsteadily, touched his stubble, picked up the wine bottle, and walked out of the house slowly.
…
on the street.
The smell of dampness filled the air, which made people very uncomfortable.
Usually no one passes by the path in front of Purgatory's house.
Makisuro walked out of the door and looked up at the sky.
Just when he came to his senses and was about to buy wine.
Step, step!
A figure with dark red feathers strolled past him.
The slightly swaying bright flower earrings immediately caught Makijuro's attention.
——Sun-shaped flower earrings...!
His eyes suddenly froze, and his dim orange-red pupils slowly moved in the direction of the man's movement.
Ben's casual expression suddenly became serious, and when he reacted, his attention was entirely focused on the person passing by.
Under the intense observation of his predecessor Enzhu, Purgatory Makijuro almost recognized what it was in one breath.
What the flower earrings look like:
——And what is drawn in [The Book of Flame Pillars].
——Exactly the same!
——That person...! !
"Clang!"
The wine bottle in his hand unconsciously let go and smashed to the ground with a bang, splashing out a few drops of remaining wine.
"Hey you!!"
Purgatory Makijuro's pupils shrank suddenly. He suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the dark red Haori's figure that walked straight past him:
"You..." The thick black eyebrows could not stop trembling, and even the outstretched fingers were trembling.
Makijuro's voice was hoarse, and his pupils reflected the figure's back with flower earrings, as well as his trembling arms:
"Ho... cough!"
After taking a few quick breaths, Makijuro found that his neck seemed to be choked, and he stared and was speechless.
In front of him.
"?"
Kamado Tanjuro paused, turned around slowly, and looked behind him with some confusion.
After briefly observing the appearance of the person who called him, his eyes stayed on his counterpart's hair.
——Anjuro’s father?
Tanjuro suddenly realized.
He looked at the other party panting heavily and was a little confused for a moment:
"Is there a problem?"
Purgatory Makijuro watched Tanjuro turn around, his pupils trembled, and his eyes glanced back and forth between the markings on Tanjuro's left forehead and his earrings.
It makes no sense, this person is the user of Sun Breath.
——It is a genius that is unique among ten thousand.
He saw the wedge ball on Tanjuro's waist.
Has the user of Sun Breath joined the Demon Slayer Corps again? !
"You..." Purgatory Makijuro's tone weakened and he slowly lowered his hand. His voice was still hoarse and trembling:
"What are you doing now?"
After struggling in his mind for a long time, Makijuro found that this was all he could say.
He has lines and is a user of Rihu.
That kind of people…
What do you care about...?
And this seemingly impossible conversation between strangers just happened.
Tanjuro pointed at himself and tilted his head in confusion:
"I…?"
"Oh, I'm going to see my family now." He smiled and nodded to Makijuro, his crimson eyes narrowed, and his tone was quite gentle:
"We haven't seen each other for a while."
"What about you? Xingjuro should have come back last night, right?"
Tanjuro said, looking into the mansion aside.
"Xingjulang..."
Makijuro was slightly startled when he heard this, but didn't say much.
Seeing the other party's silence for a while, Tanjuro blinked slowly, pointed to the front where the road extended, and asked:
"By the way, Butterfly House is going down this road, right?"
"...Ah...uh...well." Purgatory Makijuro responded. He quickly agreed and nodded hesitantly:
"That's right."
"That's it, thank you."
"Then I won't disturb you further and take my leave." Tanjuro said. He nodded and looked like he was about to leave.
"ah……"
Makijuro was stunned on the spot, holding the empty kettle rope in his hand and watching Tanjuro's back getting further and further away.
a long time.
He slowly came to his senses.
what the hell…
He reached out and touched his unshaven face, and the frown he had been frowning slowly stretched.
Just like ordinary people...
In his mind, a woman with red eyes and a gentle smile gradually appeared.
Makijuro turned around, his figure gradually stopped swaying.
…
…
…
An izakaya somewhere.
Wow——
The light-blocking curtain at the door was suddenly opened.
"oh?"
The boss who was sitting at the counter looked toward the door. After seeing the person clearly, he raised his eyebrows and stood up with a smile:
"A regular customer is here. Isn't this Makijuro?"
He stared at Makijuro's figure and spoke slowly and in a very relaxed tone:
"Same today? A bottle of wine? Take it away?"
With that said, the boss skillfully fished out a bottle of wine that had been filled from the table behind him, placed it on the counter, and looked at Makijuro with a smile.
Snap.
"No." Purgatory Makijuro shook his head. He pushed away the wine handed by the boss and handed over the rope in his hand:
"No more drinking."
"Bring me a pot of tea."
"...Huh?" The boss made an incredulous expression, as if he didn't hear clearly, and put his ear close to Makijuro:
"I'm sorry, there seems to be something wrong with my ears. Mr. Makijuro, could you please say it again?"
As he spoke, the boss raised his eyebrows and narrowed his other eye with an exaggerated expression.
"Bring me a pot of tea, please." Makijuro seemed to have gotten used to the boss's tone as he repeated his own words.
"...Oh——" The boss slowly leaned back. After confirming that he heard correctly, a smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"It's incredible."
"This is really incredible..."
As he muttered, he turned around and took away the wine on the counter, walked back into the room and brought out a pot of tea.
Snap.
The boss placed a full pot of tea in front of Masakiro and gently pushed it forward:
"but…"
"This is right." His tone was more relaxed than before:
"Lord Yanzhu."
