The young boy, Ken Shibata, looked to be only two or three years older than Takeo.
For soone his age to have already achieved the rank of Class C was a sign of considerable talent.
But to Takeo, the look in Shibata Ken's eyes—as if gazing at an idol—was deeply uncomfortable.
Takeo understood that so mbers of the Demon Slayer Corps held a profound admiration for the Hashira. He had heard about it before.
But actually encountering soone who worshipped him so openly left him at a loss.
He had never considered himself an idol, nor did he believe Shibata Ken's excessive reverence was appropriate.
Still, from Takeo's perspective, there wasn't much he could say to the boy in front of him.
After studying him for a mont, Takeo finally said, "Lead the way."
"Yes, sir!"
The boy replied with enthusiasm and promptly led Takeo toward the village chief's residence.
There wasn't much to be said about the visit.
The village chief turned out to be an elderly man whose speech carried a strange cadence.
And although Takeo wasn't entirely sure if it was just his imagination, the little old man reminded him vaguely of the lecherous old characters he'd seen in certain YouTube shorts back in his past life.
For example, Master Roshi. For example, Hachihosai...
In short, Takeo's first impression of the village chief wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't bad either. What mattered more to him was the quality of his new sword.
So, under the guidance of the other villagers, Takeo was soon introduced to his assigned swordsmith—Tetsudō Mori.
"Oh… ohhh!! Isn't this Lord Kamado?! Welco, Lord Kamado!! I didn't expect you to beco a Hashira in such a short ti! For , Tetsudō Mori… to have the honor of forging a Nichirin Sword for a Pillar—it's just... woooo!"
"...Yeah.."
"Lord Kamado, please be patient! I swear I'll make the finest Nichirin Sword for you!!"
Tetsudō Mori seed genuinely thrilled to et Takeo.
A nearby swordsmith quietly explained, "Ever since he heard you were promoted to Hashira rank, Tetsudō Mori's been beside himself with excitent. After all, this is the first ti he's forged a sword for a Hashira in years. We hope you'll understand."
Wearing a traditional fire-patterned mask, Tetsudō Mori worked tirelessly, hamring glowing steel beside a blazing forge.
"Mn," Takeo gave a slight nod, choosing not to say much. He was just about to find a place to rest when another mber of the Swordsmith Village spoke up:
"The hot springs in our village are excellent for relieving fatigue. If you're free, Lord Kamado, we highly recomnd soaking in one."
"Hot springs…?" Takeo paused at the suggestion. After a mont of thought, he finally nodded. "...Alright."
After all, if one had to na sothing distinctly Japanese, hot springs were undeniably at the top of the list.
To be honest, hot springs aren't particularly famous in the real world, but in ani, hot spring scenes are almost a given.
Because of that, Takeo was genuinely curious about them.
He had never been to a hot spring.
Not in his previous life, and as far as he could rember, not in this life either.
At least, there was no mory of it.
When the resident of the Swordsmith Village accompanying him learned that Takeo wanted to try the hot springs, they enthusiastically led him to a place to bathe and change. After Takeo changed into a light bathrobe, the villager guided him toward the hot spring.
The closer they got, the more noticeable the faint scent of sulfur beca.
In fact, Takeo had slled it when he first arrived in the Swordsmith Village, but hadn't known where it ca from. Now he realized—it was the hot spring.
After thanking the villager who led the way, Takeo walked alone up the stone steps toward the spring.
When he reached the changing area, he noticed sothing imdiately: clothes had already been placed in one of the storage baskets.
It was the sa type of bathrobe Takeo was wearing. Judging by the appearance, the current bather was likely a man.
Noticing soone else was already there, Takeo frowned slightly.
He wasn't particularly eager to share the bath, but since he was already here—and besides the scent of the hot spring itself, there was also a familiar sll lingering faintly in the air—he decided to continue.
Choosing an empty basket, Takeo set down his clothes, wrapped himself in a bath towel, and walked toward the steaming waters in the distance.
As soon as he arrived at the hot spring, Takeo saw Tokito Muichiro leaning against a rock with his eyes closed.
"..." It was indeed him.
Muichiro had just beco a Hashira, and since his sword was being reforged, it wasn't surprising to find him at the Swordsmith Village.
Takeo just hadn't expected to run into him here by chance.
Upon seeing Muichiro, Takeo said nothing. He removed his bath towel and quietly entered the hot spring from the opposite side. As the heat enveloped him, Takeo narrowed his eyes slightly.
Previously, he had assud that soaking in a hot spring was no different from taking a hot bath—just one naturally heated, the other man-made.
But the mont he settled into the spring, he took that thought back.
Though he couldn't explain it, the experience was undeniably different from a regular bath.
It felt as if all the fatigue in his body was slowly lting away.
After a few minutes of silence, Muichiro suddenly spoke:
"Are we going to fight later?"
Takeo opened his eyes and looked at Muichiro, who still rested with his eyes closed. After a few seconds of quiet, he nodded.
"We can."
"This ti, use a real sword." Muichiro spoke again.
Takeo fell silent. After a long pause, he finally said, "…That goes against Corps regulations."
Sparring with wooden swords was accepted as training—it wasn't considered a violation.But using real swords… that would unquestionably be against the rules of the Demon Slayer Corps.
The Corps strictly forbade mbers from attacking each other, and dueling with real blades was even more forbidden.
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