The night was as dark as ink, with a half-moon hanging high, its cold moonlight drenching the courtyard.
Kiyokawa Izumi sat on the eaves in a daze; if he rembered correctly, his nichirin blade would be delivered tomorrow.
_______
"Good evening!"
An abrupt voice sounded in his ear. Kiyokawa Izumi didn’t turn to look, but asked very seriously and calmly.
"Can a swordsman like , who just passed the Selection and feels deeply inadequate in strength, quit the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Is that what you think?"
After a mont of thought, Kochou Shinobu asked with a smile.
"After leaving, can you turn a blind eye to ordinary people about to be killed by demons?"
"I..."
Kiyokawa Izumi hesitated for a mont, unable to give a decisive answer.
Maybe he could, maybe he couldn’t.
Having never encountered such a situation, he didn’t know what choice he would make at that ti.
"I also once had a happy ho, before everything shattered."
Her slender fingers unconsciously toyed with the tips of her hair as Kochou Shinobu sat down beside him and spoke softly.
"Until that day, a demon suddenly appeared without any warning.
If Mr. Gyoui hadn’t arrived in ti, I’m afraid my sister and I would have been eaten by the demon."
Kiyokawa Izumi listened calmly, even though he knew very well what had happened to her.
A faint sadness and hatred seed to perate the air.
There was no fluctuation in Kochou Shinobu’s tone, but so emotions are hard to hide.
"Why don’t you think about it so more? Don’t sit here too long, or you’ll catch a cold."
Her figure was as light as a butterfly; with a gentle leap, she landed steadily in the courtyard.
"Why does it feel like I’m a mood killer?"
Kiyokawa Izumi slowly raised his head and couldn’t help but complain.
He felt that whenever Kochou Shinobu was around him, her mood would always be ruined by him.
But he really didn’t do it on purpose.
Kiyokawa Izumi was also very confused right now, with Kochou Shinobu’s smiling question echoing in his ears.
Can he really turn a blind eye?
Can he?
"Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with getting stronger."
"I have indeed been a bit slack lately..."
Kiyokawa Izumi slowly stood up. With nothing to do and no sleepiness, he decided to practice his swings... The so-called nichirin blade is neither gold nor silver; the blade is forged from special iron sand and ore that can absorb sunlight, and it is the only weapon that can cause damage to demons.
On the morning of the seventh day, Kiyokawa Izumi’s nichirin blade was delivered by a Hidden mber.
The forger’s na was Iwami Tetsuzan, not a famous swordsmith who appeared in the original story.
He didn’t co in person, but entrusted the blade to the Hidden, who then handed it over to Kiyokawa Izumi.
Solemnly taking the blade from the face-covered Hidden mber, Kiyokawa Izumi’s mood at this mont was exceptionally complex.
A black scabbard encased the nichirin blade. Gripping the hilt and pulling it out gently, the silver-white blade glinted coldly in the sunlight.
Although the forger was a nobody, his craftsmanship was indeed good, and the nichirin blade he created was not bad either.
It is said that the nichirin blade changes color according to the user, and Kiyokawa Izumi finally saw it with his own eyes.
The originally sowhat dull blade suddenly lit up with small light blue spots, which spread instantly at a speed visible to the naked eye until the entire blade was covered.
That was a water-like blue.
Kiyokawa Izumi wasn’t surprised; as a swordsman who mastered Water Breathing, it was normal for the blade to be light blue.
At any rate, it definitely wouldn’t be black.
He didn’t know Sun Breathing, nor had he learned Hinokami Kagura; it would be a miracle if it were black.
Just then, a crow circling in the sky suddenly descended and landed steadily on Kiyokawa Izumi’s shoulder.
Its pitch-black feathers seed to have a tallic luster. At this mont, it was tilting its head slightly, as if sizing up its new master.
Looking at it, there was always a feeling that it wasn’t very bright.
Kasugai Crow!
These are the ssenger birds provided by the Demon Slayer Corps for official mbers.
The most surprising thing is that they can talk!
"Raku! Raku! Raku!"
A sowhat sharp voice sounded in his ear. The crow standing on his shoulder flapped its wings and repeatedly said the sa word, which seed to be its na.
"Mission! There’s a mission!"
"Team mber Kiyokawa Izumi, set out imdiately, children are disappearing!"
Kiyokawa Izumi roughly understood what the crow was trying to convey.
In a certain town, there seed to be a demon that liked to eat children under the age of eight.
And his mission was to kill this demon.
After becoming an official mber, such things are unavoidable.
But considering he was only a swordsman of the lowest rank, the demon he needed to subjugate probably wouldn’t be too strong.
To go, or not to go?
Kiyokawa Izumi felt the smooth hilt and gave a bitter smile, sowhat reluctantly accepting the mission.
"My pockets are empty, maybe I should just hang around the Demon Slayer Corps for a while."
"A demon that likes to target children... It should, probably, possibly not be one of the Twelve Kizuki, right?"
Kiyokawa Izumi didn’t think his luck would be so bad that he would run into a Lower Moon or Upper Moon as soon as he stepped out.
This mission can be accepted.
However, before accepting it, so preparation still needed to be done.
Kiyokawa Izumi shifted his gaze toward the nearby Kochou Shinobu, showing a sowhat eager and fawning smile.
"Hey, do you have any useful poison you can lend ?"
"Are there any extra nichirin blades? Let take a few more."
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