"That's how it is; we'll be away for a few days." Early in the morning, Kochou Shinobu said to the group, smiling brightly.
"You're actually going to leave us behind at the Butterfly Mansion..." Hearing Kochou Shinobu utter such cold and heartless words with a straight face, Zenitsu dramatically spat blood. "And go have fun outside by yourself."
Kanzaki Aoi glared at him. "idiot, Shinobu-san isn't going to have fun. She's just going to get the Nichirin Blade maintained."
Kochou Shinobu smiled. "That's not right, Aoi-chan. There are wonderful hot springs in the village."
Kanzaki Aoi: "..."
Tanjirou: Hot springs, huh? He hasn't soaked in one yet.
Inosuke: Bored, scratching his pig nose.
Hot springs?
Zenitsu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said excitedly, "Is it mixed-gender bathing?"
Kochou Shinobu shook her head.
"Tch." Zenitsu clicked his tongue in disdain.
What kind of trash hot... Kochou Shinobu's smile remained radiant: "It's *only* mixed-gender bathing~"
"Only mixed-gender bathing..." Zenitsu's look of disdain instantly vanished. His face flushed bright red, his soul flying away as he imagined who knows what inappropriate scenes.
Tanjirou's mouth twitched slightly. He had a feeling Shinobu-san was teasing Zenitsu.
"I want to go too!!!" Sure enough, Zenitsu immediately threw a fit, crying and demanding to go along.
"No, Zenitsu. Isn't your Nichirin Blade perfectly fine?" Kochou Shinobu smiled gently. "The Swordsmith Village is not a tourist destination."
Veins pulsed several times on Zenitsu's forehead. He pointed angrily at the box beside Kochou Shinobu's hand. "Then what is that?"
Kochou Shinobu beamed. "Just casual clothes for changing."
Zenitsu's entire demeanor changed. Fury burned in his eyes: "bastard! You're clearly going to have fun!!!"
Kochou Shinobu narrowed her eyes. "Hmm? What are you saying?"
Zenitsu completely failed to notice the change in atmosphere and said angrily, "What am I saying? Don't you understand? You're clearly just going..."
Suddenly, the smile vanished from Kochou Shinobu's face. She opened her cold, expressionless eyes.
Zenitsu shuddered all over and decisively chose to shut up.
Tanjirou: "..."
That's so harsh, Shinobu-san... "I'm ready, we can leave now." At that moment, Mizuki came out of the house. Noticing the strange atmosphere, she paused for a moment. "What are you all doing?"
"Nothing much. I was just telling them about house-sitting duties." Kochou Shinobu looked at the group, smiling. "Right?"
Zenitsu's eye twitched. "Right."
(He endured it.)
Mizuki noticed the leather suitcase in Kochou Shinobu's hand and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, what's the box you're holding?"
Kochou Shinobu explained, "Ah, this is for changing..."
Perhaps because he suddenly had backup, Zenitsu became incredibly bold. He pointed at Kochou Shinobu with a look of grief and indignation, complaining:
"Mizuki-san! This person is trying to betray us and go sightseeing at the Swordsmith Village!"
Zenitsu!!!
Cold sweat immediately broke out on Tanjirou. Don't die!!
Zenitsu's sudden outburst startled Mizuki, and she subconsciously replied, "Is it betraying *you guys*?"
"Because I'm going too."
"..." Zenitsu's impassioned movement froze, and Kochou Shinobu gave him a perfectly timed death smile.
It was as if she was saying:
You little brat, try complaining again?
Zenitsu's face turned ashen, and he completely deflated.
Mizuki:...Is it that serious?
Actually, you couldn't completely blame Zenitsu for being playful or lustful; after two solid months of non-stop training, even an immortal couldn't handle it.
Only Inosuke and Tanjirou, those two abnormal guys, were completely unaffected.
He was... burned out.
Watching Zenitsu's color scheme slowly turn gray, Mizuki asked Kochou Shinobu doubtfully, "Didn't you say yesterday that they were training very hard and you planned to take them to the hot springs to relax?"
Tanjirou: "Eh?"
Inosuke, scratching his pig nose: "What are hot springs?"
Kochou Shinobu sighed, feigning regret. "I originally wanted to take them along, but Zenitsu seems quite displeased with me."
Zenitsu's gray body instantly regained its color. His body contorted as he rubbed his hands together with a fawning expression. "Shinobu-san~ How could that be~"
"You know me~"
"How could I possibly feel displeased with you~"
Kochou Shinobu blinked. "Really?"
"Really!"
"In that case, even if I ask you to stay behind and house-sit, you shouldn't have any complaints, right?"
Zenitsu's fawning expression instantly turned dull, and his eyes seemed to lose their sparkle.
Mizuki couldn't bear to watch. "Shinobu, stop teasing him."
Kochou Shinobu sighed, as if she hadn't had enough fun. She turned to Kanzaki Aoi. "Then I'll leave the house-sitting to Aoi-chan for the next few days."
Kanzaki Aoi nodded slightly. "Please leave it to me, Shinobu-san."
"Mhm, thank you, Aoi-chan." Kochou Shinobu didn't forget to motivate her employee. "Next time, I'll take Aoi-chan to the hot springs."
Kanzaki Aoi felt a mix of amusement and frustration. She was different from that idiot; she had absolutely no such intentions.
The group grandly departed from the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
After leaving, Mizuki asked worriedly, "Is it okay to leave Aoi-chan alone to watch the house?"
"Kanao will be back tomorrow. Having the two of them there will be fine."
Everyone:...No, it seems even more worrying now.
After walking quite a distance, Zenitsu asked doubtfully, "I remember Grandpa saying that to go to the Swordsmith Village, we should have our eyes covered and be guided by members of the Kakushi, right?"
Logically, someone should have met them at the entrance of the Butterfly Mansion, but they had walked this far and still hadn't seen anyone.
Kochou Shinobu mused, "Hmm~ Originally, that should be the case, but it seems we have Mizuki to thank."
"The Master specially provided the address of the Swordsmith Village, so we can go ourselves."
Zenitsu widened his eyes. "Eh~"
"Is that strange?" Tanjirou scratched his head, feeling slightly confused about the significance.
Zenitsu said excitedly, "Of course it is! That's an important village whose location even the Pillars aren't allowed to know."
Even Grandpa didn't know the location of the Swordsmith Village!
Kochou Shinobu added, "To go to the Swordsmith Village, you must have permission from the Master, and even the guides are responsible for relaying the journey."
Tanjirou was surprised. "That's amazing..."
Mizuki was also somewhat surprised. Did Ubuyashiki trust her that much?
Actually, it wasn't hard to understand.
A demon who overcame the sun, combined with such strength—if she truly harbored ill intentions toward the Demon Slayer Corps, or was a spy sent by Muzan, the Demon Slayer Corps would have been destroyed long ago.
Covering the eyes of those being guided to the Swordsmith Village was done out of fear that they might become traitors.
After all, there were precedents for Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen turning into demons.
Otherwise, why would there be a tradition where if a disciple made a mistake, the master would commit seppuku to atone?
Since Mizuki was certainly not a traitor, Ubuyashiki truly treated her with the greatest goodwill.
This made Mizuki respect his magnanimity.
As expected of the era that would end Muzan; neither the leader nor the subordinates dropped the ball.
Both the visible fighting strength and the atmosphere within the Corps were excellent.
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