At this point, they must have given up.
As I finished my mission and returned, that was my thought.
Since then began this strange cohabitation: a demon, two young girls, and a blind man.
Watching the demon cook, I could keenly feel their twisted semblance of family play—and it was the kind of life that could easily draw one in.
Four days had passed since that trial began.
Even today, the sisters pushed the boulder with all their might, yet it remained unmoved—staring them down with cold, hard reality.
When the orders from the Kasugai Crow came and I set out on my next assignment, they were still there.
And when I went to tell them I would be away, those two remained before the rock, pouring their effort into a futile attempt.
Before that heavy stone, Tsugikuni Michikatsu watched their meaningless toil without intervening, as per the conditions.
It truly was impossible to budge that rock.
There was no way those children could move it.
Thus, for them, a future as members of the Demon Slayer Corps seemed unattainable.
The only path left was to leave, holding resentment toward me.
To carry despair and anger in their hearts.
Resenting me...
And now, we would never meet again.
I passed beyond the sisters still locked in their struggle and walked through the gate.
"Off to a mission?"
Tsugikuni Michikatsu's voice came from behind.
I turned to face him.
"If you stay here much longer, at night you'll surely—"
I caught myself and clamped my mouth shut.
Perhaps it was because I'd grown used to living alongside him.
I had forgotten he was a demon.
"I'll manage."
He answered as if my concern was trivial.
If he remained at the house, I wouldn't need any more wisteria lanterns.
With that, I turned to step outside the gate.
This would be the last time—I would never see him or the girls again.
Yet I found I couldn't lift my foot.
Yes. They and he would never meet me again.
Thinking that, I felt a sudden void open deep in my chest, a cold wind whistling through it.
That emptiness would remain for a time.
But...
Though it might be fleeting, I wondered what could fill that gap.
If they were merely children, perhaps I'd understand, but you know this endeavor is meaningless, don't you?
So why stand by and watch?
The reason you brought those children here was not to witness futility, was it?
"Tsugikuni."
"What is it?"
"It's pointless. Those children will never move that rock."
"Of course. This is the trial you set—a trial no child could ever pass."
Then why...
"But..."
I felt a gaze from his direction.
A look that seemed to see straight through me.
"It is not pointless."
I wondered why.
"The reason you prepared this trial. The reason you granted them entry into the Corps if they succeeded. It must have been because of your Lord, head of the Ubuyashiki family."
That was it.
The reason those children could become Demon Slayers was not my will but the Lord's.
Even if I opposed those wishes, my true desire was to keep those children from becoming Slayers.
That was my honest intent.
"Your Lord was never one to walk a meaningless path."
!!!
"Even if something seemed wrong, the Lord's choice always held meaning. That was the kind of man he was."
His voice carried the conviction of unwavering faith.
"And if the current head has inherited that blood, he too would not speak of anything pointless."
"So you're saying..."
"Yes. That is why this trial is not meaningless. That is why I stayed here to watch over those brats."
...Is that so? Even so...
"It is meaningless work. Children easily give up."
I let my true doubts show.
My hidden distrust of the children.
I still could not bring myself to trust them.
Then he said,
"Then let us make a wager. I'll bet that by the time you return from your mission, those children will have moved the rock."
He challenged me to a wager, inviting my rebuttal.
I could not fathom why.
Why did he trust those children so completely?
What on earth had he seen?
Had this man, like my elder, glimpsed something in those children?
Namu Amida Butsu.
"I will take the opposite side of that bet."
With that, I put my hands together in prayer and turned back to cross the gate.
This time, my step was unburdened.
If I am right, I will never see them again.
And if I am wrong...
I must not be wrong.
I must have been right.
Why...
Why then...
Why do I still sense someone behind the house?
Why even now...
Do those two girls still sit beside the rock?
They appeared utterly spent, their breathing labored.
As I ran to them, their response was,
"Himejima, you're back!"
Their exhausted voices reached me.
Why could I still hear them?
Beside them, I felt Kanae sway as she rose and bowed quietly.
"I'm so glad you're safe."
"...You two..."
Just as I was about to ask if they'd been here the whole time,
"I won the bet, Himejima."
Tsugikuni Michikatsu's voice came from behind.
I won the bet?
Hearing that, what approached me was...
"There's something odd..."
A sense of dissonance.
Startled by the sudden unease, I frowned.
The rock had moved.
Though well before schedule, the rock had clearly shifted.
But how...
How in the world?
It was an absurdity so illogical I'd deemed it impossible.
How did they manage it? Did Tsugikuni help them?
While I stood speechless, I felt their satisfied smiles.
Then Shinobu took my hand and guided it to a solid rod wedged under the rock.
Only then did I realize the trick.
"A lever..."
"Exactly."
The earth beneath the boulder had been dug deep; they inserted the rod to create a fulcrum, then wedged logs around it to form the force and support points.
By using the principle of the lever, even the sisters' meager strength could shift the massive stone.
"You... devised this yourselves?"
"Neither my sister nor I are dimwitted."
Shinobu answered with pride.
"Though... we did fail spectacularly many times."
The small hand atop mine was rough, earth flaking away.
Caked in soil...
Round, uneven, with protrusions...
Blisters had burst on their palms, the skin calloused and hardened in proof.
My sister's hands must have been the same.
Startled by that harsh texture, I fell silent, and she, displeased, asked,
"What is it?"
"Do you have a complaint?"
Her tone belied the words; it held a hint of dejection.
"You never said we couldn't use a lever, Himejima. You told us to move the rock, not to push it."
She likely feared an inflexible adult would find fault and break their promise.
"A promise is a promise."
Is that so...
What was wrong...
It was me.
I had been mistaken.
I had merely looked away.
These children were far more capable than I had supposed.
"Himejima. Didn't I tell you it is not pointless?"
This time, Tsugikuni's voice came from beside me.
"There was no misjudgment—that would have been the greatest error. Even if something seems pointless, so long as one attempts it, meaning remains. Those children proved that brilliantly... and I won the bet."
I had lost.
That day, and even now.
I cannot defeat the demon at my side...
But...
It does not feel unpleasant.
Thinking that, I felt the void in my chest once more.
Cold wind whistled through that emptiness.
But this time, it was different.
It felt exhilarating, as if something long blocked had finally burst open.
My elder, and this man both...
Had perhaps foreseen this future.
Or had deeply believed it would come...
I had no choice but to admit it.
Yes.
"It is just as you said."
Placing my hand atop Shinobu's in embrace of her spirit, my lips eased into a smile.
"I accept you."
At those words, the tension that had cloaked Shinobu's small frame melted away.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then... will you introduce us to a [Cultivator]?"
"I will take responsibility and introduce you to a skilled [Cultivator]."
At that assurance, Shinobu cheered, and Kanae sighed in relief.
Hearing that, it was as if something began filling the emptied void.
It had been a long time...
Since warmth had risen in my heart.
"Kanae, Shinobu. You both did exceptionally well."
Now it is over.
Stepping back to regard the demon and the Kocho sisters, I took my leave.
Those children would enlist in the Demon Slayer Corps as they wished and hunt demons.
Though it would be no easy tale, it was a path chosen by them, not forced upon them.
They would not regret it.
Well then... the supporting actor will take his leave here.
But first.
"Did you foresee it ending this way?"
I addressed the crow perched behind me.
The crow wearing the scarf—surely the Kasugai Crow.
"I am merely the messenger of the Ubuyashiki. I know not of such matters."
Its voice seemed as if it could lift into the sky.
The crow met my gaze directly and spoke.
"Greetings, Mr. Tsugikuni. A pleasure to meet you. I am the crow that conveys the Ubuyashiki's words."
I see.
"Why did you detain me?"
In truth, of all I said to Himejima, one thing was mistaken.
They would have succeeded even without me if I had realized sooner.
In other words, my watching over them was meaningless.
Why detain me?
"Some explanation seems necessary."
"Fortunate indeed that I found you before the Ubuyashiki was immobilized."
You searched for me, you say?
"Shall we discuss the matter? To defeat Kibutsuji Muzan."
You propose a joint effort to overthrow Kibutsuji Muzan?
"It is a futile undertaking."
Having already resigned, to suggest collaboration...
Does that make sense, especially with a demon?
"I officially tendered my resignation."
I gestured him away.
Then...
"Strange."
The crow reacted to my dismissal.
Strange how?
"Records indicate that, five hundred years ago, an ancestor of the Ubuyashiki never accepted your resignation."
?
What could that mean...
"I see... to put it in terms you'll understand, it is this."
What is that?
"It is reappointment."
What on earth?"