"Cough… cough… cough…"
Tanjiro kept coughing as he looked at his father, who seemed to have simply fallen asleep.
Maybe some of the alcohol had gotten into his eyes. Or maybe he was truly grieving.
Tears streamed down his face without stopping. At first there were only quiet sobs, but soon the sound grew into anguished wails.
Inside the small cave, the boy's sorrow echoed again and again.
Soma watched the crying boy silently.
Seeing her uncle looking at Tanjiro, Kanao also turned to look. She stared at the tears running down Tanjiro's face, at the pain twisted across his expression.
Then she tilted her head and looked back at Soma.
"Uncle, look—he's crying so sadly."
There was no empathy in her voice—only curiosity and confusion.
Tanjiro wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. Being asked something like that by a girl instinctively made him feel embarrassed, like he had lost face as a man.
But when he looked at his father again, the tears began flowing uncontrollably once more.
"My condolences," Soma said softly with a sigh. "People die eventually."
"My father is just sleeping!" Tanjiro shouted loudly.
Kanao frowned, her delicate brows knitting together. "Don't yell at my uncle like that."
Tanjiro pressed his lips together.
He knew he shouldn't be venting his emotions like this. He also knew it was rude to shout at someone else.
But hearing someone say his father had died… he simply couldn't hold himself back.
"People… eventually die."
Soma looked at the lifeless body of Tanjuro Kamado and gently patted Kanao on the head.
"No matter how sad you are, it won't change anything."
Tanjiro collapsed back onto the ground, tears streaming down his face.
Soma poured another cup of sake and handed it to him.
"Drink a little more. It might make you feel better."
Tanjiro stared at the cup for a moment. After hesitating, he took it and drank it in one gulp.
The burning liquor rushed down his throat, making him cough violently again.
And as he coughed, the crying started all over.
Kanao tilted her head as she watched the boy bury his face in his knees.
Then she looked up at her uncle. "Is losing a father really something to be this sad about?"
"Why don't I feel that way?"
Tanjiro couldn't help but lift his head and look at her.
The girl stared back at him with innocent confusion, her head still tilted.
Tanjiro quickly wiped the tears from his face again. He didn't want anyone to see him looking weak—especially not a girl.
While wiping his face, he spoke with anger mixed into his voice.
"If your father died, how could you not be sad? How could you possibly not be sad?!"
Kanao tilted her head again and looked at Soma.
"Uncle… do I have to be sad?"
Soma gently patted her head, his tone soft.
"For most people, yes. They would be sad."
"But for Kanao… it's different."
"Why is it different?" she asked immediately.
Children always had endless questions.
"For most people, their father is someone very important in their life," Soma said calmly. "But for Kanao… her father isn't important."
As he spoke, the image of Kanao's so-called "father" flashed through his mind.
A man like that… how could he possibly deserve her grief?
Tanjiro looked at Soma in disbelief.
"How can you say something like that?"
Soma looked at the boy quietly. "Why can't I?"
Tanjiro opened his mouth, ready to argue.
But Soma raised a hand, stopping him.
He had no interest in debating this with Tanjiro.
Different people lived different lives. Without experiencing someone else's suffering firsthand, how could anyone truly understand it?
People always stood from their own perspective.
If he had never seen what Kanao had gone through with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that parents capable of such cruelty even existed in this world.
Seeing that Soma wouldn't argue further, Tanjiro slowly sat back down.
He stared at his father's body lying there, silent tears continuing to fall.
But this time, he didn't make a sound.
…
The campfire crackled softly.
Its flickering light illuminated the faces of the humans—and the demon—inside the cave.
After a long while, Soma finally lifted his head and looked out toward the heavy snowfall beyond the cave entrance.
"Do you want me to help carry your father back home?" Soma asked after a while. "You two have probably been out here for quite some time. If you don't return soon, your family will start to worry."
Tanjiro seemed to snap out of his daze.
He looked at his father lying beside the campfire, eyes already closed. The boy walked over slowly and knelt beside him in silence.
His father's body had already grown cold.
There was no breath left.
Tanjiro pressed his lips tightly together. Then he turned his head and looked at Soma.
"My father is just sleeping," he said stubbornly. "He's only sleeping."
"Alright," Soma replied with a small shrug. "He's just sleeping."
"I can carry him back myself," Tanjiro said through clenched teeth. "I don't need your help."
Perhaps somewhere deep down, Tanjiro believed that if he refused to acknowledge the truth—if he simply denied the man's words—then his father would still be alive.
Even though Tanjiro said he didn't need help, Soma still stepped forward and helped lift Tanjuro's body onto the boy's back so he could carry him properly.
"My father… is just sleeping."
Standing at the cave entrance with his father on his back, Tanjiro turned around and repeated it once more to Soma.
"Yes," Soma answered. "He's just sleeping."
"Tomorrow he'll wake up," Tanjiro continued quietly. "Tomorrow he'll be better."
Then the boy turned and walked away, carrying his father's body.
Step by step, he stumbled through the snow—sometimes sinking deep, sometimes nearly losing his balance.
The wind howled through the trees.
Faintly, the sound of the boy's crying drifted through the snowy forest.
Soma stood there watching his unsteady figure fade into the distance. After a moment, he reached out and patted Kanao's head.
"Don't stay outside. The snow's falling hard—you'll freeze."
"I'm not cold, Uncle," the girl said with a sweet, innocent smile.
"Even if you're not cold, you should still go inside."
Soma lightly knocked on her head.
"Listen to your uncle."
The girl wrapped her arms around his arm.
"I'll go in with Uncle," she said cheerfully. "That way Uncle won't feel cold either."
Soma glanced down at her.
In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly and lead Kanao back toward the cave.
"Uncle…"
"Hmm?"
"You said earlier that everyone dies eventually."
"Yeah."
Kanao walked beside him quietly before asking:
"If one day… I die… what would Uncle do?"
Soma's footsteps suddenly stopped.
Kanao continued softly.
"Uncle said that for most people, their father is someone very important. That's why they feel sad when their father dies."
"So I hope… that for Uncle… Kanao won't become someone very important."
"That way, even if Kanao dies someday… Uncle won't have to feel sad."
"What are you saying?"
Soma smacked her lightly on the head.
This time, the hit was a little heavier than he intended.
The moment he realized it, he quickly rubbed the girl's head in concern.
"Did that hurt?"
"It didn't," Kanao said, blinking her pinkish-purple eyes.
In those bright eyes, the reflection of the demon standing before her shimmered softly.
"No matter how Uncle hits me… it won't hurt."
Soma sighed.
He wanted to say something—but in the end, he only let out another quiet sigh. Turning his head away, he avoided looking at the girl as he pulled her gently toward the cave.
"Uncle," Kanao murmured as she followed him.
"In the future… you're not allowed to care about me."
She lowered her voice.
"It's enough if Kanao is the only one who cares about Uncle."
...
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