Today, he also did not find Kibutsuji Muzan.
The morning sun rose, shining upon Yoriichi, who was wandering aimlessly through the mountain forests.
These years, he had been constantly searching for traces of Muzan, though always without success.
Now, several years had passed since that night when the former Demon Slayer Corps Master was beheaded, and Yoriichi had officially reached the age of twenty-six.
Yes, he had not died.
He had not died suddenly at twenty-five like those other marked Demon Slayers, but instead, unexpectedly yet unsurprisingly, passed through this death tribulation.
The sun on the morning of his twenty-sixth birthday was warm and bright.
Yoriichi sat alone beneath a tree in the mountain forest, staring blankly for a long time.
Why?
Why was he the only one who survived?
Why was he the only exception?
Why could he obtain the power brought by the Demon Slayer Mark without any price?
"Because Mr. Yoriichi is the Child of God."
The words Tamayo had once spoken to him suddenly surfaced in his mind at this moment.
Tamayo said this was the phrase Mitsuba most often used when speaking of him to her.
It seemed that in his younger sister's view, he was born different, blessed by the gods, and came into this world carrying a mission bestowed by the gods.
He was born superior to all people in this world.
Therefore, what others could not do, he could always easily accomplish.
Therefore, what demons others could not defeat, he could always easily defeat.
Therefore, what obstacles others could not cross, he could always easily cross.
Therefore, he was the genuine Child of God.
No matter how Yoriichi tried to refute this, how he tried to prove to others that he was also an ordinary person, that he had no irreplaceable talent, that he was no different from them.
Iron-clad facts repeatedly refuted him, telling him that he truly... was different from all people in the world.
This truth filled Yoriichi with fear.
If he truly was different, if he truly was born into this world carrying some mission.
Then wouldn't this mean... that Uta's death back then... was actually... because of him?
Uta was a very beautiful and cheerful country girl.
Over a decade ago, after Yoriichi escaped from the Tsugikuni household, he ran wildly through the fields all night and finally met Uta, who was living alone, at the foot of an unknown mountain.
When Yoriichi first saw her, her family had already all died from plague. Feeling the shared loneliness in each other, the two began living together from that day onward.
It was from that day that, under Uta's influence, Yoriichi first realized his difference from this world.
So, normal people's eyes were not born able to see through everything, nor could they possess such great strength without any training, nor could they know how to execute techniques just by holding a blade.
But at that time, he still could not understand what his abilities truly meant.
For Yoriichi, this country girl was the "window" that connected him to this world.
A girl who would firmly grasp him, this person like a kite with a broken string, in her hands...
Time passed peacefully for ten years.
During this long and leisurely period, Yoriichi never left that deep mountain. He always stayed by Uta's side, living together with her.
This peaceful and leisurely time made Yoriichi feel incomparably content.
If he could stay here forever, could continue living with Uta like this until both their hair turned white and they had children and grandchildren filling their home, then his life would be incomparably happy and perfect...
Then, Uta died.
On the day before she was to give birth, on the day he went out to find a midwife.
In that deep mountain where demons had never been active before, a demon suddenly wandered in and cruelly killed Uta, who was home alone, along with the child in her womb.
Only later did Yoriichi learn that this demon had not originally been active in that area.
The reason it appeared there that day was because it had detected the pursuit and encirclement of Demon Hunters, and in the chase from behind, fled in panic into this deep mountain it had thought was uninhabited.
Then, Uta was killed by it.
Everything he longed for, everything he hoped for and cherished, shattered completely on that day.
What was Yoriichi doing at that time?
On his way to find the midwife, he happened to encounter an old man.
This was an old man who clearly knew his heart was not well, yet insisted on hurrying to the battlefield to rescue his severely wounded son who was about to be abandoned by the army.
The place the old man was going required crossing three large mountains along the way. The journey was far—even with Yoriichi's foot speed, a round trip would take until late night to return home.
But with his kind heart, he ultimately could not leave this old man behind...
And so, through various chance coincidences, he missed the final opportunity to return and protect Uta.
Chance coincidences...
Slowly raising his head to look at the dazzling sun gradually rising on the horizon before him, Yoriichi's clear eyes were now filled with confusion.
Was this truly, only chance coincidence?
Was Uta's murder truly just an unfortunate event that happened to occur through a series of coincidences?
Truly, having nothing to do with him at all?
"Young man, what are you doing sitting here alone?"
Just as Yoriichi was trapped in confusion, behind him, an old man fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan slowly approached and asked with a cheerful smile.
The old man's smile was kind, his clothing simple, his body full of the scent of earth and sweat—a common country elder.
"I... am thinking about some things."
"Being confused about your future at such a young age is not a good habit..."
As if they were old acquaintances, the old man sat down beside Yoriichi and began talking with him with a smile.
"Young man, you came from outside, didn't you?"
"Yes. Old sir, do you live in these mountains?"
"Yes, our whole village has lived in these mountains for generations, at least several hundred years..."
Talking plainly like this, the old man actively extended an invitation to Yoriichi.
"Young man, if you truly cannot find your destination, why not temporarily stop to rest your feet and stay in our village for a while?"
"Stay for a while?"
"Yes, stay for a while... Although people always say that each of our lives is a long run.
But no one has stipulated that we must keep running forward without ever stopping, right?
Occasionally stopping like this to rest your feet and look at the scenery around you—isn't that quite nice? What do you think?"
Looking at the wise and kind eyes of the old man beside him, Yoriichi fell into contemplation.
And so, on the first day of his twenty-sixth year of life, persuaded by an old man, he temporarily moved into that isolated small village.
"Old man, who is this child?"
"His name is Yoriichi. He's a lost outsider. We happened to have an empty bed at home, so I thought of bringing him back to stay for a while.
Little old lady, go quickly and prepare the bedding for him. Use that spare set that's always been in the cabinet."
"Oh! Mr. Yoriichi looks quite tall, but doesn't seem to have much meat on him! If you don't mind, Mr. Yoriichi, come learn farming with me. It's very good exercise!"
"M-Mr. Yoriichi, hello..."
"Ah! This is my younger sister! What do you think, isn't she pretty? But let me say first, young man, you can't have designs on my sister!
Hey! Third son, what are you sneaking around in the back for? Are you trying to steal Mr. Yoriichi's money pouch?"
"I-I wasn't!"
"How many times have I said you can't randomly steal other people's things!"
The warm elderly couple, the shy young girl, the brothers chasing and playing...
Standing at the edge of the country wheat field, staring blankly at this lively family before him, for some reason, tears suddenly glistened at the corners of Yoriichi's eyes.
This was a small village peaceful yet full of lively atmosphere.
The flow of time here was extremely slow. It was like a paradise beyond the world—everything was exactly as Yoriichi had once dreamed... the most perfect image.
Yes, the most perfect.
At least, before he brought disaster upon these people once again, it truly was so.
...
(This side story chapter serves as some supplementary personal plot for Yoriichi in this book. Because I judged it would not be quite suitable to place in the main storyline, I wrote it in this side story manner...)
(If I encounter similar situations in the future, I will also try to arrange them in this way.)
(I feel like I've really been working hard lately.)