Chapter 386
"…I'm back, Mr. Rintoki."
After the final selection was over, Okita-kun, Okita-san, Kashuu Kiyomitsu, and Yamato-mori Yasusada waited until all the new Demon Slayers had come down the mountain before they met Abe Haruaki who had watched the entire final selection.
Abe Haruaki was about to use magic to take the two children of the Umayashiki family back home after delivering a message for Umayashiki Yoya, who was not allowed to go out in public, but was stopped by Okita-kun and Okita-san.
But after hearing the two people's questions, the half-white fox rarely showed a distorted expression similar to that of the gray-black worm dragon.
"Such matters should only be discussed by Sakura Saber, as the person involved. Don't evade me. I can discuss with Ubuyashiki to give you some time to return to Samagiriyama to report the incident - but don't expect me to talk to the trainer on your behalf. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and if we've made an appointment to go back... then this is the only chance."
So Ms. Okita said goodbye to the other three, changed into a dark kimono that looked like a funeral dress, and returned to Samagiriyama.
It was drizzling the day Ms. Okita returned to Samagiri Mountain. The dirt road beneath her feet was muddy from the rain. She was holding a black umbrella and supporting the fox mask on her head. She walked slowly to the door of the cottage at the foot of Samagiri Mountain as if she was attending someone's funeral. She met the eyes of Rinnoka Sakonji through the hazy rain curtain.
"…I'm back, Mr. Rintoki."
"Welcome back."
The wet umbrella was spread out indoors to dry the water marks, and then Miss Okita sat down across from Rindotaki Sakonji across the fire. The fox mask on her head cast an unnatural shadow in the light of the fire, making the girl in black look even more expressionless - just like the night when she chased Yamanami Keisuke and forced him to commit suicide by seppuku.
"I killed the same demon you caught in the second year of the Meiji era at Fujimotoyama."
Even her voice was no longer as lively and cheerful as before, but heavy as if soaked in rainwater - that was the voice the Shinsengumi used to use when they shouted loudly to drive away civilians while performing official duties.
"…It will take some time for Tanjiro and the others to come back."
Hot water falls into the teacup, spreading the fragrance of wisteria flowers.
"I don't know how many people it killed, but it was too difficult to be used as a test question for the final selection." Ms. Okita held up the teacup and stared at the flickering flames in front of her. "So I let this guy live for a while longer. Then I heard it say - 'I swear to eat all his disciples', and..."
"His disciple has a particularly recognizable symbol - that is the fox mask he made himself! "
The flames in the stove suddenly jumped up very high, illuminating the eyes of the fox mask on Miss Okita's head - it was as if a ferocious fox demon had awakened.
"I know that Water Pillar Tomioka Giyuu is your disciple, but judging from his appearance, this demon has eaten almost all of your disciples."
Across the fire, the old man wearing a Tengu mask was frozen in place, no longer moving - the only sounds in the room were the sound of rain outside and the sound of the fire burning.
And Ms. Okita continued to speak——
"You must have prepared a ballast for them to use in the apprenticeship test, and a disaster-relief mask made specifically based on their appearances. Is the ballast much larger than the one Mr. Tomioka used? Are their masks still made by you with your best wishes?"
“…”
"Excuse me." Ms. Okita untied the fox mask tied on her head and handed her own disaster relief mask back to Sakonji Rinka. "Although our future missions are indeed many and heavy, Lord Haruaki finally agreed to help. Have you heard of the legend of the 'Fox Window'?"
"Although Lord Harumi's attitude was so fierce at the time, with her help, our next actions can be simpler - please put on this mask, Mr. Rintoku."
"Let's go meet those children - of course, we can only meet them once." Ms. Okita laughed, "After all, the carrier of this magic is just an ordinary disaster relief mask."
That day on Mt. Fujitsu, Abe no Haruaki said:
"Disaster masks, amulets... Actually, amulets are not very effective even if they are made by the guys from the Age of Gods. Because amulets are often just a simple decoration and cannot change the direction of fate - just like the Master's many thrilling experiences in the past."
"The poison doesn't work because we have poison resistance. Even if we die, we can come back because of the help of the God of the Underworld. Every time we damage our blood vessels and nerves to provide us with magic power, we can always recover because of the guys in the medical department who are desperately trying to save us. You see, no matter how many amulets we magicians prepare, as long as the Master keeps moving forward, she will never be able to avoid these dangers."
"Although people's prayers have power, they are too weak. This power is not enough to fight against fate. The reason why those people in Chaldea were able to reverse their fate is because they did follow the trajectory of fate and walked towards their predetermined death. If you want to escape death, the simplest solution is a substitute."
"Just like the story of Ashiya Doman in Panhuman History, who achieved pseudo-immortality with the help of shikigami."
"Well, even though it can't change life or death, if it's just a one-time meeting - I think it should be allowed."
When Ms. Okita picked up her umbrella again and prepared to go out with Sakonji Rinta, another person also arrived at the foot of Mt. Samagiri.
Tomioka Giyu didn't even use an umbrella, he just ran all the way in the rain and returned to the foot of Samagiri Mountain.
"I'll help you this time. I'll send Toioka Giyuu to Samagiri Mountain, and use the Onmyoji technique on him." Abe Haruaki's voice rang in Ms. Okita's ears. "Hurry up and settle the matter at Samagiri Mountain and gather at the Sanyashiki mansion. After all, before the battle officially begins, I have to customize the Sunwheel Swords for you guys first."
"Nice to meet you again, Mr. Tomioka." Ms. Okita smiled and waved to the soaking wet Tomioka Giyuu, pointing the way for the two people who were actually connected to the deceased. "Let's go up the mountain to where the thief I split is."
The dense sound of rain not only covered up the sounds of living things, but also covered up the whispers of the gathered dead souls - however, Ms. Okita still successfully followed the instructions left by Abe Haruaki in advance and brought Tomioka Giyu and Rindoka Sakonji to the correct location.
"We're here." Ms. Okita stopped and pushed the two into the open space with a smile. "I'll wait here for you to come out - so please say goodbye to those children. No one will hate their loved ones because of the evil deeds done by ghosts. Please raise your head, Mr. Rintoki - I think they must like you very much."
"After all, even though I'm not good at this, I feel the warmth of family here."
After the Kamado siblings finished their training and returned to the cabin, Ms. Okita simply greeted them, and then followed Tomioka Giyuu, who was assigned the task of "bringing Sakura Saber back to the lord's residence" by Abe Haruaki, and left Samagiri Mountain overnight and rushed towards the direction of the Uzumayashiki residence.
"Okay, now everyone is here." Abe Haruaki stood behind Ubuyashiki Yoya, crossed his arms and looked at the last two people who arrived. "Although our operation does not intend to use the combat power of the Demon Slayer Corps, for the stability of cooperation, I will disclose our first step of action to you first."
"Killing Muzan Kibutsuji Murei is our ultimate goal. In order to achieve this goal, at least two conditions must be met - first, have enough power to kill him; second, determine his coordinates."
"Let's not talk about the power. When we first met, Okita should have told you that any one of the two Nobunagas could deal with this guy. So during this period of time, in addition to studying the curse of the Ubuyashiki clan, I have mainly been looking for the traces of Muzan Kibutsuji Muzan."
"And asked for help from other Grand Casters." Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice appeared in the courtyard. "Nice to meet you. I am Chaldea's Master, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Next, I will tell you about our plan to find Muzan Muzan. First, according to Lord Haruaki's investigation of the records of the Demon Slayer Corps, we have confirmed one thing-"
"All demons have a connection with Muzan Kibutsuji."
"We initially discussed the plan of directly tracking Muzan Muzan from other demons, but that plan was rejected by Lord Haruaki."
"Of course! I'm a magician from after the Age of Gods! I'm completely different from the fairies of Paradise who lived in a more recent era but whose living environment is almost the same as the Age of Gods!" Abe Haruaki frowned and protested to Fujimaru Ritsuka, "Not many Grands can use magic that directly relies on the remnants of creation to track the coordinates of the creator!"
"Master Haruaki, didn't the deputy director say that? The reason why the magic couldn't succeed was that the concentration was not enough—" Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice sounded quite helpless, "and sending additional people there might lead to unpredictable changes, so we finally chose to find ghosts who have a closer "relationship" with Muzan, and then rely on these ghosts to track down Muzan Muzan."
"But how can you be sure that the ghost you found has a closer connection with Muzan Kibutsuji Muzan?" asked the Snake Pillar.
"To put it bluntly, it's to investigate missing people in various places." Abe Haruaki sighed, refusing to talk about the detailed process of determining the location. He zoomed in on the map of Japan displayed in front of everyone, and then circled a certain place. "Then, I narrowed the scope to Yoshiwara Yukaku, and further narrowed it down to these brothels. After that--"
"Master Haruaki asked me, which shop is the most dangerous? Which shop is the safest?" Fujimaru Ritsuka laughed, and Abe Haruaki cooperated by changing the projection content to a list of prostitute shops in Yoshiwara Yukaku. "The most dangerous shop is Kyogakuya, where there is a popular courtesan named Warabihime. As for the safest one...it's actually about to close down, um."
"Wait a minute." Okita-kun raised his hands in a daze, "So, our first mission... is to go to the flower street?"
"Why isn't Mr. Hijikata here!!!"