Kochou Shinobu slapped her own face, hard. The sharp sting instantly cleared her head.
Seriously! Shinobu, what are you even thinking?! Your great revenge isn't finished yet. You have to maintain your distance from Su Chen!
She quickly pushed those unrealistic, distracting thoughts out of her mind. At the same time, she glared at Su Chen. It was all his fault. Every time he was around, her heart would get flustered. Her thoughts were constantly being tangled up by this man. Looking at the calm, handsome young man, Shinobu wished she could just bite him.
Su Chen watched this whole strange scene. He was truly puzzled. For an eighteen-year-old, Kochou Shinobu was as deep and complex as the ocean. He had clearly just helped her out of an embarrassing situation with the rice ball competition. Not only was she not grateful, but she actually slapped herself. And after slapping herself, she stared at him defiantly, as if he had been the one to slap her.
Unable to understand Shinobu's thoughts, Su Chen simply stopped trying. It was a waste of time that he could be using to get stronger.
"By the way, what kind of competition should we actually hold?"
Kyojuro's loud, cheerful voice immediately pulled both Su Chen and Shinobu back from their thoughts. Kyojuro's last idea, the rice ball competition, had been rejected. Now, for a moment, no one else had any ideas.
Well, Inosuke didn't count. His suggestions were basically useless. Kanzaki Aoi and Kanao also stood silently to the side, waiting for Su Chen and the Hashira to come up with an idea. Everyone was quiet, thinking hard.
At this moment, Su Chen's words gave everyone a new direction. He smiled and said, "Everyone, this is the Butterfly Mansion. Why don't we have a rescue competition?"
"A rescue competition?" A glimmer of light flashed in Kyojuro's large eyes. "That sounds quite good, doesn't it?"
Shinazugawa just shrugged, his expression indifferent. "Whatever. I'll win no matter what."
Inosuke immediately broke free from Kanzaki Aoi's grip. "Is it a fight? Can the great Lord Inosuke join in?!"
Bang!
Kanzaki Aoi punched Inosuke right on the head. She said angrily, "Didn't you hear him? It's a rescue competition! Mr. Su Chen's idea is probably related to the patients here at the Butterfly Mansion!"
Everyone ignored the loud, comical Inosuke. They continued to discuss the idea.
Kyojuro spoke first. "Then, Mr. Su Chen, could you explain how the competition will work?"
Su Chen glanced at everyone and briefly explained. "It's simple. There are many patients at the Butterfly Mansion today, right? We can compete by helping the injured. This not only fulfills our mission as Demon Slayer Corps members but also sharpens our first-aid skills."
At this point, Shinazugawa spoke up. "It's not that simple. None of us have studied medicine. How will you divide the competition rules?"
Su Chen glanced at Kochou Shinobu. After all, she was the one most familiar with the work here.
Shinobu hadn't wanted to respond to Su Chen so quickly. But, since it was Shinazugawa's question, she had to step forward and explain. As soon as she spoke, the basic rules of the competition were instantly set.
"I have an idea," she said clearly. "We can divide the rescue competition into three stages."
"The first stage will be bringing the injured to the Butterfly Mansion. Everyone will be scored based on the number of injured they bring in. One patient is one point, and the person with the most points wins that stage."
"The second stage is treatment. Everyone will assist the Butterfly Mansion staff with treating the injured. Assisting one person counts as one point, and the person with the most points wins."
"The third stage is rehabilitation training. Everyone will assist the injured with their recovery training, helping them get back to combat-ready status. Helping one person recover counts as one point. Finally, the person with the most total points from all three stages wins! These are all the normal work processes of the Butterfly Mansion. I hope everyone will do their best."
Kochou Shinobu was, after all, a master of pharmacology. In just a few words, she had outlined the basic rules. It showed that her logic and reasoning skills were also among the best of the Hashira. After listening, everyone thought about her plan.
Su Chen couldn't help but nod. This plan was similar to what he was thinking. However, his own thoughts were a bit more detailed. So, Su Chen proposed a few improvements to Shinobu's plan, which made the rules even more complete and perfect.
Apart from Shinazugawa, everyone who heard the final plan was impressed by the cleverness of Su Chen and Shinobu.
And so, the competition was settled. Now, the next issue was the bet.
Shinazugawa's goal was obvious: if he won, Su Chen would teach him how to awaken his Mark. But Su Chen still hadn't said what he wanted if he won.
Su Chen didn't reveal his intentions right away. Instead, he first glanced in Shinobu's direction.
"Shinobu, what do you think?"
Shinobu looked up. "A wager?"
"Yes," Su Chen said, looking at her. "Everyone will be using your mansion for this competition. You can make a request, too."
"Mr. Su Chen can just decide on his own," Shinobu replied with a soft, polite smile, indicating that she had no demands.
Su Chen smiled slightly. It seems this girl is too proud to ask. You won't say you need money, will you? Fine, then I'll say it for you.
Su Chen spoke calmly. "My request is simple. If I win, Shinazugawa-san will be stationed at the Butterfly Mansion."
Hearing this, everyone froze. Kanzaki Aoi and Kanao immediately looked at Kochou Shinobu. The eyelashes on Shinobu's eyes trembled just slightly.
Shinazugawa asked in confusion, "Stationed at the Butterfly Mansion? Does that mean you want me to save people?" He sounded irritated. "Su Chen, kid, aren't you getting ahead of yourself? That's not even mentioning whether you can beat me. A Hashira-level swordsman is a valuable combat force for the Demon Slayer Corps. Why would they be used in a place like this?"
Su Chen looked at Shinazugawa with a patient expression. "Did I say I wanted you, yourself, to be stationed here?"
Shinazugawa was stunned. "Then what do you mean?"
"I only want your status," Su Chen explained. "If I win, you'll just put your 'Hashira' status under the name of the Butterfly Mansion. You can still move around freely."
Hearing this, Shinazugawa was even more bewildered. What kind of condition was that? In his eyes, that didn't seem like a condition at all.
But at this moment, Kyojuro helped him understand.
"Shinazugawa, it seems you don't get it! Let me explain!" he boomed. "Actually, every month, Oyakata-sama gives a fixed amount of funds to the 'Demon Slayer Official Organizations' where a Hashira is stationed. That is to say, your 'status' being stationed here actually represents your personal funding!"
"What the hell?!" Shinazazugawa was completely dumbfounded.
What shocked him wasn't that Su Chen wanted his money. It was that the Demon Slayer Corps regularly sent money to that 'what the hell' organization thing!
Why didn't I know about that?!