Good bird!
What a good bird!
Ryosuke had never felt that a Kasugai Crow's mission intelligence sounded so pleasing.
Like he had been granted a great pardon, his body moved faster than his brain!
"Understood! Departing right now!"
Ryosuke scrambled, using both hands and feet to rush into the house, grabbed his bundle, and sprinted down the mountain.
"Ryosuke! You..."
"Ryosuke-nii!"
"Yasui Ryosuke!!!"
Three shouts rang out simultaneously, and the three of them chased after him in sync.
Ryosuke didn't stop his steps, waving frantically behind him.
"Grandpa! Shota! Rika! I'm off! Mission urgent! See you later!"
As soon as his voice fell, Ryosuke had already disappeared around the corner of the winding mountain path.
"Ryosuke-nii! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
Rika stomped her foot in reproach, displaying a young girl's cute petulance.
Ryosuke stumbled and almost fell.
He could practically see Rika puffing out her cheeks, her eyes red, like a fluffed-up kitten whose tail had been stepped on.
This destructive power made him panic even more than facing Meng E directly.
Ryosuke shrank his neck, wind under his feet, and ran even faster.
Can't mess with her, can't mess with her, gotta slip away!
...
Traveling day and night made him temporarily toss aside the awkwardness and the young girl's worries from Momoyama.
Ryosuke followed the crow's guidance through cities and villages, looking for the local Kakushi contact point.
Suddenly, a shout full of surprise rang out from behind him to the side.
"Ryosuke-san?! Ryosuke-san!"
Ryosuke turned his head towards the sound and saw Moriyama Akira leaning half his body out from behind a wall, waving vigorously at him.
"Moriyama?"
Ryosuke stopped, somewhat surprised.
His teammate this time was actually this "King of Being Carried."
Moriyama Akira trotted over, his tone cheerful.
"It really is you! That's great! I said that back looked familiar, and this black haori! Haven't seen you since Mt. Fujikasane, didn't expect to bump into you here!"
"You also received the mission for this place?"
Ryosuke asked, his gaze habitually scanning the surroundings.
The mission briefing was vague, only mentioning "suspected demon activity," without even details on casualties or missing persons.
"Yeah!"
Moriyama Akira nodded repeatedly, a look of distress and confusion appearing on his face.
"I've been here for three days, but I haven't found a trace of the demon at all!"
"I've checked carefully inside and outside the county, can't sense even a bit of demon aura."
"And the locals all say no one is missing. It's very strange. This demon... hides way too well, right?"
Ryosuke didn't speak.
This matter was indeed weird everywhere.
No trace of the demon, no casualties or missing persons.
Everything was too normal, concealed too well.
Ryosuke deduced that this demon's Blood Demon Art was likely a spatial type similar to Kyogai or Nakime.
Or perhaps like that ugly mug Gyokko, able to hide and merge into objects.
But compared to these, Ryosuke was more curious about the boy in front of him.
The difficulty of Demon Slayer Corps missions was generally linked to the number and rank of the slayers.
Ryosuke was now Kanoe Rank, which proved that Moriyama Akira was also...
Thinking of this, Ryosuke frowned slightly.
"What rank are you now?"
"Huh? Oh!"
Moriyama Akira smiled a bit embarrassedly: "Kanoto Rank."
"Kanoto Rank?!"
Ryosuke was somewhat surprised.
The reason he reached Kanoe Rank was that he killed a Rokurokubi and several other demons, and also assisted Shinjuro in killing Meng E.
It should be known that Shota, that brat, fought tooth and nail chopping demons all the way, and was only Kanoto Rank now!
And this brother in front of him, who passed Mt. Fujikasane by getting carried and had mediocre strength... was actually also Kanoto Rank?!
Not only fast, but ridiculous.
"I don't mean anything else, just pure curiosity."
Ryosuke looked at Moriyama Akira with a probing gaze: "How did you rank up?"
Moriyama Akira looked even more embarrassed.
"Uh, hehe... I'm ashamed to say, I relied entirely on luck."
"Luck?"
Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Moriyama Akira nodded vigorously, as if he had finally found someone to confide in.
"First mission, the crow said the target was in an abandoned warehouse in the west of Osaka city. I took a wrong turn and crashed into a mass grave in the south of the city..."
"Guess what? That demon was right there! And he had already been chopped so bad he didn't look human!"
"He urgently needed human flesh and blood to recover and was digging up graves to eat corpses without checking the time. He happened to get hit by the rising sun, half his body burned, rolling on the ground in pain!"
"I just... just went over and finished him off..."
Hah?!
Ryosuke: o_0?
"The second time."
Moriyama Akira recalled, seemingly also finding his own experiences bizarre.
"The target was in a deep old forest. I was chasing and chasing when I lost my footing and fell into a cave. It was full of children captured by the demon."
"By the time I got out with the children, the others had already finished the battle... I got credit for saving people, so... picked up a ready-made achievement..."
The corner of Ryosuke's mouth began to twitch uncontrollably.
Bro, seriously.
What kind of fxxking luck is that!
I fight to the death killing demons, and both your missions were freebies!
"One more time."
Moriyama Akira seemed to have opened the floodgates, talking non-stop.
"The crow indicated the demon was by the river. By the time I arrived, I don't know what happened, but the demon plunged headfirst into the rushing river, got disoriented by the current, and smashed his head on a rock. His head was smashed flat... I drew my sword and chopped him."
He spread his hands, looking helpless.
"Just muddled through a few missions like that, accumulated some merit, and got promoted to Kanoto Rank."
The air was quiet for a few seconds.
Ryosuke sighed, feeling absurd and numb.
Although his appearance changed the direction of the original story, allowing Shota and Moriyama Akira to survive.
But in the original work, there was already a "Road Hashira" Murata with heaven-defying luck!
And he was fxxking Water Breathing too!
From the same batch as Giyu and Sabito!
Good, good, good—
Is your Mt. Sagiri mass-producing protagonists and children of destiny?!
An absurd thought flashed through Ryosuke's mind.
Could it be that because 'Kings cannot meet Kings' (two dominant figures cannot coexist), Moriyama Akira's luck buff failed at Mt. Fujikasane in the original work?
Abstract!
Too fxxking abstract!
Ryosuke couldn't help but think of Sabito and Makomo.
Those two geniuses who should have blossomed with dazzling talent but withered early because of the Hand Demon.
Now that the Hand Demon was eliminated, their fates... should be completely different, right?
"Ryosuke-san?"
Seeing him silent for a long time, Moriyama Akira called out softly.
Ryosuke came back to his senses and changed the subject: "Ah, nothing, just thought of some things. Is Mr. Urokodaki doing well?"
"Oh! Master is doing well! A while ago he took in a new little girl named Makomo, she's super cute."
Speaking of Mt. Sagiri, Moriyama Akira's tone lightened.
"Ah! Right! I have three junior brothers, Sabito, Giyu, and Murata. The first two have better talent than me, learning things super fast!"
"As for Murata, although his talent isn't high, I have the best relationship with him. He's a very interesting person, hehe~"
Sure enough...
Ryosuke smiled.
They should be participating in the Final Selection at Mt. Fujikasane next year.
Ryosuke's heart settled, and an idea formed instantly.
Since Momoyama wasn't peaceful recently anyway, he could go hide there for a bit.
"Moriyama."
Ryosuke spoke, discussing with him: "After this mission ends, I want to go to Mt. Sagiri with you."
"Huh?"
Moriyama Akira was stunned.
"I want to pay a visit to Mr. Urokodaki on behalf of Grandpa Jigoro Kuwajima."
"Sure, sure!"
Hearing this, Moriyama Akira nodded hurriedly.
"Master mentioned you last time too, saying Mt. Fujikasane was all thanks to you. He always wanted to thank you in person but couldn't find the time."
"Once this mission is done, we can go back together! Master will definitely be very happy to see you!"
Ryosuke nodded too. He had to go to Mt. Sagiri.
These people he saved by changing fate would all be helpers in overthrowing Muzan in the future.
At this moment, a strange smell rushed into their noses.
Ryosuke and Moriyama Akira froze at the same time.
This smell was too strong, too familiar.
Demon!
It's the aura of a demon!