A soft, gentle, and slightly mature young woman's voice drifted lightly into Mizuki's ears.
Mizuki subconsciously lifted her head, and the back of her skull bumped into Kochou Shinobu's modest chest, causing her to momentarily freeze.
Unexpectedly well-endowed.
"Mhm." The faint, refreshing scent of herbs mixed with Kochou Shinobu's fragrance wafted into Mizuki's nostrils and straight to her brain, causing Mizuki to close her eyes in comfort.
But before she could enjoy it for long, Mizuki opened her eyes expressionlessly.
Her crimson double pupils stared intently at the masked man bent over in front of her, whose fingers were less than three centimeters away from her Nichirin Blade.
Haganezuka shivered violently, a chill shooting up his spine straight to the crown of his head, and he stiffly turned his neck.
Mizuki covered her face and waved her hand dismissively.
Haganezuka immediately sat up straight, banged his head several times, then snatched Mizuki's Nichirin Blade and scurried outside.
Immediately, the sound of two swordsmiths gasping in surprise could be heard.
Kochou Shinobu and Mizuki: "..."
He's a guy who knows when to yield and when to stand firm.
"That's enough, it was very comfortable." Interrupted by Haganezuka, Mizuki lost the desire to rest. She turned back to Kochou Shinobu, gave a faint smile, and then got up to leave the room.
"Haha, how is it?!"
In the hallway, Tanjirou and Inosuke were admiring the dual blades he had hammered out —his work of art.
It must be said that this guy's craftsmanship was quite good; he managed to hammer them so symmetrically.
In the corner on the other side, two swordsmiths were huddled together, butts up.
"See? I told you it was a good sword."
"Mhm! It truly is a rare and excellent sword. It's hard to imagine the skill of the smith."
"Wait! Who is the master swordsmith? Could we..." Before Tetsunomori could finish, Haganezuka slapped him on the head.
"idiot! Didn't you see the character 'Destroy'? This is a sword from before the class system was established. Are you trying to dig up a grave?"
Mizuki: "..."
Ignoring the two, Mizuki looked down at Tanjirou: "Tanjirou."
Tanjirou looked up: "Miss Mizuki?"
Mizuki smiled faintly: "We talked about this before, didn't we? Once you master the Constant Concentration technique, I will give this Nichirin Blade to you."
Kochou Shinobu, who had followed her out, couldn't help but look slightly stunned.
Mizuki is indeed training this child as her successor.
Before Tanjirou could speak, Haganezuka jumped up from the side.
"How could th—"
Mizuki shot him a sidelong glance, causing Haganezuka to shiver and quickly close his mouth and lie back down.
Tanjirou sweated a little, then said seriously: "The sword Mr. Haganezuka forged is very comfortable for me to use. If possible, I would like to continue using it."
At this, Tanjirou smiled: "It wouldn't be right to just discard my own sword."
Furthermore, he felt that Nichirin Blade was very important to Miss Mizuki.
Mizuki's eyelids dropped slightly; she was about to speak.
Haganezuka delivered a Leo Flying Kick, sending Tanjirou flying: "You bastard kid! Don't think I'll approve of you just because you said something so touching!"
Inosuke roared with laughter: "this great lord will join in too!"
Mizuki's head started aching again. Not a single one of these people was normal.
Speaking of which... where is Zenitsu?
Finally, Mizuki found him in the room where Nezuko was kept. That guy was squatting next to the box, harassing Nezuko.
Sure enough, not a single one is normal... Time rewinds slightly.
Infinity Castle.
The demons who had gathered here once again felt a terrible premonition, because the woman who appeared instantly before them had a gloomy expression and was openly releasing a tyrannical aura.
The moment they met her gaze, the demons knew the identity of the woman before them.
The demons knelt down in unison: "Muzan-sama!"
Kibutsuji Muzan was in a very bad mood.
Ever since she met that Demon Slayer wearing hanafuda earrings, a terrible premonition had risen in her heart.
Sure enough, that premonition came true.
Muzan's expression was grim: "Rui was killed, killed by that Demon Slayer wearing hanafuda earrings."
Because she was somewhat concerned about that brat, Muzan had been paying attention to the Lower Rank demons' situation during this time.
The successor of that monster.
Although he was so weak at first, he has now grown strong enough to fight and defeat one of her Twelve Demon Moons.
That brat is growing at an unimaginable speed.
Only then did the demons realize that one of the Lower Rank demons was missing.
Lower Rank Four Mukago trembled uncontrollably: "My deepest apologies, I failed to find the Demon Slayer you mentioned."
"Ah, I know that, of course."
If she didn't know they were actually following her orders, Muzan would have already abolished the Lower Rank positions.
Despite being her direct subordinates, they are terribly weak.
Giving the demons no chance to resist, several thick, long whips pierced into their bodies.
"I will share my blood with you. You will become even stronger."
"Go find that Demon Slayer for me."
Muzan watched the demons struggling in pain below with a grim expression.
This time, there will definitely be no surprises... After three months of recuperation, everyone was fully recovered.
Regarding Tanjirou's promotion, there was no grand ceremony; among the Hashira, only Kochou Shinobu, who was stationed at the Butterfly Mansion, was present.
After meeting Ubuyashiki Kagaya and returning with Kochou Shinobu, Tanjirou was successfully promoted to the Sun Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Zenitsu stamped his feet in exasperation: "That awful Tanjirou! How dare he sneak ahead!"
"I'm the one who's supposed to become the Sound Hashira! You just got lucky and met a Lower Rank demon first!"
He had already imagined himself becoming the Sound Hashira and being adored by thousands of girls.
Tanjirou gave an awkward smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Inosuke waved his hand and said mercilessly: "No, no, you brat were absolutely terrified back then."
Zenitsu instantly bristled: "bastard! Who was scared!"
Kochou Shinobu smiled as she watched the scene: "Tanjirou has great talent."
"Mhm." Mizuki pursed her lips lightly.
Rather, all three of them are quite talented.
As the main protagonists, it's natural that they possess the aptitude to become Hashira.
If they could just mature a little, that would be even better.
A black feather drifted across the sky. It was Mizuki's Kasugai Crow, Xueque.
"Tanjirou! Inosuke, Zenitsu! Your next mission is the Mugen Train!"
The group's roughhousing instantly stopped.
Mizuki's expression shifted slightly. It's finally here.
Worried that the missions assigned to Tanjirou might change after he became a Hashira, Mizuki had informed Ubuyashiki in advance, requesting that she be notified of any missions assigned to Tanjirou.
The Mugen Train is exactly where Upper Rank Three appears.
Inosuke shouted: "Ooh!! I want to become a Hashira too!"
"idiot! Do you think the Twelve Demon Moons are like common vegetables?" Zenitsu couldn't help but retort. "Most people never meet one in their lives, and we just encountered one. It's not that easy for them to appear again."
"..." Mizuki, after a long time, took out a strip of cloth to cover her face and turned to look at her Nichirin Blade.
Kochou Shinobu smiled as she handed over the Nichirin Blade: "Be careful in everything you do."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!