"Hm? What riddle?"
"What is something that, once obtained, will not only disfigure your face but also reduce your lifespan to twenty-five years in one breath?"
Recalling Mitsuba's previous question, Shinobu was full of distress.
"I thought about it all day yesterday but couldn't figure out what this riddle refers to, but Mitsuba said neechan would know…"
[I… know?]
The hand chopping vegetables suddenly stopped. Kanae's brows slightly furrowed, and the smile on her face gradually faded.
She keenly realized this shouldn't be an ordinary riddle—otherwise, Mitsuba wouldn't have specifically had Shinobu ask her.
[This should be a "coded message." Mitsuba must want to take this opportunity to convey some information to me…]
[Disfigure face, twenty-five years… wait!]
A flash of inspiration crossed her mind. Kanae suddenly remembered the "Demon Slayer Mark" that Ubuyashiki had mentioned at the Hashira Meeting.
If she remembered correctly, after that boy named Tanjiro awakened his Mark, a strange flame-shaped imprint had appeared on his left forehead.
Disfigure face… twenty-five years…
[There's a price to awakening the Mark?!]
Her pupils constricting, Kanae instantly understood everything.
The power boost brought by the Mark was not without cost—it required the awakener's lifespan as payment!
And the deadline for this price was twenty-five years!
Any demon hunter who awakened the Mark would absolutely not live past twenty-five!
So that was it. This was the truth Mitsuba wanted to tell her through this coded message…
[Miss Mitsuba, she doesn't want me to awaken the Mark, so she deliberately used this method to reveal this intelligence to me through Shinobu…]
Realizing this, a happy smile once again appeared on Kanae's face, and even the hand with which she chopped vegetables became lighter.
"Neechan, did you think of it?"
Behind her, Shinobu asked curiously.
"No, not at all."
Her tone light, Kanae only smiled and replied:
"Miss Mitsuba's riddle is far too difficult. Neechan completely can't think of the answer either~"
[Cannot be spoken, cannot be said. Even knowing, one must pretend to know nothing, keeping everything hidden in one's heart…]
"Eh? How could that be? Mitsuba clearly said before that neechan would definitely know the answer…"
"That was definitely Miss Mitsuba deliberately teasing you~ Shinobu, it's not like you don't know—Miss Mitsuba is just such a mischievous personality~
Alright~ it's just a riddle anyway. It's not something important, so forget it if you can't figure it out.
Quickly tell neechan in detail what you all went out to play yesterday. Neechan wants to hear."
"Hooray! Neechan, let me tell you…"
After this, Shinobu ate a delicious breakfast.
"…"
Time came to noon. After finishing cleaning up the kitchen, Kanae returned to her bedroom.
Sitting at the desk in the corner, she picked up her pen and opened the new diary she had bought.
[A certain year, a certain month, a certain day.]
[I have officially become the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps' investigation team targeting Upper Rank One.]
[Current subordinates: Kamado Tanjiro, Agatsuma Zenitsu, Shinazugawa Genya.]
[To better summarize and plan future actions and prevent oversights, I have decided to use a diary to carefully record all details of my future actions and thought processes.]
Yes, Kanae was writing a diary.
There was no other reason—only that she felt she must write this diary.
Recalling everything that had happened these past two days since the Hashira Meeting, Kanae slowly wrote on the clean paper surface:
[First point: At the previous Hashira Meeting, the reason I did not tell Master Ubuyashiki about the entanglements between my Butterfly clan and that Upper Rank One in the past, nor about her current human identity as "Tsugikuni Mitsuba," has two reasons behind it.]
[First, it is because my clan's past involvement with Upper Rank One is far too deep.]
[Although by my mother's generation, we had already resolved to forever draw a clear line with this demon from then on, even joining the Demon Slayer Corps to eliminate it.]
[But this does not mean I can completely wash away the sins upon me… As a sinful person, my heart is always extremely fearful.]
[I am very clear that many demon hunters in the Demon Slayer Corps have blood feuds with demons.]
[So I have always been very afraid—afraid that everyone will learn of my past, afraid that comrades will therefore suspect me, ostracize me, or even expel me from the Demon Slayer Corps and strip me of my identity as a demon hunter…]
[This future is absolutely unacceptable to me!]
[I carry my mother's dying wish upon me, carry the gods' expectations. As the only human in this world who might possibly slay Upper Rank One, no matter what, I must remain in the Demon Slayer Corps!]
[Until the time comes when I can completely slay Upper Rank One, completely end this thousand-year struggle between demons and demon hunters, and completely wash away my clan's sins!]
[Therefore, for now, let those past entanglements between my clan and Upper Rank One remain temporarily secret from Master Ubuyashiki.]
[Wait until I have made more progress in investigating Upper Rank One, wait until everything is ready—then telling Master Ubuyashiki will not be too late…]
[And the second reason is related to Upper Rank One herself.]
[By comparing the appearance of Upper Rank One described by Tanjiro and the others with the appearance of "Tsugikuni Mitsuba" that I previously saw with my own eyes, I am very certain that when Upper Rank One appeared at Mount Fujikasane, she had deliberately altered her appearance.]
[This is a very unusual action. As the strongest demon in this world aside from the Demon King, this demon would actually disguise herself when attacking demon hunters?]
[Regarding this, I think only one explanation suffices—that this demon actually cares very much about her current human identity as "Tsugikuni Mitsuba."]
[She does not want this identity to be exposed to the demon hunters' sight too early.]
[This is an excellent opportunity.]
[Currently, both I and Shinobu have unexpectedly become acquainted with this identity of hers—especially Shinobu, who has established an extremely good relationship with her.]
[We sisters can precisely use this opportunity to continue drawing closer to this demon, pry more intelligence about other Upper Rank demons from her mouth, or even… find an opportunity to slay her!]
[Mm, for the next period of time, let's advance in this direction.]
[For the Demon Slayer Corps, for repaying my clan's sins, I will definitely think of every possible way to get close to this demon and gain her trust.]
[Of course, considering Shinobu is not a demon hunter and cannot use breathing techniques, it's best to temporarily keep all this secret from her.]
[I will handle all matters. This child only needs to continue maintaining an intimate relationship with that demon.]
After writing all this, Kanae gently closed her diary.
Putting down her pen, she raised her head to look at the street outside the window, but her thoughts drifted to distant places.
[Speaking of which, those three—Tanjiro and the others—seem to have been temporarily sent out on a mission by Ubuyashiki, right?]
[If I remember correctly, it should be… Mount Natagumo?]
…
(Forgot to mention before—Yoriichi's reincarnation will also appear later, meow, but it will be much later, meow~)