Chapter 154: When the News Reached the Demon Slayer Corps, Everyone Was Shocked!
The sunlight was blinding.
A Kasugai Crow flew across the distant sky.
It spread its wings and soared for a while before finally flying into Kagaya Ubuyashiki's room.
From that moment onward, an earth-shattering piece of news instantly shook the entire Demon Slayer Corps!
Amane first spread the news, then slowly sat down beside Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
She told him the good news.
Kagaya was so excited that he coughed up blood, then half-supported himself as he sat upright.
"Wonderful! Ren!"
"He truly is the hope of the Demon Slayer Corps! The situation that has remained unchanged for a thousand years has finally been overturned!"
"No one has ever slain an Upper Rank in a thousand years! And Ren did it!"
"Tengen is no less impressive. He even helped Ren hold off another Upper Rank."
"One, two, three! Three Upper Rank demons in total! This is a tremendous achievement for the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Kagaya spoke at length, while Amane supported him from the side.
Amane understood all too well that Kagaya—or, more accurately, not merely Kagaya but the entire Ubuyashiki family—had a deep-rooted hatred of demons.
Ren's actions had given Kagaya hope.
It was the hope held by the entire Demon Slayer Corps.
No one could have imagined that the boy who had joined them back then would one day grow into such a mighty eagle!
He had slain three Upper Rank demons in succession, shattered the long-standing belief that Upper Ranks were untouchable, and demonstrated overwhelming strength!
It could be said that Ren's actions this time were enough to make his name famous far and wide, turning him into an eternal legend within the Demon Slayer Corps.
Because he had accomplished something that no Demon Slayer in thousands of years had ever managed to do!
The news continued spreading farther and farther.
Meanwhile, inside Butterfly Estate…
An incredibly excited Murata limped along, grimacing in pain as he waved his arms and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Good news! Good news!"
Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho from Butterfly Mansion came running out one after another.
"Murata-senpai, you're here again?"
"Is your leg still not better? If it were Big Brother Ren, he'd have recovered already!"
"Murata-senpai keeps saying there's good news every day, and then deliberately teases us every time. What is it this time?"
Murata: "…"
Murata felt as though he had suffered a devastating critical hit worth ten thousand points.
What kind of thing was that to say?
How could three lively little girls be so vicious?!
He had previously said there would be good news because the atmosphere at Butterfly Estate had been far too gloomy. That was why he announced good news every single day!
For the past several days, Murata had been coming to Butterfly Mansion every day. His relationship with Kiyo, Sumi, Naho, and the other girls had rapidly improved, and he had practically become a member of Butterfly Mansion.
Hearing the commotion outside, Aoi Kanzaki also came out, carrying a wooden tub filled with clothes.
"Is that Murata? What news do you have today?"
"Good news!"
Murata held up the Kasugai Crow triumphantly.
"To ensure the authenticity and timeliness of the news, I even brought the Kasugai Crow here!"
"Looks like it really is good news!"
The girls asked in unison, "Then what exactly is the news?"
Murata excitedly announced, "It's the kind of news that'll leave you completely dumbfounded—and it's about Ren!"
Whoosh!
A blur of flowers flashed down from above.
The figure of a girl dressed in white tore through the air.
When she landed, she was holding an innocent-looking Kasugai Crow in her hands.
Murata was stunned.
"Where's my Kasugai Crow?!"
The Kasugai Crow that had been there just moments ago had disappeared!
All Murata had felt was a sudden whoosh, as though something had flown past him.
And then his Kasugai Crow was gone!
"Who was that?!" Murata shouted.
But Kiyo, Sumi, Naho, and Aoi answered for him.
"Kanao-nee-chan!"
That's right.
The person who had just appeared was Kanao.
In just a few days, her speed had improved yet again.
With a single leap, she had moved so quickly that Murata couldn't even see her shadow!
"She's incredible!"
Murata couldn't help exclaiming in admiration.
Kanao stood there silently, like an elf beneath the sunlight.
Compared with her, everything around her seemed to lose its brilliance.
Cold, powerful, detached from the mortal world.
That was Murata's first impression of Kanao.
Then Murata saw Kanao hurriedly pull the letter from the Kasugai Crow's leg.
Her expression was tense as she devoured the contents like a starving wolf.
Seeing her anxious and frantic expression, Murata realized that she was completely different from before!
Murata sighed.
"Ren really is a winner in life. So many girls like him."
But before he even had time to feel jealous, Kanao suddenly cried out.
"Ah!"
"What happened?!"
That cry instantly made Aoi and the three little girls extremely nervous.
They were terrified of hearing any bad news.
Even though Murata had said it was good news, they still couldn't help worrying.
Before Kanao could say anything, they rushed to her side and began reading the letter.
Meanwhile, Murata was pushed out of the group…
Murata: "…"
"Oh my goodness! Ren actually slew an Upper Rank demon!"
"One, two, three! There are three in total! That's enough for a matching game!"
"Ren is still alive! Thank goodness! I knew he'd be all right! Waaaaah!"
Aoi and the three little girls all burst into tears.
During this period, Ren's departure had been like a huge boulder pressing down on their hearts.
They couldn't sleep.
They couldn't eat.
Now, everything had finally begun to get better.
They had news about Ren—and, more importantly, it was good news.
The darkness in their hearts had finally given way to a ray of light!
The little girls excitedly hugged one another, crying out loudly.
"That's wonderful! Ren is still here! I knew it! Waaaaah!"
Aoi also kept wiping away her tears, her excitement impossible to hide.
Kanao, however, remained silent.
It wasn't that she wasn't happy.
Rather, she felt that she was simply too weak.
The last time Ren had left in front of her, Kanao's heart had been shattered.
She had remained bedridden for a long time.
Yes.
At that time, she had been terribly sad.
She had been utterly heartbroken.
Aside from her aunt and sisters, Ren was the most important person in the world to her.
From the day she lost Ren, Kanao had completely changed.
Little by little, she had reverted to the person she used to be.
Until one day…
The man with bangs, Murata, had run to Butterfly Estate and said that he had news about Ren.
And for the first time in several days, Kanao ate.
Then she ate more.
And more.
It was as though eating all that food could somehow save Ren.
In truth, she didn't know what else to do.
But she remembered Ren telling her that eating could make a person stronger.
That was also what the Flame Hashira had once told Ren.
So Kanao began eating.
She began training.
She even declared that she wanted to leave with Shinobu when Shinobu departed.
If Shinobu refused to take her, Kanao was even prepared to secretly follow her!
But Shinobu had told her,
"Kanao, your injuries are severe. As your sister, I promise you that I will definitely bring Ren back!"
"I've already lost Ren these past few days. I don't want to lose you too."
In the end, Kanao stayed behind.
But she felt increasingly weak.
She longed to become stronger.
She trained desperately.
She gave it everything she had!
And finally, today's letter became her greatest reward.
Thank you, Shinobu-nee-chan!
That was what Kanao thought as well.
But strictly speaking, Shinobu's departure hadn't brought much benefit.
If anything, it had increased the travel expenses and needlessly added to Butterfly Mansion's costs…
The news continued to spread…