Chapter 167 — What Did I Do Wrong?
"Nezuko! You're going the wrong way!"
Tanjiro cried out in alarm.
Ren was resting over there!
Why had his sister chosen that spot?
What if she disturbed Lord Ren's rest?
Tanjiro immediately got to his feet and grabbed Nezuko.
Nezuko responded with a string of protesting "Mm! Mm! Mm!" sounds.
The siblings hadn't even encountered an enemy yet, and they were already having a disagreement.
Seeing this, Ren was practically speechless.
Then he sighed.
"It's fine, Tanjiro. Let Nezuko go."
"But, Lord Ren..."
Tanjiro was still somewhat worried.
"What's the matter? Are you afraid Nezuko will eat me?"
"No!"
Tanjiro hurriedly shook his head, but his arms remained tightly wrapped around his sister.
Ren chuckled.
"Then judging by that expression, are you worried that I'll eat your sister?"
"Of course not!"
Tanjiro immediately released Nezuko.
Nezuko happily pounced toward Ren.
She sniffed the air, her face filled with happiness and contentment.
"Mm~ Mm! ₊ ⁺ ꒰ ১ ♡ ໒ ꒱ ⁺ ₊"
Nezuko...
Tanjiro looked at his sister and couldn't help shaking his head.
It wasn't that he had realized his little sister had grown up and no longer depended on him.
Rather, he was worried that she would disturb Lord Ren.
Seeing Nezuko practically hanging off Ren, Tanjiro couldn't help feeling awkward.
Zenitsu rolled over in his sleep.
For some reason, his snoring was getting louder and louder.
Meanwhile, Ren calmly closed his eyes, seemingly beginning to rest as well.
In the end, Tanjiro returned to his seat and, like Ren, closed his eyes and began meditating.
Since Ren had said there would be danger later, Tanjiro naturally wasn't going to fall asleep.
Through meditation, he could sense anything unusual the moment danger appeared.
That way, he could immediately alert his companions.
As for resting...
He would leave that pleasure to the others!
...
At the same time.
At the front of the train.
Ren's figure suddenly appeared.
That's right.
The moment Nezuko had pounced toward him, Ren had used Dragon Breathing, Ninth Form — Dragon Shadow Doppelgänger.
In other words, the Nezuko currently hugging Ren was merely one of his clones.
It wasn't that Ren was afraid.
He simply felt that if he touched her and Shinobu smelled her scent after returning to the Butterfly Mansion, things would become troublesome...
Ren suddenly froze.
That was strange.
Why had he even thought of that?
He was only fourteen. What was wrong with making friends outside?
But the moment he imagined Shinobu's stubborn little expression, Ren felt inexplicably nervous.
Forget it.
Why bother thinking about this?
Ren shook his head and focused his attention on the tracks ahead.
He remembered that the train conductor seemed to have been controlled as well.
In the original events, the conductor had taken advantage of the opportunity to stab Tanjiro.
Now, Ren wanted to see what condition Tanjiro was in.
Ren slowly walked toward the front of the train.
Just as he pulled open the door to the driver's cabin, he heard a man's snoring.
Ren: "..."
Ren was startled.
If that snoring belonged to the train conductor, then who was driving the train right now?
Ren hurried over to take a look.
He found the conductor sleeping soundly, a blissful smile spread across his face, apparently thoroughly satisfied with whatever dream he was having.
The train was still moving forward, with no sign that it was about to derail.
Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Damn.
He had actually been riding a death train for half a day without realizing it!
Ren didn't think too much about it.
He simply slapped the conductor awake.
The conductor rubbed his swollen cheek and immediately jumped to his feet.
"Who?! Who?!"
But what greeted him was an extremely sharp Nichirin sword.
Under the lights illuminating the top of the train carriage, the black Nichirin blade gleamed coldly.
The sight of that razor-sharp blade finally brought the conductor back to his senses.
Ren wasn't Tanjiro.
He wouldn't go out of his way to save someone after being stabbed by them.
Perhaps Ren could also use that method to influence others.
But he simply wouldn't.
He didn't want to.
Ren was gentle only toward those he cared about.
Toward his enemies, he showed nothing but cruelty—even when those enemies were human.
The conductor now understood the situation before him.
"Friend... what are you doing?"
The conductor's voice carried a hint of guilt.
He had already recognized Ren.
How could he possibly fail to recognize that distinctive Nichirin sword?
After all, this was the target Enmu had ordered them to attack!
The conductor was also one of Enmu's subordinates.
He certainly hadn't expected to encounter Ren here.
Wait!
The conductor suddenly realized something.
His pupils contracted sharply.
"You... you... how are you here?!"
"Pretty smart."
Ren sneered.
"Are you asking why I didn't fall into the dream? Or are you asking where the demon protecting you went, and why I'm here at the front of the train?"
"And isn't the worst thing I've done simply disturbing your wonderful dream?"
The conductor fell silent.
He pressed his lips tightly together, not daring to utter a single word.
But his expression clearly showed that everything Ren had just said was correct.
If Ren was here, that could only mean the others had failed.
That included the demon he had considered extraordinarily powerful.
That demon had most likely been defeated by this young man as well.
Just who was this young man?
The conductor clearly remembered how powerful that demon was!
Countless Demon Slayer Corps members had died at his hands.
Why had such a powerful demon suddenly died?
If the conductor knew that Enmu had died inside Ren's dream, he probably would have been shocked out of his mind.
Tonight, every passenger on the train had enjoyed a beautiful dream.
But Enmu had been the one to have a nightmare...
"I told you to speak!"
Ren's voice was cold enough to freeze the air.
The conductor nodded.
"Where is this train going?"
"I don't know either. I'm just driving it wherever. The demon didn't give me a fixed route, so I simply followed the original route."
Ren relaxed slightly inside.
Then he asked,
"Why did you choose to cooperate with a demon?"
The conductor was clearly stunned.
"Cooperate... with a demon..."
He gave a bitter smile.
"Because I wanted to see my wife and child. They died in an accident a long time ago. I miss them terribly."
Ren looked at him.
"So you lost your way because of that?"
"Lost my way?"
The conductor's emotions suddenly became agitated.
"I don't think I've lost my way! I just wanted to see my wife and son! What did I do wrong?!"
"You're not wrong."
Ren coldly shook his head.
"But neither are our passengers. You can't sacrifice all of them just to achieve your own goal."
Having said that, Ren didn't give him another chance to explain.
He struck him heavily once more, knocking him unconscious.
Then Ren controlled his clone and instructed him to tell Tanjiro to find someone capable of driving the train again.
At the same time, Ren opened his eyes and personally sat down in the conductor's seat.
The Transparent World was activated!