Tanjiro stood there, watching as Shin Arashi walked off to speak with the loli girl, and his expression darkened slightly.
You just told me to go talk to her if I liked her... Are you sure you don't like her yourself?
Though he felt a little bitter, Tanjiro didn't go over to interrupt Shin's conversation.
He figured Shin was a few years older than him, and at that age, it made sense to take the initiative with girls. After all, once you grow up a bit more, you can even start thinking about marriage.
Shin Arashi's bold move instantly drew the attention of the surrounding boys.
The moment he approached the loli girl, most of the teenagers marked him as their public enemy number one.
"I was the first one to fall for that girl!" a young man suddenly shouted, jumping out from the crowd and pointing at Shin Arashi. "You're not allowed to go after her! If you do… I'll kill you!"
The crowd froze.
Shin Arashi slowly turned his head and raised a finger to his lips in a shh gesture—telling the boy to shut up.
Then, without warning, he disappeared from the girl's side.
The next moment, gasps filled the air as everyone's eyes locked onto Shin Arashi again—he was now standing directly in front of the loud-mouthed boy.
His demon-slaying sword had already been drawn, its cold blade resting against the boy's neck.
The young man froze in place, face pale. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
Then, in the silence, something even more humiliating happened—he wet his pants.
A dark stain spread down his legs and puddled on the ground beneath him.
Shin Arashi's swift, silent movement had made one thing abundantly clear to everyone present:
This wasn't just some older teenager with a cool mask. Shin Arashi was on an entirely different level.
"You couldn't even draw your sword," Shin said calmly, "so how exactly were, you planning to kill me?"
He followed with a smirk and another jab:
"And wetting your pants? Maybe you should just go home to your mother."
The boy stood there trembling knife still undrawn, completely unable to respond.
Because Shin Arashi was right. He had humiliated himself in front of everyone.
Laughter broke out among the other teens, cruel and unrestrained. The boy's face turned red with shame.
Unable to take it any longer, he finally turned and ran down the mountain, tears mixing with his disgrace.
Shin sheathed his blade with a disappointed sigh.
He hadn't intended to hurt the guy—but still, the display had sent a message.
Tanjiro had watched the whole thing. He was stunned by Shin Arashi's precision and speed.
Compared to the Shin Arashi from six months ago, he'd grown even stronger.
"Senior Shin," Tanjiro said hesitantly, "wasn't that… a little too much? You made him cry and run off."
But Shin just shrugged. "Better he runs away now than ends up demon food later. At least this way, he might live."
He crossed his arms, muttering under his breath, "Honestly… Who trained a disciple like that? Weak and arrogant. Participating in the Selection like this—he's just asking to die."
With that, Shin Arashi casually strolled back to the loli girl.
She still wore the same dull expression, completely unaffected by everything that had just happened. Not a flicker of admiration or surprise crossed her face.
Shin blinked, slightly thrown off.
Seriously? That was definitely a cool move just now. I even timed the sword draw perfectly. Nothing?
There were only two possibilities, Shin Arashi reasoned.
Either this loli girl was even stronger than him, and his performance wasn't enough to impress her...
Or...
She was just plain stupid.
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