"Wow! Such a huge wild boar! Did you really catch this all by yourself, mister?"
"It's enormous! It looks like it could feed us for a month!"
"Hey, Takeo, don't touch it carelessly!"
In front of a simple wooden house, children of varying heights were gathered around the wild boar Shinichi had caught, shouting in excitement.
Some of the little ones mischievously poked at the boar's pale tusks or its skins.
Shinichi sat on the steps of the Kamado family's wooden house, resting his chin on his hand as he watched the children.
Yuichiro sat beside him, mirroring his posture—both master and disciple holding the same pose.
It was rather surreal, in a way.
Yuichiro had coincidentally run into Tanjiro, who was returning home from selling firewood in
The warm-hearted Tanjiro, upon learning about Yuichiro and Shinichi's situation, immediately invited them to his home as guests.
After a moment's of thought—and noticing Yuichiro's obvious interest—Shinichi agreed to the invitation.
And so, dragging the massive boar behind him, Shinichi followed Tanjiro to the Kamado household with Yuichiro in tow.
One had to admire Tanjiro's pure and kind-hearted nature—he didn't find it the least bit suspicious that a stranger in the middle of nowhere could single-handedly haul a several-hundred-pound boar while carrying a sword at his waist.
Along the way, Shinichi was surprised to see Tanjiro chatting and laughing with Yuichiro.
After all, his disciple was usually curt, even cold and sharp-tongued, towards anyone other than himself.
The way Yuichiro constantly belittled Muichiro was a prime example.
Though this was due to the psychological scars left by his parents' deaths, expecting Yuichiro to suddenly change his manner of speech was unrealistic.
Yet, as he spoke with Tanjiro, Shinichi could clearly sense Yuichiro's improved mood—the usual chill in his tone had softened considerably.
There really was something healing about talking to someone so pure and kind-hearted.
During their conversation, Yuichiro firmly rejected Tanjiro's use of "Onii-san" for Shinichi.
While it wasn't technically wrong—after all, the twelve-year-old Tanjiro was much younger—Yuichiro took issue with it.
Calling his master "onii-san" would make Tanjiro his senior by default, wouldn't it?
So, at Yuichiro's insistence, Tanjiro settled on addressing Shinichi as "senpai" instead.
Following Tanjiro home, Shinichi met the rest of the Kamado family.
The Kamado household was lively—seven members in total, including Tanjiro.
Kamado Kie, Tanjiro's mother, was a gentle woman who warmly welcomed Shinichi and Yuichiro after hearing their story.
She even grabbed a basket to gather fresh wild vegetables and mushrooms from the mountains to prepare a meal for them.
Tanjiro's father had passed away due to poor health.
A flicker of sorrow crossed Tanjiro's eyes when he mentioned this.
Kamado Nezuko, Tanjiro's younger sister, was a beautiful little girl who greatly admired her brother.
When Tanjiro wasn't around, it was Nezuko who took care of the younger siblings.
On her back was the youngest of the Kamado children—Kamado Rokuta.
Kamado Takeo - The second son of the Kamado family, a lively little boy with a slightly tsundere personality.
Though he clearly cares deeply about his older brother's praise, he deliberately acts like it's no big deal.
Kamado Hanako - The second daughter of the Kamado family, a very shy little girl.
Kamado Shigeru - The third son of the Kamado family.
Both he and his sister Hanako are extremely attached to their older brother Tanjiro.
It was truly a lively household.
After witnessing the warm and bustling scene of the Kamado family, Yuichiro's eyes clearly revealed feelings of envy and loneliness.
However, after Shinichi patted him on the shoulder, Yuichiro regained his composure.
No matter what, he still had his master and his younger brother.
He would definitely protect everything he had!
The Kamado family had many members but few able-bodied workers, so their life wasn't particularly wealthy.
Usually, it was their mother Kie who took care of everyone.
But in recent years, as Tanjiro and Nezuko grew up, the sensible siblings had helped their mother shoulder much of the burden.
During winter, Tanjiro would go into the mountains to cut firewood, then burn it into high-quality charcoal to sell in the town at the mountain's base.
When the weather wasn't cold, Tanjiro would also sell firewood directly.
Thanks to Tanjiro's honesty, kindness and helpful nature, the townspeople were very supportive of his business.
Who wouldn't like such a young man?
At noon, thanks to Kamado Kie's culinary skills, the Kamado family's lunch was exceptionally good today.
Because of the wild boar Shinichi had brought, the table boasted fragrant roasted pork and pork bone soup.
Although Tanjiro's charcoal and firewood sales helped, the Kamado family's life still wasn't very good.
Normally, they only bought meat during festivals—they rarely had opportunities to enjoy such a lavish meal like today.
Before the meal began, the Kamado children had already gathered around the kitchen, drooling in anticipation.
When the pork was finally served, they could hardly contain their excitement.
However, their mother Kamado Kie sternly stopped the children from reaching for the pork with their chopsticks, first inviting their guests Shinichi and Yuichiro to eat.
Shinichi thanked Kie for her kindness, excusing himself by saying he'd already eaten some rations and wasn't hungry.
He encouraged the Kamado children to eat heartily—after all, the wild boar was huge.
With cheers, the Kamado children launched their attack on the delicious pork and the famished Yuichiro also dug in enthusiastically.
Shinichi sat to the side, sipping tea from his cup while watching his disciple and the Kamado children devour the meat.
The other children ate normally, but Yuichiro and Tanjiro stood out the most—they had already piled up seven empty rice bowls yet were still eating voraciously.
Their eating seemed less like a meal and more like a competition, with the other children loudly cheering for their brother Tanjiro.
Kamado Kie smiled as she refilled the boys' bowls.
Yuichiro could eat so much because of his intense training and physical demands, but Tanjiro seemed to have a natural talent for being a bottomless pit.
Shinichi watched with amusement.
Before long, the winner emerged—Yuichiro won by half a bowl of rice.
The Kamado children were all adorable and instead of feeling sorry for their older brother Tanjiro, they clapped loudly for Yuichiro's victory, which made the handsome boy blush with embarrassment.
Not long after lunch, Shinichi checked the time and decided it was time to bid farewell to the Kamado family and take Yuichiro with him.
Kamado Kie gently offered, "Let Tanjiro accompany you to the town then. He knows the mountain paths well and can save you a lot of time."
Shinichi: "That would be a great help."
What a wonderful family the Kamado's were.
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