Horitake draped his arm around Zenitsu's shoulders and engaged him in a serious conversation.
Yes, a very serious conversation.
"Zenitsu, what do you think of Junior Sister Yae?"
Zenitsu squirmed shyly, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Senior Sister Yae... she's very cool! And very pretty!"
Horitake saw through it immediately. It seemed that in just this short meeting, Zenitsu had been thoroughly captivated by Yae. He didn't know yet if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
So, he continued to probe Zenitsu.
"You seem very happy to have such a pretty young lady become your Senior Sister.
"Well, as they say, men and women working together makes the work less tiring.
"But Zenitsu, after I leave, shouldn't you continue to double your training efforts? You can't let this new arrival, Junior Sister Yae, surpass you, can you? That would be far too shameful!"
Zenitsu hesitated.
"Is it... really that bad if I get surpassed? Senior Sister Yae looks like a very excellent person. She's much more talented than I am; she will definitely be able to surpass me!"
Hearing Zenitsu's words, Horitake nearly choked with frustration. He felt that mixture of anger and disappointment one feels when iron fails to become steel.
"Zenitsu! Can't you have a little bit of ambition?! This is only Yae's first day on Mt. Momoyama, and you already think it's fine to be surpassed by her? Can you have a little pride?!
"Furthermore, you are a man. A red-blooded male! What kind of man lets a girl who arrived later catch up to him? Even if you don't find it shameful, I find it shameful!"
Zenitsu remained the same, seemingly indifferent.
"Big Brother, it's not as serious as you say. We are Senior Sister and Junior Brother, all disciples of Grandpa. That makes us like family.
"Among family, what does it matter who is stronger than whom? What does it matter who surpasses whom?"
Horitake was on the verge of a breakdown.
"You really have no desires and no demands, do you kid?!
"Fine. Let's change the approach. Let's change the way we think about this.
"Zenitsu, although you haven't known Yae for long, I assume you can tell what kind of personality she has.
"Do you think that in the future, Yae will like a man who is weaker than herself?
"If you are this indifferent, this unmotivated, and this disappointing, do you think Yae will ever look at you directly? With the way you are now, how could you possibly win Yae's favor!?"
This time, Horitake's method seemed to hit the mark. Zenitsu clearly started to care. He looked at Horitake with hesitation.
"Big Brother, you..."
"You don't need to worry about me.
"Although I brought Junior Sister Yae here, I have no other intentions toward her. I simply see her as a younger sister. My goal is Shinobu and the others."
"Her... Them!?"
"That is not the point! The point right now is you! And Yae!
"Zenitsu, listen. I will be leaving Mt. Momoyama with Shinobu this afternoon.
"After we leave, the only young people here will be the two of you. You are of similar age, and you will be living together for a long time. Zenitsu, do you really have no thoughts about that at all?
"But if you remain this disappointing, if you don't strive for progress, you certainly won't win Junior Sister Yae's favor.
"Or are you truly willing to hand her over to someone else? To let such a prize go to a stranger?"
These words finally provoked Zenitsu!
Zenitsu's dream was to find a beautiful girlfriend, marry her, and spend his life with her. Now, he clearly had a goal within easy reach—the one closest to the water catches the moon first. How could he possibly hand her over to someone else?!
Thinking of this, Zenitsu shook his head like a rattle drum, his expression turning firm.
"No, no!
"If Yae wasn't my Senior Sister, that would be one thing. But Yae is already my Senior Sister, and we will definitely be spending a long time together on Mt. Momoyama in the future.
"How can I let an outsider benefit?! I absolutely will not allow it!"
"Exactly!" Horitake hurriedly spoke with earnestness, taking the opportunity to fan the flames and pour oil on the fire. "So, Zenitsu, can you still afford to be so disappointing? Can you still be so unmotivated? Can you still put in so little effort?
"If you keep going like this, you will definitely be surpassed by Yae.
"When that happens, whether Yae even respects you will be a problem, let alone anything else!
"Zenitsu, I have said all I can. Look out for yourself."
Zenitsu was thoroughly stimulated by Horitake's words.
"If you put it that way... then I really need to work hard! I absolutely cannot let Senior Sister look down on me! I absolutely must make Senior Sister look at me with new eyes!"
In that moment, a raging fire of fighting spirit ignited within Zenitsu.
Seeing this blazing spirit, Horitake felt a wave of satisfaction, but beneath that satisfaction lay a greater sense of helplessness.
He had used all sorts of methods before, none of which truly sparked Zenitsu's drive. Yet now, using a "honey trap"—a beauty scheme—he had mobilized Zenitsu with ease.
It really left one... speechless!
It was true that everything has its weakness; dealing with Zenitsu required exactly this kind of method.
Seeing Zenitsu's fighting spirit burning, Horitake gave him a final few words of warning.
"Zenitsu, let me remind you of something.
"Junior Sister Yae is indeed a nice person, but she came to Mt. Momoyama to apprentice and learn skills, to cultivate properly so she can join the Demon Slayer Corps and kill demons.
"Her family was murdered by demons; she has been through a tragedy.
"In your current situation, this is just one-sided wishful thinking on your part. She currently has no thoughts in that direction.
"I'm telling you this now: in the future, you can slowly show your feelings to Junior Sister Yae, and then see if she is willing to accept you.
"But you absolutely cannot harass her. And you certainly cannot pester her relentlessly like a shameless leech.
"If it doesn't work out, then take a step back and accept the vast sky and wide ocean. Simply being Senior Sister and Junior Brother is not bad either.
"You absolutely cannot wallow in self-pity, and especially cannot stalk or badger her, wasting her time.
"Do you understand!?"
Zenitsu, still burning with fighting spirit, nodded vigorously to show he understood.
"Big Brother, I understand. No stalking or badgering.
"I must be like the spring rain, moistening things silently. I must firmly guard Senior Sister's side, slowly moving her, and touching her heart with my perseverance and persistence!
"Big Brother, don't worry. I understand this kind of thing!"
You understand jack shit!
Horitake almost cursed aloud, wanting to scream those four words.
But after thinking about it, he felt that scolding him directly might crush Zenitsu's confidence.
Zenitsu had finally fired up his fighting spirit; it wouldn't be good to douse it with a bucket of cold water.
Forget it, forget it. Let's just leave it at this for now. He estimated Zenitsu wouldn't do anything too excessive anyway. Let him be for the time being. Who could say what the future held?
Sighing, Horitake said to Zenitsu, "Alright, alright, as long as you're happy.
"Fine. Having fighting spirit is a good thing. Hurry up and turn that spirit into motivation. I'm leaving after lunch today, so before I go, I'm going to put you through a session of special intensive training!
"Follow me!"
That morning, Horitake subjected Zenitsu to another round of insane drilling.
And you know what? Once Zenitsu's fighting spirit was up, he really did work much harder than before. He didn't cry out about pain or exhaustion like he used to, and he managed to persevere through quite a lot.
Soon, noon arrived.
To celebrate Jigoro accepting a new disciple, and to celebrate Yae joining this big family, Horitake personally went to the kitchen and prepared a lavish feast.
At the banquet, everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly, the atmosphere harmonious and full of joy.
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