Roy paused slightly, standing amidst the dense forest, allowing the sunlight to shine through the green leaves, draping him in a mottled sun garment,
He recalls first entering the Demon Slayer World, returning home alongside Tanjiro. At this moment, emotions surged, much like the endless tides... With another step, he took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the small courtyard fenced by wooden stakes.....
"Tread... Tread...." The sound of footsteps gradually approached,
A shallow line of footsteps stretched out from the dense forest, and at some point, hearing the sound, Takeo and Mao, who were playing with tops in the courtyard, thought Tanjiro had returned from chopping wood, and called out "Tanjiro Nissan," only to turn around and meet Roy's warm and gentle gaze,
The two little ones, holding whips made of hemp strands,
"Pa~" fell to the ground.
"Big Brother!"
"It's Big Brother!"
Excitement, agitation, disbelief transformed into Nen rising gently above their heads, paving a splendid red!
Takeo and Mao shouted and no longer played with the tops, sprinting towards Roy like the wind. In a moment of haste, Mao accidentally tripped over a stone, screaming as he fell to the ground,
Unexpectedly, a leaf descended, a wisp of clean wind arose, and as Roy's hand moved, he invoked Wind Breathing, swirling Mao to land beside him.
Mao's small head filled with big confusion, obviously startled for a moment, then regaining his senses, looked up at Roy, who was a whole head taller than Tanjiro, stretched out his hands, and hugged Roy's leg: "Big Brother... I missed you so much!"
"Big Brother, me too... I missed you too!" Mao hugged Roy's left leg. Before Roy could affectionately chide the two, Takeo followed suit, lunging over and embracing his right leg between small bustling arms.
As the commotion grew louder... Roy stood at the doorway, with the three little ones hanging on him, smiling as he looked into the courtyard....
Nezuko, Grandma, and a toddling little girl with two small pigtails were stumbling out, led by two others...
"Nezuko, Grandma, Hua Zi......"
"Eiichiro Nissan,"
"Good kids,"
"Eeh eeh yah yah~"
Little Hua Zi shyly hid behind Grandma, evidently a little wary of strangers... Roy knelt down, clapping his hands softly, and said: "Come, Hua Zi, come to Big Brother's arms."
Behind him, Tanjiro slid down, smiling as he listened and watched, Grandma urged Hua Zi, and with Nezuko in tow, was embraced by Roy,
The sound of soft sniffles echoed... it was Nezuko's tears of longing,
Roy didn't speak, simply gently stroking the young girl's forehead, comforting in silence, until from the wooden house on the east side of the courtyard, the kitchen curtain was lifted, revealing Kie Kamado with a headscarf, Roy squatted down, grinning at her: "Mother, I'm home."
Kie Kamado, wearing an apron, hands sticky with some steamed rice grains, was momentarily stunned, then her eyes quickly reddened.....
"Home... it's good to be home... it's good to be home...."
"Anata (Husband),"
"Eiichiro has come home...."
"Cough cough~" A series of strong coughs sounded from the main house, a thin, frail figure gradually emerged, right hand clutched into a fist to suppress a chest discomfort, though it was summer, a blanket was still draped over his shoulders, leaning against the door frame, smiling as he watched....
Father and son, with hearts connected, nodded at each other simultaneously, in that moment, it seemed nothing needed to be said, yet everything was understood, beyond words.
"You're home."
"I'm home."
"Come inside."
"Mm."
Roy stood up, with both Takeo and Mao hanging onto each of his legs, holding Hua Zi in one arm, and Nezuko by the hand with the other, followed by Tanjiro, dutifully helping his big brother with his backpack, slowly heading toward the main house....
"Hohoho... good kids, go chat with your father, I'll go help your mother." With a head full of white hair further sprinkled with silver, Grandma, stooped, sidestepped to make way for the young man, then turned toward the kitchen, shuffling away....
At the kitchen door, Kie Kamado lifted the kitchen curtain, wiped away her tears, smiled at Roy and said: "We're having sushi today. I had Tanjiro buy a fresh fish from the market the other day, it's still alive, kept in the tank, we'll deal with it later."
Roy readily agreed: "Sure, just as I passed by the market, I bought some things,"
Saying that, he led the little ones onto the main house corridor, settled down, and, heart-set on it, conjured the Sumeru Mustard Seed, and reaching in like performing magic tricks, pulled out loads of things under the dazed gazes of Tanjiro, Takeo, Mao, Nezuko, and others.
There were new clothes for Nezuko, Takeo, and Mao,
A bamboo pinwheel for Hua Zi,
Fabric bought for mother, father, and grandma,
Snacks bought for the kids,
Meat, rice, oil purchased for the family... a heap piled up like a small mountain before their eyes, leaving everyone's eyes wide open in shock!
"Nissan, did you... empty out the market?!"
"How did you bring back so many things?"
"Oh my..."
Too much... too much... a dazzling array that almost overwhelmed the eyes,
Roy smiled without explaining, flipped his hands and pulled out from the Sumeru Mustard Seed, the Mind Weapon Wooden Blade previously carved for Tanjiro, tossing it to him.
Thanks to Ging, Roy now possesses his own unique understanding and insight on how to successfully enchant objects with Nen,
This Mind Weapon Wooden Blade carries a bit of his understanding of swordcraft, how much Tanjiro could comprehend in the future would depend on his diligence and talent...