The two young girls led Kagaya Ubuyashiki as he walked out slowly.
"Good morning, everyone. It's a lovely day, isn't it? The sky is so blue. I am very happy that we can hold our semi-annual Hashira meeting with no members having changed," Kagaya said peacefully as he walked into a sunlit area, feeling the warmth of the sun.
"We greet you, Master."
Everyone in the courtyard, except for Lexon and Tanjiro, knelt on one knee and spoke with respect.
It was Tanjiro's first time seeing the Master, so he didn't know the rules and naturally didn't kneel. However, his half-risen posture was not much different from kneeling on one knee.
Lexon was different. He had no intention of following such rules. He only bowed slightly to show his reluctant respect, not even bending a knee.
In front of a group of people who had lowered their bodies, he stood out like a crane among chickens.
Although the Hashira were somewhat annoyed in their hearts, they didn't dare to speak up before the Master had spoken.
"Welcome, my children..." Kagaya Ubuyashiki appeared very serene and benevolent at this moment.
"I am overjoyed to see you in good health, Master. I sincerely wish for your health to improve day by day," Sanemi Shinazugawa said, offering a concerned greeting to Kagaya at the first opportunity, even though blood was still trickling from his mouth and nose.
"Thank you, Sanemi," Kagaya Ubuyashiki nodded slightly to express his gratitude.
"Master, forgive my impertinence, but before we begin the Hashira meeting, I hope you will provide an explanation for this corps member named Kamado Tanjiro, who is traveling with a demon, and that the corps member who harbored the demon will be punished. What are your thoughts?"
Sanemi got straight to the point, bringing the matter to Tanjiro and Lexon.
"You're right... I apologize for troubling you all. Tanjiro and Nezuko have my approval, and I hope that everyone can accept them as well. As for Lexon... he really should wear his uniform properly," Kagaya Ubuyashiki said.
Everyone present understood the meaning behind the Master's words.
He was acknowledging that it was fine for Tanjiro to carry out missions with Nezuko, believing that Nezuko was a good demon who didn't eat people. Furthermore, he had cleared Lexon of the crime of harboring a demon, downplaying the major offense by scolding him for the trivial matter of not wearing his uniform properly.
"Ah, ah... even if it is the Master's request, I find it difficult to agree," Gyomei Himejima was the first to express his opposition, his hands clasped together, two streams of clear tears flowing from his eyes once more.
"I also flamboyantly object. It is truly difficult to acknowledge a Demon Slayer who travels with a demon. And the corps member who harbored a demon should receive the corresponding punishment," Tengen Uzui similarly expressed his opinion.
"I will follow all of the Master's wishes," the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, was the first Hashira to agree. Her utmost respect for the Master made her believe his words unconditionally.
"I'm fine with either way. I'll just forget about it soon anyway," the kuudere boy, Muichiro Tokito, said indifferently.
"I can't trust them... I just can't..." The Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro's gaze shifted back and forth between Lexon and Tanjiro. "In the end, I hate demons the most. A swordsman who travels with a demon, a swordsman who harbors a demon, both are unacceptable."
Even Kyojuro Rengoku clearly expressed his opposition, his tone resonant as he said, "Although I respect the Master from the bottom of my heart, I truly cannot understand this idea. I object with all my might!"
"Slaying demons is what the Demon Slayer Corps is for! I hope you will punish the two members, Kamado and Lexon!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's tone was heavy as he made his earnest request.
From ancient times to the present, the mission of the Demon Slayer Corps had been singular: to kill demons!
Almost all of the nine Hashira present had a deep-seated blood feud with demons, and they had seen vibrant lives taken by demons before their very eyes, families shattered because of it. Therefore, they could not simply accept such an unreasonable situation.
"Bring out the letter," Kagaya Ubuyashiki said to his daughter at his side.
"Yes," the young girl responded, taking a paper letter from the collar of her kimono. She then unfolded it and continued, "This letter was sent by the former Hashira, Lord Urokodaki Sakonji. I will read a portion of its contents."
"Please allow Tanjiro to be with his sister, who is a demon. With her strong mental fortitude, Nezuko has maintained her human rationality."
As the letter was read, the aged and heavy voice of Urokodaki Sakonji couldn't help but surface in the minds of Tanjiro and Lexon.
'I should find a chance to go back and visit.'
Lexon remembered that he hadn't been back since he left for the Final Selection, and the thought of visiting Urokodaki Sakonji arose.
"Even in a state of starvation, she has not eaten a person, and has lived like that for over two years. Although this situation is difficult to believe immediately, it is an undeniable fact."
"If Nezuko were to attack another person, then Tanjiro Kamado, as well as Urokodaki Sakonji, Lexon, and Giyu Tomioka, will all commit seppuku to atone."
When her voice fell, the courtyard seemed to fall into silence.
'Hmm?'
Lexon was a little confused.
'Why was I included? I have to commit seppuku too if something happens?'
But seeing Tanjiro's teary-eyed, incredibly moved expression as he looked back and forth between Giyu and himself, Lexon felt a little too embarrassed to say anything.
'It's better not to hurt a kind boy's heart if I can avoid it.'
In any case, Lexon knew that it was completely impossible for Nezuko to eat a person, so he didn't mind.
"What can seppuku prove? If you want to die, then go ahead and die! It's no guarantee at all!" Sanemi's tone was fierce, the bloodshot veins in his eyes gradually reappearing.
'Hey, hey, what are you saying? I don't want to die.'
Lexon thought to himself with a grimace.
Kyojuro Rengoku also echoed Sanemi's words, saying, "As Shinazugawa says! If we wait until a demon kills and eats someone, it will be irreversible! The person who is killed will not come back!"
"That is indeed true," Kagaya Ubuyashiki nodded as if in agreement.
"In that case—" Sanemi awaited the Master's response.
"Master!" Rengoku did the same.
"We cannot guarantee that she won't attack people, nor can we prove it," Kagaya said slowly.
He paused at this point, then continued, "But, we also cannot prove that she will attack people."
"For over two years, Nezuko has not eaten a single person. This is a fact. And there are four people who have staked their lives for Nezuko. To deny this, the denying party must present something of greater value. Does everyone have that kind of will?"
Kagaya's words were unusually heavy, as if they had fallen into the hearts of others, striking them to their core.
Sanemi and Rengoku were suddenly at a loss for words.
"Furthermore, I have one more thing to tell my swordsmen. That is, both Tanjiro and Lexon have encountered Kibutsuji."
Hearing this sentence, in that moment, all the Hashira kneeling on one knee looked at Tanjiro and Lexon with shocked expressions.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]