Chapter 71: Sword Village
At the Butterfly Mansion, Kochou Shinobu's movements still managed to wake Tomioka Giyu.
Tomioka Giyu turned over, hugged Kochou Shinobu again, and murmured, "Don't fuss, let me sleep a bit longer."
Kochou Shinobu, held in his embrace, obediently hummed in agreement.
However, this intimate atmosphere was quickly interrupted as the door was pushed open.
"Shinobu, breakfast is ready. Aoi made your favorite..."
Kochou Kanae swallowed the rest of her words, her face flushing at the scene before her.
Tomioka Giyu and Kochou Shinobu immediately sat up, about to explain, when Kochou Kanae interrupted, "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know Tomioka-san hadn't left."
"Uh... breakfast is ready, remember to come out and eat. I won't disturb you, bye-bye!"
Kochou Kanae closed the door as if fleeing, her footsteps pattering, growing fainter and fainter.
Kochou Shinobu playfully hit Tomioka Giyu, a little annoyed, "It's all your fault! You just had to sleep a bit longer!"
Tomioka Giyu didn't argue, instead ruffling her hair and saying,
"Alright, my fault. Get up and eat, I still need to go see Oyakata-sama later."
Kochou Shinobu protested, "You're so annoying, you messed up my hair!"
Then, looking at Tomioka Giyu who had already dressed, Kochou Shinobu opened her arms, looking at him expectantly and saying,
"I don't want to eat, how about we sleep a bit longer?"
Tomioka Giyu gave a helpless smile; how could he not know Kochou Shinobu's little thoughts?
This girl didn't really want to sleep; she clearly just wanted to be intimate with him for a bit longer.
However, Tomioka Giyu didn't hug her. Instead, he turned and picked up the socks Kochou Shinobu had taken off.
Then, under Kochou Shinobu's curious gaze, Tomioka Giyu held her foot with one hand and slowly put the sock on with the other.
"Ah!!! What... what are you doing?!"
"Uh, putting on socks."
As he spoke, Tomioka Giyu had already put on one sock and was about to grab Kochou Shinobu's other foot, but she pulled it away.
Kochou Shinobu's face was flushed, and she stammered, "I... I know you're putting on socks, but... but why are you helping me put them on? (⁄ ⁄ • ⁄ ω ⁄ • ⁄ ⁄)⁄"
"Oh, because you're staying in bed, so I can only help you get up. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"But, but you can't..." Kochou Shinobu couldn't find the words to refute Tomioka Giyu for a moment.
She could only shyly snatch her socks away.
"I, I'll put them on myself! I won't stay in bed anymore, we'll go eat right now!"
Tomioka Giyu nodded in satisfaction, then put on his haori and looked out at the bright sunshine.
In a moment, Kochou Shinobu was dressed.
"Giyu, let's go! (◍ ╹ x ╹ ◍)"
When they arrived at the dining table, the two were indeed a bit late; Kochou Kanae and the others had already finished eating.
However, they had still left food that both of them liked.
Kochou Kanae smiled at the two for a long time, then left with just one sentence as she pushed the door open and departed.
"How wonderful, Shinobu has found a good home."
This time, Kochou Shinobu no longer hid her feelings, but nodded happily and exchanged a smile with Tomioka Giyu.
After eating, Kochou Shinobu brought Tomioka Giyu's sword to him.
"Here, you should go to Oyakata-sama's place quickly. I'm going to sleep for a little while longer."
— — — — — — — — — — — —
After a quick tidy-up, Tomioka Giyu left the Butterfly Mansion and arrived at Oyakata-sama's residence.
He certainly needed to give Oyakata-sama an explanation for his disappearance and reappearance.
Even if it was made up, it was better than acting as if nothing had happened.
However, the one who received him was now Amane-sama; Ubuyashiki Kagaya's curse was already reaching its peak.
The entire process didn't take too long. Tomioka Giyu used a vague and ethereal god to explain why he had disappeared and reappeared.
Immediately after, he applied to go to the Swordsmith Village, the reason being simple: to talk to Mori Tekko about the issue with his sword.
After speaking, Tomioka Giyu hesitated repeatedly, but ultimately left Oyakata-sama's residence.
He actually wanted Oyakata-sama to tell him where Tamayo was.
Now that the demon slayer mark had awakened, he thought that only Tamayo, an experienced medical expert, would have a way to compensate for it, as she was the best assistant to kill Muzan.
But the problem was, he had no idea where she was. Tanjiro didn't know either; only Oyakata-sama had found Tamayo's location.
Although at this point in time, it was unknown if she had been found, there must have been some clues.
But the key was that he couldn't find a suitable reason to tell Oyakata-sama.
"Forget it, after the Swordsmith Village, I'll see if I can follow that cat."
While Tomioka Giyu was deep in thought, members of the "Kakushi" arrived.
"Tomioka-sama, please allow us to blindfold you. We will now proceed to the Swordsmith Village."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
In the afternoon, at sunset, Tomioka Giyu was finally delivered to the Swordsmith Village.
Upon entering the village, Tomioka Giyu first paid a visit to the village chief, and then went to Mori Tekko's place.
He chatted casually with him over drinks until the sun had completely set, then Tomioka Giyu left and headed towards the hot springs.
Coming to the Swordsmith Village without soaking in the hot springs would be a wasted trip.
However, before that, he went to his temporary lodging to change into a kimono before going to the hot springs.
He hadn't been soaking for long when Tomioka Giyu heard echoes coming from nearby.
"Ah—!! Tanjiro-kun~~ Tanjiro-kun~~"
Tomioka Giyu recognized the voice; without much thought, it had to be that girl with the sakura mochi hair, Kanroji Mitsuri.
"Tanjiro has arrived, it seems the Swordsmith Village arc is about to begin."
Just then, a spirited young man with a rooster comb hairstyle walked in, bare-chested.
But when this spirited young man saw Tomioka Giyu, he clearly froze for a moment, then quickly greeted him.
"Tomioka-san! Why are you here too?"
Tomioka Giyu looked him over and said with a hint of helplessness, "Genya Shinazugawa, have your scars increased again?"
"I told you, don't follow your brother's example."
That's right, this young man with the rooster comb hair was Shinazugawa Genya, the younger brother of Shinazugawa Sanemi!
Shinazugawa Genya didn't know how to answer Tomioka Giyu and could only stand there silently, like a scolded child.
This made Tomioka Giyu laugh, "Alright, come down and soak in the hot springs."
"The effects of these hot springs are excellent in every sense of the word."
Speaking of which, his acquaintance with Shinazugawa Genya was at the Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei's place.
After all, for a period of time, he either went there to train or to challenge him to a fight.
It would have been difficult for Shinazugawa Genya not to know him.
Initially, Shinazugawa Genya didn't pay much attention to Tomioka Giyu.
But as time went on, seeing that Tomioka Giyu could actually slowly keep up with Himejima Gyomei's attack rhythm, he found it incredibly surprising.
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