Chapter 6 — An Acquaintance
With Giyu Tomioka present, Ken couldn't exactly draw from the lottery, so he could only trouble him to get something to eat first.
He was truly starving.
"Can you find me something to eat? If I don't get some food soon, I'm going to starve to death."
Seeing Ken leaning against the wall, looking completely drained and weak in the limbs, Giyu didn't even need to guess—this kid had clearly been living a life of irregular meals, probably going hungry more often than not.
Without responding, Giyu turned and walked straight into the kitchen to look for food.
Ken wasn't surprised by Giyu's sudden appearance.
Even if he hadn't changed the plot, Giyu would have met Tanjiro today anyway.
However, because of his interference, Tanjiro had returned home earlier—and had even witnessed his family being slaughtered by Kibutsuji Muzan with his own eyes.
In that sense, Ken's presence hadn't brought about any positive change. If anything, it might have made things worse.
He wondered whether Tanjiro, after experiencing all of this, could still maintain his kind heart… his respect for life…
"I'm really sorry, Tanjiro." Ken hugged Ryūjin Jakka, his expression dim.
In the kitchen, Giyu found rice, some pickled vegetables, and a small piece of cured bacon.
He cooked the rice and sliced the bacon into pieces, tossing it into the pot to cook together.
By the time the rice was done, the bacon was cooked as well.
He added some pickled vegetables to the bowls, then served two large bowls of bacon rice—one for Ken and one for himself.
The two of them sat in the room and ate in silence.
Ken had no time to talk—he was too hungry and focused solely on devouring his food.
Giyu simply didn't want to talk. Eating together at least made the atmosphere less awkward—and required no conversation.
After finishing two large bowls of bacon rice, Ken finally felt his stomach—and his body—settle somewhat.
With food in him, Ken immediately began using Water Breathing to enhance his stamina, ease the pain in his body, and speed up his recovery.
At its core, Breathing Techniques stimulated and strengthened cardiopulmonary function, allowing the blood to absorb and carry more oxygen in a short period of time.
At the cost of consuming large amounts of oxygen, one could drastically enhance physical abilities in an instant—temporarily gaining stamina comparable to that of a demon.
Once stamina surged, other aspects of physical performance would improve accordingly.
Now, Ken was relying on exactly that to alleviate his body's pain and gradually recover from the strain caused by exhausting himself earlier.
But the moment he began using Water Breathing, Giyu noticed.
As the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, no one in the Corps understood Water Breathing better than he did.
So the instant Ken entered the rhythmic pattern of Water Breathing, Giyu detected it.
"He's actually practicing Water Breathing…" Giyu thought.
"So he really was bragging just now."
"He practices Water Breathing, yet the swordsman who fought the demon clearly used Flame Breathing. And he claims he was the one who drove the demon away."
Giyu shook his head, feeling somewhat disappointed in Ken's character.
Ken: "Huh???"
So even when I tell the truth, no one believes me?!
Although he had uncovered what he believed to be the truth, Giyu had no intention of exposing it.
He would just keep it to himself. Not saying a word.
At this moment, Ken sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, cultivating Water Breathing while contemplating his future plans.
With the system in place—and now knowing that killing demons granted lottery draws—he was essentially tied to the Demon Slayer Corps.
Without the Corps gathering intelligence and providing logistical support, if Ken wandered around alone searching for demons, he might not encounter more than a handful in an entire year.
Secondly, if he wanted to kill demons instead of being killed by them, his own strength had to improve. Relying solely on Ryūjin Jakka to act as a "one-hit finisher" was absolutely not a viable long-term strategy!
Speaking of improving strength, Ken instinctively thought of Sakonji Urokodaki—the former Water Hashira and current trainer of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Since he was already practicing Water Breathing, studying the accompanying sword techniques under Urokodaki shouldn't be a problem…
Ken trained in Water Breathing until dawn. By the time he felt that his body had mostly recovered and stretched lazily, daylight had already flooded the outside.
"Breakfast, breakfast!"
This time, without waiting for Giyu, Ken darted straight into the kitchen himself.
Giyu: "..."
It had been too dark last night to see clearly. Now that it was light out, Giyu planned to go outside and reexamine the battlefield for any additional clues.
Just as he stood up, Tanjiro woke up.
The moment Tanjiro opened his eyes, he called out a string of names:
"Nezuko! Takeo! Hanako! Shigeru! Rokuta!"
Tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks.
Even upon waking, his final memory remained vivid—the sight of his five siblings lying in pools of blood.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream of anguish echoed through the house before gradually fading.
"Calm down first. Can you tell me what happened last night?"
Hearing the voice, Tanjiro looked up at Giyu—and quickly noticed Nezuko beside him, tightly bound.
"Nezuko!!!"
"Calm down! My name is Giyu Tomioka. I'm a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps—you may have heard of us. In any case, tell me what happened last night first, and I'll explain everything else afterward."
For someone not particularly skilled at verbal expression, that was quite a challenge for Giyu.
Although already an adult, Giyu's face still appeared youthful.
Yet the steady, composed aura he exuded helped Tanjiro gradually calm himself.
"Sorry. I understand. My name is Tanjiro Kamado, and…"
Tanjiro recounted everything—from the moment the family had dinner to everything that happened afterward.
After listening, Giyu pondered for a few minutes before asking:
"You said you heard someone shout, 'Kibutsuji Muzan, I will kill you!' Is that correct?"
Tanjiro nodded. "Yes. I didn't hear it very clearly, but I definitely heard it."
"Did you see the swordsman who said that?"
"Sorry… I lost consciousness and fainted after that." Tanjiro shook his head.
"I see. I have a general understanding now."
With Ken's "boasting" and Tanjiro's account combined, Giyu had pieced together a fairly clear picture of the incident.
Now, there was only one remaining question—
Why had Ken appeared here?
Hearing the commotion outside, Ken knew Tanjiro had woken up, so he stepped out of the kitchen.
Seeing Ken, Tanjiro looked surprised.
"Why are you here?"
"I heard from Grandpa Saburo that demons roam at night. I was worried something might happen to you on the road, so as soon as I woke up, I rushed over."