Cunning bandits hiding in rugged mountains.
I don't know when they started being called '××'. By the time I came to my senses, these guys were already feared as '××', and their notoriety had spread widely to the villages at the foot of the mountains.
I was a member of '××'. No, perhaps not enough to be called a member.
The most accurate expression would be 'I was being raised'. Yes, that's exactly it. I was their livestock.
They picked me up as a newborn baby not out of atonement for killing my parents or pity for an orphan. They just needed a tool that could understand words.
My role in '××' was very simple.
Crouch in the middle of the road and quietly wait for someone to come. Sometimes, writhing from the bitter taste of poison grass forced down my throat, waiting for a kind person who couldn't just pass by a sick child.
If possible, a rich man was good. A foolish young master in fancy clothes was even better. Children don't carry valuable things, but since the child itself could be sold, it wasn't bad. When a young woman fell for it, '××' were especially happy.
'××' lived off the money and items stolen like that. On days when big prey was caught, dinner was lavish.
Rice balls were much larger than both my hands, bowls were filled to overflowing with soup, and meat with bones piled up like mountains on plates. Emptying lined-up sake bottles, '××' chattered all night long.
My meals were after they fell asleep. I picked up rice grains fallen on the table, licked the soup left at the bottom of bowls, and sucked on bones with scraps attached.
But I never touched sake. No matter how hungry I was, if I drank that, it would be the end. I'd be buried in the mountain.
Once, a kid in the same situation as me took a sip out of curiosity.
That guy was tortured so severely he howled all night, and from the next day, he was gone. Probably by now, his bones are somewhere in this mountain.
I had no name. I didn't particularly think it was inconvenient.
'Hey' 'You' 'Do that' 'Clean this up'
That was enough.
I always thought this life, worse than a slave, was like trash.
Because I wasn't an idiot.
But I didn't think about running away to become free.
Because I wasn't an idiot.
I knew that even if I ran away, there was nowhere to go.
Because I wasn't an idiot.
I understood that I couldn't survive outside this place.
I lived, acted, and sustained my life to not go against '××'s whims, to not be a hindrance, to be of even a little help. Then, luck followed me too.
Noticing that I was a quick-witted kid, I caught the boss's eye and received a necklace, saying "You can have this," though it was just a worthless trinket.
My first possession, belonging to no one else, something of my own for the first time in my life.
It felt like I had finally been recognized as a human after a long slave life. My heart swelled. I trembled with joy, thinking this is what happiness and pleasure are like.
But that happiness lasted only until the police surrounded the mountain to wipe out the bandit group '××'.
Taking advantage of the darkness of night, the police stormed the hideout, and '××' fought like mad.
Screams, shouts, drops of blood. In this darkness, you couldn't even tell who was hitting whom. I too was in a situation where I didn't know when or by whom I might get hit.
No one protected me. In the whirlwind of violence with fists, clubs, and blades flying, I just desperately ran away.
I didn't think about how to live afterwards. I just didn't want to die. I didn't want to lose my life.
Because that was the only thing I had from the beginning, the only thing in the world that could be called mine. No matter what, I didn't want to have that taken away.
If you die, it's over. Losing has no meaning. If you just stay alive, you can manage somehow. If you just stay alive, luck might roll in to clear away this trash-like life so far.
No, I will seize victory myself. I will crawl up from this bottom.
In the place where I barely escaped with my life, I heard rumors that '××' were all executed without exception. There is no one left calling themselves '××'.
Then. Ah, then── shall I take it?
Having lived without a name until now, I know no name other than '××'.
The people of the world didn't help a kid with no parents or education living alone. Perhaps being livestock was better. Freedom ultimately means no guarantees.
Not even given minimal food, I rummaged through trash like a stray cat and drank muddy water like a wild dog. People all looked at me like trash.
To eat something slightly better, I also stole. There was no guilt. Because it was to survive. I was fast, so I could always run away without being caught.
But if theft repeated, I couldn't stay in the same village, so my life continued wandering from place to place.
When I couldn't stay in a village, I hid in a suitable mountain. Mountains are good. Because with tree fruits or grass, it wasn't hard to survive.
Of course, there are also difficulties. When I accidentally eat something poisonous.
Most poisonous grasses are familiar because they were forced into my mouth tirelessly during my time living with the bandits.
But unluckily, the grass I chewed and swallowed that day had a poison so dangerous it was incomparable to anything before.
No matter how much I vomited, the dizziness didn't subside. Just as I was trembling with frustration, thinking I might die from the pain as if my stomach was twisting.
──That was when I met him.
It had already been weeks since I said goodbye to my mother. But I was spending time without even encountering a single demon, let alone the Demon Slayer Corps.
Strange. Were demons originally this low in appearance rate? Were they in a position like Metal Slimes? Do demons also have desire sensors?
I even entered mountains likely to have high demon appearance rates and slept rough, but only insects came near. I never called you, dragonfly kings.
Sleeping rough itself isn't hard. But there's a limit to the food you can get in the mountains, so it's tough.
I need to buy something from the village. Like eggs, rice, miso, soy sauce. I want to eat delicious food. This diet is too harsh for a tongue accustomed to my mother's cooking. What? Vegan? What's that?
Using the travel money my mother gave is not an option. Let's save that for when I'm really in trouble.
So, I thought I'd make medicine from herbs and sell it! I made various medicines, but── upon careful thought, I have white hair and red eyes. I don't have an appearance fit to appear before people.
I cover my hair with a hunting hat, but I can't cover my eyes. I couldn't even go to buy ingredients, let alone sell medicine.
Isn't there someone who could sell medicine for me and buy ingredients…… While thinking that, I was wandering on a mountain path.
"Ugh, Uweeek!!!"
I came across a boy vomiting the contents of his stomach as if saying 'Congratulations! It's healthy vomit!'
Looking at the half-eaten grass scattered at his feet, I guessed. That's a dangerous poisonous grass. It seems he put it in his mouth carelessly because he was hungry.
Quickly feeding the antidote to the boy writhing in pain from the poison, he fortunately soon calmed down. What a kid with great vitality. Reminds me of Kyūtarō.
Asking him why he was alone in such a mountain, he said he was an orphan. With no relatives to rely on and no money, he was quenching his hunger with muddy water and weeds, and unluckily ate poisonous grass.
A good idea came to me.
I asked him to take the medicine to the village and sell it for me.
Explaining that I have circumstances preventing me from entering the village, and that I would pay a considerable reward if he took care of it for me. Adding that if he bought ingredients, I'd treat him to meals, the boy thought for a while and then nodded.
Negotiation successful.
That evening, I could eat my fill of miso porridge with plenty of mountain vegetables.
"Wow~ I'm saved! I really owe you my life. I thought I'd have to eat only mountain vegetables forever."
"Is that so."
"I'm glad you're here. Thank you. Here, eat a lot! It's a waste if there's leftovers."
"Hmph."
"I have circumstances and am traveling around various places, but I can't enter villages because of this appearance, so it's troublesome."
"Ah, is that so. What do you want me to do about it."
"So, if you have nowhere to go, why not travel with me? I make medicine, you sell it, and we eat together…… How about it?"
"……Well, I don't mind."
Saying that, the boy slurped down the remaining miso porridge in the bowl.
"Chew properly. You'll get a stomachache."
"Shut up, it's my choice."
That was my first meeting with Kaigaku.
Meichiro was an idiot. An unbelievably stupid idiot.
"Brought food. And here, today's earnings."
"Thanks, Kaigaku. Then…… here, let's split the money half and half as usual."
Not only did he not notice me skimming off the sales, but he tried to split the earned money fairly with me.
Even though he was two or three years older than me, he didn't know what suspicion was. He was an absurd idiot who couldn't even imagine that I might run off with all the money.
He waited for me like a stupid dog, and when he saw me, he smiled brightly and welcomed me, saying "Welcome back."
That smiling face with no anxiety or suspicion felt strangely frustrating, made my insides twist as if excited, and gave a weird feeling of my heart prickling.
Meichiro seemed to be traveling with some purpose. Because he moved between various mountains in the middle of the night searching for something, sleeping rough was always basic, and he didn't use village lodgings.
"Night is dangerous, so Kaigaku, go to a lodging and sleep." Meichiro persistently suggested, but I didn't leave his side.
Because the current life wouldn't work without Meichiro. If he disappeared while I wasn't looking, it would be troublesome, and if a kid had money, it was annoying that unnecessary meddlers would appear.
Above all, sleeping clinging to Meichiro was much warmer than the thin futon of a cheap lodging.
Meichiro makes medicine. I sell it. We eat with that money.
A cooperative relationship with no sense of camaraderie, just aligned interests. If one side collapses, that's the end. I thought our relationship was like that.
But Meichiro was much more of an idiot than I expected.
"If you have a fever, you should have said so from the start! Kaigaku, really!!"
"Sh... shut up……!"
It happened one day. I collapsed from high fever. No, my condition hadn't been good for a few days already. Hiding it and acting as usual, I eventually reached my limit and collapsed.
Why did I hide that I wasn't feeling well? It's obvious. Rather, tell me the reason to hang out with a useless trash.
The moment it's discovered that I'm useless, I'll be abandoned. During my bandit days, I don't know how many kids I saw abandoned like that.
This is the world. Orphans like me are countless, and selling medicine is an easy job that can be done by others besides me. There's no reason it must be me.
I knew I wasn't special. Like common sense. So, there was no reason for Meichiro to insist on me. There shouldn't have been.
"Here, take the medicine. It's bitter, but don't vomit. Water? Can you drink?"
Using medicine that I wonder how much it would sell for on me without hesitation, isn't he an idiot.
He's really an absurd idiot, but that's too, too much for me……
"Is there anywhere that hurts? Don't endure it, tell me honestly. I'll make medicine."
"It doesn't hurt……!"
"Don't lie while crying like that, Kaigaku. Here, don't turn your head away."
"I'm not crying……!"
Meichiro's nursing continued until the fever completely went down. He didn't even curse at me for being a pest, fed me rice, kept changing the cloth on my forehead, and looked at my face with worried eyes.
Even though the fever was painful and my head throbbed, a corner of my heart was wrapped in an unknown, warm sense of relief.
Thanks to the medicine and nursing, the fever went down cleanly within a few days, but it's a secret that I pretended to be sick for a few more days because I was happy to be worried about.
Meichiro probably noticed it was a pretense. Even so, he didn't get angry. He just kept gently stroking my head.
After my body and mind recovered, I went down to the village again to sell medicine.
Meichiro nagged, saying "Rest for a while," but if I don't sell medicine, there's no income.
This was the third time selling medicine in this village. Regulars had formed, and one of them suddenly brought up such a story.
"Hey, kid. Have you seen a person with white hair and red eyes?"
Just seen? I'm living with him. It's about Meichiro.
"There's someone looking for that guy, offering an amount that would let you play and eat for the rest of your life if you bring him. Don't you know anything?"
"……I don't know. I've never seen one."
I'm in no position to say anything about Meichiro either.
Not being able to calculate profit and loss to this extent, I'm quite a fool too.
"Ah! Welcome back, Kaigaku!"
"……I'm back."
I thought the voice welcoming me was gentle. Seeing his smiling face made me inexplicably happy. Whether medicine sold or not, Meichiro was always smiling.
He seemed happier that I returned safely than with the money I brought. Was thinking that self-conceit?
"Sold all again today? Nothing left? Kaigaku is amazing. Don't you have business acumen?"
"……But we earned too much. Let's move somewhere else quickly before thugs target us."
"Huh, right now?"
"Right now. Hurry up and prepare, you fool."
The most precious thing to me is my life. That hasn't changed.
But if I had to name a second, undoubtedly, Meichiro would be smiling there.
After the incident of collapsing from high fever, it seems the distance between Kaigaku and me has suddenly become closer.
Previously, it was a dry relationship like business partners, but lately, it feels more like family.
Previously, when I stroked his head, his default expression was annoyance, but last time, when I absentmindedly stroked it, he rubbed his head against me, saying "Hmm" and acting shy. That moment, history moved.
Somehow, like forming a bond with a wary stray cat, that sublime feeling. I got excited and stroked it vigorously, but immediately got threatened with a hiss!
Kaigaku's age seems to be about seven or eight years old no matter how you look. Two or three years younger than me. But he's more mature than me.
Since he said he was with a bandit group before meeting me, it must be influenced by such an upbringing. Similar to Kyūtarō.
Haa? I must take care of him vigorously (sense of mission).
First of all, giving sweets to children is my creed, so whenever I get a chance, I make candy and feed it to Kaigaku. Healing myself by watching Kaigaku looking a bit happy rolling the candy in his mouth.
……But my goal is the Demon Slayer Corps. I can't be with Kaigaku forever. It was on a day when I was worrying if there was a safe nest where Kaigaku could live without worry.
"Both of you have nowhere to rely on……. Then, come to our temple."
On a day when preparing to sleep rough at our next destination, Mount Hinode. A passing man invited us like that.
He introduced himself as Himejima Gyomei. He said he lives in a mountain temple with children who have nowhere to rely on.
Himejima was a person who cried a lot. Upon hearing that Kaigaku and I had lived alone, he poured out tears like a water cannon.
"For two brothers to hold hands and share hardships together…… It must have been truly difficult."
Himejima was blind. So, he seemed to mistake Kaigaku and me for brothers.
Without a chance to correct it, Himejima picked us both up and took us to the temple. He was surprisingly strong for his slender build.
I thought Kaigaku would throw a fit, but unexpectedly, he's quiet. His face is unusually red, maybe his cold has relapsed. I must check his condition later.
There were eight children at the temple. The children who saw me all made surprised expressions, and only then did Himejima seem to notice that my appearance was different from others.
But he didn't find the white-haired, red-eyed appearance ominous and warmly accepted me. The children at the temple were the same. The children here were all kind.
Kaigaku, who initially showed wariness, soon became accustomed to life here.
When alone with me, the atmosphere was somewhat tense, but after gaining a protector like Himejima, his wariness seemed to loosen. After all, what a child needs is a protector to rely on, huh.
After getting a house to settle in, Kaigaku finally seemed relieved and smiled well. Seeing Kaigaku smiling an age-appropriate smile while having his head stroked by Himejima makes me feel good too.
Kaigaku really liked being praised by people. He took the lead in temple work, and after finishing, his smiling face saying it's all done was so cute that I praised him vigorously. Children should be raised with praise.
Living together with many reminded me of that time spent with Rui and the others. If that incident hadn't happened, would we still be living like this now?
While lost in such memories sitting around the dining table together, Kaigaku sitting next to me poked my side with his elbow.
"Hey, you stopped your chopsticks."
"Huh…… Ah, sorry."
"…Are you hurting somewhere?"
"No, I was just thinking how delicious it is to eat together."
I like it here. Muttering that unintentionally, Kaigaku slightly opened his eyes wide and smiled. That's right, he replied in a soft voice.
Kaigaku's messy chopstick handling has now become quite proficient. Thanks to learning from Himejima.
Himejima truly cherished the children, and the children liked Himejima very much. The living was poor, but everyone was rich in heart and warm.
My eyes are congenitally inconvenient, so I cannot judge people by appearance.
Even if Meichiro is a boy with white hair and red pupils, I have no idea how unusual that is. I don't know white or red.
But I know. White is the color of winter snow, and red is the color of autumn leaves turning red. Children often excitedly chatter, saying "pretty" for both.
Then, Meichiro's colors must surely be beautiful.
"Meichiro is like a rabbit."
That was Sayo's words.
Upon hearing that, Meichiro's presence changed slightly to a reluctant one, but when Sayo said in a lisping voice, "Sayo likes rabbits!" it quickly eased.
Sayo giggling while hugged in Meichiro's arms. Kaigaku said curtly, "What foolish thing are you doing." Sulking because Meichiro was taken by Sayo.
Then, Meichiro this time tightly hugged Kaigaku. Kaigaku squealed, but in the emotional color contained within, a content smile was drawn.
Even without seeing, I could tell from the atmosphere and presence. How happy those children are now.
Meichiro was a smart child, and Kaigaku was no less quick-witted. I heard that before coming to the temple, they lived together by selling medicine. Meichiro made it, Kaigaku sold it.
Perhaps because of that, Meichiro knew many things, and Kaigaku was good with words.
Both were kind-hearted children, and wishing for temple life to be even a little easier, they added the money earned from selling medicine to the temple.
I also worked hard every day until my body broke, but since there were many shortages, while sorry for troubling the children, I was truly grateful for their help.
"Himejima~ I'll put today's earnings in the jar as usual."
"Alright. Thank you, Meichiro. I'm always sorry."
"Say thank you to Kaigaku. It's thanks to Kaigaku that we can sell medicine."
"Heh……"
"? What is it?"
When I said I'm equally grateful to Kaigaku, I was recalling that Kaigaku had answered that making medicine is Meichiro's work.
"It's nothing. Just thinking how much you brothers resemble each other."
"No, Kaigaku and I aren't brothers."
"What?"
Until now, I believed they were biological brothers. Because I felt that Kaigaku trusted Meichiro completely, and Meichiro genuinely cared for Kaigaku. There was an atmosphere between them like from people who have been together for a long time.
"I see, you weren't brothers."
"Yes. See, our vibes don't resemble each other at all, right?"
"Certainly, but……. Since Kaigaku calls you big brother, I naturally thought you were brothers."
"What's that, tell me in detail."
Meichiro leaned forward. Hesitating for a moment if I should tell, but since there's no reason to hide, it should be fine.
"……When I praised that Meichiro's medicine is effective, he said, 'Because big brother's medicine is the best in Japan.'"
With a shy face exuding a soft atmosphere, Kaigaku definitely said that then. Now I understand why he hastily added, 'Don't tell big brother what I just said!'
Meichiro's body trembled slightly. It was a tremble of emotion unable to suppress joy.
"My little brother can't be this cute……!!"
Leaving that one phrase, Meichiro dashed out of the room.
Soon after, Kaigaku's shouting voice could be heard. A voice unable to hide shyness, mixed with the children's laughter. And finally, hearing Kaigaku also burst into laughter, I unknowingly smiled softly.
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