"The Demon Slayer Corps?"
"That’s right."
Escanor had suggested that Ume and Gyutaro join the Demon Slayer Corps.
"...What’s that?"
Of course, none of them knew much about it.
"From what I hear, it’s a place that hunts down those insects."
"...But what would we even do there?"
"Yeah! Maybe you, big brother, but I’ve never even fought anyone before!"
They were both dissatisfied, naturally.
Gyutaro’s reaction was basically, Why bother? while Ume complained that she couldn’t fight.
But Escanor only smiled at them and said, "Ume. Aside from me, there are no creatures born strong from the start. I will personally help you grow stronger. Even if things become dangerous, you will be safe as long as you stay by my side."
Then Escanor held out his hand to Ume.
"Will you come with me?"
...!!
"W-Well... if you say so..."
"Hey..."
Ume took Escanor’s hand, hiding her reddened face.
Gyutaro, seeing that, was completely dumbfounded.
"And what about you?"
"...Hah. I can’t just let Ume go alone. I’ll come too."
"A wise choice."
With that, Escanor stood up.
"Now then... I don’t know where it is, but shall we go become Demon Slayers?"
"Oh!"
"...Sigh..."
And so, the three of them set off.
...
"Kochou Kanae. Are you sure you’re all right going alone?"
"Yes. Of course."
The mission to bring the man who had killed an Upper Rank to the Demon Slayer Corps.
The one assigned to that mission was the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kochou Kanae.
"Since he killed an oni, I doubt he’ll be hostile toward us. And my younger sister will be coming with me too, so don’t worry."
Kanae answered with a smile. She was a Hashira, so her combat ability was nothing to scoff at.
"Hmm... Still, be careful. A man who killed an Upper Rank is definitely dangerous..."
"Thank you for your concern, Head of the Family. Then I’ll be on my way."
Kanae said that and took her leave.
"...Please. Let that man become our ally..."
...
"My legs hurt~!!!"
After spending days gathering information about the Demon Slayer Corps and wandering from village to village, Escanor and the others stopped in their tracks at Ume’s complaint.
"Ume... We haven’t even been traveling that long."
Gyutaro walked over to her and spoke.
"But~ We don’t even know where this Demon Slayer Corps thing is! We’ve just been walking for days! I’m tired now!"
"...It can’t be helped."
Escanor sighed at her, then lifted Ume into his arms with one hand.
"Wah?!"
"There. Is this better?"
"Y-Yeah..."
As Escanor picked her up, Ume blushed and nestled into his arms.
"Ume..."
"...."
"Heh. What an impossible pair of siblings."
Escanor found Ume and Gyutaro adorable.
'Honestly... I think my personality has softened quite a bit since coming to this world...'
If this had been in the past, he would have ignored something like this and hurried on his way. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to treat Ume and Gyutaro that way.
"...Zzz..."
Before long, Ume had fallen asleep in Escanor’s arms, and Gyutaro could only smile at the sight.
"...Do you like Ume that much?"
"...Huh? What a sudden thing to ask..."
"...I don’t know either..."
"...I really can’t figure you out sometimes..."
Though Gyutaro said that, he still answered Escanor’s question.
"...Do I like Ume? Of course I do... She’s my pride, and the family I cherish most... I’d do anything for Ume... anything..."
Gyutaro said that with a bright smile.
"...Family, huh..."
Escanor couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of the word, but when he looked at Ume after hearing it, he felt something he had never felt before.
"....Hm?"
Sensing someone approaching, Escanor turned toward the source of the presence. There, two women stood with butterfly ornaments in their hair.
"...."
Gyutaro seemed to recognize who they were as well. He unwound the sickles wrapped in cloth, took them into his hands, and lowered his stance.
"My, my. We finally found you!"
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