11 Night without a Light of Lantern

On a path leading to the Forest, a young man was seen walking with a White Katana on his waist, a Blue Haori and a white scarf that he was wearing fluttering in the Air as the Dusk Sunlight had shone on him from the West.

As far as the eye could see to the right there was only a rice field that the locals used to farm rice, it was a very beautiful sight, the young man was Tetsuya who was currently on his way to the place where the Demon Slayer Corps Final Exams were.

And according to Shishio, Tetsuya had to travel one day and one night from Kanegawa Village to get to the place where the Final Selection was held. and because the Final Selection would only be held tomorrow night, tonight Tetsuya still had time to rest.

Tetsuya then looked at the Map in his hand, then muttered.

"There should be a small village nearby, it would be too dangerous to continue traveling in the forest at night, and I don't want my sleep disturbed by Oni."

After that, Tetsuya resumed walking, and just as the Sun had completely disappeared from the western Horizon, Tetsuya finally saw the village gate he was looking for, from a distance, Tetsuya could see a bright lamp in the gate, and he also felt two presence there.

As Tetsuya drew closer and closer, the two men were a little wary, but when Tetsuya's form was fully visible, they were a little relieved because it wasn't Oni who came. The two men were middle-aged men who seemed to be doing night patrols.

One of the two then approached Tetsuya and spoke to him with a very alert expression.

"Stop there, Kid!"

The man said coldly, seen from the look in his eyes, he assessed inch by inch from Tetsuya's body, with great care and caution. Of course, Tetsuya stopped, after all, he wanted a place to stay from the villagers for tonight, so how could he get a place to stay if his relationship with the villagers had been damaged from the start?

"Hmm ... I don't think you're Oni, but ..."

The man glanced at the Katana on Tetsuya's waist and then said with a demanding expression.

"Katana on your waist ... for what it is."

Realizing that he had carried a weapon so blatantly, Tetsuya realized how careless he was, but he remained calm and answered the man's question smoothly.

"Well you know, In a world full of disgusting creatures like Oni, it doesn't hurt to prepare yourself if something happens."

Tetsuya said with his flat expression, the person was silent after hearing Tetsuya's answer, and returned to assessing Tetsuya before finally he did not feel the slightest evil aura from Tetsuya and let out a tired sigh while scratching his head.

"* sigh * Looks like I've been too paranoid lately, maybe because of that huh ..."

The man murmured as if he didn't expect Tetsuya to hear his words. Then the man smiled at Tetsuya while offering his hand to Tetsuya.

"Sorry for examining you, and my name is Inoda Sousuke, I am the head of this village."

Hearing the friendly greeting from the man who introduced himself as Inoda, Tetsuya naturally returned his handshake while saying flatly.

"Tetsuya Yashuhiro, a Wanderer."

Inoda was very surprised when he touched Tetsuya's Cold hand, he thought very shocked, and accidentally showed it on his face and almost tried to reflexively remove his handshake with Tetsuya, but he realized that it would be very rude, so he could only withstand the painful cold.

After that, Inoda with a bitter smile said to Tetsuya.

"You must be tired after a long trip and need a place to stay right?"

Tetsuya only nodded at Inoda's question, which made him replace his bitter smile into a sincere smile.

"Then stay in this village for Tonight, because it would be too dangerous to travel at night."

Tetsuya who heard the friendly offer from Inoda looked down slightly in gratitude.

" Thank you. "

Hearing Tetsuya's sincere thanks, Inoda further dispelled his suspicious feelings towards Tetsuya, he then took the Lantern he had previously put on the table.

"Come follow me, I will guide you to the place where you will sleep tonight, but before that ..."

Inoda then approached the man who had been watching behind and talked a little, before Inoda finally returned and invited Tetsuya to leave.

" Let's go. "

"Um"

Tetsuya just nodded and followed Inoda from behind. After entering a village, Tetsuya could see houses lined up with a short distance away, but the atmosphere of the village was very quiet and dark, which made Tetsuya mumble a little.

"It's very quiet, huh."

Tetsuya said that made Inoda could only smile bitterly and scratched his head using his left hand.

"Well, I'm sorry for the lack of welcome from the villagers."

Said Inoda, which made Tetsuya recall Inoda's murmurs earlier, at first Tetsuya was hesitant to raise this topic, but he was quite curious about what had happened to this village.

" Does this have something to do with the "incident" that you murmured earlier? "

Hearing Tetsuya's words, the smile on Inoda's face immediately disappeared, he then opened his mouth in a cold tone, in contrast to his previous gentle tone.

"So you heard what I just said, Tetsuya-Kun."

"Um, I overheard it."

Hearing Tetsuya's confirmation, Inoda was not angry at Tetsuya and just kept quiet. Which made Tetsuya conclude that his words were true, he then asked Inoda again.

" Is that related to Oni? "

Tetsuya asked, hearing Oni's words, anger and hatred immediately emanated from Inoda, who again confirmed Tetsuya's hypothesis. Inoda paused for a moment, before finally his aura of anger and hatred faded little by little, and was replaced with a smile on his face.

Inoda then looked a little at Tetsuya while saying.

"Etoo ~ Tetsuya-Kun, Please don't discuss that matter again!"

Hearing that Inoda was disturbed by his words, Tetsuya was silent and obeyed Inoda's words. He was also taught before manners and manners before, from Nanami as a child and Hitomi when he lived in Kanegawa Village.

If the other person doesn't want the conversation to continue, silence is the best. Therefore, during the trip, there were no more conversations between Tetsuya and Indoa.

...

"Then, I'll go first Tetsuya-kun, because I still have to do the Night Patrol, if you want to light the candle, it's inside."

"Um."

" Goodnight. "

" Night. "

The two of them finally arrived at a hut that would become Tetsuya's bed tonight, and Inoda had to leave immediately to return to patrol, leaving Tetsuya alone. Tetsuya also without waiting anymore, went straight into his little hut because he was quite tired of walking all day.

Tetsuya let go of his Haori and then hung it on the wall, he put his Katana on the mattress and then lit the candle in the middle of the room using a match.

After that, the candle slowly lit, and Tetsuya was ready to examine the map in his bag before a sudden gust of wind immediately extinguished Tetsuya's candle flame, a bad omen.

* Swoosh *

Tetsuya who saw that, could only sigh and then take His Katana above the Mattress.

"* Sigh * I hate being interrupted like this."

Tetsuya then glanced at the window where An Oni with saliva kept dripping from his mouth, he smiled madly as he looked at Tetsuya. However, Tetsuya looked at him in disgust, when he was wearing his light blue Haori.

"Especially by disgusting creatures like you ..."

Tetsuya said coldly while putting his Katana on his waist, while Oni who was outside his hut approached towards him with a hungry face.

"Gehehehe, Marechi! MARECHI !!!"

And then, an icy tone came out of Tetsuya's mouth.

"... Oni."