Chapter 25: Swordsmith Village 

"It's so magical, Aomori Big Brother, how did you do it? Even the scent has changed," Tanjiro exclaimed on the way to Swordsmith Village.

The [Superhuman Disguise Glasses] were indeed impressive. Even Tanjiro, with his bug-like sense of smell, couldn't detect Aomori's disguised identity. This gave Aomori more confidence in the upcoming mission to lure out demons.

Guided by Kanae, Aomori and Tanjiro arrived in Swordsmith Village.

Everyone living in Swordsmith Village, regardless of age or gender, were skilled craftsmen who forged the Sun Breathing Swords. They wore various styles of Fire Hashira masks and dedicated day and night to forging Sun Breathing Swords for the Demon Slayer Corps. It was an essential stronghold for the corps.

Upon meeting the village head, Kanae immediately stated their purpose.

"This is the new Thunder Hashira, Aomori. We kindly request you to forge two Sun Breathing Swords for him," she said.

The village head, a short and elderly man with white hair behind his mask, spoke with a hoarse voice from behind the mask. "Oh, a new Thunder Hashira, huh? It's been a while since we had one. You look like a fine young man."

After a brief pause, the village head continued, "This matter has already been ordered by our lord. According to tradition, you will have to choose suitable ores yourself."

The ore used for forging Sun Breathing Swords was called " Scarlet Ore" a type of ore with sun-like properties that allowed the swords to slay demons. Sometimes, there were associated ores, so selecting the ore was, in fact, choosing the type of accompanying ore.

Aomori nodded and said, "Alright."

The village head brought out the finest ores from the village for Aomori to choose from.

These past few days, Aomori had been thinking about the reason for [Village's Good Sword] breaking. The most likely cause was his reckless fusion of Thunder Breathing and Holy light, and the repulsion between the different powers had shattered [Village's Good Sword].

Sometimes, one can go too far.

Having learned his lesson, Aomori decided to separate the Thunder and Holy light powers. That's why he needed two Sun Breathing Swords.

One to carry the power of thunder and one to carry the power of the Holy light.

So, the selected ores had to be a perfect match for their respective powers.

Aomori concentrated the power of thunder in one hand and the power of the Holy light in the other, carefully selecting from the pile of ores.

By the time evening approached, he had finally selected the ores he was satisfied with. Kanae had taken Tanjiro to visit other places long before.

"Village head, these two will do. Thank you for your help," Aomori said.

"No trouble at all. It's the first time someone has taken this long to select ores. It's clear that you value these swords greatly. Rest assured, we will do our best to ensure your satisfaction," the village head said, nodding in approval of Aomori.

"Village head, I have one more request," Aomori said, adjusting his glasses.

"Feel free to ask. For Swordsmith Village, we will solve any difficulties for you," the village head declared proudly.

"I've heard that Swordsmith Village possesses a formidable 'Sharpening Stone' that can make swordsmen stronger," Aomori said.

"Hmm? Are you referring to 'that'?"

…

Aomori found Kanae and Tanjiro in a hot spring. They were both in the same pool, although Kanae was conservatively covered with a towel. Even so, it couldn't entirely conceal her alluring curves, which Aomori easily noticed through the steam.

"Tanjiro, come with me. I'll show you something more interesting," Aomori said in a cool voice, waking up the dazed Tanjiro. He blushed and quickly got up, saying hoarsely, "Alright, Aomori, I'm coming."

He left the hot spring, feeling a bit flustered and regretful.

"Oh, Tanjiro is so cute," Kanae chuckled as she covered her mouth. She too stepped out of the hot spring. "I'll come with you."

"Sure."

Leading the clothed Kanae and the slightly embarrassed Tanjiro, Aomori walked deep into the mountains. In the serene night, Tanjiro lost track of direction.

"Aomori, why are you so familiar with this place? Aren't we all here for the first time?" Tanjiro asked.

Kanae also seemed to have the same question, staring at Aomori with wide eyes.

"Because I can see. The darkness can't hide anything from my eyes," Aomori replied.

Kanae was about to ask more questions, but Aomori interrupted her, saying, "We're here. This is it."

There were two rows of wooden houses, and Aomori walked straight to one of them and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A childish voice sounded, and a seven or eight-year-old child opened the door, wearing a Fire Hashira mask on his face. "Who are you people?"

"We are Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen, Thunder Hashira Aomori," Aomori pointed to Kanae behind him, "and Flower Hashira Kanae."

Kanae nodded, understanding Aomori's objective. She wondered how Aomori had learned the village's secret.

As they spoke of their intentions, Aomori could feel the child's body trembling.

"I haven't heard of it, and I don't know about it. Goodbye!" The child tried to close the door but was stopped by Aomori.

"You must be Kotetsu, right? I think you already know why I'm here. Please hand over the key to the automaton," Aomori said.

"No!" Kotetsu stubbornly refused.

Aomori calmly grabbed Tanjiro, who was clueless about the situation, and pushed him in front of the child. "It's up to you now, Tanjiro!"

Tanjiro: "???"

"I'm leaving it to you. Comforting kids is your specialty, right? Nezuko and the others trust you as their big brother. Don't let me down," Aomori encouraged with a clenched fist.

"I... I understand," Tanjiro said with determination.

"Don't come any closer!" Kotetsu shivered and hastily retreated into his room.

"You... don't come here!" he said.

Tanjiro tried to calm him down, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. I'm your big brother."

Kanae covered her mouth and looked at this scene amusedly. After shooting a glance at Aomori, she stepped forward, followed Tanjiro, and joined in the persuasion.

With a determined expression, Aomori turned to the other wooden house and entered it. Inside, he found the automaton that had been passed down for over 300 years.

As someone with a secondary occupation as a mechanic, Aomori was keenly interested and began his examination.

Half an hour later, Tanjiro and Kanae successfully convinced Kotetsu to give them the key to the automaton's switch.

"Tanjiro, you promised me not to break it," Kotetsu said.

"Don't worry, Kotetsu."

"It's really important. The method to make it was already lost. If it breaks, it can't be repaired," Kotetsu kept repeating.

"Don't worry, Kotetsu!" Tanjiro reassured him.

Together, they went to the wooden house where the automaton was hidden. To their surprise, they found the floor covered in broken parts, and the automaton reduced to a skeletal frame. They were left in shock.

"Ah, you owe me an automaton!" Kotetsu burst into tears, and as soon as the petrification wore off, he rushed at Aomori and started pounding his back.

Tanjiro grabbed Kotetsu's clothes, trying to console him. "Kotetsu, calm down. It wasn't Aomori's intention."

"Even if it wasn't intentional, this is still super outrageous!" Kanae, who knew how much the automaton meant to Kotetsu, was genuinely angry.

Buried under the pile of parts, Aomori seemed to have just awakened from a dream. He scratched his head and said, "Ah, sorry, sorry. My professional instincts took over."

"What good does an apology do now? My automaton can never be restored!" Kotetsu wanted to pull Aomori's hair but was stopped by a finger on his forehead.

"Who said it can't be restored?"

"The craftsmanship of the ancestors has been lost. My father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather have all tried it, and there is no way to make such a mechanism doll. Do you know these things! No one in our Swordsmith village can do it Do you think I will believe you can do it??" Kotetsu released all his anger at this moment

  "Ah, ah, Kotetsu calm down!" Tanjiro was sweating profusely.

"You swordsmen know how to destroy, how can you know how to fix it! If you can fix it, I'll eat it right in front of you..." 

The next moment, Kotetsu was speechless because he saw Aomori's hands dancing fast. The mechanism doll with only the frame started to regain its former appearance

"Huh? I must be dreaming..."

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