Chapter 74: Talking With Kuro and Cracking His Dream Slightly

If you see any mistakes, feel free to write. I'll fix it.

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"Do you have a knife?" Blake looked at the people on both sides and asked.

Demon Slayer members, standing rigidly on either side of him, glanced sideways at Blake, then ignored him. They weren't stupid enough to put a weapon in the hand of a suspicious man.

The village with their newcomer, Blake, and the girls, suddenly came to life. Demon Slayer's were constantly on the move, searching the inside of the houses, and when they couldn't find anything inside the houses, they would fix the houses and leave.

Torches and lights were hung on the edges of the doors of the houses, street lamps, and various places. The interiors of houses, gardens, and streets were being swept, especially the one where Kanae and the Demon fought.

The cut floor was covered with soil, the walls were replaced with new ones to be the same. The icy ground was forcibly broken and replaced with new soil, while the unbreakable ice was melted with the help of the fire kept for several minutes.

Kanae and Shinobu were being taken to one of the houses by a group of doctors, giving first aid to their injuries. They had to intervene as soon as possible, especially for Kanae, who had lost a lot of blood.

At first, they all suggested that it was pointless, just to give her a comfortable sleep by "Euthanasia". Kanae had lost a lot of blood and her internal wounds were not fully healed, she would die before they could start the surgery or die in the middle of the surgery.

Euthanasia could have given Kanae a peaceful and painless death.

Blake was there too, and the others had appeared in front of Kanae without reacting, continuing to heal her wounds. He was going to do this all along, but Doma's presence prevented him from doing so.

With his speed, he could meet Doma at any moment, block any of his attacks and kill him. Still, he decided to be a little cautious and put aside healing Kanae and focus on Doma.

Already when he healed Kanae's eyes, he had healed her until he was sure she wouldn't die.

As soon as he continued to heal, he continued on top of that healing and completely healed Kanae. Even the blood loss disappeared without leaving any effect behind.

He had healed her, and everyone had noticed it.

Even if Kanae's skin regained its former color and his expression was less painful, Blake's move could be treated as a momentary attack. Even so, one wrong step during the healing could have resulted in Kanae's death.

Because of this, the Demon Slayer members instantly surrounded and took control of him.

Control meant surveillance. Everyone here had seen Blake's brief but quick battle with Doma and how he had hurt him. None of them were willing to fight against such a man. That's why they positioned the strongest member among them to stand watch over him.

Shinobu and Kuro had gone with the doctors to check on Kanae's condition while the rest of them settled the area.

'I know, it's been 30 minutes. But give me some more time.'

'You ask why? Hmm...''

'You can think of it as a goodbye, I'll be gone after I say goodbye to the girls.'

'Am I hurting the universe every second I'm standing here?' Blake stopped when he heard the voice filling his ears. A sadistic smile appeared on his face, his eyes glowing with a playful light.

'I did not know that. Lilith never told me about it."

''...''

'Lilith?' The other party paused for a few seconds before answering. His voice was like an unobstructed flow of river water, giving the person peace and making one want to hear more.

Her tone aside, she seemed to know Lilith. This thought caused his sadistic expression to grow. However, the next second that expression disappeared and was replaced by a pure expression.

"Yeah, she didn't tell me about it on the way here. She said I could do whatever I wanted in this world. Is not it?' Blake spoke with pure confusion. As expected of Nejire's boyfriend, it was very easy for him to act like a naive character. The other party did not realize that he was pretending as he spoke.

'I will talk to her about it. Please prepare to leave the world in 30 minutes.'

''Sure.'

Blake finished speaking out of his mind and turned to the people next to him.

To Blake's left was a young man aged 16-17. He had an ordinary face, short-cropped hair, a demon slayer outfit, and an ordinary katana. There was nothing special.

The girl on the other side was pretty normal, similar to the guy. Her black hair was tied in a bun and fastened with a pin. Her black outfit fit her perfectly. Her most distinctive feature was the half-butterfly hanging over her right shoulder.

"My beard is so uncomfortable, I need a knife. If you're worried about me doing something with the knife, you can put your swords to my throat." Blake suggested as he glanced at the pair.

Long hair aside, Blake was not a beard guy. Growing a beard was also an activity that he did not like in his previous life. His father and a few village men believed it was a symbol of manliness, but for him, it was a very offensive thing to be looked at.

It gets dirty easily while eating, itches from time to time, you have to look at it because it spoils easily, and it had the potential to sink into your lover's face and ruin the moment while spending quality time with the woman you love. That's why he wanted to cut his beard.

As for long hair, he had no problem having them for a while.

Blake had several methods for trimming his beard. He could burn hairs from under his skin or quickly cut them off himself, but this could be perceived as a sudden movement and turned into a big problem. That's why he decided to cut it right in front of the eyes.

Female Demon Slayer frowned, gave Blake a stern look in her way, and continued to stare ahead. The male one stared for a moment at Blake's messy and coarse beard, then nodded in understanding.

He unsheathed his sword, put the blade to his neck, and took a fruit knife from the hand and gave it to him.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" The woman was startled by the gesture of her colleague. She sheathed her kata, leaped back, and waited for a possible attack.

However, the attack did not take place. After Blake and the man stared at her for a moment, Blake took the knife, tied a small lightning strip to its sharp side, and began shaving his beard.

"Calm down, if he wanted to attack us, he would have done so already. You saw it with your own eyes, this man is strong enough to harm that demon. Giving him a knife won't change anything if he wants to attack.''

"Besides… you don't know how annoying a beard is." The man nodded in understanding, rubbed his chin lightly with his hand, and looked away.

The woman stared at Blake and the knife in her hand hesitantly for a moment. She unsheathed her katana and put it back the next second. After a while, she agreed with the man and continued to stand guard beside Blake.

But she didn't take her hand off the katana for a second. She continued to stare at Blake now and then with the seriousness expected of a professional.

Blake took the knife and started shaving.

He pulled a small, elegant strip of white lightning at the end of the knife. He grabbed his chin with one hand and started shaving with the other.

The blade scraped against his skin. No redness occurred. There was a smooth cut and the sound of sizzling hairs, then a smooth white skin emerged. Even small pieces of hair were not visible.

Where the knife passed, hairs were falling out, hair roots and pieces of the knife were being burned by lightning. A sharp and clean jaw appeared in the area where the blade passed.

The two guards shot Blake stealthy glances. Although his exposed upper body was quite well developed, the duo and the others mistook him for a middle-aged man because of the bangs and coarse beard that covered his face.

However, now that his face was slowly revealed, they saw that he was younger than they thought. His skin was not wrinkled or blemished, cleaner than a woman's but tense, as if time had done nothing to him. He had a healthy glow on his face.

Blake interrupted his shave, frowning slightly, looking at his bangs.

It was very difficult for him to cut his beard, as his bangs were on his face.

His hand suddenly moved, a sharp glow appeared, and the next second his bangs fell to the ground. Hairs slowly fell in front of his face, revealing his raven-black eyes, which had been shadowed all along by his bangs.

Knife continued to sparkle, bristles falling off every second, drifting in the wind like little snowflakes. It took some work before Blake could get it in satisfactory shape.

The Demon Slayer woman standing next to Blake was watching Blake's every move carefully. Especially when she saw how swiftly he was using the fruit knife, she had given him full attention and stopped glancing at him.

A glint of appreciation appeared in her eyes as Blake's features emerged. After taking one last look at his entire figure, she nodded with a subtle blush on her face.

''He has a good body...''

''Also handsome and charismatic...''

"And strong enough to fight Doma evenly. Probably a Hashira."

"I think he is a few years older than me. He may be someone bigger in the future...''

The more she thought about it, the more her gaze towards Blake changed. It was said that a good look can make a good first impression, and it was happening right now. Wary of Blake from the start, the woman admired Blake's face when it was revealed, and her caution towards him eased slightly.

The most important reason for this was that Blake was human and not hostile to them. Besides, no matter how hard the girl tried to act, she couldn't hide the fact that she was inexperienced. She had killed at most a few little demons in her lifetime, and her mental structure had not fully hardened.

"Hey, why did you give him a knife?" A voice, full of youth but slightly harsher and wiser than his peers, made the trio turn to where the voice came from.

It was Kuro who came towards them and led the Demon Slayer reinforcements. He was staring seriously at the knife in Blake's hand and Blake. Before he had a chance to answer them, he jumped forward and placed his hand on his katana.

He was standing in front of Blake when the group turned to him. He had pulled out his katana, intending to cut off Blake's hand holding the knife. The katana emerged from its sheath, its metal bent in a curve and gleamed in the moonlight.

Blake raised his hand. Kuro then unsheathed his katana and cut it into a half-moon shape, but his attack did not reach. Blake's raised hand was just an inch above the reach of his sword. If Kuro wanted to attack him and cut off his arm, he had to either break his arm or start a new attack.

The Knife spun a few turns in Blake's hand. He stopped his movement, held the blade upside down. The sharp edge of the blade was pointing at Kuro's back.

The blade of the blade glowed with a cold light, Blake's eyes glowing with a colder light sharper than the blade.

He stayed that way for about a tenth of a second. The next second he sighed and shook his head, then pulled the blade back abruptly and resumed shaving.

His movements were too fast. Everything had happened in an instant. However, because of Blake's deliberate slow movement, the two Demon Slayers managed to see how easily Blake could kill Kuro.

They weren't sure how he was moving, but they could see that he could suddenly launch an attack that could kill Kuro, and deliberately gave up on it.

If Blake had killed or seriously injured Kuro, no one could blame him. Kuro was the first to attack, and everyone could see his vicious intention. Even if he did it out of nervousness, Blake wouldn't have been blamed for defending himself.

He didn't, though, and had mercy on Kuro.

The two drew their swords and stood in front of Blake.

"What are you two doing?" Kuro drew his sword back and scowled at the two of them. His tone carried a slight arrogance, like that of a superior speaking to his subordinate.

This tone was normal for him. One of his relatives was Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho. The other was Shinobu, who had the potential to become Hashira in the future. Other than that, Kuro was born with a natural talent with swords and had the potential to become a Hashira himself.

With all that and the private things only he knew, it was quite normal for him to be arrogant.

At least for him.

In the Demon Slayer Squad, the background meant nothing. Being a Hashira was not impossible for anyone as long as one had enough strength and proved himself.

That being the case, background or acquaintances meant nothing. It didn't matter in their potential to become a Hashira. If you weren't really strong and positioned above a 'Hashira' or other Demon Slayer, you wouldn't be respected by anyone.

The two Demon Slayers next to Blake in seniority were more senior than Kuro. If anyone had to be respected, it would be them. While they were Kanoe, Kuro was a beginner Mizunato. [EN: There are 10 levels in the Demon Slayer rank, two Demon Slayers are 4th, Kuro is 1st]

''Be careful on your words. You're not qualified to ask us what we're doing." The female Demon Slayer held her katana and spoke in an aggressive tone.

They were members of the same Butterfly Mansion as Kuro and she knew each other even though they were not close. The girl knew Kuro's personality well and therefore harbored a slight hostility towards him.

Kuro and his sister Kanao were brought in by the Butterfly Hashira Kanae. Kuro was initially quite good-natured. He helps them with daily chores, greets them every morning, and more. He had a good reputation all over the Butterfly Mansion.

However, as time passed, he began to change. The change began when he first took the sword in his hand.

He had good skill in the sword and was close to the level that could be called "genius". He had "Mizunoto" level strength without taking the Demon Slayer exam and without any training. The residents of the mansion called him "The Unofficial Mizunoto."

But Kuro began to change as time went on. Day by day, his nose started to look more air and his demeanor started to become more arrogant. He acted like he was the main character and the world revolved around him.

His demeanor had grown to the point where he could command higher Demon Slayers than him, and the crowd that loved him had been shattered by the goodwill and thoughts of him day by day.

This girl was one of them. He loved Kuro like a little brother she didn't have, but when his demeanor changed, she distanced herself from him. [EN: I'll skip Kuro's background for later, I'll go over it for now. When Blake comes back to this world, I will talk about Kuro and other things]

''... I know. But I still want to know what this does. Why would you give a knife to a potential enemy candidate and why are you protecting him?" Kuro grit his teeth, the hand holding his katana clenched. The open disdain and mild hostility of the girl caused his anger.

"Potential enemy candidate? He saved your step-sister and a very important Hashira to us. Kanae-sama is currently undergoing inspection and we have been ordered to protect this man so that no one touches him until she can say a word." The Male Demon Slayer smiled mockingly.

This was their intention from the beginning, but they had friction with Blake as the girl Demon Slayer was a little nervous.

"Though, he doesn't even need our protection. Considering how he fought that demon and was strong enough to kill you without us knowing, we should thank him for not being hostile to us."

Blake's latest move affected them more than thought.

"Kill me?" Kuro tilted his head. He couldn't make sense of the man's words. Did he almost die? What the hell this guy says? He hadn't even seen Blake move.

Inexperienced and raw, having never participated in real combat before and have not developed the important things in battles like his senses and reflexes, it was only natural that Kuro could not see Blake's movement.

"Mr. Main Character couldn't see this? How funny." The female Demon Slayer put her free hand in front of her mouth and exhaled mockingly.

A cross-shaped vein appeared on Kuro's forehead. His body was trembling with anger as if the taunt had done him good damage.

''You-''

"This has happened twice, you cannot directly attack every person you see. One day you will get into trouble and cause suffering to those who care about you." As the Male and Female Demon Slayer and Kuro were having a conversation, Blake, who was standing behind the two Demon Slayer, spoke up.

Eyes turned to him. Kuro frowned and asked.

''Two? What do you mean?" Kuro narrowed his eyes and looked at Blake. He hadn't expected Blake to realize his intentions so clearly, yet he denied it. He couldn't admit with his mouth that he intended to fight Doma.

He didn't want to be a fool.

"First Doma, then me. You've been attacking like crazy twice." Blake raised his eyebrows, trimmed his mustache in one motion, and began shaving the last remaining hair on his right cheek.

''Doma? Did you intend to attack Doma?" As one of the foremost, these two had seen Kuro's movements and, like the others, sensed that he was worried about Kanae. They hadn't thought for a moment he intent the attack Doma.

They looked at him like an idiot. They were aware that the person in front of them was a 6 or 7-year-old boy and he was letting his emotions take over his logic. However, they had warned him many times about Doma before he came here.

Not just 1-2 people, but each of the 325 people who came here had warned Kuro along the way. No matter how much they hated him, they didn't want him dead.

Despite all this, his intention to attack Doma further pushed him into questioning her sanity and preventing him from participating in such battles in the future.

"Igh…" Kuro took a step back and didn't answer his questions. This move was the answer to the duo's question.

"So you intended this." The female Demon Slayer cupped her face, looking like she needed to talk privately with Kanae and Shinobu when she was done here.

"It's okay to be angry and lose your reason by getting angry when your loved one is hurt. For a "boy" like you, that's very natural. But you can't use that as an excuse to attack anyone who comes your way. Otherwise, you will unwittingly provoke someone you cannot resist and kill yourself."

With one last move, Blake completely trimmed his beard and completely cleared his well-shaped chin of hair. Not a single piece of hair remained on his chin.

"At least I could have prevented him…" Kuro grits his teeth and lowered his head.

Blake frowned, his movements stopped, and he turned to the two beside him.

"He can really do that. There is a sword art that works especially well against demon types. I don't know if it would work against a Doma-level demon, but as long as he can hit it, it can block him for a while." The Male Demon Slayer shook his head. He explained as he sheathed his sword.

"And is Doma going to just stand there while he does it?" Blake brought the knife-holding hand to his long hair and began to cut and straighten the splits, the uncontrollable hairs, and the parts that he thought were bad.

His words made a good point. A demon-like Doma that had lived for a long time would not let an attack that threatened him hit him. They were not in a fairy tale or hero story. This was real life and no one expected an attack that could harm them.

"He can belittle me and let the attack hit me. I'm no different to him than an ant."

"Or he could grab you by the throat and tear you apart."

''He may not.''

"The chance is 50%/50%. Given Doma's sadistic personality and your anger, there's a %75/%25 chance that he'll eat you alive so he can emotionally torture them by realizing you're related to two girls, maybe more." Blake's hand was dancing in his hair. With every move, his white hair was cut and he fell to the ground.

Kuro's entire body trembled with a cold shudder. He thought for a moment that Blake's words might have been, and saw that with each repetition of thought, the likelihood of him doing so increased. He knew Doma's personality better than anyone, and he would do that.

This was the first time in ''this'' life that he was thinking about his actions, and a slight crack had appeared in his mindset towards this life. Cold winds of death were washing away his thoughts, which were covered with dreams and rosy thoughts, and forcibly brought him back to real life.

While Kuro was lost in thought, Blake continued to cut his hair. Even if he did not have a mirror after each stab wound his long hair began to become smoother. The tip of his long hair, which ended between his waist and thighs, was fixed in a single line. Uncontrolled hair fragments are gone, replaced by hair that flows like a smooth waterfall and glows with moonlight.

"Thanks." Blake took a strand of his hair between his fingers and looked at it. Seeing its smoothness, he shook his head in satisfaction, combing her hair with her hands and handing back the fruit knife.

When the male Demon Slayer retrieved the fruit knife, Blake stood up and walked in front of Kuro.

Kuro raised his guard, put his hand on the katana, and remained alert for any incoming attack.

But instead of attacking, Blake passed him.

"You only have one life. Don't get into the main character syndrome and throw it away. Otherwise, you won't get another second chance." Blake whispered a few words to Kuro before walking past him.

Kuro's eyes widened. He glared at Blake in disbelief, opening his mouth to say something when he heard a few voices behind him.

"You look totally fine."

"Thanks to you, my Savior."

"My name is Blake."

"Savior Blake."

"Throw the savior patch."

''But...''

"Throw the savior patch."

''O-Okay. Thank you for saving my life, Blake… san?"

''This is nice. It does not matter.''

"Thanks for saving my big sister's life, Blake-san."

Shinobu and Kanae had already arrived, talking to Blake. They were giving a friendly speech, thanking Blake with grateful expressions.

There was a secret glint in Kanae's eyes. She was smiling sweetly with squinted eyes, looking at Blake with her eyes slightly open. She had never expected that he was her age and realizing this caused her gaze to change.

The mark on her heart grew stronger. Her heart started beating harder in her chest, but her expression didn't reveal it.

"Thanks to you, I was able to save my sister from the road of no return. Thank you again." Kanae placed her hand on her cheek and shook her head in annoyance. She seemed to be gossiping about her sister's bad habit.

"Nee-chan…" Shinobu angrily roared at Kanae. She clenched both fists. Smoke was coming out of her head, she was showing her tiger teeth to her sister.

Her older sister was making fun of her in front of people again. Moreover, this person was their savior. This multiplied the embarrassment by x10. Did she want her to die of embarrassment?

"It must be a difficult situation."

''Like that. Sometimes this nee-chan gets so tired."

''Youth.''

''Youth.''

The two talked amongst themselves, ignoring Shinobu, and shook their heads after saying the word "youth". They looked into their eyes, feeling that they understood each other better.

"Nee-chan... Blake-san... you two..." Shinobu grit her teeth. She was staring at the two of them angrily, like a boiling pressure cooker. Her natural hunter had been one to two.

Blake and Kanae gave her mocking, playful glowing looks before chuckling.

"Grrr**" Shinobu didn't say anything. She clenched her teeth so tightly that they could break. The ground kicked violently, the dust lifted into the air with each kick.

The surrounding Demon Slayer had their mouths open as they watched the strange situation. They were surprised that Blake could so easily mock Shinobu, aka the Outspoken Restless Cube, and how in tune with Kanae.

They just met each other, why are they so compatible?

The situation sounded strange, but no one intended to separate Blake. When the original persons did not open their mouths, they would not speak.

Kuro was standing in front of the Demon Slayers. His gaze flickered between Blake, Kanae, and Shinobu. After watching them for a while, he took a deep breath.

The sense of loss that slowly rose in his heart disappeared as he realized that Kanae and Shinobu were acting in pure gratitude and keeping up with Blake's harmonious demeanor. He let out a sigh of relief before just standing there and letting them finish their conversation.

He failed to notice the faint glint in Kanae's gaze and the waves of emotion that grew stronger when he saw Blake's age-affirming face.

"Hm…" Blake, speaking to the girls, suddenly fell silent. He tilted his head slightly to the side and nodded before speaking the next second.

"Blake-san, if you want, will you come with us and serve you something-"

"I have to go." In the middle of the conversation, Kanae stopped at Blake's words. A slight reluctance appeared on his face but disappeared very quickly.

''Is that so? Then allow us to drop you off at your destination, to accompany you at least until the time we leave." Kanae offered once again. Shinobu looked at her big sister with amazement, seeing that it was the first time that her sister had made such an active succession of proposals.

''Not necessary. The person who will take me has arrived." Blake turned his head in a certain direction.

''Hm? Who?" The two girls and Kuro followed Blake's gaze. Every Demon Slayer listening to them turned their heads in curiosity in the direction Blake was looking.

The voices stopped suddenly, and the atmosphere was filled with an awkward silence. Except for the sounds of gathering things inside the houses, any sound outside the house was cut off. This village was desolate once again.

The voices inside the houses stopped as they went outside to find out why their friends had shut. All the Demon Slayers held their breath.

The reason for this momentary silence was a woman who had just arrived.

She was so beautiful that words are not enough to describe the beauty of this woman.

A perfectly sized woman, neither tall nor short, was standing at the end of an alley and staring at them. Her charcoal-black hair sparkled under the moon, her smooth hair gleamed with a lively light.

Her hair flowed unhindered over her shoulders, ending below her waist. Two big bangs covered her ears, leaving her face in the middle even more exposed. Most of her hair was tied in a ponytail.

A bar clasp was attached to her ponytail, which matched her raven-black hair perfectly. The clasp fit her hair perfectly, adding a plus to her beauty.

Between her two bangs was a heavenly beauty. On her spotless skin, her two willow-like black eyebrows fit perfectly like black paint drawn harmoniously into the water. Just below her curved eyebrows were two bottomless eyes that looked like ponds of black stars.

Her red lips tickled one's desires, and in the middle of all these parts was a dot, neither absurd nor small, but a small and pleasant nose, like a drop of water.

Her neck bore a trunk that began in a pleasant arc that tickled one's heart and fueled one's desires. She was wearing a deadly dyed yukata with little moons and suns on it. Because of the woman's charm, even these dead colors seemed very lively to one.

The sash tied around the waist involuntarily exposed their breasts and exposed the two mountains. They were smaller than melons, and thanks to their perfect oval shape, no one could take their eyes off them. If they can take their eyes off her other parts of the course.

The size of her waist was unclear because it was covered with a belt, but since she would not grin among the other parts, one could think of a boneless waist directly. There was no unnecessary fat and weight.

The beauty of this woman had surpassed the groundbreaking level. A single glance could destroy worlds, all men would love to cross seas of flame just to get an extra glance at her.

Although the woman was so beautiful, she did not make any moves to highlight her beauty. She stood in the fog, whose time was unclear, and stared fixedly at the group, or rather Blake.

"Time to go." Her voice was as good as her looks. It was catchy like a flowing spring, once it settled in one's mind, it created a constant desire to hear it. It also gave the person peace and tranquility.

She was resting one hand on her katana. A lantern hung from the hilt of her katana. It was dimly lit and illuminated the mist. Her feet were already lost in the mist.

As Blake waved to the others, he vanished out of nowhere and appeared in the fog. The woman had turned and intended to leave the moment Blake had moved. It was as if she knew Blake was coming.

The duo disappeared into the fog. The group that looked at them did not intend to stop the duo. Each of them was impressed by the beauty of the woman and remained where they were.

Kuro was the first to awaken from his distraction. Due to his private background, his mental strength was stronger, and as soon as he woke up, he shouted, waking everyone up.

"Quick, go after them." Thanks to his shout, all Demon Slayers awoke and began to search the entire village. This time, no one frowned at his words.

The Demon Slayer searched through the village multiple times and searched certain parts of the forest, but they were unable to find the mysterious mist, the woman, and Blake. It was as if they had appeared out of nowhere and disappeared from the world the next second.

[EN: I'll post a photo of this character in the next section.]