"Clang!”

When Maple arrived at the scene, Tomioka Giyuu had just blocked Shinobu’s attack toward Nezuko. The sound of clash Maple heard just now was caused by this.

“Eh? Mr. Tomioka, what are you doing? That’s a demon.”

Shinobu slightly tightened her grip on her nichirin blade. Her eyes were filled with doubts and confusion, as looked at the Tanjiro brother and sister behind Tomioka Giyuu.

“Ne…, you are called Tanjiro, right? The one in your arms is a demon, you know. Please get out of there quickly, don’t worry, I will kill it quickly.”

“No way?! Even if Nezuko is a demon, she has never hurt other people! I will never abandon my sister!”

Tanjiro, who was covered in blood, was now extremely weak, even so, he still used his body to protect Nezuko, who looked dazed behind him.

“Really? So previously she was your sister? But I’m sorry, I have to kill the demon, don’t worry, I will use poison that won’t cause her any pain.”

Hearing Tanjiro’s words, Shinobu without giving a comment, just sheathed her blade and coated it with another kind of poison, thus fulfilling her promise…

A demon who would not hurt others, she really could not believe it.

“Go, Tanjiro, bring Nezuko with you.”

Seeing the negotiations had broken down, Tomioka Giyuu expressionlessly stood in front of Tanjiro to protect him, and calmly asked Tanjiro to leave.

“Mr. Tomioka, are you… trying to protect a demon?”

Tomioka Giyuu’s extremely abnormal behavior confused and angered Shinobu at the same time. Her gentle smile now had accumulated a cold fighting intent.

“This is why Mr. Tomioka is hated by everyone.”

“…I am not hated.”

The atmosphere gradually tensed and the battle was about to break out. Just as Tanjiro was preparing to pick up Nezuko to escape, he noticed a figure appearing in the open space, standing between the woman and Mr. Tomioka and stopped the intensifying atmosphere.

“Shinobu, senior Tomioka, can you tell me what has happened here?”

This young man, with a calm ethereal aura wearing a haori similar to one worn by Mr. Tomioka made Tanjiro realize that this handsome boy, who looked only slightly older than him, was probably also a “pillar”.

Maple’s question also broke Shinobu and Tomioka Giyuu’s confrontation, although both of them did not sheathe their blade, they obviously no longer obsessed over each other.

Tomioka Giyuu’s expression was calm from the beginning to the end, similar to a standard poker face. Seeing the “soul pillar” whose battle prowess had long been acknowledged, a solemn expression appeared in Giyuu's eyes, as he was unable to figure out Maple’s plan.

If Maple also decided to slay the demon, he alone would not be able to block the combined attack of two “pillars”.

However, even though Giyuu was aware of this terrible possibility, he still did not say a word and just waited for Kocho Shinobu to finish explaining the situation to Maple.

“A sister who turned into a demon? One that has never hurt people?”

Although he had already known Tanjiro-brother and sister’s detailed situation, as the first “encounter”, Maple still chose to “act all the way”.

“En… although I am not sure whether what Tanjiro said is the truth or not, looking at the situation, senior Tomioka seemed to have known the whole story, otherwise he would not have defended to the death like this…”

Maple scratched his black hair and deliberately “guessed” in an uncertain tone, allowing the currently impulsive Shinobu to cool down.

“Shinobu, I think you should also know that it is impossible that senior Tomioka does not know the consequences of harboring demons. In that case, why not wait and let Mr. Ubuyashiki to make the final decision at the headquarters.”

As he spoke, Maple reached out and slowly pushed down that had been pulled out of its sheath by half an inch, while looking at Tanjiro, who was nervously looking at him, and the expressionless Tomioka Giyuu.

“Tanjiro, I’ll just call you that, please prepare yourself, to obtain the approval of the “pillars” is not easy. Senior Tomioka, what do you think?”

Giyuu’s eyes froze for a moment, as if considering the pros and cons of doing so, however, when he saw Tanjiro who was secretly shaking his head at him, he had no choice but nod his head, and sheathed his nichirin blade, showing his approval to Maple’s proposal.

“Don’t worry, uncle! Nezuko will definitely obtain everyone’s approval! I absolutely believe in her!”

The bleeding on Tanjiro’s face had yet to dry, but it could not hide his excited and confident expression. However, his serious injury made him a little dazed, and he subconsciously expressed his judgment based on his “smell”.

According to his “smell”, Maple is like a strange deep pool, invisibly absorbing the surrounding emotions, while remaining calm. Such a strange phenomenon reminded Tanjiro of his own father who slayed a bear using an axe and thus misjudged Maple’s age.

After all, in that era Maple, who was 1.8 meter tall, could be said to be very tall.

“Arara, never thought there would be a day that Feng would be called uncle.”

Looking at Maple’s silent expression beside her, Shinobu could not help but cover her lips and chuckled while spraying toxin again.

“Am I right, Uncle…Feng…?”

Tanjiro’s unintentional words before he fell unconscious happened to lighten the mood at the scene.

Not long after, just as Maple expected, a Kasugai crow bringing instructions from Kagaya Ubayashiki flew into the scene, allowing everyone to bring Tanjiro brother and sister back to the headquarters.

Since the demons have been killed, mount natagumo also returned to its previous tranquility. When he was organizing the retreat, he also met Zenitsu and Hashibira Inosuke who were sleeping like dead pigs.

Seeing the “three little pillars'' successfully reunited, Maple felt a lot more relieved. After all, he was previously worried about Zenitsu being affected by his “butterfly effect”. Now it seemed that the mysterious trajectory would be so easily influenced.

…

Four months later, the pillar meeting was held again, however the “protagonist” this time round was Tanjiro Kamado who had his hand tied behind his back in the open space.

“Hey, Tanjiro! Wake up! Quickly wake up!”

Goto, who had moved Tanjiro into the courtyard, was now anxiously shaking the sleeping Tanjiro, trying to wake this brave boy.

“Huh? Kocho, Mr. Feng is not here?”

Withdrawing her gaze from Tanjiro, “love pillar” Mitsuri looked around the courtyard, and suddenly noticed a problem…

It seemed that other than “Mr. Feng”, everyone has arrived?

“Ara, Mr. Feng suggested to Oyakata-sama that he should patrol during the meeting to avoid the unexpected situation of the demons rioting after the Pillars left, so he was absent. However, Feng had asked me to convey his opinion. Everyone need not worry.”

Hearing Mistsuri’s question, Kocho Shinobu who was standing near Tanjiro also explained aloud.

“Mr. Feng is so dedicated! I definitely need to thank him properly!”

Kyojurou on the side promised cheerfully, seemingly always so full of energy.

Along with the flame pillar's laughter, Tanjiro also woke up in a daze, the first thing he saw was the nine figures in the courtyard.

“Where is this?”

“Idiot! Hurry up and greet, these nine people are lord ‘pillars’!”