Upon hearing this, Tamayo stopped speaking. Just as Yushiro understood that she would never give up on going to her death, she also knew that she couldn't change his mind.
"Lady Tamayo…"
"Mm."
"If I truly manage to wait, could you give me a chance to protect you for an entire lifetime?"
Yushiro gazed at Tamayo; this was his only selfish desire. He knew he wouldn't have a chance with Tamayo in this life.
He knew Tamayo could never forget her husband and son; he could only wait for the next life.
Perhaps his feelings for Tamayo were not just simple romantic love, but he wanted to spend his entire life protecting her, and a lover was the role most likely to achieve that.
"This life will completely end with the termination of my own life. If I truly have a next life, that will be a new beginning…"
Tamayo spoke softly. Although she didn't explicitly agree, her meaning was clear: her feelings for her husband and son were limited to this life.
Having spent many years with her, Yushiro understood her meaning as soon as Tamayo said this. The sadness that had lingered in his heart was eased by her answer.
"Thank you…"
Yushiro showed a gentle smile that he only reserved for Tamayo…
…
Leaving Tamayo, Musashi returned to the headquarters and happened to encounter Tanjirou, who was carrying a box, midway.
"Musashi! You're back?"
Tanjirou looked at Musashi with a hint of pleasant surprise.
It seems his issue with Haganezuka has been resolved…
Musashi looked at the Nichirin Sword at his waist and thought.
In fact, that day Haganezuka chased Tanjirou all the way until night, and his stamina showed no signs of weakening. Ultimately, Tanjirou had to rely on a hiding place provided by Kanzaki Aoi to escape Haganezuka's pursuit.
Finally, under Maruko's appeasement, Haganezuka gave up chasing Tanjirou and returned to Swordsmith Village.
After getting his new blade, Tanjirou went out on missions with Nezuko and only returned today.
"Yes, because I need to attend the Hashira Meeting three days from now," Musashi said with a smile, nodding.
Although Tanjirou hadn't truly experienced a Hashira Meeting before, the Hashira Meeting had just concluded not long ago, and all the Hashiras were still present. Furthermore, they reconvened to judge him and the Bright Red Nichirin's matter, so he could be considered to have experienced half a Hashira Meeting.
"By the way, did you receive Otsu's letter?" Musashi remembered Otsu asking him to help deliver a letter earlier.
"Yes, hearing her say she has a stable life now truly puts my mind at ease," Tanjirou said with a smile, nodding.
Stable life?
Musashi was stunned when he heard Tanjirou's words. What he heard from Otsu at the time was not what could be considered a stable life; she had merely returned to her previous situation.
She probably didn't want others to worry about her…
Musashi quickly understood the reason. When he faced Otsu back then, the sorrow in her brows couldn't be faked. Even with a gentle smile, sadness would still be revealed.
If what she told him was true, then she must not have mentioned these things in her letter to Tanjirou.
What a kind person…
Recalling Otsu's smile, Musashi couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Since Otsu hadn't told Tanjirou these things, Musashi naturally wouldn't tell him either.
"By the way, how did Musashi meet Miss Otsu?" Tanjirou asked Musashi with some confusion.
"I happened to meet her at Fujino House. She wanted to entrust someone to send you a letter, and I just happened to be there at the time."
Musashi replied.
Actually, Otsu's arrival at that Fujino House was also by chance. After the Entertainment District was completely destroyed, she returned there because she was worried about Tanjirou's safety. However, Tanjirou and the others had already been sent away by the Kakushis, leaving only the Kakushis searching for injured humans.
From them, Otsu learned how to contact Tanjirou, which was to give the letter to the people at Fujino House. Afterwards, a Demon Slayer Corps member going to Fujino House would bring the letter to the recipient.
And when Otsu found the Fujino House, Musashi happened to be there.
"I see, that's quite a coincidence then."
Tanjirou smiled and said.
"Mm."
Musashi thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case.
He then noticed the box on Tanjirou's back and felt a little puzzled because he knew that Tamayo's human-transformation drug had already been successfully developed.
"Miss Tamayo's medicine has already been developed, right? Has your sister not changed back yet?"
Musashi leaned close to Tanjirou's ear and quietly asked him, as only the two of them, besides the Master and his wife, knew about Tamayo in the Demon Slayer Corps. Therefore, they needed to be cautious when discussing related issues.
Upon hearing Musashi's question, Tanjirou looked back at the box containing Nezuko with a slightly worried expression. At this moment, Nezuko was still in a deep sleep.
Turning back, Tanjirou shook his head and said to Musashi: "Miss Tamayo said that Nezuko should have been able to regain her self-awareness a long time ago, but perhaps because she subconsciously feels there is something more important than regaining consciousness, she has maintained her current state.
But I completely can't understand what could be more important to Nezuko than regaining consciousness."
Tamayo's ability to develop the human-transformation drug relied mainly on Nezuko's blood. The speed of Nezuko's blood changes astonished her greatly.
She even speculated that Nezuko would be able to overcome the threat of sunlight in the near future and also told this conjecture to Tanjirou, but since it involved Nezuko's life safety, Tanjirou dared not gamble.
"Something more important than regaining consciousness, huh…"
Musashi lowered his head and pondered for a while upon hearing this.
"This matter should be viewed from the difference between her after turning back into a human and her current state. What do you think she would lose after turning back into a human?"
Musashi spoke to Tanjirou. He already had a guess in his mind. Actually, this was quite easy to figure out; it was just that because Nezuko had always stayed by Tanjirou's side, he might have been a bit too close to the situation to see it clearly.
"What would she lose after turning back into a human…"
Tanjirou followed the direction of thought Musashi provided. Soon, he suddenly understood something.
"Lose… the power of a demon…"
Recalling the past few fierce battles—Mount Natagumo, Infinity Train, Entertainment District… In these battles, Nezuko played an important role. She even helped him a lot in some smaller battles before. If it weren't for Nezuko, he might have died countless times already.
So… Nezuko is unwilling to regain consciousness and turn back into a human because she wants to help me?
Tanjirou felt very uneasy. He didn't expect Nezuko to be unwilling to turn back into a human because of this point. Besides this speculation, there was truly no other reason that could explain Nezuko's behavior.
At this moment, Musashi patted him on the shoulder and said to him with a smile: "You don't need to think too much. Soon, when all the evil demons in the world are eliminated, your sister naturally won't need this demon body anymore."
In the past, Musashi might not have dared to say such words with such certainty, but after receiving definite news from Tamayo today, Musashi knew that tomorrow was coming very soon…