Chapter 15: Kochō Shinobu: Where is my little goldfish?

"Dinner is ready, children, time to eat!" Kamado Kie and her two children, Tanjirō and Nezuko, carried the prepared soup and dishes into the inner room one by one and placed them on the table.

Then, she served a bowl of rice for everyone and placed it next to their respective soup and dishes.

"Here, Big Brother Zero, this is yours." Nezuko handed a bowl of rice to Zero.

"Thank you."

Hearing this, Nezuko recalled Zero saying she was very cute earlier, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

Everyone sat properly in their places, picked up their chopsticks, and said in unison: "Itadakimasu."

"What is this?" Zero, who was eating, saw a strange vegetable in the dish. He picked it up with his chopsticks to look at it; it was cyan in color.

Nezuko, who was on the side, saw this and explained: "I picked this on the mountain earlier. It's all cyan and looks quite pretty. I thought it was green onion, so I picked a bunch back! It's just that some of the leftovers from cooking earlier have already withered, which is really strange!"

"So that's how it is!" Zero didn't think too much about it and ate it directly.

Rokuta seemed to like sticking to Zero. He climbed from Nezuko's arms, who was feeding him, to Zero's side and stretched out his hands.

Looking at this little brat, Zero smiled slightly and picked him up into his arms.

"Rokuta, you can't do that! It's too impolite!" Nezuko saw this and wanted to step forward to take Rokuta back.

"It's fine, I'll feed this child." Zero used his chopsticks to pick up his own food and fed it to Rokuta to eat together.

Kamado Kie looked at the scene in front of her and couldn't help but smile. Guessing from Zero's attire, she thought he might be a young master from a wealthy family, and she had thought they might not get along.

But now, what she saw was that they were getting along very harmoniously and happily! Not only that, he didn't show any disdain and was even willing to play with her children, treating even the youngest child with courtesy.

Nezuko watched Zero feeding Rokuta, forgetting to eat the rice in her own hand, just watching them with a smile, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks again.

All of this was taken in by Kamado Kie, who suddenly felt that if Nezuko were with him, she would definitely live very well and happily.

It's just that she didn't know if he was willing? If he were willing, that would naturally be the best.

If Zero knew what Kamado Kie was thinking now, he would probably run away in a panic. After all, he was a person who had lived for thousands of years; marrying a little brat a thousand times younger than himself would delay her wonderful youth, and what would others think...?

After dinner, night had already fallen.

Kamado Kie and the Tanjirō siblings cleaned up all the bowls and chopsticks together. Zero intended to help, but was stopped by them.

Tanjirō said that Zero was a guest now, and there was no reason for a guest to help.

Seeing this, Zero could only let it be and went to chat and tell stories with the four children.

Gradually, Rokuta fell asleep in Zero's arms, and the other three also lay on Zero's legs and fell into a deep sleep.

Looking at Rokuta sleeping in his arms and the three children, Takeo, Shigeru, and Hanako, sleeping on his legs, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart; it seemed that such time was also quite good.

"Big Brother Zero, thank you for helping to take care of my younger siblings."

Tanjirō and Nezuko entered the inner room after helping their mother clean up the bowls and chopsticks and saw this scene. They couldn't help but feel moved: Big Brother Zero is so gentle!

"It's fine. After all, I also like these little brats very much. Seeing them smile so happily, I'm also very happy!"

Nezuko: "Big Brother Zero, give him to me, I'll carry him to rest."

"Alright."

Afterward, Nezuko carried the sleeping Rokuta to another room.

"Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako, it's time to rest." Tanjirō gently shook awake the three little ones who were sleeping on Zero's legs.

"Oh~ Big Brother Zero, goodnight~"

"Goodnight, Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako."

At this time, Kamado Kie also walked in and said, "Zero, you should just sleep with Tanjirō tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"Thank you."

In the evening, Tanjirō laid out two sets of bedding and turned to look at Zero: "Big Brother Zero, you sleep next to me."

"Alright, thank you. Right, Tanjirō, there's something I want to ask you."

"Big Brother Zero, go ahead."

"Do you know who 【Kamado Sumiyoshi】 is?"

"Eh? I seem to have heard my father mention that Kamado Sumiyoshi is my ancestor, but I don't know the specifics. If my father were still here, maybe he would know, but he has already..."

Mentioning his father, Tanjirō felt somewhat dejected; after all, his father had passed away...

"Sorry, Tanjirō, for bringing up your sad past."

"It's fine, Big Brother Zero. Right, Big Brother Zero, what's the deal with the monster you mentioned earlier? And how do you know my ancestor's name?" Tanjirō raised his own questions.

Zero had previously said that his hand was bitten off by a monster. What exactly was the monster Zero fought?

"Tanjirō, that kind of monster is still too far away for you. Knowing about it might not be a good thing! So it's better if you don't ask about this matter."

"Ah, so that's how it is... Alright, I understand!" Although somewhat dejected, Tanjirō knew in his heart that Zero saying this must be for his own good, so he didn't continue to ask.

Because he could smell that Zero was not lying.

"As for why I know your ancestor's name, that was just my guess."

Afterward, Zero told him his previous guess, but omitted a part, such as the Demon Slayer Corps and the evil demons.

He didn't want such a wonderful family to be harmed by evil demons; letting them live out the rest of their lives ordinarily was the best thing.

However, what Zero didn't know was that because of his arrival, the fate of the Kamado family had also been changed. Of course, that was a story for another time...

"Tanjirō, I have a question I want to ask. Although it might be a bit rude, I want to know how your father passed away?"

"My father passed away because of illness..." Afterward, Tanjirō began to explain his father to Zero.

According to what Tanjirō said, Zero learned that the Kamado family had made a living by selling charcoal for generations, and his father, Kamado Tanjūrō, had never been in good health, was weak and sickly, and coughed incessantly.

But he spoke calmly and peacefully, with small emotional fluctuations, and was evaluated by Tanjirō as a person "like a plant."

On weekdays, the Kamado family mainly relied on Tanjūrō going up the mountain to dig charcoal and pulling it down the mountain to sell for a living.

But Tanjūrō's body was always very weak, so the heavy responsibility of supporting the family by selling charcoal soon fell to the precocious eldest son, Tanjirō.

A few years ago, on a cold snowy night, shortly after Nezuko was born, Tanjūrō worshiped the Fire God at the door and danced the Hinokami Kagura dance.

Tanjirō, who was still young at the time, was very curious about how his physically frail father could dance tirelessly in the snow.

His mother, Kamado Kie, told Tanjirō that this was the Kagura dance passed down through the Kamado family to pray for peace to the Fire God...

However, a few years later, shortly after the youngest son Rokuta was born, the stubborn illness Tanjūrō had contracted worsened further; his physical condition went from bad to worse, and he could no longer do heavy work...

Just a few months ago, when it was still winter, the rope with bells hanging near the house was triggered. Tanjūrō woke Tanjirō up to go out with him.

Upon arriving at the destination, what they saw was a giant bear that was very huge and very violent!

But what Tanjirō didn't expect was that his father, who couldn't even do heavy work, used only one axe to cut off the bear's head in the blink of an eye.

It was precisely because of this time that Tanjūrō's illness worsened, causing his body to enter a terminal stage, and his days were numbered.

Not long after this, Tanjūrō passed away, leaving behind six children and his wife—Kamado Kie...

"This is my father. And after my father solved that giant bear, he also asked me, 【Did you see it? That world?】. Ah, right, Big Brother Zero, my father also often taught me to 【Breathe】."

"And there's also the fact that when my father passed away, he made a promise with me to pass the 【Hinokami Kagura dance】 and this pair of earrings to me. He told me to pass these two things on forever!"

Tanjirō told Zero everything he knew about Kamado Tanjūrō like pouring beans.

Zero also obtained a lot of important information from this, but he needed to go back and explore it slowly and infer further.

However, Zero learned from this that his previous guess was at least correct!

Haa~

Zero took a deep breath and exhaled, smiling: "Thank you, Tanjirō, and thank you for telling me all this."

"You're... you're welcome..." Seeing Zero's smile once again, Tanjirō also blushed a little, not only because of Zero's appearance, but also because his smile really did look...

"Rest early, Tanjirō!"

"Oh, oh, alright."

The next day, before dawn, Zero got up early. As soon as he walked out of the room, he ran into Kamado Kie, who had already gotten up to prepare breakfast for the children.

"Zero, why are you up so early? Go back to sleep for a while!"

"No, Ms. Kie, this is my habit, to get up early to exercise."

"Is that so? Then you are really diligent! But you don't have to be so reserved, just call me Auntie Kie."

Hearing this, Zero felt something was not quite right. After all, the Kamado Kie in front of him was just a child to him. Calling her Auntie felt somewhat wrong?

But thinking about it, it didn't matter, and this family was quite good to him. To them, he was a stranger.

Yet they still treated him, a stranger, very warmly, completely as if he were their own family.

Moreover, his current appearance did indeed look a bit like a child.

"Auntie... Auntie Kie!" Saying this, Zero felt somewhat embarrassed and blushed! He turned his face away and reached out to scratch his cheek.

"Good child." Kie smiled and reached out to pat Zero's head, which made Zero even more embarrassed.

"Right, Auntie, this is for you!"

Zero took out a metal piece less than half the size of his palm from his arms and handed it to Kamado Kie. It was only a few millimeters thick; it was his 【Quantum Shield】.

"Although it's not very polite to say this, this can be used to protect you all!" Afterward, Zero told her how to use the 【Quantum Shield】.

Last night, Zero had already injected the energy of three energy crystals into the 【Quantum Shield】, and the energy would be retained forever and would not dissipate.

Kamado Kie felt it was incredible after hearing this. Looking at the blue metal piece in her hand, she felt it was very heavy.

"No, no! Child, this is too precious! You should keep it for yourself!" She refused Zero's good intentions and wanted to return the 【Quantum Shield】 to Zero, but Zero's next words made her have to accept it.

"Auntie, you should just accept it. This is not only my intention, but in this deep mountain forest, if there are any wild beasts or the like, you can use it to protect your children, can't you?!"

This sentence made Kamado Kie fall into deep thought. That's right! Her husband had already left the world, leaving only her and her six children. If she were gone one day, who would protect the children?

Or if other unexpected situations occurred, what should she do?

Thinking it over, Kamado Kie accepted it and said, "Child, thank you. But don't give such precious things in the future, otherwise I will be angry."

"Alright!" Seeing Kamado Kie willing to accept it, Zero was naturally happy.

"You should go back to sleep for a while, I'll go prepare breakfast for you all."

"Oh, alright."

The sunlight outside the window shone in. Tanjirō also woke up, got up, and stretched.

Just as he was about to wake Zero up, he found that Zero was already gone.

"Big Brother Zero got up so early?" Just as Tanjirō was sighing, Zero's voice came from behind him.

"You're awake, Tanjirō."

Tanjirō was also startled by this voice. Turning his head, he saw Zero sitting cross-legged behind him.

"Big Brother Zero, you scared me!"

"Scared? Strange, isn't your nose very sensitive? Didn't you smell that I was right behind you just now?"

"I didn't notice just now, so I forgot..." Tanjirō scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassed.

"Alright, Tanjirō, there's something I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

Zero pointed to a pile of pastries carefully wrapped in paper on the side and said: "These are for you all. When I leave, you can take them out for your mother and younger siblings. Also, please hand this letter to your mother tonight."

As he spoke, he took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Tanjirō.

"Big Brother Zero, are you... leaving?"

"Yes, I still have missions to do, so I can't stay any longer, so I plan to leave in a while."

Learning that Zero was leaving, Tanjirō felt somewhat dejected. He and his family liked getting along with Zero very much. Although it was only for one day, everyone liked him.

"Then... then... Big Brother Zero, will you come back to visit us?"

"I will. When I have time in the future, I will naturally come to visit you all."

"Really?! That's great!"

"Big Brother Zero, are you leaving?" Nezuko, holding Rokuta, appeared at the door at some point, followed by Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako, and their mother.

They had heard the conversation just now.

"Yes, after all, I still have many things to do, but I promise you all that when I have time, I will come to visit you."

"Then eat breakfast before you go!" Kamado Kie said.

"Yes, Big Brother Zero, eat breakfast before you go!" Tanjirō also echoed.

"Mm-hmm, Big Brother Zero, it won't be too late to leave after eating breakfast with us!"

Looking at the group of children in front of him, Zero felt an indescribable feeling in his heart, very subtle and very warm.

"Alright then, I will respectfully obey."

Afterward, several children finished washing up and came to the inner room with Zero to start eating breakfast.

Rokuta was still being held by Zero while eating, just like yesterday. Nezuko saw this and felt somewhat helpless.

But she felt this was also quite good. If Zero could stay forever, that would be great.

After breakfast, Zero helped Tanjirō and his sister clean up the bowls and chopsticks.

Finally, he said goodbye to everyone and prepared to leave.

"Zero, wait a moment!" Kie shouted behind him.

"Auntie, what's wrong?"

"I hope you can also treat this as your own home. If you want to come back, we welcome you at any time."

Seeing this, Zero smiled: "Thank you, I will!"

He waved to the family of seven and left.

Watching Zero's gradually receding figure, Tanjirō also smelled many emotions: loneliness, vicissitudes, and the parting of life and death...

"Big Brother Zero... what has he experienced?"

After Zero left, although there was some reluctance, life had to go on.

Tanjirō packed the charcoal he had made and took it down the mountain to sell to earn living expenses for the family. Nezuko went to the mountain to pick some wild vegetables to use as ingredients.

Kamado Kie was busy cleaning, keeping the small house in good order.

Takeo, Shigeru, and Hanako accompanied Rokuta to play.

A day passed so plainly and simply.

At night, Tanjirō followed Zero's instructions and handed the letter to Kamado Kie.

"Mother, this is what Big Brother Zero asked me to give you this morning, and those pastries were also left by Big Brother Zero."

Kamado Kie took the envelope, opened it, and saw a handwritten letter and another small envelope inside.

The content of the handwritten letter was also very simple: 【Auntie, the other small letter is also my intention, you should just accept it. I'm afraid if I give it to you personally, you will be angry.】

Kamado Kie was somewhat puzzled. Why was Zero afraid that giving it to her personally would make her angry?

Opening the other small envelope, she saw a 50-yen paper note and a small note inside. Kamado Kie finally understood why he said that giving it to her personally would make her angry.

After all, 50 yen for their family could be considered several months of expenses, and she had also told Zero in the morning not to give precious items again, otherwise she would be angry.

Kamado Kie was left between laughter and tears: "This child really makes it impossible for one to be angry! I'll return it to him next time we meet."

But next, when she opened the small note and saw the content inside, it interrupted her thought.

【Auntie, are you thinking of returning it to me next time we meet? If that's really the case, I will be angry too!】

This made Kie want to be angry but unable to be: "This child is really naughty..."

However, she truly felt Zero's intention and accepted it.

"I hope this child can be safe forever!"

Demon Slayer Corps, Zero's residence.

"Haa~ finally finished!" Xiao Yue looked at the residence that had been changed to the style Zero wanted and showed a satisfied smile. She felt a sense of accomplishment in her heart.

During this period, after the renovation by the 【Micro-Construction Robot】, there were not many changes on the outside, but there were big changes on the inside.

First was the living room. The floor was still tatami, but after the renovation, some classical wooden pull curtains and some classical screens were added. By the way, some plants were placed for decoration, and classical lanterns were hung on the ceiling. Some small tables and small wooden cabinets for placing small ornaments were also set up.

The side hall was also renovated. In the middle position, there was a raised wooden platform with several cushions on it, as well as a small glass fish tank, etc...

The three little goldfish in the small fish tank were borrowed (stolen) by Xiao Yue while the Butterfly sisters were out on a mission...

Holding the little goldfish, which were smaller than herself, Xiao Yue flew from the second floor of the Butterfly Mansion to the residence. She was almost exhausted, and the goldfish almost left the world because they were exposed to the air for too long...

The master bedroom was also the same, with a huge classical wooden bed, blue curtains, two potted plants on the left and right sides of the bed, and an incense burner not far from the bed.

The study was also renovated, with wooden classical cabinets, high-legged tables, and vertical lanterns, etc., and some potted plants were placed for decoration. The sunlight shining in from outside the window looked particularly bright.

Overall, it looked antique, making people feel a relaxed and pleasant mood after entering.

As for the side bedroom, Xiao Yue renovated it according to the style of the room she had lived in with Luo Li before. Overall, it looked pink and was full of youthful breath.

Opening the window, one could also see the location of the distant Butterfly Mansion and the Ubuyashiki estate.

As for the source of these things and materials, they were basically taken from Zero's nano-space. He himself didn't know why there were so many of these things in the nano-space.

"I hope Master will be happy after seeing the new changes in the residence when he comes back! Hehee..."

Butterfly Mansion.

"Where is my little goldfish?! Where did it go?! Why are my little goldfish gone?!!!"

Kochō Shinobu, who had just finished a mission with Kochō Kanae, returned to her room on the second floor.

Remembering that she hadn't fed the little goldfish, she took the food and came to the fish tank, only to find that the three little goldfish in the fish tank had disappeared. She was immediately somewhat angry!

(In the original work, Kochō Shinobu's temper is slightly irritable.)

"Ara, little Shinobu, what's wrong?" Kanae heard Kochō Shinobu's angry shout on the first floor and was somewhat curious, so she came up to take a look.

"Sister, my little goldfish are gone! Those are my favorite little goldfish!"

"Could it be that you forgot to put the little goldfish back when you changed the water?"

"Impossible! I haven't changed the water in the last two days, how could I forget?!"

"Alright, alright, don't be angry. At worst, I'll help you buy new ones, okay?"

"If I catch the thief who stole my goldfish, I must teach him a lesson! Let him try the poison I just developed! Hmph!"

"Let's go, little Shinobu."

"Where to?"

"Go to Zero's residence and take a look at him together."

"Oh~"

... ===== CHAPTER 16 =====