Chapter 20

During the second treatment period for Ubuyashiki Kagaya, not knowing what else to do, Zero simply takes out his sketchbook and pen and begins to construct the appearance of the weapon he needs.

Afterward, he will wait until Ubuyashiki Kagaya's treatment is finished to see if he can trouble him to help commission someone to forge it.

Ubuyashiki Tianyin quietly guards the 【Healing Pod】, waiting for her husband to finish his treatment, along with Ubuyashiki Hinaki and Ubuyashiki Kiriya.

……

Time passes minute by minute, and Zero has drawn several sheets of weapon designs.

There are Tang swords, greatswords, broadswords, spears, and dual-bladed daggers, but he is not very satisfied with the results.

Finally, his gaze locks onto the weapon design he just drew on his hand: it is a scythe.

This is a copy Zero drew based on the weapon he used before he became a reserve space-time patrol officer.

The long handle has a slight curve, estimated to be two meters long, the curved part of the scythe is estimated to be seventy or eighty centimeters long, and there is a small barb at the connection point.

Thus, he decides to forge this weapon.

In order to let the person forging it understand the exact appearance of this weapon, Zero even draws a few more sheets, drawing every part of the scythe and even marking the dimensions of the scythe.

Although he does not know any breathing techniques, he wonders if he can use grip strength to make this scythe achieve the same effect as a Bright Red Blade?

After confirming, he organizes the remaining drawing sheets and puts them into the 【Nano Space】, leaving only the scythe design.

After finishing all this, he sits on the wooden board at the doorway, looking up at the sky, wondering what he is thinking about...

However, not long after, Xiao Yue also arrives at the Ubuyashiki estate. Seeing Zero sitting at the courtyard gate, she flies straight over and pounces on Zero's chest.

"Master!"

"Hmm? Xiao Yue! Why did you come over?"

"Hmph, stinky Master, you clearly returned, so why didn't you come to see me!?" Xiao Yue puffs out her cheeks, looking up and staring at Zero, as if she won't let it go until he gives her an explanation.

Seeing this, Zero is also left between laughter and tears, but thinking about it, it makes sense; for over a month, he has been clearing out evil demons in his jurisdiction.

He was even delayed for an extra day because of that guy Yahu, so he returned quite late.

It is normal for Xiao Yue to be angry because he hadn't returned to see her for over a month.

After all, he hadn't come back to visit her after leaving the matter of renovating the estate to her, and thinking about it, he really does feel sorry for her.

Thinking this through, he takes Xiao Yue off his chest and holds her in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Yue. I was indeed negligent this past month, my apologies! After today's matters are finished, how about I spend tomorrow playing with you?"

Seeing Zero's sincere apology, the small bit of resentment in Xiao Yue's heart dissipates quite a bit, but she is still a little unhappy.

"Fine, then Master, you must also agree to two requests of mine!"

"Fine, tell me! As long as I can do it, I will agree to it!"

"You said that, Master! No going back on your word!"

"Absolutely no going back!"

"My first request is very simple: spend tomorrow playing out with me!"

"Fine, I promise you. What about the second request?"

"My second request is also very simple: don't leave me alone often!"

"Fine, I agree to both. Are you satisfied now?"

"Mm-hmm, Master is the best, hee hee~"

"You, you, how are you still like a little child."

Although he says that, he still dotes on Xiao Yue like an older brother doting on a younger sister. In this world, Xiao Yue can be said to be his only relative.

Xiao Yue flies from Zero's palm to his shoulder, looking up at the sky with him.

"By the way, Master, little Kanae has been coming to the estate often lately. I feel like she seems to have feelings for you..."

"Xiao Yue..." Before Xiao Yue can finish her sentence, she is interrupted by Zero.

"Xiao Yue, Luo Li... is still waiting for me in the starry sky."

Hearing this, Xiao Yue falls silent. It is like a triangle: on one side is her Master, on one side is Kochō Kanae, and on the other side is Luo Li.

But no matter what, Xiao Yue will only unconditionally support Zero's decision. Zero is her creator, as well as her Master and brother.

The two of them fall silent just like that.

Ubuyashiki Tianyin listens to their conversation, not understanding what Zero meant by "in the starry sky," but it reminds her of the scene when she first met Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

She was born into a priestly family and was named Shinkan Tianyin.

At that time, Ubuyashiki Kagaya was 13 years old, and Shinkan Tianyin was 17. Because it was an arranged marriage by the family, coupled with the Ubuyashiki family's fate of short lives, she was more or less reluctant.

Yet she still went to meet Ubuyashiki Kagaya. At that time, Ubuyashiki Kagaya once said to Tianyin, "If you don't like it, I will be the one to refuse this matter."

It was precisely because of these words, which showed consideration for her position, that Shinkan Tianyin changed her view of Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

She decided to marry Ubuyashiki Kagaya and changed her name to Ubuyashiki Tianyin.

(It seems that women in Japan during that era changed their names to their husband's surname when marrying into the husband's family; I'm not entirely sure about the specifics.)

Later, she gave birth to five children for Kagaya. Kiriya, with black hair, was the only boy among them and Kagaya's successor. The other children were Hinaki, Nichika, Kuina, and Kanata.

……

Night falls.

There is less than a minute left until Ubuyashiki Kagaya's second treatment ends, for which Ubuyashiki Tianyin has already prepared new clothes in advance.

【3…2…1… Beep! Clearing complete】

Afterward, Zero opens the lid of the 【Healing Pod】, and he and Xiao Yue go outside the door to wait.

A few minutes later, Ubuyashiki Tianyin comes to the door: "Lord Zero, please come with me."

"Hmm."

Entering the room, he sees Ubuyashiki Kagaya kneeling on the straw mat, with Ubuyashiki Nichika and Ubuyashiki Kiriya accompanying him behind.

At this time, the disfigured parts on Ubuyashiki Kagaya's face caused by the curse have completely disappeared, and his complexion is rosy; clearly, the second treatment has allowed him to recover more than half.

He only needs to undergo the final treatment next month to fully recover.

After Ubuyashiki Tianyin leads Zero into the room, she goes to her husband's side and kneels down.

Zero puts the 【Healing Pod】 back into the 【Nano Space】, then sits down in front of Ubuyashiki Kagaya, crossing his legs, with Xiao Yue sitting on his shoulder.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya has no aversion to Zero doing this; on the contrary, he feels that this is also good, at least he doesn't have to feel constrained by those cumbersome etiquettes.

"Zero, thank you!"

"You're welcome. Also, undergo the final treatment next month, and you will be able to fully recover. But I still hope you won't have any overly emotional reactions; your body can only be considered sub-healthy right now."

"I understand, I will do as you say. Also, thank you for making such a huge contribution to the Demon Slayer Corps, and thank you for slaying the Upper Rank demon, which has boosted the morale of the Demon Slayer Corps to an unprecedented level."

"If you really want to thank me, then I would like to ask you for a favor."

"Tell me, no matter what favor it is, the Ubuyashiki family will do everything in their power to help you."

"I would like to ask you to help commission someone to forge a Nichirin Sword for me. Just forge it according to this appearance."

As soon as he finishes speaking, Zero picks up the sheets he had prepared in the morning and hands them to Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya takes the drawings and looks at them; it is a weapon appearance he has never seen before, but this is not a difficult task for him. He only needs to ask the swordsmiths of the Swordsmith Village later.

The Swordsmith Village is the village that forges weapons for the swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps.

They have no combat skills, but they possess unparalleled sword-forging techniques.

The Swordsmith Village is a small village composed of over a hundred swordsmiths who dedicate themselves daily to refining metal into exquisite blades, supplying combat weapons for the swordsmen.

"That is fine, this is nothing. I had intended to do this anyway, to have the swordsmiths of the Swordsmith Village forge a weapon for you, but it will take some time for it to be delivered."

"No matter, in that case, thank you, Master!"

Afterward, he chats with Ubuyashiki Kagaya for a while and then leaves, returning to the estate that Xiao Yue had already renovated for him.

Arriving at the estate, he pushes open the door and turns on the lights. Looking at the decorations in the room, he feels a very pleasant sense of relaxation, antique and elegant.

He even smells a special fragrance, exactly as he had imagined.

"Xiao Yue, you've worked hard this past month!"

"As long as you are happy, Master, everything is worth it."

Zero smiles slightly, and then, as he enters the living room to take a good look around, he suddenly feels as if there are other people in this estate.

He quickly takes out the 【Dark Alloy Paralysis Gun】 from the 【Nano Space】, holding the gun handle with his right hand and supporting the bottom of the gun with his mechanical left hand, slowly approaching the direction where he felt the presence of others.

Coming to the inner room of the courtyard, he discovers that this "other person" is an old acquaintance—Kochō Kanae.

At this moment, she is sleeping on the cushion on the small high platform in the living room, looking like a half-curled-up little kitten, which makes one feel pleasing to the eye while also being cute.

Although he doesn't quite understand why Kochō Kanae is here, since she is an old acquaintance, there is no need to worry about anything else.

He puts the gun back into the 【Nano Space】 and takes out a blanket to cover Kochō Kanae.

Perhaps the movement was too big and woke Kochō Kanae up; she rubs her eyes and looks at Zero, still sleepy.

"Haah~~ Ah, Zero, you're back..." Kochō Kanae, who has woken up, yawns and stretches, fully displaying her figure.

However, these are not things Zero cares about.

"Kanae, why are you here?"

"I heard you came back and even killed an Upper Rank demon, so I came to see you and congratulate you! I didn't expect you hadn't returned yet, so I waited here, but I didn't expect to fall asleep..."

"I see. Sorry, I was helping the Master with his second treatment today, so I returned a bit late! You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll go make you something to eat!"

"Then I'll trouble you, Zero, thank you."

"No problem. Xiao Yue, you keep Kanae company for now; I'll go cook."

"Mm-hmm, I know."

Leaving Xiao Yue to chat with Kochō Kanae, he takes off his cloak and hood and walks into the kitchen to prepare some simple food.

Kochō Kanae watches Zero busy in the kitchen, and for some reason, she feels that this seems quite nice.

Not long after, a fragrance of noodles wafts from the kitchen. Zero brings out a bowl of noodles in a wooden tray and places it in front of Kochō Kanae.

A bowl of clear noodle soup, two fried eggs, and some vegetables; although simple, it smells very fragrant.

These ingredients were bought by the cleanup squad members Xiao Yue commissioned after she renovated the estate. Fortunately, there is electricity in this era, so the refrigerator Zero took out of his 【Nano Space】 a month ago just happened to come in handy.

"Sorry, these are the only ingredients for now. Eat something first!"

"Ah, it's okay, thank you, Zero."

"Then eat. I'm going to maintain my equipment. Also, if you want to rest, I have extra rooms here; you can use one for now."

"Maintain equipment?"

Kochō Kanae doesn't quite understand what that is. She sees Zero go to the inner room of the side courtyard, take out some of his weapons, and begin to detect data with his 【Analysis Glasses】.

Then he takes out some cotton cloth and some tools and begins to wipe and maintain them; this is a habit he has always had.

Through the glass door, watching Zero intently organizing those strange weapons, Kochō Kanae forgets to eat the food placed in front of her.

If Xiao Yue hadn't reminded her, she probably would have kept watching like that.

…………

Time passes slowly, and more than twenty days have passed.

On this day, Zero is training at his estate when he receives a notification from the messenger Crow, Yuki, that a distinguished guest is visiting.

"Distinguished guest? Who is it?"

"Delivering a sword, delivering a sword, the swordsmith is here to deliver a sword."

"Delivering a sword?" Zero thinks for a moment before he understands what is going on.

More than twenty days ago, after he finished the second treatment for Ubuyashiki Kagaya, he commissioned him to help forge a weapon for him.

Now that so much time has passed, he didn't expect it to actually be delivered.

Arriving at the estate gate, he opens the door and sees a man wearing a Hyottoko mask on his face and wind chimes hanging from his head, with a large wooden box over two meters long and about one meter wide strapped to his back.

"My name is Haganezuka Hotaru, the swordsmith commissioned by the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps to forge a sword for Lord Zero. I am here to deliver the sword. Are you Lord Zero?"

"I am."

"Lord Zero, I have seen the drawings you gave me. They are very exquisite, but... why did you want to forge such a weapon? Do you know how much time and energy it took me to finish forging it?"

Haganezuka Hotaru seems very angry, and his temper is also quite explosive, as if he won't let Zero go unless he gives him an explanation.

"This was just drawn according to the weapon I used before, and I am more used to using such a weapon." Zero casually finds an excuse to brush it off.

"Hmph, it better be! I also hope your weapon is the legendary red!"

"The legendary red? What is that?"

"The legendary red means the blade turns red, which can make evil demons lose their regenerative power, commonly known as the Crimson Blade."

After inviting Haganezuka Hotaru into the house, Haganezuka Hotaru begins to explain about the red sword.

Every swordsmith in their Swordsmith Village hopes to see the legendary red while forging swords for the swordsmen.

Because there is a record in the ancient books of their Swordsmith Village: the legendary Crimson Blade can suppress the regenerative power of evil demons, so every swordsmith in the Swordsmith Village hopes to see the legendary Crimson Blade while forging swords for the swordsmen.

This is also to increase the survival rate of every swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps in battles to slay evil demons.

But as a result, hundreds of years have passed, and the legendary Crimson Blade has never appeared.

To be precise, since the Warring States Period, after that person had a Crimson Blade appear once, there has never been another swordsman who could turn a Nichirin Sword red.

Haganezuka Hotaru talks on his own, not caring whether Zero is listening, yet the fact is that Zero has indeed been listening the whole time.

After listening to Haganezuka Hotaru's explanation, Zero feels that the Crimson Blade he is talking about is the Bright Red Blade, because the Bright Red Blade is also red.

Thus, he says: "Mr. Haganezuka, perhaps I already know what the Crimson Blade you are talking about is, and I can also let you see it."

"What?! You, you, you... are you telling the truth?!" Haganezuka Hotaru is somewhat excited and quickly puts down the large wooden box on his back and hands it to Zero.

He urges him to hurry up and let him see the legendary Crimson Blade.

"Hurry up, hurry up, let me see the legendary Crimson Blade."

"Oh~"

Zero opens the large wooden box, and inside lies a scythe, exactly the same as the drawings he had made before.

Moreover, the four characters "Destroy Evil Demons" are engraved on the blade of the scythe.

(The image is something I designed randomly; if you want something better, you can refer to Shinoa Hīragi's scythe from "Seraph of the End" as a model.)

Picking up the scythe, it feels quite heavy, weighing about sixty or seventy jin.

However, this weight is nothing to Zero.

Adjusting the power of his mechanical left hand, he grips the handle of the scythe with both hands and lifts it up. As the power of the mechanical left hand gradually increases, the entire blade of the scythe gradually becomes incomparably red.

Nichirin Sword—Scythe, Bright Red Blade appears!

"Red! It really is the legendary red!" Haganezuka Hotaru excitedly puffs out a stream of white air from the long mouth of the fire-god mask, his fingers waving non-stop!

"Look at this red, it's truly beautiful! What a beautiful red! I have finally seen the legendary Crimson Blade! Hahahaha!"

"So the records in the Swordsmith Village are true! The legendary red Nichirin Sword... no, it should be the Nichirin Scythe! Hahahaha!"

The excited Haganezuka Hotaru begins to dance with joy. After a while, he calms down and says: "Lord Zero, thank you for letting me see the legendary Crimson Blade. I must leave to tell the village chief about this! Also, please treat this sword well; if there is any loss or damage, I will never let you off!"

"Rest assured, I would do that even without you saying so!"

"Then, farewell!"

Coming in a hurry and leaving in a hurry, after seeing Haganezuka Hotaru off, Zero adjusts his mechanical left hand back to its original state and takes the scythe to the courtyard to swing it.

"Whew~ That feeling, it seems to have returned."

However, just as Zero is about to continue swinging, the Messenger Crow, Yuki, flies over.

"Hashira Meeting! Hashira Meeting! Master, the Master has notified all Pillar-level swordsmen to go to the Butterfly Mansion to attend the Hashira Meeting."

"Hashira Meeting? It seems something has happened," Zero thinks to himself.

"I understand, Yuki, I'll be there immediately!" Afterward, he carries the scythe on his shoulder and heads to the Butterfly Mansion to attend the Hashira Meeting.