Chapter 40: Birthday of Kochō Kanae

Day after day, year after year.

Time passed in a hurry.

It had been nearly two years since Zero joined the Demon Slayer Corps.

On this day, after concluding the third selection as an examiner at Mount Fujikasane, Zero led everyone back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

The results of this selection were quite good; out of a total of twenty people, half passed the examination and officially became Demon Slayer swordsmen!

Half of them were swordsmen who had been eliminated in the previous selection and had returned to participate again.

Upon returning to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, and with no missions currently at hand,

having nothing to do, Zero returned to his residence, went to his room, sat in a chair at his desk, and began to write in his diary:

【December 8th, Morning, Weather: The Heavens are sleeping in】

【It has been two years since I joined the Demon Slayer Corps, and I have presided over three Mount Fujikasane selections.】

【For these past two years, I have either been exterminating evil demons or on the road to exterminating them! Those evil demons who are always slacking off and running away the moment they see me are truly good for nothing...】

After finishing his diary entry, just as he was about to close the notebook and rest, he noticed the date in the diary, and something seemed to stir in his mind...

"December 8th... Hmm... I remember that little girl Kanae's birthday is today, right..."

Recalling the first time he met the Kochō sisters, it was Kanae who recommended him to join the Demon Slayer Corps.

At that time, he didn't know much about this world, so he had more or less been wary of them, but after spending a long time together, he discovered that these two sisters were quite kind.

Not only that, most people in the Demon Slayer Corps were like this; although their personalities varied, overall, they were all quite good.

"I didn't expect that two years had already passed since I joined the Demon Slayer Corps. I wonder how Luo Li, Number One, and everyone else are doing among the stars?... Forget it, let's not think about these things for now. Since today is Kanae's birthday, I'll prepare a surprise for her!"

Just as he was about to take action, he suddenly felt his leg being hugged. Looking down, he saw it was the little child, Rokuta.

He must have returned to his room earlier and forgotten to close the door, which was why Rokuta was able to enter.

Plus, he had been busy writing his diary, so he hadn't noticed Rokuta's arrival.

"Zero-brother... hug..." Rokuta was gradually growing up, but he was still just a small child, so his speech was still a bit unclear.

Zero smiled slightly, took Rokuta into his arms, and gently pinched his little face: "You, you, you really like being hugged by me."

Rokuta loved being held in Zero's arms, not only because of the faint scent on Zero's body, but also because he felt that Zero's embrace made him feel very safe.

"Sorry, Zero, I just woke up and didn't notice Rokuta. I didn't expect this child to run over to your place!" Kamado Kie had woken up to find Rokuta missing and was very anxious.

She couldn't find him anywhere, and seeing the door to Zero's room open, she had rushed over in a panic.

At this moment, her hair was disheveled and she was wearing pajamas, looking a bit lazy. Combined with the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth, she looked just like a gentle big sister from next door.

Because life had improved, the Kamado family lived here comfortably, and Kamado Kie often kept the residence in perfect order.

Zero had told her not to work so hard every day and that it was fine to rest more occasionally.

So today, she had slept in a little longer with the children.

When Zero returned, their family hadn't woken up yet.

Therefore, he hadn't disturbed them and had returned to his room alone, walking on tiptoes.

As for Xiao Yue, she had been taken to the Butterfly Mansion by Kochō Kanae to play...

"It's alright, Aunt Kie. You and the children should rest a bit more today. I don't have any missions right now, so taking care of Rokuta is no problem at all."

"That... that's alright then. I've caused you trouble."

"We're all family; there's no such thing as trouble."

"That's true, we are all family... I also hope that child Nezuko can recover soon." When Kamado Kie said this, she seemed to have an ulterior motive, and the look she gave Zero revealed a sense of satisfaction.

"Uh... I must be overthinking it... It should be like that... No, it must be my imagination!" Zero thought to himself.

Near noon, Zero found several members of the "Kakushi" and asked them to purchase some ingredients for making a cake, telling the "Kakushi" that they must be bought back before dinner as they were urgently needed.

Since he wanted to prepare a surprise for Kochō Kanae, naturally, doing it himself was the best way.

Although the "Kakushi" members didn't quite understand what was going on, since it was a request from a Pillar, and the Zero Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps at that, they naturally had to complete it with the fastest speed.

Afterwards, Zero came into the house and told Kamado Kie about this, saying he wanted to give his friend a birthday surprise and asked her to help with this favor.

Kamado Kie agreed without a second thought. Zero had been a benefactor to their family, so this little matter was no problem at all.

Under Kamado Kie's instruction, Takeo and Shigeru also helped out, and as for Hanako, Zero asked her to take care of Rokuta.

"Master, I'm back~" Just as Zero was about to get busy, he heard Xiao Yue's voice from outside the door.

Turning his head, he saw Xiao Yue fly straight over, pouncing into Zero's arms and hanging onto his chest.

Holding Xiao Yue in his hands, he smiled helplessly: "You, how old are you now, and you're still like this."

"Hee hee~"

"Xiao Yue, today is Kanae's birthday, and I plan to give her a surprise. After all, she helped us back then. So, can you please stall Kanae and Shinobu, and don't let them come here for now? When evening comes, I will have Xue notify you, and then you can bring them over."

"Mm-hmm, okay~ Then can you take me out for a stroll again tomorrow?"

"Of course, this has always been my promise to you!"

"Okay, then it's a deal!"

Watching Xiao Yue leave, Kamado Kie also spoke up at this moment: "The bond between you two siblings is truly good."

"Mm, after all, she has accompanied me until now, and no matter what I do, she always supports me unconditionally..." Speaking of this, Zero thought of a question. He didn't know when Xiao Yue had developed self-awareness.

He vaguely remembered that when he first created T0 (Xiao Yue), she didn't have self-awareness like she did now and had always executed orders unconditionally...

But it seemed that T0 developed self-awareness when...

"Master, my name is T0, you are my creator."

"Master, T0 requests to stay by your side forever..."

"Master, T0 is just a robot, but I also want to... want to be like Sister Luo Li, and always accompany you by your side..."

"T0... will always support Master, no matter what happens..."

"When was this memory from..." At this moment, the light in Zero's eyes seemed to fade, and he fell into some kind of memory, but he just couldn't remember what it was about...

It wasn't until Kamado Kie called him several times that he finally came back to his senses.

"Zero? Are you alright? Is something uncomfortable? If so, why don't you go and rest? Leave the rest to me."

"Ah... oh, I'm fine, I just remembered some things."

"Are you really okay?" Kamado Kie was still a bit worried and reached out to touch Zero's forehead.

Zero suddenly felt this action of Kamado Kie's was somewhat familiar and very warm, as if he had seen it somewhere before?

"Aunt Kie, I'm really fine. Let's not talk about this for now. Let's hurry and process these ingredients; we'll be busy in a moment..."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

A few hours later, the "Kakushi" completed Zero's request and purchased some ingredients for making the cake. Although it was a little late, for Zero, this didn't count for much.

Fortunately, his 【Nano Space】 also had some tools for making cakes, which was enough to compensate for shortening the time to make the cake, although he didn't know why these tools were in his 【Nano Space】.

Bringing the ingredients to the kitchen and taking out some tools from the 【Nano Space】—an eggbeater, a mixer, etc. —all of which Kamado Kie had never seen before, she covered her mouth with both hands and looked at Zero in disbelief.

Fortunately, he had organized the 【Nano Space】 last time and classified all the equipment and daily necessities, otherwise, it would have taken a lot of time to find these things.

"Aunt Kie, I'll teach you how to use this. First, help me separate the egg whites and egg yolks from these eggs and put them into these two large bowls, and then use this eggbeater..."

Butterfly Mansion.

Upon hearing the news that Zero had returned, Kochō Kanae wanted to see him after finishing her work at the Butterfly Mansion, but she was always blocked by Xiao Yue.

Xiao Yue remembered the task her master had given her: find a way to prevent Kochō Kanae and Kochō Shinobu from going to the residence, after all, he wanted to give her a birthday surprise.

If the surprise was discovered, then it wouldn't be a surprise.

"Xiao Yue-chan, why can't I go to Zero's place? Are you hiding something from me?" Kochō Kanae stared at Xiao Yue with a gentle smile, wanting to find something in her eyes.

"There's no why, little Kanae, don't ask! Master has important things to do there. If you go now, you will definitely disturb him!"

Kochō Shinobu, who was on the side, always felt that something was not quite right, but she couldn't say what was wrong, and felt a bit helpless in her heart.

Kochō Kanae guessed that since Xiao Yue said Zero had important things to do, it must be very important.

It might be information regarding the Upper Moons or Kibutsuji Muzan.

Therefore, he should be organizing the information.

So she didn't insist any further.

"Alright then, when can I go to see Zero?" Since she couldn't go for the time being, she would wait until Zero was done with his work. It was impossible for him to be busy all day, right?

"Hmm... probably in the evening. At that time, the Kasugai Crow will notify me, little Kanae, don't be anxious!"

Believing Xiao Yue's words, Kochō Kanae calmed down. Having nothing to do, she started arranging flowers in her room.

But Kochō Shinobu didn't think so, and she also felt the changes in her sister, who seemed to care about news of Zero every moment.

Whenever she heard news of Zero, she was happier than anyone else, which gave her an idea: could it be that her sister really fell in love with Zero?

Kochō Shinobu could tell that in Zero's eyes, they were just very good friends, or even just treated as little sisters.

For the past two years, Zero rarely returned to the Demon Slayer Corps, basically only returning once every month or two to share the information he had collected with everyone.

This had reduced the casualty rate of the Demon Slayer Corps quite a bit.

Not only that, every time he returned, he also brought a lot of medicinal herbs to the Butterfly Mansion for emergencies...

Kochō Shinobu felt that since her sister had found her true love, she should naturally be the happiest, but she also felt a sense of loss in her heart, as if she had lost something...

Night.

After several hours, the cake was finally finished.

Kamado Kie also prepared a large table of dishes. Takeo and Shigeru, who helped, looked at the delicious food on the table, and tears uncontrollably overflowed from the corners of their mouths.

Seeing that everything was ready, Zero summoned his Kasugai Crow, Xue, to go to the Butterfly Mansion to notify Xiao Yue, as well as Ubuyashiki Kagaya's family of seven and the remaining eleven Pillars (including the former Flame Pillar).

The reason why the Pillars were all at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was naturally because of the actions of Zero and Shinazugawa Sanemi...

Upon receiving the notification from the Kasugai Crow, they were a bit confused as to why Zero would summon everyone to his residence.

However, since they were already there, it wouldn't hurt to go and see. Anyway, there were no missions for the time being, and they were free, so it was just right to go to Zero's residence together to sit for a while.

Seeing that Ubuyashiki Kagaya's family of seven were all there, everyone was even more confused.

Kochō Shinobu: "Even Master is here, it seems there is something going on, right?"

"Should be, right?" Even Kochō Kanae couldn't understand why Zero had gathered everyone together.

Entering the residence and seeing the decorations inside, they were even more amazed. Except for the Kochō sisters, the others had never visited Zero's residence before.

They didn't expect his residence to be so magnificent!

Uzui Tengen: "Truly flashy!"

Shinazugawa Sanemi: "Tch, this guy Zero really knows how to enjoy himself!"

Rengoku Kyōjurō: "Umu! Very good, I like this atmosphere, hahaha!"

Tokito Muichiro: "What is that hanging on the ceiling?"...

"Everyone, welcome. The reason I called you over today, besides expressing my gratitude, is also related to Kochō Kanae."

Hearing Zero say this, the others were even more curious about what was going on, and their eyes turned to Kochō Kanae.

Kochō Kanae was also full of confusion, not understanding why Zero would say that.

"Oh my, Zero, what is the matter related to me?"

Zero just smiled slightly and didn't answer.

"Let's take our seats first."

Kamado Kie's family of five, the eleven Pillars, plus Ubuyashiki Kagaya's family of seven, Uzui Tengen's three wives—Makio, Suma, and Hinatsuru—and Rengoku Shinjurō and Rengoku Senjūrō.

Fortunately, there were enough tables and the room was large enough!

Otherwise, it really wouldn't have been able to accommodate so many people!

"Zero, you said it was related to my sister, what exactly is it?" Kochō Shinobu asked a bit anxiously.

"Birthday. Today is your sister's birthday. Back then, it was you who recommended me to join the Demon Slayer Corps, so besides gratitude, I also wanted to celebrate a birthday for Kanae. This is also a little token of my heart."

Everyone suddenly realized. Only Shinazugawa Sanemi was a bit silent; he hadn't remembered Kochō Kanae's birthday, yet Zero had.

Zero raised the wine glass in his hand and said: "Everyone, may we eliminate Kibutsuji Muzan soon, and also, happy birthday to Kochō Kanae!"

Xiao Yue, who was sitting on Zero's shoulder, also echoed: "Little Kanae, happy birthday~"

Kochō Kanae's eyes were suddenly filled with tears. Ever since her parents were killed by evil demons, she had joined the Demon Slayer Corps and relied on Shinobu, never thinking about celebrating her birthday.

Unexpectedly, Zero remembered, and she didn't even know when the last time she had celebrated her birthday was.

"Kanae, my child, happy birthday!"

"Kanae-chan, happy birthday!"

"Sister, happy birthday!"...

Everyone offered their blessings one after another, wishing Kochō Kanae a happy birthday.

Seeing this warm scene, Uzui Tengen's three wives were full of envy.

Kanroji Mitsuri's eyes were sparkling with gold stars, thinking to herself: "I wonder if Mr. Zero knows my birthday?"

After a delicious meal, Zero brought out a large three-layered cake from the kitchen and placed it on the table.

The pink cake was covered with thick cream on each layer, and a heart-shaped strawberry was placed on the very top as a decoration.

He cut the top layer of the large cake for Kochō Kanae and cut the remaining two layers into dozens of pieces to ensure that everyone could have some.

"Oh my, such a sweet and soft cake, thank you, Zero. This is the happiest birthday I've ever had!"

"This is for you! Happy birthday!"

Zero handed an exquisite box to Kochō Kanae.

Kochō Kanae opened it and saw a very beautiful bracelet made of two colors, light blue and grayish-white, with a small silver butterfly hanging where they connected.

"Sorry, this seems to be something I've kept on me for a long time, but it's still new. I hope you don't mind..." Before he could finish speaking, Kochō Kanae gave Zero a hug.

"This bracelet is very beautiful, I like it very much, thank you, Zero."

Everyone present looked at the two of them and forgot to eat the cake in their hands.

Uzui Tengen's three wives were even more envious.

Makio: "Wow~ so sweet~"

Hinatsuru: "I'm so envious of Miss Kanae~"

Suma: "Tengen-sama, I also want to have a birthday~"

"That... Kanae, everyone is still watching..."

Hearing Zero's reminder, Kochō Kanae finally reacted and hurriedly let go of the hug.

She put the bracelet from the box on her wrist. Under the light, combined with Kochō Kanae's beautiful appearance, she looked so elegant.

After the birthday party ended, everyone returned to their own residences.

Shinazugawa Sanemi had seen everything that happened just now, and he had an indescribable feeling, as if he had lost something.

A thought suddenly arose in his heart... ===== CHAPTER 41 =====