— After the meeting, some of the nine Pillars returned to their homes, others received assignments to destroy demons, while Xander stayed with Ubuyashiki Yoya.
— Xander, — said Ubuyashiki Yoya, — currently, the areas where demons appear in Neon are under the control of the Pillars, so for now, no territory has been assigned to you.
— It doesn't matter, — Xander responded indifferently, — I'll just be a regular team member, taking on demon-slaying assignments.
Ubuyashiki Yoya smiled slightly.
— That's what I mean. I hope you'll be a Pillar hiding in the shadows. When the Upper Rank demons appear, you can emerge in time and join forces with the other Pillars to eliminate them.
— No problem, — Xander agreed with a smile. — This fits into my plans.
— Well, you'll just have to be a little patient, — said Ubuyashiki Yoya. —
— It doesn't matter, — Xander stated, — as long as we can destroy Muzan Kibutsuji, nothing is too much.
Ubuyashiki Yoya smiled lightly and said: — In that case, let me offer you a few days of rest as compensation. After all, Mitsuri is looking for you within the Demon Slayer Corps, and Shinobu is expecting you. First, sort out their issues, and then I will assign you a mission.
Xander was momentarily taken aback, then coughed twice and hurriedly left as if escaping.
— Uh, my lord, I have something else to do, so I'll go now, — he said.
Having said this, Xander instantly disappeared from the room.
Walking down the road to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Xander sighed.
— I really don't know what my lord meant. He jokes as if...
Suddenly, a girl's voice called from behind Xander.
— Xander... Xander!
Hearing this, Xander turned around and saw that it was Mitsuri Kanroji.
— Hm? Mitsuri, do you need something?
Mitsuri Kanroji blushed and asked, — , have you been assigned a territory you're responsible for?
Xander thought for a moment and decided to tell Mitsuri.
— No, now everyone has their own area of responsibility. Assigning someone else's territory to me would be disrespectful to the other Pillars.
— So my lord has asked me to remain an ordinary team member for now. If any issues arise, I can come to help in time and reduce the number of casualties among the team members.
Hearing Xander's words, Mitsuri's admiration for her lord grew even stronger.
— My lord is simply amazing! But... I wouldn't mind if Xander took my territory. Should I tell him? If I say it, it could be bad.
Seeing Mitsuri deep in thought, Xander stepped forward and called out: — Mitsuri! What's wrong with you? What are you thinking about?
Mitsuri snapped back to reality and saw Xander in front of her. The distance between them was too small. Mitsuri's face immediately flushed, and sweat started streaming down her forehead. She felt slightly dizzy.
— Too... too close!
Seeing Mitsuri's charming expression, Xander smiled gently, then stepped back and said, — If everything's okay, I'll be on my way. I still need to visit Tanjiro and the others.
— Okay... — Mitsuri said absently. Only when Xander's figure began to disappear into the distance did Mitsuri come to her senses.
— Oh! I wanted to ask Xander if he likes any girl, but... because he was too close, I forgot!
— Oh, right! ... Xander mentioned looking for that guy from that night, didn't he? It seems he went to the Butterfly Mansion to... to... ... to... ... to... to Kocho...? ... Ah, I believe it! I'll go to the Butterfly Mansion to look for Xander! Although... it's already late, I'll wait until tomorrow!
— Tomorrow, I will definitely find him!
Mitsuri laughed joyfully and returned to her residence.
On the other hand, Xander also arrived at the Butterfly Mansion.
Upon entering the ward, Xander saw two people lying on the bed.
— No! I won't drink anymore! — Zenitsu was lying on the bed, his expression full of disgust.
— No! Mr. Zenitsu's condition is the most serious! ... Please, drink the medicine quickly! — A girl with twin tails and blue butterfly clips on the sides was earnestly persuading Zenitsu to take the medicine.
This girl with twin tails was Kanzaki Aoi from the Butterfly Mansion.
Tanjiro watched Zenitsu, who was having tantrums eight times a day, and felt a bit upset as well.
At that moment, Tanjiro saw Xander at the door and exclaimed in surprise.
— Senior Xander! You're here!
Hearing Tanjiro's voice, Xander smiled gently and entered the ward.
— Yes.
The people in the ward also noticed Xander. Seeing Xander, Kanzaki Aoi respectfully said: — Master Xander.
Seeing Xander, Zenitsu felt like he had found a protector.
— Senior Xander! Tell them not to make me drink such a bitter medicine! ... It's so bad!
Seeing that Zenitsu seemed to shrink away, Xander asked with a crooked smile: — Zenitsu, why have you become like this?
Hearing this, Zenitsu replied with tears and sniffles: — Senior Xander! ... Hear me out. ... ... I got stung by an ugly spider! The venom hurts so much!
— Also, this girl has been angry with me from the start. ... It's terrible!
Xander initially thought that Zenitsu would listen to him and wait at the foot of the mountain because of the injured, but he didn't expect that upon entering the mountains, he would still end up like this.
— So you went into the mountains after all. Didn't I ask you to wait at the foot of the mountain? — Xander asked.
Hearing this, Tanjiro also found it odd and asked, — Yes! Zenitsu, didn't Senior Xander ask you to wait at the foot of the mountain?
Hearing Tanjiro's words, Zenitsu shouted at him, — It's all because of you! If you hadn't taken Nezuko into the mountains, why... why did you decide to take a girl to such a terrible place at all?!
Seeing Zenitsu so agitated, Xander and Tanjiro exchanged glances and sighed helplessly at the same time.
When Zenitsu saw Xander and Tanjiro's identical expressions, he asked, — What's with those looks on your faces? Am I wrong?
Xander said to Kanzaki Aoi, — Please make sure Zenitsu takes his medicine on time every day.
Kanzaki Aoi agreed, — Of course, that's our duty!
Suddenly, there was hurried running outside, the ward door swung open, and Inosuke appeared before Xander.
— Hey! You're here! Let's fight! — Inosuke exclaimed excitedly.
Behind him, the voices of two children called out, — Mr. Inosuke! ... Your wounds haven't healed yet! ... You can't do strenuous exercises!
— Who cares! Xander, Eno Taro, and I together killed that super powerful demon! So... let's fight!
Xander glanced at the two children who were about to cry and said, — When you recover, I'll fight you.
— You said it! — Inosuke pointed at Xander.
Xander nodded, then pointed to the two little girls behind Inosuke and said, — Yes, I said, and you must promise to listen to them until your wounds heal, then I'll fight you.
— ... ... ... No problem! — Inosuke responded.
Finally, Xander said to Tanjiro: — Tanjiro, train hard to become stronger so you can protect Nezuko.
Hearing Xander's words, Tanjiro nodded and said: — I will, Senior Xander!
— Uh-huh!
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