Numerous Swordsmen were already waiting on the platform, several of whom were familiar faces to Hiru.
"Hiru! Over here—!"
Hiru looked toward Makomo, who was waving her arms and calling out to him. He turned to say a few words to Hinaki and Nichika before walking toward Makomo.
Beside Makomo stood two others: one was Sanemi Shinazugawa, who always seemed perpetually angry no matter when you saw him; the other was a long-haired girl with crystal-clear eyes.
The girl wore a butterfly haori. Her black hair was pinned back with two butterfly hairpins. Her smile was gentle, and simply standing there, she possessed a calming presence.
Noticing Hiru's gaze, Makomo smiled. "This is Kanae, one of those sent to study Water Breathing with my master. She now practices Flower Breathing, derived from Water Breathing.
"And Kanae is a genius—she independently grasped Flower Breathing before being taught its recorded sword techniques. You know, no Flower Breathing successor has appeared in decades.
"Kanae, this is Hiru—the Human Hashira I told you about. His older brother was last year's top examinee and is now the Sun Hashira."
"Wow—impressive. I can't even master the Breathing Styles." Hiru looked at Kanae. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you too," Kanae smiled. "You're a Hashira, right, Hiru-kun? Hashira must be incredibly busy. Why are you even here for this exam?"
"Well, the Master asked me to patrol. He's worried last year's situation might repeat," Hiru sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Seriously, my brother slaughtered all the demons last year. This year, I've caught almost every demon myself. None of them were worth mentioning. How could anything possibly go wrong?"
"You never know."
"As long as you bandit-faced fool don't go randomly slitting your wrists and bleeding out in the mountains, absolutely nothing will go wrong."
"Hmph—"
"Why say that?" Kanae tilted her head. "Is there something special about Sanemi?"
"This guy's Rare Blood has a concentration of at least two hundred people. Few demons can withstand it." Hiru crossed his arms. "I'm only responsible for unexpected situations. If you die during the assessment, it's not my problem."
"Demons of this level can't kill me." Sanemi curled his lip. "Just wait. I'll catch up to you soon."
Hiru clapped expressionlessly. "Well, good for you."
A vein throbbed on Sanemi's forehead. "Huh? Are you taunting me?"
"No, just stating the facts." Hiru crossed his arms, tilting his chin up to meet Sanemi's gaze. "Though I'm no match for my brother, facing you... hmph."
"You're just as infuriating as Tomioka."
"Hey! Keep your comments to yourself—no name-calling!"
"Welcome, everyone, to the assessment—"
Hiru turned to see Hinaki and Nichika already announcing the rules. He waved goodbye without further discussion and walked away.
During these seven days of guard duty, Hiru discovered something: while the assessment only required surviving seven days in the mountains, it didn't actually prevent anyone from withdrawing. Beyond those who perished in the mountains, many more chose to retreat.
Take this assessment, for instance. Of the thirty-two participants, seventeen opted to leave the mountain peaks halfway through. After the Kakushi bandaged their wounds, they limped away.
Only seven survivors emerged. Besides the three Hiru knew, the remaining four included two with permanent disabilities rendering them unable to fight, one with minor injuries who ultimately joined the Wisteria House, and the last—who wept, declaring he couldn't continue slaying demons yet couldn't let go of his hatred, thus joining the Kakushi.
"Such a rare sight, swordsmen," Hiru sighed, gazing at the three before him. "I thought there'd be more."
"This path was always difficult," Makomo's expression held a hint of sadness. "Human physicality is inherently inferior to that of demons. What they consider minor injuries can sever our path forward."
"Demons were once human too," Kanae's voice was equally low, her amethyst eyes brimming with self-reproach. "Why can't humans and demons coexist peacefully?"
"How could humans and demons coexist?"
"All demons deserve to die."
"How could you entertain such a ridiculous notion?"
Kanae looked at the three who spoke almost simultaneously, momentarily unsure whom to respond to.
Makomo spoke first. "As long as demons continue to devour humans, coexistence is impossible."
"Exactly." Sanemi, his body wrapped in bandages, added, "Demons should be exterminated entirely."
"But... they didn't choose to become ghosts, did they?" Kanae's expression turned sorrowful. "Surely there must be a way to turn them back into humans?"
"The moment they devour a human, there's no turning back." Hiru crossed his arms, his expression impassive. "Eating people means they've abandoned everything human. Showing mercy to a demon at that point only sends you straight to hell.
"Besides, whether it's voluntary or not... To a demon, humans are undeniably just food. Would you care whether your food wants to be eaten? Coexisting with demons is as absurd as trying to survive alongside a starving tiger."
"But what if there are demons that don't eat people?" Kanae frowned. "If a demon doesn't eat people..."
"That's impossible," Hiru sighed. "Take the tiger example again. If a tiger bared its fangs while living with you, would you trust it even if it claimed not to eat people?"
Kanae froze, biting her lip. "So humans and demons truly can't coexist?"
"Yes. So abandon that naive notion early," Hiru said, expression unchanged. "Demons are masters of deception."
"I still think there must be good demons..."
"There aren't."
Kanae tried to push back. "But..."
"Trust me, not a single demon is good. So never entertain the idea of peaceful coexistence with them." Hiru placed a hand on Kanae's shoulder. "Got that?"
"Um, um... okay, I'll think about it..."
"What's there to think about?" Hiru turned away. "It's either humans exterminate demons, or demons rule over humans. From the moment demons gained power surpassing humans and required human flesh to sustain that power, the option for coexistence vanished!"
"Hiru sure has a pretty clear-cut view on dealing with demons," Makomo remarked, looking somewhat surprised. "Honestly, I just focus on the fact that demons eat people. I never thought about it this deeply..."
"Which is why sometimes your understanding of demons is downright scary," Sanemi added, rubbing his arms uncomfortably. "So clear-cut it's like you've been a demon yourself."
Hiru nodded indifferently, his expression unruffled. "I am one now."
"You think I'm an idiot?" Sanemi scoffed. "How could a demon possibly live in sunlight?"
Makomo shook her head. "Hiru, your sense of humor is catching up to Giyu's."
Even Kanae looked at Hiru with weary resignation.
Hiru: ...
See? Humans are creatures who only trust their own judgments. Even if you tell them the truth, they'll only believe what they want to believe.
That's also why he never deliberately hid his identity. After all, clever people like Ubuyashiki—who dare to guess, imagine, and question—are always just a tiny fraction of humanity's vast population. And even if such clever people guessed correctly or confirmed the truth, they'd still help conceal his identity after weighing various factors.
Those who know will aid in the concealment, while those who don't remain unaffected—and might even weave their own non-existent tales to fill in the gaps after hearing your story.
Hiru, hands clasped behind his head, stood beneath the wisteria tree, watching the trio select Tamahagane and leave messages for the swordsmith as instructed. He sighed softly.
"In a way... humans are so easy to understand."