CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: AUTUMN RAIN

Tomioka’s words proved true; he left the house that very day.

Now only Tetsu no Sosuke and Shinobu remained in the mansion, creating an awkward atmosphere between them.

’It feels like we’re squatting in someone else’s home,’ Shinobu thought.

However, Sosuke quickly shook off this feeling.

His insistence on staying for a few days stemmed from his hope of finding the Kamado family during this time. Whether Tomioka was home or not was irrelevant to his purpose.

With his weapons strapped to his back, Sosuke left the mansion that afternoon, Shinobu trailing behind him like a little shadow.

Sosuke felt a warm sense of satisfaction seeing his sister-in-law so concerned about him. He realized how childish he had been in the past, arguing with her over trivial matters. What a pointless waste of time, he thought.

"Let’s go to the nearby town," he suggested. "I’ll buy you something delicious."

Sosuke decided to mend his relationship with his sister-in-law. She’s just a kid, he reasoned. ’All kids love good food. I should try the ’food strategy’ approach.’

Then his sister-in-law asked coldly, "Do you even have any money?"

The question left Sosuke speechless.

Where was he supposed to get money?

In the Swordsmith Village, he hadn’t needed any.

When he left, he’d carried a little pocket money for emergencies, mainly in case he got hungry and had no rations.

After moving into the Butterfly mansion, he hadn’t needed money either.

Food, clothing, and lodging were all provided by the Kocho Sisters.

Now, under Shinobu’s pointed question, he realized... this proud, six-foot-tall man didn’t even have any money!

Shinobu shot him a disdainful look. "I’ll buy it for you then."

"..."

Sosuke fell silent, suddenly feeling like a kept man, a pretty boy living off his wife’s money.

Upon reflection, he realized it was indeed the case.

He had been waited on hand and foot, and now, trying to win over his sister-in-law with a culinary strategy, he found himself relying on her to pay for everything.

’How did my life suddenly feel so utterly pathetic?’

Still, he had to go to town.

He needed to gather information. There should be a village at the foot of the mountain where Tanjiro lived. If he could find that village, he might be able to locate Tanjiro himself.

With this conviction, he and Shinobu set out, returning only as the sun began to set.

Empty-handed.

No one knew anything about the charcoal-selling boy. There was a middle-aged charcoal seller on the mountain, but his surname wasn’t Kamado, ruling out any connection to Tanjiro’s family.

Undeterred, Sosuke resolved to continue searching for clues the next day.

Three days later, Sosuke announced his surrender.

He couldn’t find them!

No one knew anything about the family. Even after personally venturing into the mountains, he found no clues whatsoever.

The only conclusion he could draw was that Tanjiro’s family didn’t live in this area.

But where exactly they did live remained another unsolved mystery.

Since he couldn’t find them, there was no point in staying any longer. Tomioka hadn’t returned since leaving that day.

Sosuke left him a letter, urging him to pay close attention to any unique sensations he experienced while using the sword and warning him not to overestimate its ability to suppress Demon regeneration.

While the ability was impressive, relying on it would ultimately be detrimental.

After leaving the letter, Sosuke set off on the return journey with Shinobu, who had been indulging in three days of feasting and drinking.

Fortunately, despite his mental exhaustion from the fruitless search, Sosuke managed to conceal his true purpose from Shinobu.

She merely perceived him as being particularly playful, wandering aimlessly through various towns and even inventing excuses to climb mountains in search of new minerals, only to return empty-handed after a full day’s search.

’As expected, this guy doesn’t deserve my Elder Sister!’

Shinobu added another mark to Sosuke’s record in her mental ledger.

The journey here had been smooth, but the return trip proved far more challenging.

Despite it being nearly winter, they were caught in another torrential downpour.

"This must be the last rain before winter," Shinobu murmured.

Sosuke stood at the mouth of the cave, watching the rain fall from the sky, and remarked, "It came on so suddenly."

The downpour had arrived without warning, and the two of them, unprepared, didn’t have the good fortune Sosuke had last time to find a dilapidated temple for shelter.

But as the saying goes, heaven never closes all doors. Though there was no temple, they happened upon a cave.

The stench inside was unbearable, but after a bit of tidying, it would serve as a temporary refuge.

After speaking, Sosuke realized Shinobu hadn’t responded.

Turning back, he found the girl pale-faced, huddled into a shivering ball.

Already petite and frail, and still recovering from a severe injury, she was clearly struggling against the icy autumn rain.

"Are you alright?" Sosuke asked, stepping closer.

"I’m fine... Achoo!"

Before she could finish, a sudden, forceful sneeze erupted, spraying directly at Sosuke.

Sosuke stared in stunned silence, wiping his face, then stared at her expressionlessly.

Shinobu buried her face in her arms.

Sosuke sighed deeply, removed his haori, wrung it out vigorously, and set it aside.

The cave contained some dry grass. He gathered it into a bundle, dug a pit in the ground, and lined the edges with stones.

After tossing the grass into the pit, he glanced at the torrential rain outside and said to Shinobu, "Wait here for a moment."

As he stood to leave, Shinobu asked, "Where are you going?"

"To find something to burn. If we stay like this, your body won’t hold up."

With that, he donned his straw hat and dashed into the downpour.

Shinobu wanted to say something, but Sosuke had already plunged into the rain, clearly unable to hear her.

She sighed quietly, feeling the cold wind blowing in from the cave entrance, and shivered involuntarily.

"Fine, considering you went out in the rain to find firewood for me, I’ll cross out that entry I just made in my little notebook..."

She sniffled, feeling a bit breathless, her brow furrowed as a sudden wave of irritation washed over her.

At the same time, her mind grew hazy in waves. She patted her forehead, finding it burning hot.

She froze for a moment, then grew even more frustrated. "This time... I’ve embarrassed myself. I promised to protect him, and now I’m the one getting sick..."

As she muttered to herself, she saw Sosuke rushing back.

But his clothes were gone, leaving him shirtless, and his conical hat was missing.

Instead, he carried a bundle wrapped in his clothes and covered with his hat.

He set it down and unwrapped it to reveal a pile of dry firewood.

’Where... did he find this?’