Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Chapter 252 The Journey Continues

"Are you feeling okay, Rinko? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

It was a gentle voice that pulled the chaotic consciousness out of the hazy darkness. If I had to describe it, it was like a steadily flowing stream passing through a river channel formed by piles of rounded stones. So it was quiet as it flowed. Even if a stone was thrown in, the water surface would briefly explode in a circle of splashes, and the river channel would suddenly bulge with a new stream of water, but soon, as the last aftermath was absorbed by the flowing water, the fallen rocks eventually became part of the river, and the river still flowed steadily and smoothly, and nothing could affect it.

What made Lin Guang think of this description was a memory that he didn't know where it belonged to. He vaguely remembered where he was lying, just like now, shrouded in darkness, wrapped in haziness, his consciousness floating in the boundless swamp, until the wind brought a damp smell, soil, fish, shrimp, water, all the moist smells organized into a definite information, that there was a river near him.

"Well...it's okay, I'm not uncomfortable."

The awakened boy slowly opened his eyes and responded with vague words. As consciousness returned, fantasies and fragments of memory were sucked into his lungs by heavy breathing, and then dispersed into the air with even heavier exhalations.

It was dark all around, and there was a wooden board beneath him. He was not lying down but sitting, and the board he was leaning against was also a board. He remembered that he was in a box, it was daytime, and it was Tanjiro who made the sound.

"That's good."

The sound came from behind the wooden board and sounded like a sigh of relief. Although there was a layer of wood between them, the sound was still clear. Tanjiro's voice was really easy to recognize, Rinko thought.

"Tanjiro, are you okay? You have to carry me under the sun. Is that okay?"

The box was lifted slightly, as if Tanjiro was adjusting the box behind him. Perhaps because he was not used to the size, or the weight, Rinkou slightly stretched out his limbs that were stiff from maintaining the same posture. The space in the box was limited, so he just tried to relax, shifted his center of gravity backward, and leaned lightly on the wooden board behind him.

Lin Guang knew that behind it was Tanjiro's back, but a thin wooden board actually separated them, so he could not touch the warmth of Tanjiro's body, could not feel the beating heart under his spine, nor could he sense the blood flowing in his veins.

"It's okay! Lingguang is very light, and after recent training, my physical fitness is better than before. This short distance is no problem at all!"

The cheerful voice, trustworthy tone, steady pace and unchanging breathing are undoubtedly the most powerful evidence.

"That's great."

Fortunately, there was a wooden board between them.

Lin Guang rested his head on the wooden board, and when he looked up he saw the top made of tightly joined wooden boards. This layer of wooden boards created an absolutely safe shadow, and above it was the deadly scorching sun. On such a clear day, if he didn't have this box and this kind of shelter, he would probably die here immediately.

After all, Rinko is not Nezuko.

There is no power to overcome the sun.

Rinko is just Rinko, the small box becomes the safe house for the small Rinko, and the big Tanjiro becomes the cargo ship carrying the box, taking him to a new destination that is unknown somewhere on a shaking voyage.

"Rinkou, aren't you very happy?"

It was a very abrupt question, and it came out very suddenly. There was a brief silence before it, and after it, there was also silence that would last for an unknown amount of time.

"Why would Tanjiro think that?"

The response was light and vague, with no discernible emotion or rising tone at the end, as if acknowledging the interrogator's assumption. Rather than asking a counter-question, it seemed more curious about the reason.

"Yeah, because Rinkou smells a bit sad. Should I say it's loss or frustration? Anyway, she doesn't smell happy."

Tanjiro touched the tip of his nose, not knowing how to explain this uncommon ability to Rinko.

"What a great nose."

Fortunately, Rinko did not question it, but just sighed. Tanjiro secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and continued to ask further questions.

"Rinko, why are you unhappy?"

The boy was silent again, and after a while he managed to utter a few words.

"do not know."

do not know.

Lin Guang really didn't know.

Lost. Frustrated. Unhappy.

He was somewhat surprised and confused when he heard these words. He really couldn't say he was happy, and for good reasons, because he and Obana were not that familiar with each other. Although they had fought each other before, their relationship was not good; because he had to separate from Muichiro. They had clearly agreed to have a paper airplane throwing competition together, but before they had time to do it, they separated in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to say goodbye; because it was daytime with the sun at its scorching peak, and no one would like such weather.

But he really didn't realize what his emotions were like. Was he lost now?

"Is it because you broke up with Tokito?"

This time the questioning was a little softer and gentler than before. Rinko felt that rather than talking to a ghost named 'Rinko', Tanjiro was more like subconsciously asking one of his younger brothers. He used the most careful tone and asked as gently as possible, as if he was afraid that the child being asked would suddenly burst into tears out of fright in the next second.

But he wasn't a child. Lin Guang curled up one leg, hugged his knee with his arm, and buried half of his face in his arm, leaving only a pair of eyes staring at the wooden board in front of him.

"No."

Rinko made a muffled sound. Such an answer did not sound good, and such a sound did not sound good either. Tanjiro could not help but subconsciously turned back, but Rinko was in the box, and he could not see what expression was on her face. Judging from the sound alone, it seemed as if she was suppressing some emotion, and from the smell alone, all he could sense was a heavy sense of loss.

It's so heavy, as if ten layers of quilts are pressing down on my body. It's soft, but it makes me unable to breathe.

"Ah, it's okay, Rinkou. Look, even though we have to go to Mr. Iguro for training now, we can still go to Tokito later. Besides, Mr. Iguro's training might be very interesting. It's said that it's a training to correct swordsmanship. Your swordsmanship is so powerful, you will definitely get along well with Mr. Iguro!"

His voice was trembling, and his speaking speed was faster than before, and the pitch was obviously higher. Even the box carrying him was shaking. He was obviously nervous and panicked.

"Tanjiro. No. I'm not unhappy about being separated from Muichiro, nor am I unhappy about meeting Banai. I'm not unhappy."

The explanations made deliberately to appease the other party were mistakenly regarded as a pretense of being strong.

Rinko listened to Tanjiro's careful comfort. The boy tried hard to organize his words, trying to make him feel more at ease, trying to persuade him that everything was normal, whether happy or sad, it was all normal, there was no need to worry about it, and there was no need to hide it.

But Rinko didn't feel sad about it, and he didn't want to be treated as a child by Tanjiro. So he raised his head, blinked, and spoke when Tanjiro finished speaking.

"So I said, I'm not sad about breaking up with Muichiro. After all, Muichiro is a bad guy. He didn't even give me honey to eat."

"Because Rinko will feel uncomfortable if he eats it!"

"Tanjiro, you're a bad guy too."

"why is it like this!"