Chapter 61: The Swordsmith, Hotaru Haganezuka

"Um..."

Tanjiro had just opened his mouth when the man in front of him immediately began introducing himself: "My name is Hotaru Haganezuka. I forged and brought the swords for Shiroi Haru and Kamado Tanjiro."

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro bowed to Hotaru Haganezuka and said, "Um, Kamado Tanjiro is me, and Shiroi Haru is my senior brother. Please come in!"

However, Hotaru Haganezuka sat with his back to Tanjiro, removed the long box from his back, and seemed to be preparing to take out its contents as he said, "This is the Nichirin Blade, the sword I forged."

Seeing that the man did not intend to enter the house, Tanjiro felt a bit helpless and continued, "Um, please come in. I'll make you a cup of tea!"

Hotaru Haganezuka still showed no intention of entering the house and continued speaking to himself, "The material for the Nichirin Blade can be gathered from the mountain closest to the sun, using Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore. This way, the iron can absorb sunlight."

"Really?" Tanjiro, trying to keep the conversation from becoming awkward, responded.

"After all, the Sunlight Mountain is a place where the sun shines all day long." Hotaru Haganezuka stood up and pointed toward the distant sun.

In the cabin, Sakonji Urokodaki muttered helplessly, "This guy never listens to anyone..."

Suddenly, Hotaru Haganezuka turned around and brought his face up close to Tanjiro. Startled by the ugly mask on Hotaru Haganezuka's face, Tanjiro instinctively took a step back.

"Uh... aren't you the Child of Burning Crimson? How lucky!" Hotaru Haganezuka said, looking at Tanjiro through his mask, sounding somewhat surprised.

"No, I'm the son of Tanjuro and Kie," Tanjiro quickly denied and explained.

"That's not what I meant!"

Hotaru Haganezuka gestured toward Tanjiro's hair and continued, "Your hair and eyes are both red, right? Families involved in fire-related work are always happy to have children born with these colors because it's considered lucky!"

After saying that, Hotaru Haganezuka poked Tanjiro's cheek.

Tanjiro, understanding the situation, could only respond awkwardly, "Is that so? I didn't know..."

"Looks like your sword might turn red, huh? Right, Urokodaki!" Hotaru Haganezuka called out to the cabin.

Sakonji Urokodaki answered in a low voice from inside.

Then, Hotaru Haganezuka entered the cabin holding the finished Nichirin Blade, and Tanjiro hurriedly followed.

Once inside, Hotaru Haganezuka sat down beside Sakonji Urokodaki, while Tanjiro returned to sit next to Haru and began brewing tea for Hotaru Haganezuka.

Hotaru Haganezuka placed the Nichirin Blade in front of Haru and Tanjiro, then started to examine Haru, saying, "Such a rare hair color, it even has two different colors, although the blue is just a little bit."

At this point, Tanjiro handed the tea he had brewed to Hotaru Haganezuka and said, "Haganezuka-san, please enjoy your tea!"

As for Haru's hair, after unlocking the Demon God transformation, Haru's black hair gradually turned milky white over time. After two years of training on Mount Sagiri, possibly because he had fully mastered the use of the Water Breathing technique, the tips of Haru's hair began to show hints of blue.

Haru couldn't really explain why this change occurred.

However, the rare hair color certainly made Haru appear even more unique.