"Thanks for teaching me, Urokodaki-sensei. I'll never forget it. I'm leaving now, to become human again."
Reading the short note Riku left in the middle of the night, Urokodaki Sakonji let out a sigh.
"To become human again…" he murmured.
Those three simple words carried an almost impossible dream. But could Riku actually pull it off?
Thinking about Riku's unique circumstances, Urokodaki didn't dare say it was completely hopeless.
"Fine."
He shook his head. What was done was done—dwelling on it now was pointless.
Riku's resolve was unshakable, beyond what most could comprehend. Forcing him to stay might backfire.
So, Urokodaki chose to trust himself and let Riku pursue the fate he carried. Whether it was right or wrong, it was too early to say. If things went south, Urokodaki would bear the consequences.
If the worst happened—if Riku fell and became a true demon—Urokodaki would hunt him down himself and then take his own life with seppuku.
He'd asked Kamado Tanjiro to take responsibility in such a case, and he'd hold himself to the same standard.
After leaving his farewell note, Riku left cleanly. He wasn't going to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
It wasn't about fear. Even if those people were strong, could they really take him down? If he couldn't fight, he could always run.
His [Traversal] ability had long since cooled down. The world was wide open to him. If things went wrong, he could just vanish.
He just didn't want to deal with the hassle. From Urokodaki-sensei's description and his own experiences, Riku could already picture the scene at headquarters.
The moment he arrived, he'd be surrounded by demon slayers shouting for his head. Some might even attack.
If someone made a move, Riku wasn't going to just take it. He'd endured when he was weaker, but after all this training, why keep holding back? No way.
The harsh reality, though, was that he probably couldn't beat the Hashira.
Learning Mizu no Kokyū (Water Breathing) had made him stronger—his physical stats had broken past 20. But that wasn't enough. Even against a seventy-something Urokodaki Sakonji, he could barely defend himself, let alone take on the Hashira in their prime.
Going there would be like walking onto a chopping block, letting them toy with him.
Why bother? To play along in their drama?
Riku could already imagine it: Oyakata-sama showing up fashionably late while he's getting pummeled, showing him unexpected trust, maybe tossing in some perks for a tear-jerking scene.
Cliché, but effective. Too bad—Riku wasn't signing up for that script.
If he was going, it'd be when he could take on the whole lot of them. He'd write his own story.
As for whether Urokodaki Sakonji would get in trouble for his leaving, Riku didn't think so.
If Oyakata-sama really had that terrifying intuition, he'd know punishing Urokodaki was a bad call. Treating Urokodaki kindly, on the other hand, would keep him as a stable channel to communicate with Riku, the unusual demon.
Last night, Riku had deliberately circled back. He knew Urokodaki-sensei noticed him, but the old man didn't try to stop him. That's why he left the note.
If Urokodaki had come out to stop him, Riku would've stayed and obediently gone to headquarters to meet Oyakata-sama, as a way of repaying his teacher's kindness.
Riku knew he could [Traverse] anytime, but Urokodaki didn't. If Urokodaki had insisted he go, it would've been a gamble with Riku's life.
Urokodaki's choice earned Riku's genuine trust. The debt of teaching, guiding, and enlightening him was etched in his heart. He'd find a way to repay it.
With his disguised sword on his back and a silver fox mask with blood-red markings on his face, Riku moved through the forest, constantly practicing Mizu no Kokyū.
He was hunting—not demons, but animals. Not to eat, since he couldn't, but to sell.
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, pure, natural meat was a rare luxury, something only the elite could afford.
Most people ate synthetic meat, made from crickets, worms, and other weird stuff. With the tech of big food factories, it wasn't half bad—you wouldn't taste crickets in your fake chicken.
Since he was planning to return to Cyberpunk 2077, Riku figured he'd bring back something valuable to sell.
But the reality was, most things from this era would be seen as trash in that world.
Valuable items like gold were just as hard to get here as there.
After some thought, Riku settled on meat.
Live animals might work too, but he wasn't sure if he could [Traverse] with them, so that was a backup plan.
After leaving Sagiri Mountain, Riku didn't rush back to Cyberpunk 2077. He wandered a bit, trying to hunt demons.
But finding them wasn't easy. Demons weren't bold—those that didn't hide well died fast.
He realized his last demon encounter was likely because he was near Kamado Tanjiro, the protagonist who attracted trouble like a magnet. Without Tanjiro, finding demons was a game of chance.
Over the past couple of days, he hadn't found any demons but had hunted plenty of animals. His experience points were now at 264/300, close to leveling up again.
The animals around here were scattering like they'd been hit by a natural disaster. Lately, he had to search hard to find a few dumb ones that hadn't fled.
"Guess that 0.01 luck boost doesn't do much. Should've grabbed a few more masks before leaving. What if they stacked?" Riku muttered as he processed a deer, though he doubted the masks' effects could stack.
Still, that mask was the first special item he'd come across. Next time he was back, he'd ask Urokodaki-sensei to teach him how to make them.
Learning that craft would be cool—worst case, he could make masks as unique, handmade gifts.
"Done."
Riku wiped his hands on his shadow wolf cloak after slicing the last bit of meat off the bone.
He'd prepared a few baskets to carry the meat, all fresh from the hunt. He'd freeze it as soon as he got back to keep it good for a few days—plenty of time to find buyers.
This meat-selling gig shouldn't count as shady, right? 100% real meat, still dripping with blood!
(End of Chapter)