Chapter 44 Why is it you? (Ch 44)

The coin bounced from his hand into the sky and then fell down. Takeo held the coin in his hand and looked at the increasingly dim sky with boredom.
Now the sun is about to set and night is approaching. The street lights have been turned on, but Tao Jiro still hasn’t come.
“Could this guy have stood me up?”
Takeo couldn’t help but wonder if the seemingly honest kid was lying to him. In fact, he had no intention of coming to find Takeo.
But just as he was thinking this, he heard footsteps coming from a distance.
Turning around, it was Tao Jiro.
He trotted over to Takeo, his face full of fatigue, obviously he was very tired today. As soon as he came over, Tao Jiro apologized:
“Sorry, someone ordered a lot of pottery the other day, so we’ve been very busy these two days.”
“It’s okay. Are you done now?”
“Well, that’s about it. It’s time to take a break. After all, electricity is expensive.”
Electricity has become popular in this era, and towns near big cities also have electricity.
However, electricity is still a rare commodity and its cost is very high, so ordinary people generally try to save as much as possible. They will go to bed soon after nightfall and will not work all night.
Takeo nodded slightly to show his understanding, and then asked:
“You said before that you would tell me about your brother?”
“Well, I will tell you. As long as you can find my brother, I will tell you everything!”
Tao Jiro spoke seriously and without any hesitation, talked about his brother Tao Yiro.
…
Among the three people in the Akita family, the father, Akita Saku, is a potter.
Tao Yilang is the eldest son of Akita Saku. He is 22 years old this year. Logically, he should have inherited his father’s craft.
But perhaps influenced by the recent wave of reform, he has always wanted to work in a big city, saying that the money he can earn in a factory is much better than making pottery in this small place.
Akita Saku didn’t know anything about factories or machinery. He just thought that Tao Yilang was rebelling and unfilial for not inheriting his craft, and he often quarreled with Tao Yilang because of this.
Three days ago was the day when the two had the most intense argument.
That day, Tao Yilang smashed the pottery that Akita Saku had just fired in anger, and Akita Saku drove him out of the house with a stick in anger.
Tao Jiro remembered that it was evening at that time and his brother Tao Yiro left and never came back.
Those who didn’t know the truth thought he was missing, but his father Akita Saku thought that his rebellious son must have taken this opportunity to run away to the big city he had always dreamed of, so he basically avoided talking about the matter.
When others come to ask him questions, he doesn’t have a good temper and usually drives them away.
Takeo was not driven away today, probably because he looked young, otherwise Takeo would probably have been kicked out by Akita Saku.
“So your brother just went to the big city instead of disappearing?”
Takeo asked doubtfully.
Tao Jiro pursed his lips and said, “No, only my father thinks so. My brother… is definitely missing!”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because my brother actually cares about us! If he really wanted to leave, at least… at least he would leave me a letter! But he didn’t! So he must be missing!”
Tao Jiro raised his voice a little and spoke seriously.
In Tojiro’s eyes, although his brother Toichiro has many shortcomings and does not respect his father, he actually cares very much about his two relatives, Tojiro and Akita Saku.
The evidence is that although he always said he wanted to leave home and go to the big city, Tao Yilang never really left until Akita Saku agreed.
He is still learning his father’s craft and helping his father make pottery.
If he really hated his family, he would have run away long ago and would not have waited until now.
“So…if you are really here to investigate the missing case, please help me find my brother!”
Taojiro said this and bowed deeply to Takeo.
Takeo folded his hands and thought, if this was just an ordinary missing case, then there was a chance that Tao Yilang’s brother was still alive.
But if ghosts really exist, then after three days, Tao Yilang would probably be in great danger, and Takeo cannot agree to something he cannot do.
Takeo didn’t say anything and Taojiro didn’t stand up either.
Seeing this, Takeo could only say: “I can only try my best to help you find it, but…I can’t guarantee whether I can find it or not.”
“…” Tao Jiro was silent for a while, and suddenly asked: “Is it… because of the ghost?”
“!?”
Takeo immediately looked at Tao Jiro in surprise: “How do you know about ghosts?”
“Yesterday… a man dressed similarly to you came to ask about it. He said he was from the Demon Slayer Corps and came to investigate the demons. He also said that my brother might have been captured by a demon…
“My father didn’t believe in these things, so he drove him away.”
Taojiro explained.
There were other members of the Demon Slayer Corps who had been here before? If there were other members of the Demon Slayer Corps, why did they call me over?
Although Takeo was puzzled, he still asked Tao Jiro:
“Do you know where the demon slayer went after being driven away?”
Tao Jiro shook his head: “He left very quickly after he left. I only know that he seemed to go in this direction… I don’t know anything else.”
Tao Jiro said, pointing his finger in a direction. Takeo looked in that direction and was thinking when he heard Tao Jiro say:
“By the way, I remember that Sister Hanako’s home is over there.”
“Hanako-sister?”
“Her brother was the first to disappear, so I thought that the Demon Slayer Corps might have gone to look for Hanako-sister.”
“Hanako…”
Takeo seemed a little dazed when he heard the name.
After all, among the children of the Kamado family, there is a child named Kamado Hanako, who is Takeo’s younger sister, but her age will always remain at ten years old.
However, the name “Hanako” is also very common in Japan, especially in the countryside. If you find a place where there are many girls and shout “Hanako”, two or three people will probably respond.
So this was not surprising. After finding Taojiro to confirm the address of Sister Hanako, Takeo said goodbye and left.
Before leaving, Takeo said to Taojiro:
“I will try my best to help you find your brother. If I have any news, I will come back to find you.”
“I’m counting on you!”
Taojiro bowed to Takeo again.
Takeo waved goodbye and walked away with his back to Hanako’s house.
Hanako’s full name is Hanako Taniguchi. She is fifteen years old this year. She depends on her brother Eita Taniguchi for everything. Their family runs a silk shop. Her brother Eita is responsible for purchasing silk threads, while Hanako does the weaving.
Life was pretty good, but everything changed four months ago.
Eita Taniguchi suddenly disappeared, leaving Hanako Taniguchi the only one left to support the family. It was fine at first, but in the past month, someone has always been looking for trouble with Hanako Taniguchi.
After all, a weak little girl without parents or family is the easiest target to bully.
Although some kind-hearted neighbors advised Hanako Taniguchi that it would be best to find a good family to marry into at this time so that she would have someone to rely on.
But perhaps because she thought her brother would come back, or perhaps because she was worried about others, Hanako Taniguchi never went on a blind date or got married, and stayed at home waiting for her brother to come back.
It was already night when Takeo arrived at the door of Taniguchi Hanako’s house.
Hanako Taniguchi’s silk shop has been closed, and the dim light shines on the ground through the paper windows.
Takeo stood in front of Taniguchi’s house and his nose twitched slightly.
Then his eyes narrowed.
He seemed to smell a familiar scent, this scent… seemed to be Fang He Chen Dou? ?
Thinking of this, Takeo went forward and knocked on the door without hesitation.
There was a knock on the door, and a call came from inside the room:
“Who is it?”
It was not Hanako Taniguchi’s voice, but a male voice that Takeo was very familiar with.
Hearing this voice, Takeo also understood who the member of the Demon Slayer Corps who came here to investigate was. After a slight sigh, he said bluntly:
“It’s me, Takeo Kamado.”
“Huh?”
A voice of surprise was heard in the room, and then the door was opened, and Yoshitsuru Chendou with short black hair appeared in front of Takeo:
“Why is it you? You passed the test?! So fast?!”
I was just wondering, how could it be you? Unit of measurement!
Looking at Fanghe Chendou in front of him, Takeo had the same doubts in his heart.