I don't want to be an elf!

"Finish......"

Tanjiro Kamado chewed on the word.

After a long silence, he looked up and asked, "What does your organization do?"

To be honest, Tanjiro Kamado doesn't have many choices right now.

Several years ago, his family was killed by the original demon, Muzan Kibutsuji, the ancestor of all demons. His only surviving sister, Nezuko Kamado, was not dead, but her body was also transformed into a demon.

Tanjiro Kamado chose to join the Demon Slayer Corps, an organization with the closest ties to demons throughout history, in order to avenge his deceased loved ones and find a way to turn Nezuko Kamado back into a human.

However, now that Nezuko Kamado's identity as a demon has been exposed, everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps except for his closest senior brother and master has probably become his enemy.

If it weren't for this strange girl saving me, I don't know what my fate would have been if I had been sent to the Pillars for trial.

There is no place for him in the Demon Slayer Corps anymore.

But in order to achieve his goal, he cannot stop here.

There's always a way out. In his most desperate moment, another path appeared before him.

Join Ratatosk.

Although this was a name he had never heard of before, since the girl in front of him had the strength to easily knock out ten members of the Hidden Ones, and knew about the Demon Slayer Corps and Muzan Kibutsuji, it at least meant that she was also from "this world".

Most importantly, this girl's wish is to end the war between humans and demons.

This coincides with Tanjiro Kamado's goal.

After all, if Muzan Kibutsuji is killed, the war between humans and demons can end.

The only thing he was uncertain about was whether he could trust this girl.

Even if he was being hunted by the Demon Slayer Corps and by demons, he was unwilling to join an evil organization.

Having grasped the underlying meaning of Tanjiro Kamado's question, Kotori Itsuka made no attempt to conceal it.

“Ratatosk’s goal is to take in those demons who can be saved and reintegrate them into the human world,” Kotori Itsuka said bluntly. “Although in the eyes of humans, demons are all man-eating monsters, you and I both know that not every demon is like that.”

"You... want to save the ghosts?"

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro Kamado's eyes widened slightly.

This sounds unbelievable.

Although he also had pity on the ghosts, that did not stop him from cutting off their heads.

Even though a significant portion of the evil spirits have a sad past, since they have transformed from humans into man-eating demons, the only way forward is to eliminate them.

The idea of ​​reintegrating them into human society is simply a pipe dream.

"Of course, I don't intend to let any demon I see join my organization. Evil demons should be killed, but why can't demons that are not inherently evil live peacefully with humans?" Kotori Itsuka said matter-of-factly. "Just like your sister, she can survive without eating people, but she is still treated as a disaster by the Demon Slayer Corps. I don't agree with this kind of one-size-fits-all approach."

"But... from this standpoint, there's no benefit for you, is there?" Tanjiro Kamado couldn't help but ask. "Why would you risk becoming an enemy of the Demon Slayer Corps and demons to do all this?"

"Because I'm in the same situation as your sister."

Kotori Itsuka raised her finger and drew a bloody line on her arm.

But soon, purple flames burned on the wound, and the bloodstains began to writhe at a visible speed, returning to normal in less than a second.

Tanjiro Kamado was stunned when he saw this.

His nose twitched, as if he wanted to confirm something.

He was born with an extraordinary sense of smell, which not only allows him to easily identify any odor, but also to detect the scent of emotions.

When he caught a whiff of the girl's scent, he couldn't help but frown.

The girl's scent was definitely not human.

However, he did not smell any unusual bloody odor on her, unlike that of ordinary ghosts.

It is certain that the girl in front of me has never eaten a human.

At least, it hadn't eaten human flesh for a very, very long time, so much so that no trace of blood remained.

As a result, Tanjiro Kamado's wariness towards Kotori Itsuka immediately decreased significantly.

Seeing that his expression had visibly relaxed, Kotori Itsuka couldn't help but let a barely perceptible smile appear on her lips.

Although her true identity is that of an elf, that doesn't mean she has to reveal it.

In the world of Bungo Stray Dogs, she is an esper; in the world of Doomsday Three Questions, she is a star goddess; in the world of Gakuen Senki, she is the Star Pulse Era.

In this world, she could naturally be a ghost.

To outsiders, she possesses the Flame of Healing, making her appear like a demon with self-healing abilities.

There is absolutely no risk of being exposed.

Even if Muzan Kibutsuji himself came, he could only scratch his head and try to recall when he created such a peculiar demon.

"So, would you like to join my organization?" Kotori Itsuka extended the invitation once again.

"Ah."

This time, Tanjiro Kamado did not hesitate any longer.

Unlike him, who had just joined the Demon Slayer Corps and only had a superficial understanding of the Demon Slayer Corps and demons, the girl in front of him clearly knew a lot.

Now, without the Demon Slayer Corps' assistance, it will be difficult for him to continue searching for Muzan Kibutsuji on his own.

Since the other party's goal is also related to ghosts, following her will be beneficial and harmless to me.

"very good."

Seeing that she had tricked this guy into joining Ratatosk, Kotori Itsuka nodded in satisfaction.

Even if she hadn't intervened to stop the prison van, he and his sister wouldn't have been executed during the subsequent trial of the Pillars.

Even though almost all the Pillar-level members demanded the execution of Nezuko Kamado and the punishment of Tanjiro Kamado, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, overruled the objections and saved both of them.

Kotori Itsuka essentially intercepted those two guys halfway through.

However, she felt no shame.

Follow her, and you'll get to eat meat!

Cough cough, no, that's not right.

By following her, Tanjiro Kamado was able to achieve his two goals more quickly.

"How many people are in your organization, uh, I mean our organization?" Tanjiro Kamado asked curiously.

"There are three of us, including you, me, and Nezuko."

"Um......"

Tanjiro Kamado nodded slowly.

But soon he realized something was wrong, and exclaimed in disbelief, "Doesn't that mean there's no one here except us?!"

“Yes, you are the first batch of members.” Kotori Itsuka patted him on the shoulder. “Work hard, young man. As long as you work hard enough, one day I will be able to pilot a big spaceship that flies in the sky.”

Tanjiro Kamado suddenly realized that his decision had been somewhat hasty.

After struggling with this for a while with a bit of a headache, he ultimately said nothing.

Although the organization wasn't as large as expected, being a newly established organization, at least he and his sister had gained a trustworthy partner.

"Speaking of which, do you have any potential members you could recommend?" Kotori Itsuka asked, seemingly casually. "I mean, the kind of oni that doesn't eat people and doesn't get along with other oni."

Tanjiro Kamado remained silent.

He actually had two potential members who could join them.

However, he promised them that he would not reveal their whereabouts to anyone.

This put him in a dilemma.

After a fierce internal struggle, he said, "I do have two candidates I can recommend, but I need to get their opinions first. I can't tell you without their permission, I'm sorry."

“It’s alright, you can ask them for their opinions, I’m not in a hurry,” Kotori Itsuka said generously. “When you meet them, just tell them everything I told you again.”

"Hmm." Tanjiro Kamado nodded. "Do you want to come with me? Although I can't take you to where they live."

"No, I have other things to take care of. You go ahead," Kotori Itsuka said. "By the way, now that you're my subordinate, it's time to tell you my name."

She coughed twice and continued, "My name is Kotori Itsuka. Don't call me Itsuka or Kotori. Call me Commander."

"Commander...?"

For a charcoal-selling boy living in a remote mountain village, the new words he heard today were all a bit baffling.

But he had no objection and nodded to indicate his understanding.

After agreeing on a meeting place, Tanjiro Kamado stood up and picked up the wooden box in the corner.

Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Kotori Itsuka.

"Wait, let me heal your wounds."

Do you also know medicine?

"No, but I have another way."

A wisp of spiritual energy transformed into purple flames appeared at Kotori Itsuka's fingertips.

With a gentle flick, the flame flew into Tanjiro Kamado's body.

Although his intuition told him that the flame was very dangerous and should be avoided, he did not believe that Kotori Itsuka would harm him, so he did not move.

Purple flames merged into his body.

The next moment, he felt as if his whole body was on fire, burning from the inside out.

Tanjiro Kamado was covered in fine beads of sweat, his expression became ferocious, and he let out a painful growl.

He subconsciously began practicing breathing techniques, dispersing the intense burning sensation throughout his body.

I took deep breaths to speed up blood flow and metabolism, which relieved the burning sensation in my body.

Seeing Tanjiro Kamado's condition, Kotori Itsuka gained a better understanding of her own healing flames.

"As expected, even a swordsman with breathing techniques has difficulty digesting my spiritual power."

Each elf has its own special ability, and her most outstanding one is the self-healing flame.