"......."
The entire space was filled with stillness, and they were all dumbfounded. They couldn't say anything, and naturally, they lost their calm.
"Wh-Why?" Kagaya was the first one. "Was it because you felt angry at their attitude? If so, then I can ask them to apologize to you until you feel satisfied. As long as you wish to, I can ask them to do anything. Please don't say that you refuse to join the Demon Slayer Corps. Your strength is needed. The demon must be eradicated from this world, and we need your power to do that."
Those Hashiras, who sat behind Kagaya, were furious at Isao's attitude, but they could say nothing since they were weak!
Being weak was their sin!
If they were stronger, then would they be helpless against Isao?
Still, they also felt they were being played by Isao, who gave them hope, yet in the end, he disappointed them.
Yet, Isao didn't care about their reactions and only raised his palm as if telling them to be quiet.
At that moment, everyone shut their mouths subconsciously.
"Let me finish my words."
Isao looked at Kagaya and ignored the others. "Before, I thought that I should join like the others, but during this trip, I realized that this isn't the best method for me, especially when I have a limited time."
"Are you saying your everyday life is more important than eradicating those demons who are terrorizing and killing so many people!" Giyu Tomioka's voice was calm, but it was so sharp as if a blade wished to stab Isao.
"It is." Mizuto nodded.
"..." Everyone.
"I mean, what's the use of you then if you are going to leave everything to me?"
"...." Everyone.
"You might as well dissolve this organization since it is meaningless if you just leave everything to me and are afraid to die."
They should refute his words, but with their current actions, this is how they appeared to be.
They left everything to Isao, then let him fight all the demons while they hid in the safe place and just protected Kagaya at the headquarters. Their defeat from Isao had made them so much of a coward.
If it was before, they would have taken action by themselves when Tengen Uzui was killed, avenging their comrade, but now, they waited until Isao, which showed how cowardly they had become.
Yes, Isao was strong, but were they so weak that they had to hide from regular demons?
Even Gyutaro was the weakest among the upper ranks, yet they hid themselves instead of ganging this demon with so many of them.
Frankly, if they ganged Gyutaro and fought this demon together, Isao imagined that Gyutaro would win, yet they waited for him, which made him think that if he joined, he would become a black company worker.
Isao could imagine that he would be working to death.
Well, they might have given him a lot of money, but did he lack money?
"So here, I have a proposal; if you can't accept it, then I will leave."
"Please say."
Fortunately, while Isao didn't plan to join the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya was glad that there was still room for a corporation.
"I will only move when the Upper-Rank Demons are there. If it's a normal demon, then there is no need for me to move."
"I agree."
Kagaya agreed without hesitation since, even without Isao, all of them could handle the regular demons.
Everyone unexpectedly agreed since they felt that they could handle a regular demon, too, and there was no need for Isao to move. This also made all of them relieved, and they also felt happy that they gained a powerful comrade, but—
"Since you agree, then let's move on to the next requirements."
"..." Everyone.
"I-S-A-O!"
Shinobu was the first one who was angry, but Isao ignored her and didn't move even if she was angry. If it had been before, he might have been helpless or reacted appropriately, but this time, he ignored her and just looked at Kagaya.
Even without Isao doing anything, Shinobu quickly shut her mouth and didn't do anything due to his reaction, so she just sat by his side, inwardly afraid of being hated by him.
"Please say. Whatever your requirements are, I will try my best to complete all of your requirements."
Even if Kagaya had to give his everything, he didn't mind as long as Isao could slay Muzan.
"First, give me all the information about the demons, the Demon Slayer Corps, and the Breathing Styles. Oh, and get me someone to learn all of those Breathing Styles."
As expected, he was greedy, Kagaya thought, but this was acceptable for him.
"Do you want to learn all of the breathing styles?" Kyojuro Rengoku asked curiously.
"Yes."
"..." Everyone.
"You will be in pain if you bite off more than you chew," Gyutaro said as if trying to educate Isao.
However, Isao simply ignored Gyutaro.
"..." Gyutaro.
"I agree." Kagaya nodded. "Please state the next requirement." If Isao could master all of the breathing styles, then wouldn't it be better? If Isao couldn't, then he would just embarrass himself, so there was no need to worry much.
As for the records of the Demons and Demon Slayer Corps, if other members of the Demon Slayer Corps wished to read, Kagaya didn't mind giving them. Unfortunately, only Isao was the first one to ask, but this was normal since most of the Demon Slayer members didn't like to read, or rather, they were hardly able to read!
Yet, this was normal since the origin of those who joined the Demon Slayer Corps were so poor.
Isao raised his brows and was glad that Kagaya was a smart person. "The second, whenever I kill the upper rank, I want appropriate money for it."
"...." Everyone.
"Yes, you will get the money you deserve. How much do you want to kill those three Upper-Rank demons?"
Kagaya felt this was even more normal, which made her
"You can determine that money yourselves."
"Is that fine?"
"I believe that you are fair."
"Thank you." Kagaya bowed and said, "I won't disappoint you." Still, he knew that this wasn't the end of Isao's requirement. "Please state your next requirement."
"I want weapons, and let me meet the blacksmiths since my weapons are quite special."
"Good, I will prepare it right away." Kagaya moved fast since his time was limited, so the faster Isao's problems were done, the better it was. "Is that all? Please mention all of your requirements."
"Hmm..." Isao thought for a while and said, "Tell me how to cultivate those crows that you use to communicate."
"Okay." Kagaya agreed right away. "Is that all?"
"That's all. I don't need anything else." Isao nodded.
"....."
At this moment, only Kagaya and Isao talked to each other, but everyone who wasn't stupid knew that Isao's request wasn't much, and it was even quite reasonable.
Or rather, it was rather low!
Frankly, they had prepared themselves to work like slaves for Isao so he could help them erase all the demons in this world, but... it seemed... he was... a much better person than they had thought!
"Then, I will prepare it right away. I will call all the masters of the breathing styles and blacksmiths for your weapon, as well as money and everything, but can I have one request?"
"Sure."
"Can you tell us what the condition is to get that mark on your neck?" Kagaya asked as he looked at the mark of the red spider lily and centipede on Isao's neck. Frankly, he was surprised that Isao's mark had changed, and he wanted to know how Isao could do that, but he suppressed all of that until he got permission to ask.
"Oh, you can tell that this isn't a tattoo?" Isao asked curiously.
"Yes, according to the record, that is the Demon Slayer Mark..." Kagaya explained the origin of the Demon Slayer Mark to Isao, telling him from the inside and out, zero to complete. "So, if possible, can you tell us how to awaken that mark?" When he finished, he asked once again.
"I don't mind, but promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"Never tell this to Kanae."
"...can I ask the reason?"
Isao's request was so strange that they felt confused.
"You will know when I tell everything."
"Then, I promise." Kagaya nodded.
"No, I want everyone here to promise," Isao said.
"....." Everyone.
"We promise."
Everyone hesitated for a while before they all agreed.
"Okay, then let me tell you the requirements and what kind of power can be awoken from this Demon Slayer Mark, but let me remind you that if you don't have a talent, then no matter how hard you work, it is impossible for you to awaken it."
"....." Everyone.
While his words were infuriating, they knew that this was the truth.
No matter how hard one worked, as long as they lacked one percent talent, it was meaningless. Well, the opposite was also true since no matter how much one had talent, if they didn't work hard, it was also meaningless, but before that, all of them quietly listened to how he awoke the Demon Slayer Mark and what kind of ability he had awoken.
However, in the end, they realized why Isao told them to keep this matter a secret from the mother of his children.