Chapter 23: The Hunt Begins
"Look, it's Kazumi!"
"He looks so pitiful! So haggard!"
"I heard he's been like this ever since his fiancée Satoko suddenly disappeared while they were together!"
"It's terrifying! Lately, young girls have been mysteriously disappearing from this town every night. I'm completely fed up with it!"
"Do you think there'll be another disappearance tonight?"
"If this continues, I'm moving away!"
Hakuya listened carefully to the surrounding chatter and asked Tanjiro, "Did you catch all of that?"
Tanjiro nodded. Although he hadn't been deliberately eavesdropping, he'd understood the general content of the conversation.
"We've got our first lead. Go talk to that man," Hakuya said, gesturing toward Kazumi.
Tanjiro immediately approached the zombie-like man.
"Kazumi-san!"
Tanjiro called out, and Kazumi stopped walking and turned around, somewhat startled.
Hakuya also approached. Looking at both Hakuya and Tanjiro dressed in their distinctive attire with swords at their waists, Kazumi was puzzled about why these strangers had called out to him.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask you something. Would that be alright?"
"Well, what is it? If you're looking for information about the town, I suggest visiting the headman," Kazumi replied wearily.
"I want to ask about the girl you were with who suddenly disappeared. Where did she vanish? Would you be willing to take us to that location?" Hakuya stated his question directly.
Hearing Hakuya's inquiry, Kazumi felt a sharp pang of pain in his heart and retorted defensively, "Why are you asking about that?"
"We can help you find that girl."
Hakuya's words struck something deep within Kazumi, making his heart skip a beat. This answer left him with no reason to refuse their request.
Although he found Hakuya's claim somewhat far-fetched, he could only place his hopes in these two young strangers—a last desperate attempt.
"Alright. Follow me."
Kazumi began leading Hakuya and Tanjiro through the streets.
The women gathered along the street, watching Kazumi leave with two young strangers, couldn't help but start gossiping.
"Were those two really telling the truth? They said they'd help Kazumi find Satoko!"
"Who knows? Maybe they're leading Kazumi somewhere isolated to rob him! Didn't you see the swords at their waists?"
Kazumi ignored the chatter. He didn't want to argue with these women who only spoke in sarcasm and speculation.
Even if Hakuya and Tanjiro truly intended to rob him, Kazumi didn't care anymore. Honestly, if that were the case, he'd almost welcome them ending his life—he didn't particularly want to continue living anyway.
With these dark thoughts swirling in his mind, Kazumi led Hakuya and Tanjiro to the exact spot where his fiancée Satoko had disappeared.
"This is it. Satoko suddenly vanished in this alley—though you probably won't believe me!" Kazumi stopped and said to them.
"Since I asked you to bring us here, naturally I don't doubt what you've said," Hakuya replied calmly.
"Kazumi-san, we believe you!" Tanjiro added earnestly.
Tanjiro looked around the alley carefully, then asked Hakuya, "Hakuya-senpai, how do you think the demon made people disappear?"
Tanjiro expected Hakuya would provide him with an answer, but to his surprise, Hakuya simply replied with three words: "I don't know."
"Then how do we find the demon?" Tanjiro couldn't help but ask again.
Because Tanjiro regarded Hakuya as the decision-maker and leader, he subconsciously deferred problems to his senior, waiting to follow Hakuya's lead.
Hakuya noticed this pattern and couldn't help but address it: "You're not significantly less intelligent than I am. When you encounter a problem, think it through yourself first. Don't wait for others to hand you all the answers."
"I understand, Hakuya-senpai!" Tanjiro immediately took the lesson to heart.
Kazumi, who had been listening to their exchange, couldn't help but interrupt, "Um, were you just talking about 'demons'?"
"What? You know about demons too? Or have you seen one?" Hakuya asked, turning the question back on him.
"Of course I haven't seen one!" Kazumi quickly waved his hands in denial. "But I've heard rumors about demons. Do you really think Satoko was taken by a demon?"
Hearing this, both Hakuya and Tanjiro nodded affirmatively.
"But those things don't actually exist, do they? Are you trying to scare me?" Kazumi said with obvious disbelief.
"Wait until we find it, then you'll see for yourself," Hakuya replied, unwilling to waste time debating the existence of demons. He ended the topic there.
"Tanjiro, now it's your turn to demonstrate your abilities," Hakuya immediately turned to his junior.
Hearing this, Tanjiro was completely confused. How should he demonstrate?
"Use your exceptional sense of smell to track the demon's scent. Follow it and you should be able to locate the creature," Hakuya explained further.
At that moment, Tanjiro completely understood. His nose was extraordinarily sensitive—capable of distinguishing and remembering countless different scents.
Suddenly, Tanjiro felt annoyed with himself. How could he have forgotten his own specialty? Really!
Having realized what was needed, Tanjiro immediately began using his nose to examine every corner of the alley.
Seeing Tanjiro behaving this way, Kazumi found it rather strange.
Hakuya waited patiently for Tanjiro to finish investigating the area, curious whether he would make any significant discoveries.
Tanjiro carefully sniffed around the alley for several minutes before returning to Hakuya and reporting, "Hakuya-senpai, I do detect a demon's scent here, but it's very faint and scattered. Obviously the demon hasn't been in this specific location for quite some time!"
"Then let's follow the direction of the scent trail. This might require considerable effort," Hakuya explained his plan.
Tanjiro, showing no concern about the difficulty, said, "That's fine! The most important thing is finding the demon!"
Tanjiro then began carefully tracking the lingering scent traces.
"Come along," Hakuya said calmly to Kazumi.
Kazumi had no objections and followed behind Tanjiro, who was now sniffing everywhere—on the ground, along building walls, even occasionally climbing to check rooftops.
Tanjiro's scent trail led from the alley into the main street, his unusual behavior drawing considerable attention from passersby.
"Why is that kid sniffing around like a dog?"
"I don't know whose child that is! He's really embarrassing his parents!"
Passersby whispered and gossiped about Tanjiro, but he remained completely unfazed by their comments. Tanjiro was aware of only one thing: following the lingering demon scent.
Hakuya paid no attention to the passersby's remarks about Tanjiro, though he did overhear several young women discussing him.
"That white-haired young man is so handsome and distinguished!"
"If I weren't already married, I'd approach him right now and offer myself!"
"Yumi, he's still practically a child! You're being inappropriate!"
"So what? I was beautiful when I was young too! I would definitely have been worthy of that white-haired young man!"
Tanjiro's tracking continued until sunset, the orange-red glow illuminating the entire town and giving it an ethereal, almost magical beauty.
Hakuya hadn't expected Tanjiro to be so persistent, maintaining his search for most of the day.
Tanjiro had covered nearly half the town, and both Hakuya and Kazumi had accompanied him for the entire journey. Fortunately, Kazumi proved quite determined and didn't complain once.
At this point, Tanjiro paused and turned to Hakuya, saying, "Hakuya-senpai, the scent around here is significantly stronger than anywhere else we've searched. I believe the demon has established its base somewhere in this area."
Hakuya nodded, then asked, "Tanjiro, would you like to take a break?"
"Hakuya-senpai, after sunset it will be completely dark soon! We don't have time to rest. We must focus on patrolling this area—the demon could emerge at any moment once night falls!" Tanjiro spoke seriously, showing absolutely no interest in resting.
Hakuya didn't force the issue, but instead looked at Kazumi. As just an ordinary civilian, Hakuya had to consider his physical limitations.
"I'm fine. Are you two really part of the Demon Slayer Corps? Does that organization actually exist?" Kazumi asked Hakuya and Tanjiro with genuine curiosity.
In response to Kazumi's question, Hakuya simply nodded without elaborating further.
Soon the sun set completely, and darkness enveloped the town. Streetlights flickered to life at their designated times.
Led by Tanjiro's sense of smell, Hakuya quickly patrolled the suspected area. Without knowing the demon's exact location, this represented the simplest and most effective search method.
Suddenly, Tanjiro's expression changed dramatically, and he called out urgently, "Hakuya-senpai, the scent is intensifying rapidly! It's here—right now!"
With that warning, Tanjiro broke into a sprint, heading directly toward the sudden increase in demonic presence.
Hakuya didn't hesitate, immediately following close behind.
Tanjiro sprinted along the ground while Hakuya, in just a few quick steps, leaped onto a nearby shop's roof, surveying Tanjiro's path from above with a tactical advantage.
The two of them moved in coordinated fashion, like skilled warriors from legendary tales.
Kazumi was stunned by both Hakuya and Tanjiro's incredible reflexes and impressive physical abilities.
Left somewhat behind by their sudden acceleration, Kazumi could only try his best to keep up with the two Demon Slayers.
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