Of course, the ones who understand demons best are the demons themselves.
Haruto had been pondering Kagaya Ubuyashiki's words as he walked.
Kagaya didn't like to speak in riddles, so could it be... that this Tamayo's origin was unusual?
The bullet comments had been scrolling intermittently these past few days, indicating that perhaps this Tamayo was also a key character.
So Miss Tamayo got in touch with the Master so early?
Miss Tamayo is calling you to draw blood!
The boss really knows everything!
Haruto subtly curled his lip. Why were these guys outside the screen exactly like the Demon Slayers around him, with a mysterious admiration for that Ubuyashiki fellow?
What do you mean, "how does the boss know everything"? Read more books! Do you understand? Read more books!
A bunch of otaku who just watch anime all day and shout "kawaii ne" at Makomo!
Sora gently landed on his shoulder. Haruto pulled out a strip of raw pork from the small bamboo canister hanging at his waist and put it into its mouth.
"Over 400 years old."
Sora swallowed the strip of meat, craning its neck, and spoke.
"Eh?"
Haruto's hand, which was about to close the bamboo canister, froze in mid-air.
Was that an answer? An answer to what?
The young man carefully thought about what question he had asked, then turned to look at Genya, only to find his face pale.
"You previously asked Mr. Ubuyashiki..."
Genya stammered, "...Miss Tamayo's age."
Ah, right.
Because he felt awkward showing up empty-handed, Haruto had asked that Kagaya fellow about Miss Tamayo's age so he could choose an appropriate gift to bring.
And the answer was... over four hundred years old?!
"Teacher, should we bring a gift?"
..."Bring an autograph from Oda Nobunaga."
...Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture, a commercial district radiating from Asakusa Temple.
As night fell, various lights and shop signs fluttered in the breeze, making it difficult for Haruto to tell whether this was early 20th-century Japan or a 21st-century Japanese-themed street.
"Wow..." Genya's mouth hung open. "Has the city developed to this extent already?"
Pedestrians came and went on the neatly paved bluestone roads, and trams passed through them.
Haruto tightened his grip on Genya's hand, lest he be separated by the jostling crowd.
For him, Asakusa was certainly prosperous, but far from advanced. So, rather than the trams and the various flashing neon lights, he preferred to focus on the shops displaying their specialty dishes on the street.
"Teriyaki chicken skewers!"
"Tempura!"
"Okonomiyaki!"
"Matsuba crab—ah, not as fresh as Chiba's."
The Demon Slayer Corps Demon Slayers were not short on money. The Ubuyashiki Family was wealthy enough, and the rewards they distributed to the Demon Slayers were generous.
Anyway, that Kagaya kid said that when they arrived in Asakusa, Miss Tamayo would contact him directly.
So, the two were in no hurry to find anyone and indulged in a feast at the shops on the street—it was mainly Haruto eating. After Genya ate at two shops, he was already stuffed to the gills. He couldn't fathom how Haruto managed to consume over thirty chicken skewers, two baskets of tempura, over twenty okonomiyaki pancakes, and six bowls of tonkotsu ramen.
Just as Haruto was enthusiastically preparing to visit the next tonkatsu shop, a cat's meow suddenly came from their feet.
Genya quickly looked down and lifted his foot, afraid of stepping on the cat's tail.
Haruto raised an eyebrow. The teriyaki chicken in his mouth hadn't been swallowed yet, and his free right hand already touched the hilt of the sword at his waist.
There was a demon's presence in the space...
He looked down. A calico kitten stood at his feet.
It had wide, golden eyes, and a talisman with a pattern was hanging on its chest.
This cat... was a demon.
It had appeared silently at Haruto's feet. If it hadn't meowed, Haruto wouldn't have noticed its presence at all.
Behind it was a powerful demon.
"Teacher?"
Genya felt Haruto's muscles tense up.
It's Chachamaru!
It even has Yushiro's Blood Demon Art hanging around its neck!
Chachamaru, Yushiro, Tamayo... More and more unfamiliar names, and more and more unfamiliar demons.
"It's nothing. Let's see what it wants."
Chachamaru didn't want anything; Chachamaru just wanted to lead the way.
The calico cat looked back at them, as if signaling them to follow.
Haruto let out a half-burp, put an arm around Genya's shoulder, and swayed as he followed the cat.
Chachamaru led them away from the bustling area. On a dimly lit street, they saw Asakusa's second demon.
It was a gloomy young man wearing a Western-style undershirt and a white haori over it.
He was truly gloomy. Ever since he saw Haruto, his purple eyes had narrowed into triangles, his eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and he was muttering things like "big oaf," "why so tall," and "disproportionate body, so ugly."
Well... compared to his own height of about 1.6 meters, Haruto, whose height had shot up to over 175 cm, could indeed be considered a "big guy."
"White hair is so weird. I don't know why Lady Tamayo wants to see this ugly person..."
As the gloomy young man's muttering escalated from attacking Haruto's height to his appearance, Genya finally couldn't help but accuse him: "Nonsense!"
"Eh?" Haruto looked at his young apprentice in surprise.
The spiky-haired young man clicked his teeth, the scars on his face making him look even more delinquent than the gloomy young man.
"Ugly person? Teacher is the most handsome person in the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Genya clenched his fists and argued, "The handsome guys in the Demon Slayer Corps all live on Mt. Sagiri! Sabito has scars on his face, Giyuu is expressionless, so Teacher is the most handsome!"
"Miss Miki Misaka from headquarters, Miss Nami Igawa, Miss Naoko Maeda, and the two Kochou Sisters have all asked me about Haruto!"
Sora even flapped its wings in support.
Eh? When did that happen?
Haruto's misty blue eyes widened.
He knew Miki Misaka, an healer from the Fuji no ie (Wisteria House). Who were Nami Igawa and Naoko Maeda?
And why were the Butterfly Sisters appearing in the story?
Am I that popular in the Demon Slayer Corps? Why didn't anyone tell me earlier? Master Godo has been hounding me about marriage every year!
The gloomy young man gnashed his back teeth, his face looking even worse under his green hair.
"Exactly... that's why it's so annoying!"
He reached out and forcefully pressed down on Genya's spiky head: "Why does Lady Tamayo want to see you?
Why did Lady Tamayo make me leave her to pick you up?
What right do you have to be received by the beautiful Lady Tamayo?!"
Haruto swiftly rescued Genya from the young man's torment: "Noisy! It's about work!
Do you like Miss Tamayo? You're acting like a pervert right now!"
The gloomy young man immediately fell silent. He took two steps back, turned his head away, and said nothing, only a blush creeping onto his face.
?
What's going on?
Is he a tsundere?
A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Haruto's lips.
Uncle me—pah, pah, pah!
Haruto, I, love teasing tsunderes the most.