Chapter 296

"Paired with my family's sauce, the flavor is even better."

Luo En tried a bite, his eyes lighting up:

"Indeed, the flavor is quite good."

This kind of fried pork cutlet, compared to the grilled meat from the world of One Piece, had a flavor all its own.

The shop owner, hearing this, looked very pleased.

"Hahaha, right!"

Luo En finished off all the pork cutlet in the bowl in a few bites, looked up at the shop owner bustling behind the counter, and said: "One more serving."

"You got it!"

After leaving the restaurant.

Luo En's face was full of contentment.

"It's been ages since I ate this satisfyingly."

He looked up — across the way was a Western-style restaurant, and not far off a curry shop as well.

Luo En smiled and said:

"Looks like I'll have to stay here a few more days."

On a bustling, lively street.

Luo En wandered about, eating various snacks in his hand as he went.

At the same time, he spread out his vast Observation Haki, shrouding the entire city.

"There really are quite a few demons hiding here."

"The biggest one is Muzan Kibutsuji?"

"A being that has transcended the limits of demons and is infinitely close to perfection… for the people of this world, it really is quite a handful."

"But for me… it's just a matter of one sword strike."

Luo En used his Observation Haki to 'watch' Muzan Kibutsuji, who had taken the form of a human male and was hiding among humans as a husband and father, yet this being infinitely close to perfection had not noticed in the slightest.

The gap in strength between the two sides was dimensional.

If Luo En wished right now, he could completely cut him down with a single sword strike right here — cells regenerating infinitely? Don't even think about it.

With Luo En's current physical power, one punch would likely obliterate Muzan Kibutsuji so thoroughly that not even a speck of cell would remain.

But if he did that… it would simply be a little too boring.

He would have to stay in this world for at least thirty days now.

It was only the sixth day.

And he was already feeling a bit bored.

If the plot of the Demon Slayer world hadn't even started yet, and he ended it with a single sword strike… just thinking about it was boring to death.

Being strong has its own troubles too…

Luo En sighed inwardly.

"Looks like I really have to find some fun."

Luo En ate the last piece of fried skewer, turned his head, and walked off in a direction.

That was the direction of Tamayo's hidden residence.

Not long after.

He walked out of the bustling downtown area and into a dimly lit alleyway.

The people around him thinned out at once.

Just as he was about to walk toward the door hidden at the end of the alleyway.

In an open area off to the side of the alleyway, a bald shop owner running a noodle shop with dismal business spotted someone coming, his eyes lit up, and he hurried over, saying: "Customer, would you like a bowl of soba noodles? They're very good."

Luo En glanced down at him.

This bald shop owner, about 1.6 meters tall, looked up at the young man before him — over two meters tall and of a tall, upright build — and his heart immediately panicked.

"S-so tall!"

He couldn't help but swallow, took two steps back, and only then was able to see Luo En clearly.

Luo En also recognized him — wasn't this bald shop owner the very noodle shop owner who had a chance encounter with Tanjiro and his sister in the original story?

Luo En walked over to a stool and sat down.

"Then give me a bowl of mountain yam juice soba noodles."

"O-oh! Got it!"

……

While Luo En was eating his soba noodles.

In a tall mansion in the bustling Asakusa area of Tokyo Prefecture.

Muzan Kibutsuji, who had taken the form of an adult human male, was flipping through books in his study.

"Blue Spider Lily, where exactly is it?"

……

Tanjiro, who had just received his mission notice, was carrying Nezuko on his back and hurrying toward Asakusa in Tokyo Prefecture.

Shinobu Kocho, bringing her adopted daughter Kanao Tsuyuri, was following his trail and likewise heading toward Asakusa in Tokyo Prefecture.

This city, outwardly prosperous and glamorous but in truth harboring a large number of man-eating demons…

A storm was about to break.

6, The Uneasy Yushiro

After Luo En finished a bowl of soba noodles, he tossed down some money and told the bald owner, "The flavor's not bad."

Just as he set down the money and was about to rise and leave.

Two voices sounded from behind.

"Lady Tamayo, the color of that outfit you looked at today suits you as well."

"Is that so…"

A woman wearing a deep purple kimono, a beige wide obi tied at her waist, beautiful in appearance, with long black hair pinned up in a bun, rosy lips, and a gentle expression, walked past behind Luo En with a young male attendant in tow, heading toward the alley.

The young attendant in the white kimono gazed at the beautiful woman beside him, his eyes full of admiration.

The boy's inner thought: "Lady Tamayo, you're so beautiful today too, and you'll surely be beautiful tomorrow as well."

The two walked past the noodle shop.

The bald boss pinched his chin, watching the two figures gradually walk away, and clicked his tongue with a smile: "Truly a lady of outstanding temperament. If I could marry a beauty like that, I'd be willing to live ten years less. Customer, what do you think—would I have a chance of success if I proposed to her?"

No response.

"Customer?"

He turned his head.

That very tall young customer had already left at some unknown moment.

"Thank you… for your patronage."

……

Beneath the dim yellow light of the streetlamp.

Tamayo and Yushiro walked to the depths of the alley.

Tamayo took the lead and walked into the end of the alley, her figure disappearing behind the wall.

Yushiro glanced around, and seeing no one, followed her in.

The moment he stepped inside.

His nose bumped straight into Tamayo's back.

A great wave of happiness had just welled up in Yushiro's heart when Tamayo's grave voice rang in his ear, making his heart jolt.

"You… who are you?"

Yushiro jerked his head up and looked forward.

A very tall, slender young man in black, with a gourd of sake hanging at his waist, stood ahead, hands clasped behind his back, looking at the two with a smile.

"Good evening."

"!"

Yushiro's expression changed. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately stepped in front of Tamayo, assumed a fighting stance, and stared fixedly at the uninvited guest.

"No scent of a demon—it's a human? How did you know about this place?!"