And so, after finishing breakfast, the three of them went out together at noon.
"By the way, should we say hello to Kanae-senpai first?"
Walking in the apartment stairwell, Zenitsu suddenly asked.
"No need. Senpai left early this morning—seems like she had something important to do..."
"I see, alright then."
The three of them quickly went downstairs. Just as they were about to exit the apartment building, they suddenly heard a male voice at the entrance.
"See you tomorrow, Kanao."
This male voice received no response. Immediately after, a ponytailed girl about their age, still wearing a school uniform, walked into the building alone.
The girl was very beautiful, with a faint delicate fragrance about her.
[Strange, that scent on her...]
His nose twitching, Tanjiro immediately identified that the smell emanating from the girl before him was one of the three scents he had detected at Kanae's apartment earlier.
[I see, so she's one of Kanae-senpai's two younger sisters?]
Instantly realizing the girl's identity, Tanjiro had wanted to greet her enthusiastically.
But then he thought about how they had never met before, and suddenly greeting her now would seem very abrupt—not to mention he'd have to explain a lot of things...
So after thinking it over, he gave up.
When their eyes met as they passed each other on the stairs, Tanjiro ultimately just gave the girl a polite smile.
[Someone I haven't seen before. Could she be a new resident who moved in?]
Looking up at the three, Kanao felt somewhat puzzled, but still responded with an equally polite smile.
Thus, the few of them passed each other in the stairwell without any conversation, neither side looking back.
Exiting the apartment building, Tanjiro immediately spotted the black vintage car parked by the roadside, and that same-age youth standing beside it.
The youth had slightly long, flowing shoulder-length hair for a male, one hand in his pocket, giving off an arrogant, cool vibe from head to toe.
His features were extremely handsome—deeply felt even through his sunglasses!
[Looks like he should be the friend of that younger sister of Kanae-senpai from just now...]
Quickly deducing the youth's identity, Tanjiro didn't pay further attention, but turned and jogged toward the street.
"Hmm?"
Instinctively, Inosuke also noticed Tanjiro's group exiting the apartment building.
[Demon Slayers?]
His gaze falling on the long objects wrapped in cloth at the three's waists, he instantly judged their identities and frowned slightly.
[Could they be people brought by that older sister of Shinobu-nee? What are they going to do?]
His mind subconsciously began pondering, but the next second, Inosuke shook his head, actively interrupting his train of thought, opening the door and getting into the car.
[Forget it, no need to think so much...]
Yes, he didn't need to care at all.
After all, they were merely people who were going to die soon...
"..."
Not caring about this small interlude before the apartment building, Tanjiro's group quickly began investigating everywhere on the streets.
Calling it investigation, it was actually just asking around everywhere—for example:
"Mister! Has there been anyone around here lately with strange behavior?
How strange? Like never going out during the day, always waiting until night to come out, and also never eating with others, often being alone... No? Alright! Thank you!"
Though this method was time-consuming and laborious, looking quite foolish, it was indeed a method the Demon Slayer Corps often used to gather demon intelligence from ordinary people.
After all, demons wouldn't go around shouting "I'm a demon, come cut me down!"
To find them among the crowds, besides tracking cases involving mysterious disappearances, they could only use this simple, unadorned foolish method.
The three of them investigated on the streets like this for several hours. By afternoon, exhausted, they found a roadside bench to sit on.
"So tired, Tanjiro, why don't we go back..."
"Zenitsu, it's not even evening yet?"
"But I'm already tired! Ahh~ I want to go back and sleep~ Or at least go watch one of Ume's movies~"
Zenitsu, throwing a tantrum on the bench, spotted the promotional poster for Ume's new movie on the building across the street at a glance.
To be honest, Zenitsu didn't know much about this big star, nor was he very interested in this movie.
He simply thought Ume looked very pretty on the poster, so he wanted to go see her at the cinema.
"Zenitsu, stop fooling around. We came to Tokyo on a mission, not to play."
Facing Tanjiro's serious admonishment, Zenitsu immediately sprang up from the bench and loudly retorted:
"Even on a mission, you need to balance work and rest!
Since leaving Mount Fujikasane, we've been running around everywhere on missions. We've worked so hard for so long—what's wrong with enjoying ourselves a bit!
And besides, what we're doing now—randomly grabbing people on the street to ask questions—is completely meaningless!
Who knows where that demon named Tamayo is hiding? What if she's not in Tokyo at all? Wouldn't we just be wasting our time like this?!"
"But, you always have to try everything..."
"Completely wrong! Many things in this world are obviously not worth trying at all!
Tanjiro, I bet you that Tamayo is absolutely impossible to hide in a place like Tokyo! She must have found some countryside place to hide!
If not, I, Zenitsu, will never find a wife! I'll be single my whole life!"
Zenitsu declared with absolute confidence.
The instant his words fell, on the street beside them, two men happened to be walking by.
"Speaking of which, that Doctor Tamayo's medical skills are truly excellent..."
"Ah, who would have thought such a small clinic would have such an amazing doctor—and so beautiful too..."
Of the two men, one had clean bandages wrapped around his hand—clearly having just received treatment not long ago.
Of course, this wasn't important. What was important was the doctor they mentioned...
[Tamayo... Doctor?]
"Excuse me! Sirs! May I ask where this Doctor Tamayo you mentioned is right now?"
Without hesitation, Tanjiro quickly got up and rushed to the two men to ask.
And behind him, Genya also slowly stood up, raising his hand to gently pat Zenitsu—who still had a confident smile on his face but whose body had already petrified and stiffened in place—on the shoulder, deliberately smiling:
"Zenitsu, a bet is a bet. From now on, you'll be single for life, right?
Don't worry, as your friend, I'll make sure to supervise you properly."