Train Anomaly

Bang!

A faint vibration sounded from the roof of the speeding train.

Most people failed to notice it.

Those with sharper senses merely looked up. Seeing nothing unusual, they soon turned their attention away.

Kurozawa, who had been sleeping to restore his energy, suddenly opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.

The tall, pretty girl from the upper bunk had somehow climbed down and was now sitting beside Kurozawa's bed, watching him curiously. When he abruptly opened his eyes, she jumped in fright, then lowered her head awkwardly.

"Um... it was too stuffy lying up there the whole time, so I came down to sit for a while."

"If you mind, I'll leave."

The tall girl secretly watched Kurozawa's reaction as she spoke with her head lowered.

Her voice was light and pleasant to the ear.

Having too much Charm Stat is troublesome too.

With his current Charm Stat, even if he said nothing and showed no smile, he could still easily draw people's attention and goodwill.

Kurozawa did not look at the girl beside him and casually said, "I don't mind. Sit if you want."

As he spoke, he quickly rose and left his sleeper compartment.

He walked forward along the train's narrow corridor.

Over ten minutes later, Kurozawa had reached the first carriage.

The first carriage was not a sleeper car. Seats lined both sides, and it was packed with quite a few people.

Kurozawa swept his gaze over the area but found nothing unusual.

He did not linger. He quickly retraced his steps, then continued all the way to the last carriage.

After checking the entire train, Kurozawa returned to his sleeper compartment.

The girl was still stubbornly sitting beside his bed instead of returning to her own spot, sneaking glances at him again and again.

Kurozawa easily noticed through his visual perception, but outwardly paid no mind to it, though inwardly he felt a little pleased.

Under normal circumstances, he might have chatted with her a little, but his attention was entirely elsewhere right now.

That sound earlier was a little off.

That vibration and noise were caused by something landing on top of the train.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Kurozawa had searched the train from end to end without finding any trace of a demon, and he had no better method at the moment.

He lacked any useful means of locating enemies. For now, he could only use visual perception to detect gazes spying on him.

If a gaze carried hostility, Kurozawa would pay special attention to it.

But if they did not look at him, there was nothing he could do.

He glanced at the scenery racing past outside the window. His expression remained calm, but inwardly, he became even more vigilant.

Outside lay endless mountain forests.

The railway passed through towering mountains, the train roaring through the silent wilderness.

In such secluded places, in dark corners, who knew how many dangers lurked?

Under the cover of night, it was entirely possible for a demon in those deep, pitch-black mountains to spot the brightly lit train and leap onto its roof.

A train carrying so many people was an enormously tempting giant can to demons.

His Breathing Technique continued circulating steadily. Kurozawa closed his eyes again and feigned sleep, while keeping his senses trained on everything around him.

As the train continued onward, time passed bit by bit, yet Kurozawa never discovered anything unusual.

During that time, seeing that Kurozawa had no intention of speaking, the girl sitting beside his bed returned to her upper bunk.

Two hours later, the girl clumsily climbed down from the upper bunk, nearly stepping on Kurozawa's calf.

"Ah, sorry. I just woke up, so I'm still a little groggy."

The girl apologized quickly, her face full of sincere remorse.

Kurozawa opened his eyes and merely nodded without saying anything.

On this train, he was only a passerby. He had no interest in forming connections with anyone.

The girl had been drawn to him by his high Charm Stat, but for an ordinary person to get involved with a Demon Hunter Swordsman was hardly a good thing.

Seeing that Kurozawa was uninterested and unwilling to engage, the girl left the sleeper compartment with a disappointed expression.

Judging from the direction she went, she was probably heading to the restroom.

With such high Charm Stat, I'll probably have no shortage of this kind of trouble in the future.

Kurozawa had the troubles of a fortunate man.

The next time I see Kocho Shinobu, I'll hit her with a Kurozawa-brand smile right in the face and see if she still calls me uncle!

Kurozawa still held a grudge over being called "uncle." He could barely wait to see Kocho Shinobu's stunned expression. That scene was sure to be entertaining.

"Yes, Kanae should be there too. Let the Kocho Sisters be captivated by my smile together—that'd be double the fun."

"If only I had a camera. I could capture that moment and make it permanent blackmail material."

"Mm, decided. I'll visit Asakusa when I get back. There might actually be cameras there. Asakusa isn't small, so I can't possibly run into Hongyue again."

After lying on the train for so long, Kurozawa had grown bored. On top of that, he had not eaten for days and was hungry, so he sat up and took out the rice balls he had bought in Asakusa yesterday.

Kurozawa was not picky about food. Even simple rice balls sprinkled with fragrant toasted sesame seeds tasted delicious to him.

Thanks to the Breathing Technique, swordsmen could go days and nights without eating and endure hunger exceptionally well. Likewise, they could consume a great deal of food energy at once and store it within their bodies.

When they were out in the wilderness, swordsmen often relied on this remarkable endurance to keep fighting demons.

Kurozawa had no intention of saving any food. He wanted to finish an entire bag of rice balls in one go, then go several more days without needing to eat.

He ate quickly, swallowing a sesame rice ball in nearly two bites, then taking a sip of water before continuing.

The couple in the sleeper berth across from him had their attention drawn to Kurozawa's ravenous eating. They stared blankly as he ate, thoroughly shocked.

"Even a starving ghost reincarnated wouldn't eat as much as he does. And they're just bland rice balls. That way of eating is disgusting."

The man leaned toward his wife's ear, looking at Kurozawa as he spoke in an extremely low voice.

"He's right in front of us. Stop it."

"It's fine. He can't hear us."

Don't underestimate my hearing, asshole!

Kurozawa gulped down an entire pot of water, wiped his mouth, and calmly looked at the man.

"Look at this."

"What?" Startled by Kurozawa suddenly speaking, the man followed his gaze and looked at Kurozawa's palm.

"Look at this." Seeing that the man had not heard him clearly, Kurozawa repeated himself and casually curled his palm into a fist.

"That's... a fist?" The man looked at Kurozawa's burly build and swallowed.

"Wrong. It's a fist the size of a sandbag."

Kurozawa clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking loudly.

"If you talk about people behind their backs again, this sandbag-sized fist will make your head crack. Understand?"

You called me ugly right in front of me. Kurozawa had a bit of a temper now.

There was a peculiar force in Kurozawa's voice. His calm words made the man's face turn pale.

"I'm sorry. He just has a loose mouth; he didn't mean any harm," the wife hurriedly apologized for him.

Deep down, Kurozawa let out a long sigh. This was yet another problem caused by his excessively high Charm Stat.

The man's wife had stolen glances at him several times. The man had probably noticed and grown jealous of Kurozawa's ever-present charm, wishing he could replace him, so he had seized the chance to insult him.

In the end, it was all because he was too attractive. Maybe he should learn from Prince Lanling and wear a mask to conceal the handsomeness he radiated at every moment.

Kurozawa was deeply reflecting on himself.

He casually picked up another sesame rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth.

However, before Kurozawa could bite down and chew it, another strange sound came from the roof of the train.

This time, the noise was close and exceptionally clear.

His body stiffened. With the rice ball still clenched between his teeth, Kurozawa instantly raised his head. The next moment, he shot out of the sleeper car like a gale and gave chase.

Please vote.