Shut the door and unleash Tanjiro!

When it came to having a body unlike an ordinary person's, Tanjiro was certainly not far behind Chinatsu. His skull was so hard that even demons complained about it, and his nose was an especially powerful weapon early on. He could smell demons and even pick out the emotions mixed into their scents.

Taking the "shut the door and unleash Tanjiro!" approach, Chinatsu followed behind him as he put his nose to full use, tracking down the vicious demon hiding in town.

"Left... right... ahead... it's nearby!"

Tanjiro led Chinatsu at a brisk run through the town. In the original story, he had needed to ask people for directions to narrow down the area, but there was no need for that now.

After identifying the general location, Chinatsu and Tanjiro decided to wait for nightfall. Demons would not appear during the day, and continuing to move around the area too much could easily alert their target.

That was what they should have done under normal circumstances.

But just after they made that decision, Chinatsu suddenly looked toward a nearby mansion. Hearing a woman's voice from inside, she came up with an amusing idea, and a smile she could barely suppress spread across her face.

"Tanjiro, I've got a fun idea~"

That night, in one of the mansion's rooms.

A young girl slowly entered the room. She took off her outer clothes, leaving only her sleepwear, then lay down on the bedding spread across the floor and peacefully closed her eyes.

A few seconds after she closed her eyes, a swamp-like darkness suddenly engulfed the room. Two hands reached out from it, trying to drag the girl lying in bed into the darkness.

The two hands stretched out and swiftly grabbed for the girl. But just before they touched her, her hands shot out from under the covers and seized the demon's hands with a smack!

"What?!"

The demon's shocked voice came from within the darkness. Even more astonishingly, it discovered that it could not pull its captured hands free. The girl's strength actually rivaled its own.

How is this possible? I'm a demon! How could a mere human, and a weak, helpless girl at that... wait, she's not my original target!

It had not paid much attention at first, but its shock made it realize that its target had changed.

The wig on the head of the girl gripping its arms gradually slipped off. Its original target had pure black hair, but beneath that black wig was a head of dazzling red hair!

Who was she?

Chinatsu, of course.

Since they planned to lie in wait, why not take it a step further? After identifying the demon's target, Chinatsu had gone to the mansion and spoken with the girl.

Not wanting to cause a panic, Chinatsu had never mentioned demons. Instead, she described their target as a criminal who preyed specifically on women.

With their extraordinary bearing and outstanding looks, Chinatsu and Tanjiro quickly won her trust. As night fell, the girl discreetly moved to another room to sleep, while Chinatsu put on a black wig and followed the girl's usual routine, entering the room to await the demon.

"Finally noticed? Your eyesight isn't very good for a demon. Looks like I might have fooled you even without the wig~"

"You rotten brat! Let go of my hands!!!"

The vicious demon's head emerged from the swamp-like darkness. It had intended to frighten Chinatsu with its hideous face, or failing that, attack her with its mouth. Little did it know that poking its head out had given them the perfect chance to smash it.

As the demon's head emerged, the room's door burst apart with a bang!!! Tanjiro charged in from outside, his blade ready for a strike, and unleashed a swift thrust aimed straight at the demon's head.

"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"

It was Water Breathing's fastest thrusting technique. Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade pierced cleanly into the demon's skull, and with a sideways sweep, he sliced its head to pieces, though he did not sever its neck.

Still, demons did not bleed, so it was not particularly gory. This demon possessed a Blood Demon Art that allowed it to submerge its body in darkness and even create copies of itself. Among ordinary demons, it ranked above average. Unfortunately, it had run into Chinatsu and Tanjiro, a pair of high-level sneaks still roaming the beginner zone. Its instant defeat was hardly unfair.

After finishing off the demon, Tanjiro exhaled. To be honest, an instant kill like that offered no training at all, but they could not afford to fool around. This demon had already killed dozens of girls and had much to answer for.

"But still, that was too dangerous, Sis. What if this demon had been stronger than we expected and dragged you into the darkness?"

"All right, all right. I'll be careful."

Chinatsu waved a hand casually. She had only decided to "play" like this because she knew the demon could not be all that strong, but she could hardly say that.

It was nighttime, and apart from Tanjiro kicking the door open, their little farce had not made much noise.

Chinatsu left a note saying, "The culprit has been caught," and the two quickly left the mansion. It was only seven or eight in the evening, and plenty of vendors still had stalls set up along the streets. Many shops were open too.

Since it was nighttime, Nezuko also hopped out of the wooden box, though she had a bamboo muzzle in her mouth.

"Shall we get something to eat?"

"Noodles?"

"Anything's fine. It's not like we're short on money."

Members of the Demon Slayer Corps received wages. After passing the Final Selection, they had also received a sizable sum of starting funds, and completing missions earned them money too. Under normal circumstances, they no longer needed to worry about their finances.

The three walked along the street, looking for something to eat. If they could not find anything, they would settle for noodles.

Suddenly, Chinatsu spotted a small roadside stall selling konpeito. A few seconds later, Nezuko noticed it too, and drops of drool began escaping from around the bamboo sealing her mouth.

Nezuko liked miso soup, and her favorite snack was konpeito, a colorful, star-shaped candy that symbolized lucky stars.

Chinatsu smiled faintly at Nezuko's eager expression. She walked up to the konpeito stall and pointed a finger at a jar filled with the candy.

"One jar of konpeito, please. Thank you."

Money changed hands, and the smiling stallholder passed the jar of konpeito to Chinatsu, who then handed it to Nezuko.

Nezuko happily cradled the jar of konpeito, swaying from side to side. If they had not been out on the street, she would have spun around on the spot.

Nezuko: "Mmm, mmm, mmm!" (Thank you, Sis!)

Chinatsu: "No big deal~"