Lower Rank Three

Lin Yoriichi stood on a street in Tokyo Prefecture in the Taisho era, taking in the sights unique to the period.

Wooden utility poles were already everywhere, and electric lights adorned the streets of this half-modern city.

Now, alongside traditional Japanese houses, quite a few Western-style buildings could also be seen.

Some of the people walking the streets still wore traditional clothing.

But Lin Yoriichi also saw female students in sailor uniforms walking along, chatting and laughing, just like in "Taisho Baseball Girls."

Not only that, he even saw maid outfits!

Hmm, sailor uniforms and maid outfits from this era...

Lin Yoriichi rather wanted to exercise his scholarly spirit and explore the characteristics of this era's sailor uniforms and maid outfits in depth.

But again, the same point stood.

If this were a novel, readers presumably would not want to see scenes discussing sailor uniforms and maid outfits.

Of course, there was another reason Lin Yoriichi did not want to discuss these things-

"Delicious!"

"The ramen you make is truly excellent!"

"Another bowl, please!"

"Delicious!"

Speechless, Lin Yoriichi looked toward Kyojuro Rengoku at the nearby ramen stall, who was wolfing down his food while remembering to loudly praise its flavor.

Right, with this man around, he would certainly never feel lonely.

On the other side, a vein had already bulged on Sanemi Shinazugawa's forehead.

"You... no matter how good it tastes, you don't have to shout every time you take a bite..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through speaking.

Several people dressed as doctors walked out of a nearby clinic, all looking exhausted.

"Mr. Fujino, do we still have no leads?"

A relatively young doctor sat down at the ramen stall and sighed deeply.

"There have been so many patients with fevers and comas lately. Do we still not know how to treat them?"

"I heard from friends elsewhere that only our area has cases like these."

"Is it possible this isn't an illness at all, but the work of something evil..."

Smack!

The man called "Mr. Fujino" slapped his chopsticks down on the table, his expression stern.

"Kamenosuke! What nonsense are you talking about?!"

"Instead of sitting here jumping at shadows, put more thought into how to cure them!"

On the other side of the ramen stall, Lin Yoriichi, Kyojuro Rengoku, and Sanemi Shinazugawa exchanged glances.

Night, in an alley.

In a dark corner grew a mass of Flesh-built spore sacs.

Squish, squish-

The Flesh-built spore sacs writhed slowly, occasionally splitting open a small slit to spray dark red spores into the air.

A figure with short black hair and three X-shaped scars on his face was admiring the writhing sacs.

He reached out, pinched a sac between his fingers, and muttered to himself.

"I thought I could only keep staying in remote places, secretly spreading a few spores."

"Or be like that brat, claiming a mountain and playing house."

"But my lord actually showed me mercy and let me come somewhere this bustling. Heh heh..."

His laughter stopped abruptly as a will suddenly descended into his mind.

"I didn't send you to Tokyo Prefecture to play these disgusting tricks!"

"Find someone with deep red hair who wears hanafuda earrings with a sun design."

"The moment you find any trace of him, tell me!"

Having delivered those words, the will immediately severed contact.

Only the black-haired, scar-faced figure remained, kneeling in the alley and trembling all over.

Only after a long while did the figure struggle to his feet.

The words "Lower Rank Three" were clearly inscribed in his eyes!

Not far away, in another alley.

Momoki Haruko had also come to Tokyo and was carrying out orders to handle logistics.

Taking advantage of the lack of people around, she quietly adjusted her top.

Feeling its uncomfortable tightness, Momoki Haruko looked troubled.

"Just as I thought, even after altering it several times, it's still a little tight..."

"I can't possibly ask Masao Maeda for help. He'd definitely make a mess of the alterations!"

At that thought, Momoki Haruko immediately clenched her fists, her exposed, lovely eyes and brows filled with embarrassment and anger.

Masao Maeda was also a member of the Demon Slayer Corps' Kakushi.

He was a highly skilled tailor, but he was even more enthusiastic about secretly altering the uniforms of the Corps' female members.

Mitsuri Kanroji's "ample and generous" uniform was Masao Maeda's handiwork.

"If nothing else works, I'll go get some bandages from the Butterfly Mansion."

"Binding them like that is really uncomfortable too, but at least I should be able to see the tops of my feet when I look down..."

Momoki Haruko was still thinking when she suddenly heard a series of squishing sounds.

"What... is that sound?"

The next instant, an explosive crack came from overhead.

A large hand actually descended from above, grabbed Momoki Haruko by the scruff of her neck, and hauled her into the air!

"Find somewhere safe!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Momoki Haruko struggled to turn her head a little and, sure enough, saw that deep red hair and those hanafuda earrings with their sun design.

"Mr. Yoriichi, what are you doing here?!"

Lin Yoriichi had no intention of answering Momoki Haruko. He simply tossed her into another alley and shouted:

"You two as well! Get back first!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa and Kyojuro Rengoku, who had just rushed over, froze for a moment at his words.

But neither asked why, and they immediately retreated without hesitation.

The squishing suddenly grew louder, and those Flesh-built spore sacs swelled to the size of human heads in an instant.

Countless slits then opened across the sacs, spraying dark red spores into the air as thick as a cloud.

Sanemi Shinazugawa's face immediately darkened.

Had he not listened to Yoriichi and kept charging forward, he might well have been trapped in that cloud of spores!

Kyojuro Rengoku also grew serious.

"Mr. Lin, this should be his Blood Demon Art. We can break it by killing him!"

"We must act immediately!"

"Otherwise, a great many civilians will definitely be caught up in it!"

Lin Yoriichi did not respond immediately, merely staring fixedly at the figure emerging from the spore cloud.

[Lower Rank Three · Byōyō]

Lin Yoriichi suddenly blinked.

So it was only Lower Rank Three...