The racing god of Mount Akina?

Lower Rank One, Enmu. A train. Kyojuro Rengoku.

Hearing those three key terms, Lin Yoriichi's heart immediately tightened!

Retrieving Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Nichirin Sword from the Swordsmith Village could wait, and teaching the Hashira how to turn their blades bright red could wait too.

But if he arrived too late, who knew whether Kyojuro Rengoku would run into Akaza!

Lin Yoriichi abruptly stood and said anxiously:

"I'll go find Kyojuro Rengoku right now!"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki did not ask why Lin Yoriichi was so anxious. He merely nodded and said:

"I'll have someone get you there as quickly as possible."

Leaving Headquarters, Lin Yoriichi discovered a black car already parked outside.

The moment he saw it, Lin Yoriichi found it very familiar-

It was precisely the vintage car the Kakushi had driven during the final battle to knock over Muzan Kibutsuji in his giant infant form.

Judging by its appearance, it looked very much like an early twentieth-century Chevrolet.

The Ubuyashiki Family's reputation for being "quite wealthy" was certainly well deserved.

Sitting in the driver's seat was a Kakushi Lin Yoriichi knew very well: Momoki Haruko.

Upon seeing Lin Yoriichi, Momoki Haruko immediately said gravely:

"Mr. Yoriichi, please get in right away!"

The instant he got into the car, Lin Yoriichi felt himself pressed back into his seat.

Even along the bumpy mountain roads, Momoki Haruko drove both fast and steadily.

At some sharp turns, Momoki Haruko even used cornering techniques resembling drifting!

He instinctively looked at Momoki Haruko beside him, her gaze focused and resolute, and casually asked:

"Where did you learn to drive?"

Momoki Haruko answered as she drove:

"I learned to drive back home in Gunma Prefecture."

Noticing that Lin Yoriichi seemed very interested in her experiences, she continued:

"I originally learned to drive so I could become the chauffeur for the eldest daughter of a prominent local family in Gunma Prefecture."

"But later... when I drove her to Mount Haruna back home for an outing, we encountered a demon."

"Fortunately, I drove very fast and got her away."

"Afterward, she even praised me as the racing god of Mount Haruna."

Hearing this, Lin Yoriichi felt that peculiar sensation grow stronger. He asked again:

"Your family doesn't happen to run a tofu shop, does it?"

Momoki Haruko's eyes instantly widened, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise:

"Huh? How did you know?"

Lin Yoriichi gave a dry laugh without answering.

Mount Haruna in Gunma Prefecture was actually the inspiration for "Mount Akina."

Living in Gunma Prefecture, with a family that ran a tofu shop...

Got it. So the person beside me was actually the racing god of Mount Akina!

With Momoki Haruko's help, Lin Yoriichi reached the vicinity of the train station just after sunset.

He found a small shop selling boxed meals nearby. The moment he entered, he heard a hearty cry:

"Delicious!"

Hearing that voice, Lin Yoriichi finally felt relieved.

At the sight of Lin Yoriichi, Kyojuro Rengoku's already bright eyes grew even brighter:

"It's Mr. Yoriichi!"

"Did the Master ask you to investigate the train incident too?!"

"How shameful! It seems my abilities still aren't enough to put the Master completely at ease!"

Lin Yoriichi smiled, shook his head, and said:

"No, Mr. Ubuyashiki trusts you very much. I simply heard you were out investigating and came of my own accord."

"Just think of me as helping you finish this mission so we can move on to the next thing sooner."

As he spoke, Lin Yoriichi sat beside Kyojuro Rengoku and accepted a boxed meal from him.

Opening the lid, he saw glistening white rice and appetizingly colored fatty beef.

Lin Yoriichi also spotted a sliced boiled egg inside.

He had no idea how the boiled egg had been prepared, but its yolk looked slightly greenish.

With some distaste, Lin Yoriichi pushed aside the boxed meal with the strange boiled egg and accepted another from Kyojuro Rengoku.

This one had none of those boiled eggs, only rice and beef packed to the brim.

He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, and Lin Yoriichi's eyes widened slightly too.

"Delicious!"

Seeing Lin Yoriichi praise the boxed meal, Kyojuro Rengoku immediately said in his hearty, booming voice:

"The boxed meals here really do taste wonderful!"

"And by coincidence, my father once saved this shop's owner."

"I feel truly honored to be able to protect others just as my father did!"

Lin Yoriichi suddenly stilled his chopsticks.

A faint sense that something was off suddenly arose within him.

Just then, however, Lin Yoriichi suddenly heard a terrified scream nearby.

"You monster! Get away from my granddaughter!"

Smack!

It sounded like a meal box striking something.

After hearing this, not only did Lin Yoriichi's sense of wrongness grow stronger, he even felt a peculiar sense of déjà vu.

He kept feeling as though he had seen this scene somewhere before.

Before him, Kyojuro Rengoku sprang to his feet, moving as swiftly as a streaking flame.

Lin Yoriichi saw Kyojuro Rengoku smash straight through the partition wall, and he also saw what was happening on the other side.

A muscular, bald demon covered in stripes was grinning viciously.

His arm was tightly clamped around a little girl wearing round glasses.

The bald demon's hold had turned the little girl's face purple, her eyes filled with terror and helplessness.

A little farther away, the boxed meal shop's owner, the elderly woman, was staring at the demon in horror.

Her arm was still outstretched from throwing something.

Clearly, the "smack" Lin Yoriichi had just heard had been the elderly woman throwing the boxed meal in her hand at the bald demon to save her granddaughter.

At the same time, Lin Yoriichi felt his sense of déjà vu and wrongness growing even stronger.

He remained seated, watching Kyojuro Rengoku draw his Nichirin Blade and begin using Flame Breathing.

The bald demon was instantly slain with a single slash.

At this, Lin Yoriichi suddenly smiled-

He knew why he had felt so strange.

He reached out and abruptly closed his hand around something in midair.

Although there appeared to be nothing there, the sensation against Lin Yoriichi's palm told him he had already caught hold of that thing.

As Lin Yoriichi tightened his grip, the air before him immediately began to distort.

A figure wearing a black coat, with square markings on his cheeks, suddenly appeared out of thin air.

His neck was held firmly in Lin Yoriichi's grip.

At the same time, Lin Yoriichi suddenly felt everything around him become clear.

That sense of wrongness and déjà vu vanished instantly.

Lin Yoriichi stared at the fellow whose neck he held, his voice low and angry:

"Is putting something that disgusting in someone else's boxed meal fun?"

"Is toying with other people's dreams fun?"

"Enmu, answer me!"