CH. 16: Suspicious Indeed

"So this is Sakurai Town?"

Kenshi looked at the small town enveloped in cherry blossoms, eating the last candy apple in hand.

The candy apple was of course from the system.

Before setting out, he had brought some snacks with him, but they were almost finished during the trip with Kanao also asking him something to eat..

The journey hadn't been smooth sailing.

On a small path near Sakurai Town, the two encountered some bandits robbing travelers. Seeing only two children, the bandits broke into hideous laughter.

Well, then got beaten up by him..

And had all their belongings stolen...

After stealing them, he coldly said. "Robbers will always be robbed in turn. Consider this a lesson. If I see you robbing again next time, I'll chop off your hands! Understand?"

The bandits kowtowed gratefully, promising not to do it again.

He paid them no more attention, Continuing his journey with Kanao.

Feeling the weight in his arms, kenshi revealed a smile.

These idiots, to think they carried so much money when going out to rob.

Arriving at the destination, Kanao, who had been looking left and right, also bit down the remainder of her candy apple. Now that they were here, it was time to focus on the mission.

According to the crow's intel, due to conducting multiple demon slaying missions here, the mayor and Demon Slayer Corps were practically acquainted. He had even expressed willingness to support and assist the Corps.

So he and Kanao's first stop was the mayor's place, intending to gather some intelligence.

"Sakurai Town is developing well!"

He followed the crow while looking around.

With sakura trees planted everywhere inside and outside town, he could feel the strong fragrance of cherry blossoms even before getting close.

Entering the town, the human traffic astonished him again.

Despite being just a small town, it was filled with people, the majority seemingly travelers from all over.

Sakurai Town wasn't limited to just viewing cherry blossoms. The inside was also lined with all kinds of food stalls, from grilled meat to udon, from snacks to hot food, from local specialties to exotic delicacies. It offered everything imaginable.

The inns were also packed. Not far away some event seemed to be taking place, but kenshi had to prioritize the mission and couldn't go join the liveliness.

It appeared the mayor was a smart man, knowing retaining tourists required more than just a single feature.

He recollected himself and continued forward with the distracted Kanao.

Soon, the two arrived before the mayor residence.

He walked up and knocked on the door. It quickly opened and a middle-aged man walked out.

The man first looked at them guardedly, but his eyes shined upon seeing their Demon Slayer Corps uniforms. "You two are from the Demon Slayer Corps right? The mayor mentioned that I should properly receive you! Please come in!"

"Thank you for the trouble." Kenshi politely responded before following Kanao inside.

The instant they stepped into the residence, kenshi's skill automatically activated as he sensed they were being watched by some unknown gaze.

His eyes turned focused, but he still followed the middle-aged man calmly. At the same time, he spread out his hyper senses like a web only to find the gaze coming from all directions, as if countless eyes were monitoring them.

Strange...

He silently became vigilant. He could only take it one step at a time now.

Soon, the middle-aged man brought him and Kanao to a reception room, preparing tea and snacks.

"The mayor is a bit busy currently, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while longer." The middle-aged man apologized.

Kenshi waved his hand to indicate it was fine. Only then did the middle-aged man take his leave.

Now alone in the room, the gazes still showed no intention of leaving.

Sensing something off with the mayor's residence, he had no desire to touch the snacks or tea on the table. Perhaps a bit overcautious, but safety first.

Glancing over, he saw Kanao also unmoving, staring at the cherry blossoms on the table without any intention of sampling the snacks.

He also breathed a sigh of relief. He lay slumped on the table pretending to nap.

The gazes' owners clearly wanted to observe and judge what kind of people they were. So he wouldn't let them succeed, he acted dead on the table.

After around ten minutes, kenshi suddenly heard approaching hurried footsteps.

He immediately sat up properly. The door then opened and an elderly man who was dressed lavishly rushed in.

"Sorry for the wait!" The elder apologized while taking a seat opposite him and Kanao. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Sakurai Town's mayor Sakurai Kujiro."

"I'm kenshi, this is Kanao. We're the Demon Slayer Corps members dispatched to handle the situation." They also introduced themselves.

"Oh? Two this time?" The mayor seemed surprised.

"Yes, is something the matter?" He asked.

"No no!" The mayor quickly waved his hands. "It's just always been one in the past, so I was a bit surprised to have two this time. But two is good, higher chance to defeat the demon!"

Kenshi nodded without saying more.

The mayor also didn't dwell on it, simply getting to the point. "Sorry, I still have much to attend to later, so I'll be brief! The recent attacks have mainly centered around the forest in the east of the town. There have been three discovered cases so far, but those are only the discovered ones. With so many tourists here, who knows how many have been missing without our knowledge!"

Speaking to here, the mayor revealed a pained expression.

Seeing this, kenshi reassured him. "Don't worry sir, we'll resolve this."

"Then I'll have to trouble you two." The mayor bowed slightly to them, then said. "Shall I prepare rooms for you two to rest a bit? There's still some time before nightfall, or you could just tour our town a little?"

"No need for rooms, we happened to want to tour Sakurai Town a bit, we won't disturb you further." Kenshi declined. Those piercing gazes never left him. He couldn't rest here at all.

The mayor didn't say more, only instructing the middle-aged man to escort them out.

Just leaving the premises, kenshi felt greatly relieved. Because those gazes had vanished.

Glancing back at the residence gates, he brought Kanao away.

He had some things to discuss with Kanao, impossible to do so there.

Just then he spotted a small udon stand not far away. He turned and asked. "Kanao, want to get some udon?"

Following his pointing finger, Kanao saw the udon stand. She tilted her head in thought for a bit before nodding.

He immediately brought Kanao over. "Boss, two bowls of udon!"

"Coming right up!"

The boss enthusiastically began preparations.

Perhaps due to the proximity with the mayor's residence, there weren't many people here.

While the boss turned to cook, kenshi softly said to Kanao. "Kanao, did you feel something was off in the mayor's estate?"

Kanao tilted her head looking at him.

He continued to speak softly. "After entering the residence, did you feel like someone was watching you? That gaze coming from all around, as if an omnipresent entity is staring at you?"

Kanao shook her head.

He didn't expect Kanao to really notice either. After all, he had only sensed it with his hyper senses skill.

Demon slayers do have enhanced senses but they cannot just magically tell about everything around or something far away from them.

But even than, he still said. "Let's not get near that residence for now. I feel something is off there. We'll stroll around town gathering intel, see where exactly the problem lies!"

Kanao nodded in agreement.

At this time, their two bowls of udon were ready.

He took a bite and couldn't help but be surprised. "This udon is so tasty!"

"Of course!" The boss couldn't help but feel proud. "This udon is made using my family's secret recipe. The flavor naturally can't compare to those ordinary shops!"

Kenshi nodded while eating. "Why don't you set up your stand over there boss? Wouldn't it be busier with more people?"

He meant in the livelier street. After all, there is very less business here.

Hearing that, the stand owner just sighed. "Because I came late, the stalls over there were already rented by others!"

"Others rented them?"

"Yeah!" The boss nodded: "I'm not a local either, came here from elsewhere. I'd planned to capitalize on my skills and earn some money. Didn't expect I had to rent a stall to open shop here. I came late, the good spots were taken. I could only get this place. Customer traffic is lower but rent is cheap too, I can still earn a bit each month!"

Kenshi was somewhat surprised. "So you mean all the street stalls over there are outsiders?"

"Yeah! Not just the food stalls, the performers, organizers, all outsiders including majority of the normal people that came for tourism."

"Then... where are the locals?" He asked again.