Just as the kitchen assistant came over to inquire, Horitake had already quietly activated his Spiritual Vision, wordlessly scanning the entire kitchen area.
According to his observations, there wasn't a trace of a Demon's aura in the kitchen.
It made sense; with the kitchen being so busy and chaotic, it was an unlikely place for a Demon to hide. Forget an ordinary Demon—even if Kibutsuji Muzan himself came here, he probably wouldn't choose this spot.
Since the kitchen was clear, that only left the warehouse area.
Horitake looked at the assistant, smiled, and asked in as relaxed a tone as possible:
"Little brother, could you tell me where the warehouse area for meat and seafood is located? If I'm not mistaken, the person I'm looking for might be there."
The moment Horitake asked this, the assistant's expression changed instantly. He became hesitant, troubled, and nervous. After stammering for a moment, he finally spoke to Horitake out of necessity:
"Sir, why would you want to go to a place like that for no reason? To be precise, it's not just a warehouse; we call it the Storage Area. But lately... how should I put it? It hasn't been very peaceful there."
"Over the last two days, people from our shop have been disappearing one after another, and it always happens in that Storage Area. The security staff searched the place, but they found nothing—no bodies if they're dead, no people if they're alive. It's quite eerie. There's no need for you to go there, Sir. If a guest were to vanish there too, our shop truly couldn't take the responsibility."
Listening to the assistant's words, Horitake's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Vanishing without a trace, leaving behind neither a body nor a living soul... this description sounded very familiar. Wasn't that the signature of the wandering Demon that moved from place to place eating young boys?
Horitake continued to confirm: "The people who went missing in the Storage Area recently—were they all teenage boys?"
"Eh?" The assistant looked a bit stunned. "No... the ones who vanished there recently were two grown men, one in his thirties and another in his forties. No one as young as a teenager."
"Oh, I see."
Despite what the assistant said, Horitake wasn't discouraged. It was possible those two men had accidentally stumbled into the Demon's hiding spot or caught sight of it, forcing the Demon to eliminate them.
Horitake insisted on asking: "It's fine. I might be able to help you solve these recent disappearances. Just tell me where the Storage Area is; I'll go have a look. Even if you don't tell me, it won't matter—there are plenty of people here. If I ask around, someone eventually will."
Seeing how determined he was, the assistant sighed helplessly and pointed the way:
"Walk that way, take a turn, and once you pass that door, you'll be in the Storage Area. It's divided into two parts: the cold storage warehouse for various meats and vegetables, and a series of large and small pools for various seafood and live fish. In the past, such an important place would always be guarded to prevent theft. But because of the disappearances, no one dares to go there anymore, let alone steal anything. So, it's unguarded now. Even when we go to get ingredients, several of us have to bunch together just to work up the courage. Sir, I still advise you not to go. That place is truly cursed lately."
Horitake was quite pleased with the assistant's concern. He patted the young man's shoulder and comforted him:
"Don't worry. Coming to your shop for fun is secondary; helping you solve your problems is my main goal. We are experts in this field, specifically trained to handle these kinds of bizarre occurrences. After I go in, there might be some loud or strange noises coming from that direction. Tell everyone not to be afraid, don't be curious, and definitely do not go there to investigate. When the noise stops, it means I've finished the job."
With those instructions, Horitake led the silent Shinobu toward the Storage Area.
The assistant stood there awkwardly, watching Horitake's retreating back with confusion, unsure of what those words meant. He scratched his head and went back to work.
Following the directions, Horitake and Shinobu arrived at the ingredient storage area.
Since no one else was around, Shinobu no longer needed her disguise. She pulled off her headscarf, revealing her beautiful face. The two of them carefully scanned their surroundings.
The Storage Area was deathly silent.
On one side stood the massive, closed doors of the cold storage warehouse. On the other side were various pits dug into the floor, filled with water to keep seafood and fish alive. In such a large space, only a few dim lamps provided light; otherwise, there wasn't even a "ghost of a shadow" to be seen.
Years of experience hunting Demons told Shinobu that the atmosphere was wrong. She instinctively reached for her Nichirin Sword, only to grasp at thin air.
Only then did she realize that because of the disguise, she had been forced to leave her sword outside the bathhouse. She was currently weaponless!
Not only her, but Horitake was also unarmed. Before entering the bathhouse, he had entrusted his Nichirin Sword, Weiguang, to her, and she had stashed it along with her own weapon outside.
Shinobu suddenly felt a sense of frustration. She looked at Horitake helplessly:
"There's no other way. Neither of our swords are here. We'll have to rely on your lightning to kill the Demon."
Horitake smiled slightly, looking completely confident. "Don't worry. I've already seen it—it's not a very powerful Demon. I don't need to draw Weiguang to slay it."
"Does that mean you've already found where it's hiding?"
Indeed, Horitake had already activated his Spiritual Vision. In a space as large as this, no trace of a monster or ghost could remain hidden from his sight. Though he saw through the trick, he didn't say it directly.
He pointed at the warehouse door and said to Shinobu: "Sister Shinobu, you open the door to the cold storage first."
Shinobu shot him a suspicious look. Is the Demon inside the cold storage?
That didn't seem right. How could a person—or rather, a Demon—stay in a place like that? What kind of Demon would want to huddle up with a bunch of raw ingredients? Besides, wouldn't it be exposed the moment someone opened the door to get food?
Though she didn't understand, Shinobu was quite obedient. She walked over, intending to open the massive door.
Before opening it, Shinobu had already prepared the wisteria poison hidden in her sleeve. If a Demon truly was inside, she wouldn't be caught defenseless against a sudden ambush; the poison would be her "gift" for it.
Focusing her full attention, Shinobu pulled with a clack, opening the massive iron door of the cold storage!
In the spill of the dim light, she saw the interior. Aside from the shelves packed with various meats and vegetables, there was nothing there.
Wait!
With her keen senses, Shinobu detected something wrong. From the very back of the warehouse, there seemed to be a sound!
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