"What? Redeem courtesans? Shinichi, what kind of joke is this?"
In a spacious, exquisitely furnished office, Ryukawa Chinatsu stared dumbfounded at the letter in her hand.
On her desk, the Kasugai Crow Eizo happily munched on some delicious nuts.
After repeatedly confirming that the letter was indeed written by Shinichi, Chinatsu sighed and rubbed her temples.
Managing the vast affairs of the Moriki Conglomerate already drained her mentally every day.
And now, Eizo had rushed over in a frenzy to deliver this letter, making Chinatsu think Shinichi had some urgent, life-or-death matter.
But after all that, it turned out he just wanted money to redeem some courtesans?
This was just...
Chinatsu set the letter down, stood up, and lightly tapped Eizo's head.
"Honestly, even something this ridiculous has to come to me."
Then, she pressed a small button on her desk.
Soon, the office door opened, and two tall men in black suits entered, bowing deeply at a 90-degree angle.
"President, how may we assist you?"
Chinatsu hesitated for a moment before speaking somewhat awkwardly.
"Well, have either of you ever been to the red-light district?"
"Huh??"
The two assistants were taken aback, exchanging glances, completely baffled by their president's question.
"Ahem, I'm asking you a question!"
"Well, President, yes, we've been there, but we've never fooled around! It was purely to relax!"
Seeing Ryukawa Chinatsu's displeasure, the assistants, well aware of their president's methods, dared not hide anything and quickly confessed everything.
"Good. Now tell me, how much would it cost to buy out a courtesan's contract in the red-light district?" Ryukawa Chinatsu asked directly.
"Uh, buy out? We're not really sure. I think... ten or twenty thousand yen should be enough?"
One assistant scratched his head uncertainly.
The other assistant rolled his eyes and replied, "What are you thinking? The President is talking about a courtesan. If it's a high-ranking courtesan from Yoshiwara, ten or twenty thousand yen would only get you a few nights with them at most. To buy out a courtesan's contract, you'd need at least several hundred thousand yen."
The first assistant looked shocked.
"That expensive?"
As senior assistants at the Moriki Conglomerate, their monthly salaries were barely a thousand yen.
Several hundred thousand yen was an astronomical figure to them.
Watching the two assistants argue, Ryukawa Chinatsu closed her eyes in frustration.
"Never mind. Just prepare two hundred thousand yen in cash and three hundred thousand in checks for me. It's urgent."
"Yes, President!"
....
"Uh, Sanemi, what's this?"
Shinichi had just returned to the base when he witnessed a bizarre scene.
Shinazugawa Sanemi was still dressed in his merchant disguise, his face filled with rage, hands on his hips as he furiously berated a figure cowering in the corner.
"You idiot! Why did you come here? What can you even do? Get the hell back home and stay there! We don't need you here!" Sanemi's roar was deafening.
Shinichi unbuttoned his police uniform and casually took off his jacket.
Seeing Sanemi so angry, he curiously walked over to see what was happening.
Only when Shinichi got closer did he finally see the face of the person Sanemi was yelling at.
'Huh? This kid... looks familiar!' Shinichi's heterochromatic eyes widened slightly.
The distinctive hairstyle—a thick, bushy central tuft trailing down the back like a wolf's tail, with shorter hair on the sides—was unmistakable.
Even more striking was his face.
The long, narrow scar, the same small-pupiled, wide-eyed expression as Shinazugawa Sanemi, and the tightly furrowed brows... It was like looking at a younger version of Sanemi!
"Sanemi, where did you pick up this kid? He looks just like you," Shinichi said with a smile.
"What did you say?" Sanemi turned his head sharply, glaring at Shinichi.
Meanwhile, the mini "Sanemi" in the corner looked on the verge of tears, his large eyes brimming with grievance.
"Brother..."
"Shut up! I don't have a useless little brother like you! Shinazugawa Genya, get out of here right now! Quit the Demon Slayer Corps and go home where you belong!" Sanemi turned back, gripping Genya's shoulders and shouting.
Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the scene.
'So this kid's name is Shinazugawa Genya? And he calls Sanemi "brother"... So they're siblings.'
At this moment, Shinichi also recalled past memories.
Come to think of it, he had met this boy named Shinazugawa Genya long ago—during the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane.
Shinichi remembered that this boy was among the same batch of swordsmen who passed the Final Selection alongside Tanjiro and Kanao.
Back then, he had paid special attention to this youth who bore such a striking resemblance to Sanemi.
Upon returning to the Demon Slayer Corps, he had even asked Sanemi if he had any brothers, but received no response whatsoever.
Now it seemed the two were indeed blood brothers.
Sipping his wisteria tea, Shinichi watched the Shinazugawa brothers with amusement.
Their relationship didn't seem particularly harmonious.
Though Sanemi's tone was harsh and his expression furious, Shinichi didn't sense any genuine malice toward his younger brother.
His anger seemed more like an adult pretending to scold a child for playing near the river—a reprimand born of worry and concern.
'Sanemi, you're such a tsundere, deliberately acting like you hate your own brother? Tsk tsk. But why is his brother here? Didn't Tengen say this was a covert mission? How did another Demon Slayer end up here?'
As he mused, Shinichi suddenly sensed something amiss.
The next second, his expression turned serious as he stood and positioned himself between the Shinazugawa brothers.
"Hey! Shinichi, what are you doing? Move!" Sanemi frowned.
Ignoring him, Shinichi focused on Genya and asked sternly, "Genya, right? Why are you in the red-light district? Did you come alone? Are there other Demon Slayers nearby?"
Genya, whose eyes were still misty, was momentarily stunned by Shinichi's sudden appearance.
But he quickly processed the questions, his earlier grievances fading slightly—after all, he was indeed on a demon-hunting mission.
"Forest Hashira-sama? I—I'm here with Gyomei-san on a demon-slaying mission. We received intel that powerful demons had appeared in Tokyo Bay, and several high-ranking demonslayers had already been killed. We tracked them all the way here," Genya replied hoarsely, rubbing his eyes.
"Tokyo Bay? Powerful demons?" Shinichi repeated, and even Sanemi behind him took the information seriously.
"What? Why didn't you mention something this important earlier?"
"You never asked, brother… Oh, and Gyomei-san and I examined the bodies of the fallen demon slayers. They all seemed to have died from blade wounds."
(Mr Aura himself will soon appeared!)