Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 106 A Thousand Cranes Dancing
"It's so lively."

Beneath the veil, Akemi sighed softly.

"It's really lively." Yu Jian thought so too.

This Edo in Tokoyo is not the historical Edo. Although people's clothing and customs are similar, very strange mechanical devices can occasionally be seen on the streets.

At least in Yujian's view, it was very strange.

Those were steam-powered machines that permeated all walks of life. Even though people were still wearing ancient clothes, steam-powered trams, some even double-decker, were running on the streets.

When Miken first arrived, the city was still on its outskirts, so he didn't see much and simply assumed it was some kind of machinery that had come from the West during the late Edo period. But after accompanying Akemi to the truly bustling main area of ​​Edo Castle, he saw all sorts of things that even surprised him, a modern man.

Especially the black object floating in the distance on Tokyo Bay.

It doesn't float on the surface of the bay, but rather in mid-air.

Shaped like an overturned mountain, it is entirely black and inlaid with various complex mechanical structures that continuously spray high-temperature steam. A thick chimney stands in the center, and from time to time, the side covers can be seen flipping open to reveal the dazzling red flames inside. The heavy steel parts quickly close again, firmly confining the leaping flames deep inside the furnace.

"That is……"

“The Flying Iron-Black Ship, the thing that keeps the men of the samurai family up at night,” Akemi said softly.

The Black Ships incident...

Yujian had some knowledge of the history of the Japanese islands, but the black ship in history didn't look like this at all.

He then felt Milo send him a message.

"Abnormal history and abnormal technology confirm that the depth of this mortal realm definitely exceeds the third level, entering a level below the Mesozoic Era."

Doggy-san, please stop using these technical terms that newbies won't understand. The focus should be on something else, right?

I felt so frustrated, I had to improve my skills as soon as possible so I could learn to read words. Otherwise, one-way communication was just too stifling.

No, that's not the point...

Glancing at Akemi, whose attention was drawn to the street scenery, Mitsurugi crouched down, pretending to pet a dog, while subtly replying.

"How do we get back?"

Now that everyone has been gathered, exploring the Otherworld is secondary. Akemi is just an ordinary person, so returning to the present world as soon as possible is the primary goal.

"You've hit the nail on the head." Milo sighed deeply as he read the words aloud.

"To leave this deep, mortal realm, one would either maintain the portal through which they entered, allowing them to simply return the way they came. But we clearly don't have that capability right now, so we have to resort to the more traditional method."

"What method?" Yu Jian quickly asked.

"Let the story end here for now, and seize the opportunity to leave as the show concludes."

"...I didn't understand." Yu Jian bluntly revealed his ignorance; pretending to understand when you don't is true ignorance.

"Hey, that's why you young people need to read more and study more. You can't always be fully prepared for every exploration of the world. Can't you find an evacuation route without an external ritual to pull people in? Really." Milo complained like an old man, while Mikasa shook his head with a smile.

They then followed Akemi, who was captivated by the Edo street scene.

Milo's explanation continued during the reading.

"To be honest, I thought I'd have to find a way to wake you up, but I didn't expect you to shed that 'shell' on your own." Now, everyone just sees you as a sixteen-year-old boy.

"By the way, you probably want to ask what the 'shell' is, right? You can think of the mesozoic world as a stage play, because this deep world is often a re-enactment of history, or a personification of a story that has been told for a long time."

So, what should a director do when a strange actor suddenly appears on stage? Of course, they should immediately change him into a costume of a similar style to avoid affecting the performance.

"This is the phenomenon of 'wearing a protective shell'."

"Practitioners have a higher level of self-awareness than ordinary people, so they can relatively easily get rid of this 'shell.' But ordinary people are more closely bound to this 'shell' in order to adapt to the ordinary world. That's why I told you not to disturb Ms. Hayashihara Akemi earlier." "As for how to leave? If we want to leave the stage, we naturally have to wait until the performance is over. Otherwise, we won't even be able to find our way." Milo stuck out his tongue. The weather in Edo was still too hot for a Samoyed from Siberia.

"..." Although he didn't fully understand, Yujian still felt his eyes were opened and his understanding of the world deepened.

According to Milo, his first priority is to gain Minmei's trust, and then find a way to end this story with her so that they can leave this world smoothly.

But is it really that simple? Yu Jian has not forgotten why he and his companions were drawn into the mortal world in the first place.

Could the mastermind behind the curse have also entered this mortal realm? With such elaborate schemes, surely their goal isn't just to disrupt Mingmei's record sales so they can grab number one on the annual charts?
Don't joke around...

At that moment, Akemi was playing a game with the children on the street.

But Yujian noticed that several adults were trying to pull their children away, obviously because they saw what Mingmei was wearing and were worried that she might offend someone important.

But it doesn't matter to kids. Kids are the most superficial people when it comes to looks; they just love playing with pretty people.

So, Yujian also got to experience the children's toys and games of this era.

Among them are "Oni-gokko" (catching ghosts), which is similar to the game "Eagle Catches Chicks," and "kagome-kagome" (guess who I am), which involves sitting around and singing. The toys are even simpler: hand balls filled with rice husks, kendama (dumpling and playing), and classic spinning tops (not really), which are just ordinary wooden tops.

Even in this era, children's happiness is just as simple and pure.

Mikasa smiled and took two steps back. Over there, Akemi had already lifted her veil and taken off her cumbersome straw hat, revealing an exceptionally sunny face.

With her oval face, delicate eyebrows, and soft eye corners, she didn't resemble the heavily made-up faces that flood the internet today. Instead, she embodied a gentle beauty more akin to that favored in traditional Eastern aesthetics. Her recent experiences had left her with a slightly sickly and gaunt appearance, further emphasizing the translucency of her brow bone and skin.

"I really can't believe she used to run around the streets with a rhinoceros beetle in her hand." Yujian shook his head helplessly, finding both of Akemi's two faces quite unique.

Incidentally, he was the one being chased down the street by a rhinoceros beetle.

A strange sensation suddenly came from between his brows, and Yu Jian immediately realized that this was his intuition warning him.

"You guy!"

A slightly familiar trilled "r" sound came from behind, accompanied by the roar of mechanical equipment.

Turning around, Yu Jian saw a strangely shaped four-wheeled vehicle rushing towards him at full speed.

The vehicle resembled a horse-drawn carriage, but instead of horses pulling it, several brass chimneys stood behind it, constantly spewing out plumes of white steam. It was clearly a steam turbine powered by a boiler.

Yujian recognized the driver as the same Yakuza from before. Judging from the man's ferocious expression, it was clear that his companion had strictly followed his orders before leaving and had thoroughly punished the guy.

But how can someone drive with their arms and legs broken?
What's the situation?
Seeing the bluish-black veins bulging on the other person's neck, Yu Jian had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Facing the rapidly accelerating steam turbine, he made no attempt to dodge, for behind him were children gathered together playing.

Despite hearing others shouting for the children to get out of the way, how could they possibly move aside at a time like this?

Besides, it's just a single car.

He drew his sword, the sharp blade held horizontally at his side, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

The next second, half of the steam turbine, including its two wheels, was cleaved in two.

The entire vehicle immediately veered off course and began to overturn.

With a bang, the steam turbine slid into the pile of debris, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Despite preventing an impending tragedy, Yujian still frowned.

Looking at the wheel he had cut open, he noticed a twisted and deformed piece of lead metal embedded in it.

This is... a bullet?
(End of this chapter)