Chapter 71: You Baka!
They had originally thought it would be a simple matter of finding and rooting out a demon in this one town. Instead, the search radius had just expanded significantly.
Finding the culprit was going to be a Tier-2 difficulty jump.
Igarashi spread out a hand-drawn map, marking the latest infection times in charcoal. "The diffusion pattern is clear. It's not spreading outward from a single center. It's... leaping."
Shinobu felt the weight of the situation. "Should we split up? If the three of us investigate different sectors simultaneously, we might find the demon faster."
Both Igarashi and Natsuya shook their heads at the same time.
In Igarashi's view, if this eleven-year-old girl ran into the demon first, she likely wouldn't even have a single frame to send out a distress signal. Natsuya's logic was similar: You don't let the Support-spec character solo-queue into a Boss room.
Seeing the unanimous rejection, Shinobu understood their concern. Though she felt a twinge of "Little Sister" indignation at being looked down upon, she prioritized the mission and proposed an alternative: summoning more Slayers and leading three separate squads to sweep every suspicious point in the region.
The Storm Hashira pushed his glasses up.
It was a sound tactical move, but it relied on the Corps having a massive surplus of manpower. In reality, a few mid-to-low-rank Slayers were usually responsible for entire prefectures. Rank 2, Rank 1, and the Hashira acted as mobile reaction forces, kiting between regions to reinforce areas that hit a "Critical" state.
With only a few hundred Slayers total, they barely covered the map.
"Pulling more reinforcements is necessary," Igarashi muttered, staring at the map. "But by the time they arrive, the quest timer will have run out. We need a faster solution."
He frowned, focusing on the charcoal marks. After a moment, he seemed to form a plan, but when he looked up, he saw Natsuya tracing invisible lines on the map with his finger, his eyes narrowed in calculation.
"Natsuya, do you have a theory?"
Natsuya didn't stand on ceremony. He took the map and gestured to the coordinates. "I think we should prioritize the most suspicious node first."
"Even though the plague broke out in six different places, look at the Kanto map. The distances aren't actually that far. It's about a day's travel on foot."
"For a demon—or a Twelve Kizuki—that distance is a rounding error. If I reverse-engineer the travel times based on my own speed, or yours, Senior..."
Natsuya took a charcoal pencil and drew six circles on Igarashi's map, each centered on an infected village. The six circles overlapped perfectly in a single area to the northeast.
In the center of that overlap was a town name. One of the first towns to report the mysterious illness.
Ueno Town.
"Right here," Natsuya said, tapping the spot. "If the caster needs a fixed base of operations to minimize travel time while using a Blood Demon Art to 'radiate' the infection across these zones... this is the most logical spawn point."
Igarashi nodded slowly. Natsuya's deduction was almost identical to his own.
Shinobu stared at the map for a long time, then immediately began packing her medical kit. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hit Ueno before the sun goes down."
Ueno Town was significantly larger and busier than the previous village.
Vendors shouted in the market, and while there were fewer pedestrians than usual, the streets weren't empty. However, a closer look revealed the "Fear" debuff in their eyes. Though the town looked like it was functioning, people were keeping a wide distance from one another, as if everyone else was carrying a curse.
The trio split into two teams to gather intel.
Igarashi headed for the tea houses and taverns. In any RPG, the most accurate lore and rumors were found in places with high social traffic—bars, brothels, and restaurants. The messier the environment, the easier it was to find "Grey Market" information.
Natsuya and Shinobu headed straight for the local clinic. There were still massive waves of patients who needed the serum Shinobu had developed.
While administering the medicine, they overheard an intriguing rumor from several patients. Recently, a "Miracle Doctor" had appeared in Ueno and the surrounding villages.
Supposedly, this doctor had a secret recipe that could cure the plague. However, his movements were erratic. He never appeared during the day, and he had no fixed clinic or home. Many patients wanted to find him, but they didn't even know where to start the search.
Natsuya and Shinobu exchanged a look.
A 'Miracle Doctor' who only operates at night?
That screams 'Scripted Boss Encounter' in disguise.
After prying the names and addresses of several people who had supposedly been "cured," the two began a door-to-door investigation.
However, the "cured" families reacted as if Natsuya and Shinobu were the plague themselves. They either slammed the doors shut or claimed to know nothing.
"Miracle Doctor? Who? Never heard of him."
"Where? I have no idea."
"I really don't know what you're talking about, sir."
Finally, just before dusk, they managed to get into a house. But when the wife led them to her husband's bedside, the man—who was still weak but clearly recovering—had a "Stress Response" trigger.
He bolted upright, shouting at his wife for letting them in. He waved his hands frantically at the two Slayers.
"I won't say anything! I don't know any Miracle Doctor!"
Seeing they had finally caught a solid lead, neither Natsuya nor Shinobu was going to let it slide.
Shinobu put on her Tier-10 "Sweet Angel" face, maintaining her practiced smile as she spoke patiently. "Uncle, please, just think for a moment. What did this doctor look like? Where did you meet him?"
"This information will help us find a permanent cure for everyone. You could save so many lives."
The man clutched his futon, shaking his head violently. "I—I don't know! I know nothing!"
He stole a glance at the Nichirin Swords at their waists, his eyes full of dread. "I told you... I can't trust people with swords! I will never betray him!"
Shinobu's patience held. She reached into her medical kit and placed a stack of coins on the floor.
"Look. we aren't the bad guys. We're pharmacists from Tokyo investigating the outbreak. If you tell us, this is yours as a thank-you gift."
The man's eyes flickered with a brief moment of hesitation, but it was quickly overwritten by intense resistance. He squeezed his eyes shut and began playing "Deaf and Mute."
Shinobu's smile stiffened for a microsecond. A flash of irritation and frustration crossed her face.
I tried logic. I tried bribery.
This NPC is hard-locked.
Just then, Natsuya—who had been leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed—stepped forward.
"Lady Kocho, let me handle the interrogation."
"Natsuya? What are you—"
Natsuya walked straight to the bedside. His expression shifted from "AFK" to an official, impatient, "Hard-Boiled Cop" mask. He curled his lip and loomed over the patient, his shadow swallowing the man.
"Hey."
"Are you really trying to challenge the authority of the Tokyo Special Service Section 9?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it had a cold, clinical edge that made the air in the room feel heavy. The patient shivered and opened his eyes.
Natsuya used his foot to kick the coins Shinobu had placed aside, then grabbed the man by the collar. He used his knuckle to deliver a rhythmic thud-thud to the man's forehead.
"You recognize this?"
Natsuya reached into his belt and whipped out a piece of roughly carved wood, painted with a bit of silver lacquer to look like a "Special Service Badge." It featured some crookedly carved kanji: [TOKYO METROPOLITAN POLICE - SECTION 9].
He flashed it briefly in front of the man's face.
"I currently suspect you of harboring a dangerous supernatural entity and obstructing an active investigation," Natsuya said in a monotone, soul-crushing voice. He slammed the "badge" onto the wooden table with a loud BANG.
The man and his wife jumped.
"Nani? Not cooperating?"
Natsuya didn't wait for an answer. He raised his hand.
SLAP!
A crisp, ringing backhand connected with the man's face.
The force wasn't high enough to deal real damage, but Natsuya had used his [Fist Theory] skill to maximize the noise and the psychological shock.
The patient and his wife were stunned into silence. Shinobu's jaw dropped slightly.
Natsuya leaned in, his voice a low, threatening rumble.
"BAKA! You will start talking, or I'll drag you back to the Tokyo Dungeons in chains! SPILL IT!"
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