"That's how it is. I'll send you over now," Uzui Tengen said.
"So I'm free to roam?" Byakuya asked.
Uzui Tengen nodded, then cautioned, "Remember, you're still young. You're not suited for debauchery. Just look around a bit."
Byakuya rolled his eyes. Did he really need reminding?
It was a good thing he didn't have to go undercover as a cross-dresser, though...
Was he a little disappointed?
Byakuya shivered and quickly went to wash off his makeup.
I'm not a pervert, not a pervert, not a pervert...
Important things must be said three times!
Meanwhile, Uzui Tengen, taking Tanjiro Kamado and the other two, set off to send them to the suspicious location.
After washing his face, Byakuya stood on the second floor, looking down.
While Byakuya didn't want to be a pervert, not being able to be a cross-dresser undercover presented a problem: how would he handle the hidden mission?
Based on his experiences from his previous life, if Byakuya guessed correctly, this mission was likely another series of hidden quests.
The first step was to find the demon, but the word "find" was key. Finding didn't necessarily mean fighting.
The second step should be rescuing people. Since Uzui Tengen specifically mentioned missing undercover agents, it was highly probable they would need to save them.
The third step would definitely be killing the demon.
So, how could he find the demon?
Undercover work as a cross-dresser would undoubtedly make it easier to find the demon, but now that Byakuya had lost his qualification for that role, he had to find another way.
The first method was to place his hope on Tanjiro and the other two. As soon as they discovered something, he could rush over immediately.
The second method was to pose as a guest. Since he couldn't enter in the capacity of an undercover agent, he would do so as a guest.
However, Byakuya took out his money pouch and poured it out, leaving only a few copper coins.
He had seen plenty of freeloaders, but was freeloading on services too much...
"Damn it!" Byakuya grinned. "This is too troublesome. Why not just burn the entire pleasure district down?"
Just then...
"Oiran on parade!"
A cry echoed from the street, followed by music.
A procession of gorgeously dressed servants, surrounding a woman, slowly passed through the street, accompanied by music.
As for the woman, she was beautiful, exceedingly beautiful.
She wore a magnificent dress made of brocade, a golden headdress adorned her hair, and she possessed an exceptionally proud figure and an incredibly beautiful face.
That face, it was enough to make any man who gazed upon it for more than a few moments become infatuated and lost in its allure.
"An Oiran?"
Byakuya glanced at her before turning his gaze away.
For now, Byakuya couldn't think of any way to find the demon, so he had to put it aside and wait for Tanjiro's undercover work to yield any useful information.
Soon, night deepened, and the bustling pleasure district became quiet.
Only a few people still wandered the streets.
Most people had retired indoors, officially beginning their romantic nightlife.
Byakuya checked the time and casually took out his gacha machine.
First pull, green.
Second pull, blue.
Byakuya sighed. Another ordinary day. However, for the last pull, Byakuya used a God Stone shard to specify a golden capsule, which brought him a small surprise.
Dragon Slaying Saber (Weapon) (Gold): Approximately four feet long, weighing over a hundred pounds, extremely sharp, indestructible. The saying goes: "The supreme ruler of the martial world, the treasure saber Dragon Slaying, commands the world, none dare disobey."
Effects...
A golden-quality peculiar saber. Regardless of its effects for now, it could be used to fill the Gate of Babylon. After the Steel Slime devoured it, it gained 52,000 growth points, only slightly less than the Xuanyuan Sword and the Southern Bright Fire Sword.
This was certainly good news. The Steel Slime was one step closer to red quality.
Then...
The Gate of Babylon was upgraded.
After engraving thirty weapons, the Gate of Babylon's quality upgraded from green to blue.
Simultaneously, the number of weapons engraved in the Gate of Babylon became 30/80.
Fifty more weapons needed to be engraved for the Gate of Babylon to reach black quality.
However, the Gate of Babylon was a massive undertaking.
Based on the current enhancement requirements, even reaching golden quality would likely require around three to four hundred weapons.
But the value of the Gate of Babylon lay in the "unlimited" engraving of weapons. Simply upgrading it to golden quality was not enough.
Byakuya's goal was to become like Gilgamesh, and observing Gilgamesh's use of the Gate of Babylon during combat...
The number of weapons in the Gate of Babylon exceeded two thousand!
Byakuya instantly felt the road ahead was long and arduous, with no end in sight...
Therefore, Byakuya casually closed the interface, not wanting to dwell on it.
Unlimited was a good thing, but also a bad thing.
Whether it was the Steel Slime or the Lightning-Lightning Fruit, there was always a tangible goal. But the Gate of Babylon offered no such clear target; one just had to stuff weapons into it endlessly.
Thinking this, Byakuya put away the gacha machine and, checking the time, leaped out the window.
After landing on the rooftop, Byakuya spread out his palm.
Zzzzt!
A spark of electricity appeared in his palm and quickly spread outwards in all directions. Countless currents flashed in the night, appearing exceptionally dazzling.
As the electrical field expanded, Byakuya's figure vanished without a trace, transforming into lightning and swiftly traversing the sky.
Soon, Byakuya shuttled across the rooftops, arriving on the roof of the Kyogoku House.
Tanjiro Kamado was already sitting on the rooftop. Upon seeing Byakuya appear, he raised his hand in greeting.
Byakuya landed on the rooftop and asked, "Any discoveries?"
Tanjiro Kamado said with a guilty look, "Because I was pretending to be a maid, I was busy helping to mop the floors and serve tea. By the time I came to my senses, they had already closed for the day."
At that moment, Zenitsu Agatsuma, looking tired and in pain, climbed onto the rooftop and collapsed there.
Zenitsu Agatsuma groaned, "I'm dead tired!"
Byakuya asked, "Were you also busy with chores, so you had no time to investigate the demon?"
Zenitsu Agatsuma replied, "I was forced to do chores, so I had no time to investigate the demon."
Good heavens!
Tanjiro Kamado said, "However, within the Kyogoku House, at least I didn't smell any demons."
Byakuya asked curiously, "Can you smell demons?"
Tanjiro Kamado scratched his head. "I think only I can? I'm quite familiar with the smell of demons."
Byakuya suddenly remembered, "Right, your sister is a demon."
Zenitsu Agatsuma immediately became excited. "Nezuko, ah, where is my Nezuko?"
Byakuya directly punched Zenitsu Agatsuma on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
Tanjiro Kamado's sister, Nezuko, had also turned into a demon, and Tanjiro Kamado had joined the Demon Slayer Corps precisely to find a way to turn his sister back into a human.
After knocking out the clueless Zenitsu Agatsuma, Byakuya asked, "Where's Inosuke?"
...