Miyauchi Hikage proactively revealed to the people around him that he had heard about Shinomiya Kaguya from Shiina Mashiro.
And when Shinomiya Kaguya chatted with him alone, she also proactively revealed the news that she knew Shiina Mashiro.
Two smart people playing mind games, sometimes talking in circles, letting the other party understand the hidden meaning in their words, and sometimes being quite direct.
Miyauchi Hikage didn't want or need to play games with Shinomiya Kaguya, while Shinomiya Kaguya felt that with someone like Miyauchi Hikage, it was better to be direct if she wanted to gain his trust.
So after mentioning Shiina Mashiro's name, the relationship between the two seemed to have really gotten much closer.
"I've heard that Mashiro met a lot of people online and talked about you guys, but I really didn't expect that the young lady of the Shinomiya family would also become friends with others online."
Miyauchi Hikage said this, and Shinomiya Kaguya covered her mouth lightly. "The girls I met online are not completely ordinary girls either."
Shinomiya Kaguya slightly used the power of Hamon breathing. Although she couldn't compare to Shiina Mashiro, it did seem that she was much more talented than Honma Meiko.
After sensing it for a while, Miyauchi Hikage frowned slightly and asked Shinomiya Kaguya, "So the breathing method Mashiro practices was spread by you, Miss Shinomiya?"
"Not at all. I also received this power thanks to someone else's grace. To be precise, the reason Mashiro and I met online was also because we both mastered this wonderful breathing method. We gathered together just to figure out who gave us this breathing method."
"With your eyesight, you can also see that although the progress of Hamon in me, Mashiro, and Menma is not consistent, we basically started practicing at the same time, right?" Shinomiya Kaguya mentioned Menma's name again, indicating that Honma Meiko was also someone she knew.
"Menma... so she also knows you guys?"
"Speaking of which, I've known her longer than I've known Mashiro. But you should know about her physical problems best. And Menma herself doesn't like to talk in our group, so she might not have mentioned these things to you yet," Shinomiya Kaguya observed the diary's reaction.
Very safe.
Not a single danger warning.
It was easy to communicate with such tight-lipped and grateful people. Just like Fujiwara Chika, as long as she could gain the other's trust, she didn't have to worry about the other doing anything detrimental to her.
After obtaining the diary, she had tested many people with this method. Her brothers, her father, including Hayasaka Ai who grew up with her, and even other girls holding diaries, would trigger danger warnings when she mentioned some sensitive matters. It was just that Hayasaka Ai triggered the least, and those were warnings that would appear regarding the mysterious person and the diary's punishment. There were hardly any warnings regarding things related to herself.
Apart from Miyauchi Hikage whom she met today, perhaps only Fujiwara Chika, her childhood friend, had never triggered a danger warning.
"Actually, I came here because I couldn't contact Menma due to the earthquake in Chichibu last night. After learning from my sources that she went missing with you for two hours last night, I came to you to meet you, wanting to figure out what happened to Menma and her current physical condition."
Shinomiya Kaguya acted very well, seeming completely unaware of Honma Meiko's current situation, and a trace of worry could even be heard in her tone.
This acting skill was almost catching up to his.
Miyauchi Hikage sized up Shinomiya Kaguya for a while, and then nodded. "Since you know Menma, and the Hamon in your body does seem like it would take about a year of practice to reach this level, I'll believe what you say for now. I'll confirm it with Menma later."
Then, Miyauchi Hikage briefly explained Honma Meiko's physical problems and the situation at the shrine.
Naturally, he still omitted the matter of the other world, and even left out Honma Meiko's connection with the ley line, only saying that Honma Meiko was found to have very good talent and was now favored by the special-grade miko of Chichibu Shrine, who wanted to take her as a disciple and solve her physical problems at Chichibu Shrine first.
Shinomiya Kaguya was not surprised by Miyauchi Hikage's omission and concealment.
Meiko had explained the potential consequences of revealing the truth. Miyauchi Hikage wouldn't leak such a thing just because of her, someone he had just met.
She just carefully observed Miyauchi Hikage, wanting to judge if he would show any habitual micro-movements when lying.
"So Menma had such a fortuitous encounter... No wonder I couldn't find out the truth no matter how I used the channels of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu. So it's related to a special-grade supernatural being."
Two people who knew the truth were acting against each other here, but in the end, Shinomiya Kaguya was still more immature.
Facing Miyauchi Hikage, who knew the whole truth and also knew how much truth she knew, Shinomiya Kaguya, looking at the subtle flaws Miyauchi Hikage deliberately revealed, also memorized those flaws bit by bit in her heart as Miyauchi Hikage expected, preparing to test them repeatedly in the future.
Anyway, after confirming Honma Meiko's current safety, the topic naturally circled back to the breathing method by Shinomiya Kaguya, who seemed to have taken the initiative.
"Originally, I didn't know about those things from a hundred years ago either. It wasn't until Mashiro sent me the picture you sent her that I learned about the existence of the Demon Slayer Corps, and through some documents from back then, I found the descendants of the Demon Slayer Corps." Shinomiya Kaguya said, and then took out the records of the Demon Slayer Corps she had prepared and organized from her side and handed them to Miyauchi Hikage.
Miyauchi Hikage took these documents with a solemn face and began to examine them.
He flipped through these materials very quickly, and Shinomiya Kaguya waited patiently by the side.
"That's right. A hundred years ago, an elder of the Miyauchi family was saved by a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Originally, the Miyauchi family wanted to repay this kindness later, but since then, that elder never heard anything about the Demon Slayer Corps again."
"So, shortly after that, did the Demon Slayer Corps completely disband?" Miyauchi Hikage sighed with emotion. "When I saw Mashiro using the breathing method, I thought I could finally find the swordsman who saved the Miyauchi family and the entire Asahigaoka through her. Now that the Demon Slayer Corps has disbanded, I don't know if there's still a chance."
Hearing the regret in Miyauchi Hikage's tone, Shinomiya Kaguya raised an eyebrow, feeling that her chance had come.
So she said softly to Miyauchi Hikage, "Although after killing the 'Demon King Muzan' and all the evil demons born from him died, the Demon Slayer Corps disbanded, and the breathing styles gradually disappeared into history with the decline of the supernatural. Perhaps only a few families still pass down the breathing styles within their families. But if you want to know, I can help you find the identity of the swordsman who came to Asahigaoka back then through my channels. Maybe some of these mission records can still be found."
Hearing this, Miyauchi Hikage also showed a trace of surprise at the right time, and then expressed his gratitude to Shinomiya Kaguya for the first time.
"No need to thank me. I also want to borrow your ability to help me investigate the mysterious person who is secretly spreading the breathing method."
When mentioning the mysterious person, although she used Japanese instead of the English "you know who," Shinomiya Kaguya's tone still became slightly heavier.
She looked at Miyauchi Hikage. "You have already contacted people from the inner world, so you should know about the spiritual resurgence."
Miyauchi Hikage nodded.
"I think it might be because of the spiritual resurgence that the mysterious person discovered something, which is why he secretly spread these breathing methods again," Shinomiya Kaguya found an explanation for the origin of the breathing methods.
"No matter what that person's purpose is, I am very grateful for his gift. It was he who let me enter this world and see the full picture of this world. So, I also want to find him and express my gratitude to him." While Shinomiya Kaguya was saying this, her eyes were always on Miyauchi Hikage.
Her last purpose for coming here was to personally confirm whether Miyauchi Hikage could be that "mysterious person."
Shiina Mashiro could prove, Kasumigaoka Utaha could prove, and even Honma Meiko last night could prove that there was no connection between Miyauchi Hikage and the mysterious person.
But Miyauchi Hikage indeed still had suspicions.
In the background investigation, there was also the fact that he was proficient in five languages, among which Japanese, English, and Chinese had reached the level of a native speaker. At the same time, he had a fairly deep understanding of the Middle Kingdom next door, and his usual dining preferences were half-Chinese and half-Japanese.
These were actually fine and couldn't be used as evidence that he was the mysterious person.
After all, the mysterious person had never mentioned which country he was from before transmigrating in the diary. Even judging from the present situation, since he had watched so many anime and Japanese film and television works before transmigrating, the possibility of him being Japanese was even greater. There might even be a suspicion that the mysterious person was deliberately pretending to be a foreigner.
What really made people care was that Miyauchi Hikage was too outstanding, and his achievements were too conspicuous.
Before the age of 13, he was also a well-known little genius in Asahigaoka. If he hadn't been unwilling to leave the Asahigaoka Branch School himself, with his grades, he could have easily gone to those more excellent middle schools.
At the age of 13, he caught the wind of the times and started filming online videos, and then went on a rampage all the way up.
He even managed to buy a high-class Western-style house worth billions in the center of Tokyo at the age of 16 through various stock fund operations.
Under his leadership, the small village of Asahigaoka also completed a brand-new transformation in just a few years.
Even Shinomiya Kaguya had to admit that even she, who had received elite education since childhood, seemed to find it difficult to accomplish Miyauchi Hikage's current achievements.
According to the mysterious person, this was his "character setting," a super genius who had never shown his face in the manga, but whose imagination and creativity were no worse than anyone else's.
But thinking of the brother in Umaru's family, who was also set as a supporting character and a genius, the gap between the two seemed quite large.
Not to mention that after Miyauchi Hikage went to school in Tokyo, relying on his sister, he quite wonderfully established connections with the female protagonists of several works.
Then, after obtaining the breathing method from Shiina Mashiro, he awakened his supernatural ability in such a short time, and now he and Honma Meiko saved a dragon from another world.
Although it hadn't been confirmed yet, Shinomiya Kaguya felt that maybe this dragon was the female protagonist of another other-world work?
In any case, such a setting was a bit too outrageous. Even a protagonist couldn't do so many things in such a short time, right?
Even though several girls who had been in contact with Miyauchi Hikage had already proven in various ways that Miyauchi Hikage was indeed an "innocent person" and had nothing to do with the mysterious person, even if there was less than a 5% possibility, Shinomiya Kaguya would not dispel the suspicion in her heart before confirming it personally.
Her personal visit this time was not only to become friends with Miyauchi Hikage, but also to see for herself.
After revealing a trace of news about the mysterious person and her attitude towards him, she carefully watched every change in Miyauchi Hikage's expression.
But if she could see any problems, Yellow Temperance wouldn't be considered the Stand best at disguise.
The flawless Miyauchi Hikage showed a contemplative look.
"Could it be that a new Demon King has appeared in the world, or has the spiritual resurgence brought some other crisis, necessitating the redistribution of the breathing styles?" Miyauchi Hikage analyzed.
"Who knows? So I chose to enter the inner world and use the power of the Shinomiya family to gain a foothold there, find out all the truth, and see if I can find out more news about that person in the inner world," Shinomiya Kaguya's gaze never left Miyauchi Hikage, and a look of envy appeared in her eyes.
"It's just that I didn't expect that you, who learned the breathing method from Mashiro, would successfully awaken to the supernatural and enter that world in such a short time."
"My current teacher is Gojo Satoru, a special-grade jujutsu sorcerer at Tokyo Jujutsu High. You should have met a few days ago, right? I also heard about you from him."
Miyauchi Hikage nodded in agreement.
"A few days ago, when I was filming a video of the past, I was attacked by a vengeful spirit. Although I had the help of the miko Hiiragi Inori from Shinto, it almost caused heavy losses. In the end, it was Gojo Satoru-san who rushed to the scene in time and saved everyone."
"And I also completed my supernatural awakening that night."