416 This is the curse of the breeder

Clack.

The silver lid of the Zippo lighter slid open, emitting a crisp sound.

Yuuki Masamune lit a specially made cigarette.

The hazy smoke was inhaled into his lungs and then exhaled. Amidst the white smoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly and observed the three exorcists who had just mentioned entering Ikusaka Inn very carefully.

He saw no problems.

There was no malicious aura lingering on any of the three.

"Did you have close contact with a tree that used to be a person?" asked Yuuki.

"Yes...we did."

"Understood."

Then, Yuuki Masamune turned his gaze back towards the street. The empty evening alleys were the same; he detected nothing strange.

However, in several other areas of Ikusaka Inn, he could faintly perceive a ghostly aura. To Yuuki, these sinister presences appeared as thin wisps of black smoke. There were roughly dozens of areas above the entire town where such smoke seemed to waft upwards.