Kondo Group, central courtyard.
Toshiro Hijikata and the others stood there, utterly bewildered in the wind. "..."
Why couldn't Katsura spare even a little of that moral conscience for Sogo? And that bastard had just said stories were stories and reality was reality, right? Ha, haha...
After saying all that, even Katsura should...
"Sogo!" Kotaro Katsura put on a serious face again. "Stories are stories, reality is reality. Don't confuse the two..."
Toshiro Hijikata and the others: "..."
Phew!
For some reason, they actually felt relieved. Had this guy Katsura finally understood? It seemed they didn't need to point it out anymore—no, rather, they wanted to point it out but couldn't bring themselves to.
"Old people have running water these days. Who still goes to the river to do laundry?" Kotaro Katsura maintained his serious expression.
Toshiro Hijikata and the others: "..."
Why was this guy's focus always so strange? Was the point whether there was running water in reality? The point was the story, the story!
"Isn't that why I told you to hire them?" As everyone once again became mental hecklers, Sogo Doma put on an expression of disappointment. "If old ladies still went to the river to do laundry these days, would I need to tell you to hire them?"
"Elderly people should be enjoying retirement. How could we hire them to do laundry!?" Kotaro Katsura declared righteously.
Toshiro Hijikata and the others: "..."
Where had this moral conscience even come from!?
"It's only sacrificing one or two old ladies..." Sogo Doma sounded even more righteous. "Compared to saving all humanity, sacrificing one or two old ladies is nothing!"
Toshiro Hijikata and the others: "..."
Hold it!
"Why would old ladies have to be sacrificed!?" Hijikata felt he truly couldn't hold this one in any longer. Wasn't