If they turned the clock back just a little and shifted their gaze to the Kondo Dojo, they would have seen this scene.
"Demon Hijikata, I promised Sogo I'd keep a close eye on you lot!"
"Katsura..." Isao Kondo's eye twitched. "You bastard, you actually fell for Sogo's nonsense?"
"Isn't the story of the Great Demon King and the hero a wonderful one?" Kotaro Katsura said with a smile. "Besides, I'm also curious, Kondo Gorilla~ who beat you into this state..."
"..." Toshiro Hijikata's eyelid twitched. He knew Sogo's method was unreliable. If it had only been that Katsura was exceptionally good at playing dumb—well, playing dumb itself wasn't the issue. The problem was that this bastard Katsura stopped pretending as soon as Sogo left. That was practically an admission that Kotaro Katsura had only played dumb for Sogo's sake!
Sogo Doma hadn't seen the scene at the time. Otherwise, he would definitely have told Hijikata, "Forget Katsura Kotaro—don't you often play dumb in front of me too, Mr. Hijikata?"
Who besides the gorilla didn't play dumb? Uh, the gorilla was genuinely dumb...
"I was the one who beat him up..." Just as countless profanities rose in Toshiro Hijikata's heart, Otae admitted it. "What? Are you planning to stand up for the gorilla, sir?"
"Hahahaha..." Kotaro Katsura burst into laughter at that. "No matter what, I am a specially appointed instructor of the Kondo Dojo..."
"So..." Otae's gaze turned cold. Their brief exchanges earlier had already made her realize that this man called Katsura—or perhaps Katsura Kotaro—was far from simple. At the very least, he was not as simple as he appeared. It would be more accurate to say that, apart from Toshiro Hijikata, he was the strongest person she had ever encountered!
As for Sogo? The same thing applied: