"Mm, I don't concern myself with that much."
Everyone had been resting when a familiar voice suddenly piped up.
The one who had suddenly appeared was "Little Tama," whose identity as Tamamo-no-Mae remained uncertain.
"Ah, Miss Little Tama."
Little Tama pushed open the door, a hint of helplessness in her expression.
"Listen, you lot. I did say you could come by anytime, but I didn't think you'd actually barge into my room so readily."
The inn Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others had "opened" was Little Tama's longtime "hiding place."
Since they had been somewhat panicked, they had carried Fuuma Kotarou straight to Little Tama's place and borrowed some bedding to settle him down for the time being.
Faced with Little Tama's innocent yet faintly aggrieved gaze, Sakumura chose to—
Sakumura closed his eyes.
Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her head awkwardly.
"You didn't kidnap this child, did you?"
Little Tama's suspicious gaze swept back and forth across the group.
Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand froze mid-scratch.
Thinking about it carefully, what they had just done really did seem a little suspicious.
And Mr. Fuuma Kotarou did indeed look far too young.
"No, no, not at all. We've known each other for a long time. More specifically, we're..."
For a moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka could not find a word suitable for the era that could describe her relationship with Fuuma Kotarou.
"He's a retainer, a retainer. Not just the boy lying on the floor—I'm one too, along with that person over there."
Miyamoto Musashi chuckled and pointed at Sakumura, who sat nearby with his eyes closed in quiet rest.
Sakumura had no objections.
"Hmm? Could you really be important people?"
Little Tama's eyes lit up again.
"But you really helped us out. Aside from that strange foreigner, the only people we know by name and are