When it came to soothing children, Musashi was indeed far better at it than Senji Muramasa.
"Alright, alright, O-Nui. Don't you want to chat over dinner with me, your big sister Fujimaru Ritsuka, Big Brother Kotarou, and Uncle Sakumura about what we encountered in lower Shimosa?"
Sakumura's eyelid twitched sharply.
"For example, um... what the princess's bedroom looked like—if O-Nui asks, I'll tell you all about it."
"Ah, I wanna hear, I wanna hear! Then O-Nui will go prepare dinner! Big Sister Musashi, you have to tell O-Nui all about it!"
Thanks to Musashi's efforts, the topic was finally successfully diverted elsewhere, allowing Senji Muramasa to breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'll go help O-Nui prepare things. Ritsuka, Danzō, do you two want to come along?"
As she spoke, Musashi stood and beckoned to the two women.
Though Danzō was actually a mechanical puppet—but she was still a puppet made in the form of a woman, wasn't she?
Senji Muramasa sighed and shot Fujimaru Ritsuka an apologetic glance.
"Sorry. It's just that this is really not something I want children hearing."
"For now, let's eat first. After dinner, this old man will take you to the forge and explain."
After filling their stomachs and restoring their strength, having gone through so much both beneath and within the castle, the group finally enjoyed what could be called a "meal of peace" in the old man's thatched hut.
Before this, they had generally sustained themselves on supplies Sakumura had acquired, and when necessary, they had even eaten Fuuma Kotarou's specially made ration pills.
Those things really were awful. Even if Kotarou claimed that his ration pills were the tastiest among those used by the various schools, they were still awful.
That had dealt Kotarou a certain degree of emotional damage at the