The Tokito brothers lived deep in the mountains, with only a narrow path leading to their home, so the group had to get out at the foot of the mountain and walk up.
After walking for a while, they happened to see two very similar-looking brothers emerge from the other side of the mountain with baskets on their backs. Both sides froze briefly when they met.
Both boys had black hair that fell past their shoulders, with mint-green tips and eyes. They wore somewhat faded shirts, and one carried firewood in his basket while the other carried things like wild vegetables or medicinal herbs.
Yet despite looking almost identical, the two reacted completely differently at the sight of Kanzaki Kumo's group.
The one carrying firewood instinctively stepped half a pace forward to shield the other, his eyes filled with unmistakable wariness and distrust. He raised the woodcutting axe in his right hand slightly while discreetly stopping the boy behind him from greeting them.
His eyes grew even warier when he saw Kanzaki Kumo, who was considerably taller than them, and the bulging sack dangling from his hand, large enough to hold both of them together.
Here in the remote mountains, several people whose clothes clearly marked them as rich or important had suddenly appeared, carrying something so suspicious. No matter how he looked at it, something was wrong.
Just then, the demon in the sack woke from its stupor and instinctively began struggling, making muffled noises.
Although Kanzaki Kumo silenced it with a practiced knock of his hand, the two brothers opposite them had already quietly taken a step back. Their eyes remained fixed on Kanzaki Kumo while they searched for an escape route out of the corners of their eyes.
There was even a hint of resolve in the