He went inside, found one of the blades, packed it in the Sword Case, and headed straight out.
About an hour after he left, members of the Hidden arrived at the Hammer Hut.
The sight of the place stunned them. Then they hurried to the study. Tetsu no Sosuke had instructed them to deliver the letter there to Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
Some carried the letter, while others tidied the property. Until Ubuyashiki Kagaya sent further orders, none of that had anything to do with Tetsu no Sosuke.
In short, once Tetsu no Sosuke had made all the arrangements, he set out for Kyojuro Rengoku's residence.
As dusk approached, he passed through a village.
It was a small village with no inn. That happened often enough; usually, crouching beside a wall got him through the night.
Members of the Demon Slayer Corps avoided too much contact with ordinary people. For one thing, they did not want their own "bad luck" to rub off on anyone else. For another, it was inconvenient. They all carried Nichirin Blades, and too much contact with ordinary people could lead to awkward mishaps.
Tetsu no Sosuke was in no hurry to press on, so he planned to find a corner where he could doze for the night.
But just as he found a spot and sat down, the door of the house beside him opened.
Tetsu no Sosuke froze. The person who came out froze too.
They stared at each other for a moment before Tetsu no Sosuke hurriedly said, "Um, I was just... Sorry. I'll leave right away."
There was no explaining it. Sitting outside someone's door made him look like he was up to no good.
But once the homeowner recovered, he asked, "Are you passing through?"
Since the man had asked, Tetsu no Sosuke