Chapter 450: Cave
Every person was an individual.
Their emotions, mood, and condition all affected how they behaved.
Dejection, grief, exhaustion... each showed itself in a different way.
But everyone Tetsu no Sosuke saw now was acting exactly the same.
It was midnight, too. Even if they had all slept during the day, they should still have been drowsy at night. Human sleep patterns made it impossible for people in these circumstances to be as energetic as they were in daylight.
Yet every one of them was exactly alike.
They were worked up, their vigilance at its peak.
It was strange!
If only one person had been like this, it might have been understandable. But now...
Tetsu no Sosuke had a vague feeling that it was connected to the villagers leaving their homes at midnight and gathering here.
They were not acting of their own free will. Something was controlling them.
He followed the winding mountain path, slipping past one line of villagers after another, until he reached the mouth of a cave.
Someone was guarding the entrance.
There was no way around. After a moment's thought, Tetsu no Sosuke picked up a stone and threw it against the rock wall beside the cave.
The stone struck with a click that carried far through the darkness.
The two villagers at the entrance went on alert at once, then rushed toward the sound at a speed beyond ordinary humans.
Villagers nearby even began searching in Tetsu no Sosuke's direction.
That surprised him.
Vigilance and mobility like that went beyond simple control.
If he stayed where he was, they would find him. The cave entrance was unguarded now, but he had no idea what lay inside. Charging in blindly might send him straight into another line of sentries.
But he had no