"Knowing her, it probably won't be long..." Tetsu no Sosuke said with a smile. "She'll miss you. I'm sure she'll drop by every few days."
Kanae found that somewhat comforting. She nodded gently. "That's good."
Tetsu no Sosuke's injuries still hadn't fully healed by New Year's.
It wasn't until half a month after New Year's that he had more or less recovered.
During that time, his main occupation was writing letters—pestering Ubuyashiki Kagaya and Kawahara Chintetsu by mail.
The constant exchange of letters left the Hidden thoroughly confused. What on earth were those three up to? There was a letter every two or three days on average...
Naturally, they discussed a great many things in those letters, including the Automaton Puppet. He and Kawahara Chintetsu couldn't decide that matter on their own; they needed Ubuyashiki Kagaya's approval.
Then there was the question they had raised earlier: using poison.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya ultimately agreed and immediately began making arrangements to capture demons.
That wasn't difficult!
Within days, several vicious demons had been delivered to the Butterfly Estate. Judging by Shinobu Kocho's letters, the young woman had been busy lately, putting those demons through one experiment after another.
So far, though, the results hadn't amounted to much.
The trouble was that these demons couldn't withstand much. She reckoned that if they could catch a stronger demon—perhaps even one of the Twelve Demon Moons—the results would be much better.
When Tetsu no Sosuke read that, he nearly blew his top. He wrote back at once to ask whether he should catch Kibutsuji Muzan for her to study.
The young woman didn't hesitate. Her reply contained just one word: "Yes!"
Tetsu no Sosuke nearly tore up the letter, much to Kanae's amusement.
The rest was a collection of odds and ends.
Whenever Tetsu