Kashima Taro broke into a huge grin, making the fierce scar on his face look even fiercer.
The scar was so striking that Tetsu no Sosuke had needed a moment to recognize him. He had hardly dared believe it was Taro.
Once he was sure, Sosuke brightened. "I never thought you'd be the first to ask me to forge a Nichirin Blade. You must have been pretty active lately. Come to think of it, when you, Kotani Tetsuya, Sato Ami, and I ran into that Lower Moon Demon, Ami and Tetsuya were both injured, but you came out unscathed. I haven't heard from those two in ages. How are they? Are you still in touch? Actually... none of you have written to me since I got married."
Taro watched the words pour out of Sosuke like a volley of shots. He seemed excited, too.
But when Sosuke mentioned Tetsuya and Ami, Taro's expression shifted. After a brief pause, he said softly, "Kotani... he died."
Sosuke froze. A wave of sorrow swept over him.
He still remembered that quiet young man. Tetsuya had been clever and levelheaded. Compared with Taro, he had seemed like the sort who would survive to the very end.
How could he be dead?
"We were assigned to the same mission once, so we went together. But the demon we encountered was stronger than we'd expected. Kotani sacrificed himself to give me a chance to kill it. In the end..."
Taro fell silent.
He reached up and touched the scar on his face. "I got this in that fight. It reminds me every moment that I'm alive because he gave his life for mine. He took death for himself and left me the chance to live. I won't waste the life I have left. I'll keep going