"Doesn't matter." Tetsu no Sosuke let out a long breath and gave Kashima Taro a searching look. "Stay here and rest for a few days."
"Huh? I can't!"
Kashima Taro smiled and declined Tetsu no Sosuke's offer. "I have another mission to carry out. Coming here was a detour I planned while I was on it. By the time I get back, this blade should be finished, right?"
He looked at the design drawings on the table, his eyes full of anticipation.
Tetsu no Sosuke froze. So he still had a mission...
By the time he came to his senses, Kashima Taro had already said goodbye.
With his Nichirin Blade on his back, Kashima Taro quietly walked out of the Hammer Hut.
Tetsu no Sosuke stood in the doorway, watching him leave in silence for a long time... Several times, he wanted to call out, Let me come with you.
But... even if he said it, Kashima Taro would refuse, wouldn't he?
And even if he didn't, how many times could Tetsu no Sosuke do that?
Kashima Taro's missions were different from his own. So were their lives.
No one could live another person's life for them, and no one could spend their whole life relying on someone else's help.
What belonged to Kashima Taro was his to face. No one else could do it for him.
So Tetsu no Sosuke watched in silence until Kashima Taro disappeared from view. Only then did he turn back inside.
He lit the furnace, and the Scarlet Sand Iron slowly melted. Firelight played across Tetsu no Sosuke's face. Then his hammer came down, sending sparks flying!
Of course, he couldn't finish a blade in a single day. After dinner, Tetsu no Sosuke managed to rescue his wife from his sister-in-law's clutches,