Tetsu no Sosuke gave Yushiro a puzzled glance, smiled faintly, and said nothing.
For some reason, Yushiro hated him even more.
Tetsu no Sosuke could tell that look was anything but friendly, though he had no idea why.
But sometimes that was just how it went. You had no idea when you had offended someone, or what you had done to offend them...
Then, out of nowhere, you suddenly had a whole crowd of... well, enemies.
Tetsu no Sosuke coughed. With nothing more to say, he took his leave.
Tamayo glanced at the time. "It's already so late. Lord Hammer Pillar, why not stay the night?"
It was a perfectly ordinary invitation. They were working together, and since he had come all this way at this hour, offering him a place to rest before leaving tomorrow was only proper hospitality.
If Tetsu no Sosuke had followed his own wishes, he would have accepted.
But after sensing Yushiro's decidedly unfriendly gaze, Tetsu no Sosuke immediately said he would leave now.
He was afraid that if he spent the night, Yushiro might eat him without so much as a bread roll.
And he meant literally eat him!
Since Tetsu no Sosuke was so determined, Tamayo had no reason to press him. After all, for all she knew, he might have something important to do.
It wouldn't be right to hold him up.
So she and Yushiro saw Tetsu no Sosuke out.
Only after he stepped through the front door did that feeling of being pierced by a sharp gaze finally fade.
Tetsu no Sosuke didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Why does that feel... so familiar?"
After leaving Yushiro and Tamayo's home—or should he call it their base?—Tetsu no Sosuke found himself on the street with no idea where to go.