"We can't improve our craft by shutting ourselves away. What I'm going to do this time has to do with our skills. Coming with me might even do you some good," Tetsu no Sosuke said.
Yuichiro was beside himself with excitement. "Will I get to see Muichiro?"
Tetsu no Sosuke shook his head. Muichiro was still under Ubuyashiki Kagaya's care, though a few scraps of news had made their way back. He was doing remarkably well, and the brothers would probably be able to meet before long.
A certain scene came to mind, and Tetsu no Sosuke couldn't help smiling. He patted Yuichiro on the shoulder. "You'd better work hard!"
"Huh?"
Yuichiro was baffled.
And so, master and apprentice set off on their journey, leaving Kanae and Kiyo Terauchi at the entrance to the Hammer Hut.
The two women turned back. Kanae said quietly, "My husband has gone to the battlefield again. I can't let myself fall too far behind."
This time, Tetsu no Sosuke wasn't setting out specifically to encounter Demons, so he made no effort to travel only at night. They traveled by day and rested after dark. But between their unfamiliarity with the roads and the difference in their stamina, they still ended up camping in the open.
A few days later, a roaring campfire burned in the forest beneath the night sky.
Two rabbits hung over it, fat dripping from their bodies.
Yuichiro watched the rabbits intently, then asked Tetsu no Sosuke, "Teacher, we brought plenty of dried rations. Why did we have to catch rabbits?"
"The rations are too hard." Tetsu no Sosuke leaned against a tree trunk, looking thoroughly relaxed. "Now that we're out here, we might as well have something tasty. Your teacher's wife has been eating light lately, and all