He rolled over and watched the two figures still fighting in the firelight, feeling rather pleased.
He did not actually want Yuichiro to become some formidable figure, nor did he intend to guide him down the path of a Swordsman.
As far as Swordsmen went... Muichiro was enough.
But as his apprentice, Yuichiro ought to have at least some ability to defend himself.
After all, if he kept forging better and better weapons, only to get eaten by a demon while out delivering a sword... that would be quite the joke.
Besides, Yuichiro already had a foundation.
He also had excellent natural gifts. Given that, all he needed was to improve his strength enough to avoid being eaten by demons.
If he ran into a powerful one, being able to escape would suffice.
Tetsu no Sosuke was not asking for much.
Then... he went to sleep.
He had not been joking when he told Yuichiro he was going to sleep. He really fell asleep.
He slept fairly well. When he opened his eyes the next morning, he saw Yuichiro sitting off to the side, panting heavily. Following his gaze, he saw that Yuichiro had strung last night's demon up in a tree.
All that billowing hair was gone... beneath the mottled marks was a rather sleazy-looking man's face.
Tetsu no Sosuke yawned. "This little thing's quite a sight."
"Teacher..." Yuichiro glanced at Tetsu no Sosuke. "You're finally awake."
He looked utterly aggrieved.
Heaven only knew what he had gone through last night.
It had definitely been a very difficult battle, at least for him.
Fortunately, as the battle progressed, he gradually got the hang of it. In the end, not only had he made a major breakthrough and stripped away all the demon's hair, he had even found time to