The two of them took out some rations and water. After eating a little, Tetsu no Sosuke divided the remaining food into two portions and handed one to Yuichiro. "You can't help me here. It's daytime, so the demons won't come out. Go to the nearest town and send a message with my Kasugai Crow. Ask for reinforcements. Explain the situation clearly and let Master decide whom to send. We don't need someone like me coming here just to stare at the place with no idea what to do."
Chapter 428: Poison
Yuichiro's mouth fell open as he listened to Tetsu no Sosuke.
"...Teacher, you want me to go alone?" Yuichiro glanced around. "I'm afraid I'll fall in somewhere... and never get out."
"Follow the route I took before. You'll be fine," Tetsu no Sosuke said. "Enough talk. Go, and don't come back afterward. If you die, I'll pretend you were never my disciple."
"...How heartless!"
Tears streamed down Yuichiro's face. At last, he said helplessly, "All right... Master, please be careful here on your own."
"Careful, my ass!"
Tetsu no Sosuke bristled. "If he dared come out, I'd have crushed him long ago!"
Yuichiro thought it over and realized his teacher was right. He really couldn't help here. His teacher needed reinforcements not because he couldn't beat the demon, but because he had no way to draw him out.
Yuichiro committed Tetsu no Sosuke's instructions to memory and hurried off.
He had been timid before setting out, but once he started moving, he acted with purpose.
Tetsu no Sosuke watched him dart away until he vanished, the corner of his mouth twitching. "He's clearly capable..."
Yuichiro's problem was different from Zenitsu Agatsuma's.
Yuichiro was timid, but it was mostly a lack of confidence.
Zenitsu Agatsuma, on the other hand,