Ignoring the stars flashing before his eyes and the weakness in his limbs, Tetsu no Sosuke scrambled to his feet and searched for Shinobu Kocho.
The space was small enough to take in at a glance, but she was nowhere to be seen.
After searching around, he finally noticed a new door in the wall.
He hurried through it and found a winding staircase leading down.
At the bottom was a room that looked like a sitting room.
There were doors on either side. Seeing light spill from one of them, Tetsu no Sosuke hurried over and found Shinobu Kocho seated in what looked like a study, absorbed in something she was reading.
Relieved to have found her, Tetsu no Sosuke let out a breath.
Then he began marveling at the place.
Who would have thought there was a hidden door in the wall? His earlier search clearly hadn't been thorough enough. How had Shinobu Kocho found it? Had she secretly studied Mechanism Arts?
That seemed unlikely...
Tetsu no Sosuke figured she had probably just gotten lucky.
Whatever Shinobu Kocho was reading had her so engrossed that she didn't notice him approach. He looked down at the book in her hands. It was an account of someone's life.
The two Heavenly Artisans had utterly different personalities.
The other one had set no mechanisms at all. Everything was laid out in plain sight, free for anyone capable enough to take.
This one had set mechanisms, though they carried a certain stubborn pride.
The other craftsman had carved his life story into the gate, its words heavy with things left unsaid. His life seemed to have been a difficult one. He had ambitions but few chances to fulfill them. Though he forged weapons for others in his later years and put his