What had happened to the Serpent Pillar was a terrifying warning. But if war truly came, it might not be entirely a bad thing.
Before that, though, certain matters needed to be taken care of.
Those who could fight would fight without restraint. Everyone else needed to be kept safe.
Either they would win in the end, and it would all be over.
Or... they would lose. At least then, a spark of hope would remain. They would not all become food without even a way to resist.
The letter, however, was not as long as one might have expected.
Tetsu no Sosuke finished it quickly and had a member of the Hidden deliver it to Ubuyashiki Kagaya. Then he returned to the house.
Inside lay stacks of blueprints and maps.
Tetsu no Sosuke drew lines, circled areas, and marked points. The work he had been studying all along mattered more to him than anything else.
Over the past few days, he had made up his mind. The news about the Serpent Pillar had caught him off guard, but... perhaps the time really had come.
He was afraid he no longer had time to find the legacies of all nine Heavenly Artisans.
Yet if he brought together what he had already found, he might still have a chance to fight and win.
He rubbed his hands, laid out a sheet of paper, and brought over a stack of blueprints. With both before him, he began another letter to Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
This one was long, because he needed so much.
Once he had finished, he had the Hidden deliver the letter to Ubuyashiki Kagaya along with the blueprints and maps.
At a time like this, Tetsu no Sosuke was not concerned about how many Hidden members it took, or whether the