Here it is, the penultimate page! It’s a dense one. Stop by tomorrow for the conclusion of this volume.
There’s some violence implied, but not shown. Full page below:
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Forward to Page 85 (forthcoming)
Image description:
An eight-panel, black-and-white comic page. Snow fills the air throughout.
Panel 1: Tomoya bows (politely, but not deeply). One hand grips the staff, and the lantern hanging from it casts a bright halo on his face and the swirling snow.
Tomoya: I commend you for your actions here.
Panel 2: A more distant shot, showing that Tomoya stands facing the other four from a few yards away. We see the back of the teahouse, with its closed door outlined in light. More snow has fallen, obscuring the footprints that were on the ground before. The lantern is unusually bright, making the snow bright white and casting a bright round shape on the wall that is interrupted by Tanki’s shadow.
Tomoya: The patrons of this establishment live when they might have died.
Panel 3: A close-up of Kazu, bowing with his hands in his sleeves. He puts on a serene smile, the mask of a humble monk.
Kazu: You honor us, my lord.
Panel 4: The party again, mostly seen from the shoulders up. Ichiro and Resunotek look to Kazu for cues. Tanki bows, his hands pressed together, looking up with a bewildered expression. Kazu smiles.
Kazu: How can I–can we–be of service?
Panel 5: Tomoya, framed from the shoulders up. The lantern is off-panel, but its light can still be seen.
Tomoya: I have a proposition for the four of you.
I want you to work for me.
Panel 6: Ichiro and Resunotek, standing in the group. Resunotek covers the cricket cage with her hands. Ichiro scowls, still expecting a fight.
Resunotek: I have to go to the southern moth temple.
Ichiro: I go where she goes.
Panel 7: Tomoya puts his hand under the lantern, having just extinguished it. The faint light from the teahouse door illuminates his eyes. He smiles slightly, because he knows the answer to his implied question.
Tomoya: We can discuss the details.
Panel 8: The front doors of the teahouse. One shoji panel is still spattered with blood. Within, the silhouettes of two men in armor (helmets and large, flat shoulders) can be seen. One holds out a sword, giving orders, while the other grabs the elbow of an unarmored man (one of the Takazaki or Atagi samurai).
Tomoya (off-panel): You could, of course, stay here and wait for the daimyō’s men.
I’m sure they’d be quite interested in your account of how his decrees were enforced here tonight.
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