The narrator tells us that he's glad that the girl is alive, because she's so nice to him. He's also glad that she gave him so much money, because it's nice to have a little extra cash on hand. The narrator says that he loves old crones, but that he still has to keep following them around because he hasn't been able to figure out a way to get back to his master. He thinks that maybe the old crone is thinking about that, too. He points out that a shinki has a sword and a shield, so he can draw a line between him and the akashi , but he can't do anything with the money. He wonders if he should try dying for the sake of the money, but the narrator thinks that's silly, since he'll have to learn how to use the sword and shield to teach his master right from wrong. He also thinks that the shinki might be in town, so maybe he should go find him, too, since the narrator feels a pain in his neck that works with shinkis and swords. He decides to go find his master, who has just died, and he thinks that he has an idea what's been going on. He says that if he can figure out what the matter is, then he can go find the dead shinki and help him right away.