"Excuse me, could you help me?" A young Fellblood woman with lilac skin and purple eyes asked the nearest passerby, but, for what felt like the hundredth time today, they ignored her. The next person she finally could grab the attention of stopped and spoke to her, but she couldn't understand a word of what he said.

"Ah, coming here without learning any of the language might have been a mistake." She sighed in resignation. Ever since she'd arrived, it had been a struggle. She couldn't find her way around the city without being able to read the signs and she couldn't ask for directions because she couldn't understand what anyone said to her.

She probably should have hired that guide, but now it was too late for that. She had tried to just find her own way, thinking everything would be fine, and now she was way too lost to find her way back to where the guide had been. Even if she could, who knew if they'd even still be there? The boat she'd gotten off of definitely departed by now and someone else probably took him up on his offer.

She thought she might just have to give up when a large shadow suddenly loomed over her. She turned around to see a huge guy looking down at her with a smile.

"Oy, Ojo-chan, you lost?" Yasei asked friendlily, speaking in slightly stilted Common language with a bit of an accent.

Her face immediately brightened as someone finally spoke some words she could understand. Well, two words she understood. She didn't know what "ojochon" meant, but that was fine. Someone here spoke at least some Common! She didn't even care that the one speaking was some scary, giant lion man or something!

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Gift of Gab
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 4 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: Most people in Charon can understand or speak even a minor amount of common, however there are random instances that pop up where a translator or interpreter is needed. You find yourself in a position where you need to help a group or set of individuals communicate with each other, as one side is unable to understand the other. This can be a business conversation, a simple ask for directions or something much more complicated. You don't even need to fully understand them yourself, just do your best!

Though Kou Miyami had come to adore travel over the last few months, there was always something special about a homecoming. Your roots were in your blood, and without those roots the tree couldn’t grow and sprout to new heights. And she did so cherish this home and all that came with it. Starlight City had changed much since her youth, but there was still a familiarity to it. Passerby nodded respectfully at the stooped fellblood woman - unbeknownst to her, only partly due to respect for elders and largely due to the reputation of her gangster of a grandson - and giving her a wide berth, making way for her clicking cane, and her slow, deliberate movements. Her knees weren’t what they used to be!

She was just returning home from paying respects to her son’s grave, a pilgrimage she’d made as often as she could since his passing two years ago. It was a trip often accompanied with heavy feelings and a long talk at his altar, one that left her feeling quite melancholic. Today, she’d come with stories of the great, outside world she’d gotten to see, and all the exciting people she’d met. Not a second went by that she didn’t wish she could hear his stories of adventure, too.

But, such was life. Kou Miyami had buried parents and a children alike, and all had left her until only she remained, standing still to watch those that remained fly ahead. Her own feet were far too slow to carry her much further. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t collect her own life experiences, and joyfully await the day she could meet her loved ones in the twilight of the astral realm with her own happiness to share. Besides, she was an adventurer now! In the absence of a restaurant to take care of, Kou had a new purpose in life (much to the chagrin of her dearest grandson) - helping those in need.

Perhaps as she made her way home, she’d find someone else in need of some heroics?

But there weren’t many people that needed the help of an aged, demonic looking woman. She helped a young man across the street past speeding rickshaws and wagons carrying goods, who vehemently insisted he was the one helping her. She fed a stray cat some seaweed from the pocket of her robe. But other than that… not much.

At least, not until she spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

How could she possibly miss Master Yasei? The big komainu was as big and fluffy and cotton candy-like as she remembered, wearing a broad smile on his face. Oh, he was talking to someone! Perhaps a friend of his? A young fellblood lady, wearing foreigner’s clothes and looking a bit put out. Kou was going to leave him well enough alone, but the poor lady looked so upset, and far be it from her to ignore someone in need!

Her energy renewed, Kou hobbled down the sidewalk until she got close enough to tap Master Yasei with her cane. He was in the middle of speaking to the young lady in common, though she hoped he wouldn’t mind her rudeness by intruding. “Master Yasei, it’s been some time!” She beamed, patting him about as high as she could reach - given his height and her lack of it, that wasn’t very high at all. “How have you been, dear? Eating healthy? Staying away from giant, vicious crabs? And who’s this young pearl, a friend of yours?”

She turned to the young lady, clearing her throat and readjusting her spectacles so she could get a better look. Her grip on common was worse than Yasei, but had been improving by leaps and bounds since she had started traveling. In a fragmented accent, she spoke with a bow. “My name is Kou Miyami, novice adventurer, but you can call me Mama Kou. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Yasei looked down at the source of the tapping on his leg and smiled wider. He was happy to see the tiny grandma again. He turned to face her and switched back to speaking in Crescent Islander for their conversation.

"Obaachan! Nice to see you again! I'm eating plenty healthy!" He laughed, as loud and boisterous as ever, finishing with a pat on his ample belly to show just how healthy he's been eating. "I wish there was another crab around here! We could make another hotpot. That last one was delicious. I'd love another one!"

Meanwhile, the young Fellblood girls stood there not understanding a word of their conversation. She was glad when Kou started speaking to her in her albeit stilted and slightly broken Common. She had someone to talk to other than the wild looking man! Another Fellblood, too. She spoke a bit of common, but maybe they could communicate better in Infernal?

"A pleasure to meet you, Mama Kou. My name is Aleaphe. I'm a bit lost. Would you help me find an inn around here?" She spoke very politely in Infernal, stooping over a bit to bring her face more level with the tiny older woman's.

Yasei tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow as now he was the one that didn't understand a word of the conversation in front of him.

Kou was more than happy to see a familiar face on an afternoon that would have otherwise been filled with loneliness and an evening in the kitchen of a silent house. Oh, but how she’d enjoyed that afternoon on the beach together with Master Yasei and the others! They’d had much fun cooking up the crab that they’d slain. After their beachside celebration, Kou had been full for what felt like weeks, and her heart had been light while she left the Crescent Isles to travel the world. Yes, an event that would live fondly in her memory. And not just her memory, now that she’d run into the fellow completely by chance! The young man’s smile and laughter was infectious, and soon, Kou found herself laughing, too.

“Why, that last crab was so big, I dare say I’m still savoring some of the leftovers at home!” She replied. “But don’t you worry. If you’re ever in the mood for another hotpot you’re more than welcome to visit me. I’ll make you something special.”

As she introduced herself to the poor distraught young lady, the woman seemed to relax before switching to a tongue that was more familiar to Kou than common. Not as the result of any training, mind you! Back in Kou’s day, those with fellblood ancestry weren’t so common around here. They were believed to be cursed, as if they’d done something wrong to anger the malicious yokai that resided in the bamboo forest. Their features grew more demonic with age, and they were as fluent in the demon’s tongue as their own mother tongue. Kou had never been ashamed of her heritage, though she’d never spoken with it so brazenly to others. It did make her happy to see how far the world had come. To see the youth embracing what had been shunned in her day.

She readjusted her grip on the Sakura-wood cane, beaming now that they could understand one another better than if she’d been communicating in fragmented common.

“Aleaphe?” She repeated. “What a lovely name!”

Oh, silly her! How could she forget that Master Yasei was here, completely clueless as to what was going on? Kou cleared her throat, and in her native language, conveyed to him, “She says that her name is Aleaphe, and she’s looking for an inn. Do you know of any in the area? Admittedly, I live a little bit out of the city, so I’m not as familiar with the downtown area.”

Oh! But she couldn’t leave the little missus out of the loop! She turned back to the young fellblood, switching back to infernal. “I’m more than happy to help you find your destination, dear, and I’m sure my friend here is too. I wouldn’t be an adventurer if I wasn’t here to help people in need!” And my, this was a serious case indeed! Though she had a feeling this interpreter business would be a bit dizzying, what with all the switching back and forth between languages…

Yasei stood and listened to the conversation, but couldn't make out a single word either one of them was saying until Kou looked to him and summarized it for him in Crescent Islander, introducing the girl as Aleaphe. That reminded him-

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to her!" Yasei gasped and looked to Aleaphe. "My name is Yasei, nice to meet you!"

He gave Aleaphe a friendly clap on the back in greeting and then turned back to Kou.

"Don't worry, Obaachan. I know a great inn near here with a great bar! Their sake is the best and their food is pretty good too. Just follow me!"

With that, he looked to Aleaphe again as he waited for Kou to translate for him, but was surprised to see that the Fellblood girl was lying facedown on the ground, unconscious.

"Oy, what happened to her?" He asked Kou, concerned. He knelt down and shook her by the shoulder, trying to wake her up to no avail. She was suddenly out cold for some reason! Well, it wouldn't be good to leave her lying in the road. Yasei clicked his tongue and shook his head. "She's out cold. I'll just have to carry her there then." "He said as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"You want a ride too, Obaachan? I got another shoulder?" He asked with a chuckle, half joking. The tiny grandma really wouldn't be hard to carry at all, but he wasn't going to carry her if she didn't want him to. He had a bit of respect for his elders, even if he was technically the eldest person here if you counted all the time he'd spent as a stone statue.

He didn't even realize at all that the thing that had happened to her was his friendly clap on the back that had knocked her flat.

Oh, how could she forget? How silly of her that she’d forgotten to give Aleaphe the name of her companion as well. Switching back to infernal, Mama Kou turned her attention back to the young lady, a smile on her face. “My friend here introduces himself to you, he says his name is Yasei and it’s nice to meet yo- oh, oh my goodness!” Did Yasei just knock that poor lady to the ground? Kou’s eyes were blown wide behind round-rimmed spectacles while Yasei turned back to her, talking about an inn and whatnot.

“Yes, yes, that’s simply wonderful, but what about the young lady…?”

Yasei whirled around, finally noticing the results of his Herculean strength, though he still didn’t seem to notice that it was his own fault. Oh, well. Kou had some dumplings in her bag that would wake the young woman up and make everything right as rain. She smiled as Yasei picked her up like she weighed nothing… that certainly was a premium taxi service!

She shook her head, though flattered by his offered to help her, though she was quite the independent woman! “I appreciate the offer, young man.” It seemed she still hadn’t quite picked up on the fact that Yasei was technically thousands of years her elder. He certainly looked younger than her! She patted her legs with one hand, waving her cane with the other. “I quite prefer to walk on my own two feet, if you don’t mind the slower pace. Keeps me limber!”

They probably made quite the sight as they made their way down the street - a large, brightly-colored lion dog and an almost comically tiny fellblood whose limbs were so stooped with age, overwork, and neglect that she practically had to sprint to keep up with her friend! Not to mention the fact that they were carrying around a body so brazenly! “Why, I hope no one thinks we’re criminals, spiriting away the poor lost lady who needed help!” Kou observed, only sounding a little bit winded. She was hanging in there! “Though I wonder what could have brought her to a country where she knows nothing of the language… how daring!” She’d practically done the same herself, traveling to the mainland with hardly any understanding of common!

As they made their way to this inn that Yasei had spoken of so highly, Kou figured they had a moment to make small talk. “And speaking of travel, what brings you into the city today, friend?”

Yasei chuckled and smiled down at Kou. "I don't mind. It shouldn't be too far a walk anyways. Just let me know if you change your mind."

Yasei tried to keep a slower pace than usual to let the elderly woman keep up with him, but like his strength, he found it difficult to hold back sometimes. As they walked toward the inn, he often looked back to see that she was struggling to keep up. He stopped to let her catch up to him before continuing and trying to walk a bit slower. He also didn't realize that not a far walk for him might have been more of a walk for her than he thought.

He was pretty used to getting some glances as he walked down crowded streets. Koma-Inu weren't a common sight, even in the Crescent Isles, and especially not Koma-Inu as colorful as he was. But the looks he was getting now seemed a bit different than usual. They looked a bit... concerned? Weird. Why would they be concerned about him? He was doing just fine, it was Aleaphe or Kou that they should be concerned about.

"Eh? You think they'll think that!?" Yasei asked. Maybe he should be concerned for himself! He didn't need guards to come harass him again. He'd had enough of that after beating up a few scammers on the beach who deserved it. He looked around at the crowd. Maybe it'd be a good idea to sit down and just wait for her to come to. It would also give Kou a chance to catch her breath after practically having to chase after Yasei.

"Why don't we just relax here until she wakes up? This is a nice spot." He said as he brought Aleaphe to a nearby tree and laid her down in the grass underneath the shade of the branches and sat down next to her with a sigh. He really liked relaxing under the shade of a tree. This would make a great spot to have some lunch or take a nap. At least one of them was already taking a nap here.

"I'm just taking in the sights and looking for a little work. Guarding wagons is good money and there's plenty of them going in and out of the city."

He pulled out his gourd of sake and took a swig before offering it to Kou.

"Want some? It's a bit strong."

“I don’t think you need to be concerned about what other people think, dearie.” Kou assured him, surprised so see such a big fellow worried about his own image. Though they were garnering looks of concern, most locals gave them a wide berth, not wanting to get involved with the colorful Komainu and his companions. “The people here are generally quite polite and friendly!”

Of course, she had no idea that most of the reverence and manners she received were due to the fact that her grandson had quite the fearsome reputation around these parts, enough so that most citizens kept in line to avoid ever upsetting Taro Miyami’s family. In her experience, the people around here were just that accommodating and friendly!

Eventually, Yasei slowed to a stop, searching for a place to catch his breath. He must have been so tired after carrying that poor lady for so long! Kou could probably keep going a little bit longer… but she supposed that if Yasei was stopped she could take the opportunity to catch a breather. she hobbled up to the tree and perched next to the other two, reaching into her bag.

“Yes, this will do quite nice, indeed!” She readjusted the brim of her sunhat with one hand, setting her cane across her lap. “Here, I might have just the thing to help her. I always find that a little bit of food and love heals all injuries. You enjoy yourself too, okay Yasei?” She pulled out a dumpling, staring at the unconscious woman. Well, she didn’t want to force feed anyone, but at the very least she could set it out for a little snack when the young lady came to! Once that was settled, she turned back to the komainu, nodding along while he detailed his own adventures!

“Guarding wagons? How dangerous!” She gasped. “Then again, you’re quite talented when it comes to combat, young man! I dare say any villains you come across are in for a rough time!” She let out a full laugh before accepting his offer.

“Goodness, I may not have the constitution I used to, but I can certainly handle my spirits!” She’d been a restaurant hostess before becoming a chef, and believe it or not, she’d been a little bit wild in her youth. Alas, those days were far behind her now, but at the very least she could still manage a little bit of liquor. “I’ll have a sip, thank you!” She grabbed the gourd with both hands and took a small sip, enough to feel the burn but not enough to disorient her. To her credit, she coughed only a little before returning Yasei’s drink to him.

“I hope she wakes up soon…” Kou lamented. “I don’t suppose I’d make a very good hero if the second person I’d ever rescued was unconscious her entire vacation.”

---

Dumplings of Minor Healing set out for anyone to enjoy

Yasei leaned back against the tree comfortably, using his tail as an oversized cushion.

"I don't really worry about what people think of me, I just didn't want the guards to try an arrest me... _again..." He said as he put his hands behind his head. He really didn't care what others thought of his appearance. He had once, when he was younger. He'd even wanted to dye all his pink hair, thinking it was an embarrassing color, but he stopped thinking that when he adopted his daughter, Shuki. He even started to like his pink hair. It made him less scary. Being tough and intimidating looking didn't seem to matter so much anymore once he had a family.

"Yeah, they're real friendly around here! Always make plenty of space for me to walk by and they give good deals on their sake, most of the time." Yasei agreed. The people always made way for him to walk down the street and he usually managed to haggle the price down on a lot of the things he bought. He was also blissfully unaware of the reason for this being his intimidating stature and fanged face making most people want to avoid him.

Yasei just gave a thumbs up when Kou told him to enjoy himself. He had that plenty covered just lying against a tree and relaxing in the shade. If he wasn't with good company, he might have just dozed right off and taken a nice nap.

He smiled wide when Kou complimented him. "You're gonna make me blush, Obaachan! You haven't even seen me in a real fight yet. That big crab was nothing." He boasted confidently and chuckled. He still found it funny whenever she called him a young man, but it was also endearing. At least she didn't call him an old man! That would've hurt.

He nodded approvingly as she took a sip of the sake. It was some strong stuff and he respected that she'd taken even a tiny sip of it. This old lady had some guts, and he liked it. He took the gourd back and took another swig.

"Mmm, yeah. I hope she wakes up before dark. That innkeeper gets grouchy late at night." Yasei sighed, looking to Aleaphe still sleeping on the grass. She at least looked fine. Her breathing was deep, as if she was just taking a nap there.

"Hoh? Did you say second person you've saved? So who's the first? That sounds like a good story to tell while we wait."

It seemed the two were equally oblivious to what the people of the Crescent Isles really thought of them. But in the end, wasn’t that a good thing? They both saw the best in people, and wanted to wholeheartedly believe in that goodness despite otherwise fearsome reputations. “You’ve been arrested before?” She gasped, catching onto the half-mumbled word in guilt and sheepishness. She didn’t think him a troublemaker for it, but oh my! Yasei certainly had been on all kinds of adventures, hadn’t he?

And he was even humble enough to try and wave away Kou’s complements. “It may have been nothing to you with all your strength and experience, but it’s not nothing to others. Little stones in the pond make big ripples! Your actions did a lot of good for others. It gave us a wonderful meal to enjoy together! And I’m sure it made that beach a little bit safer for others who can’t defend themselves so easily to enjoy.” She gave him a friendly pat on the leg.

“There’s no such thing as a small action, Yasei.”

A sentiment that was immediately interrupted by a slight cough from the strength of his sake. A little bit stronger than she remembered, but she wasn’t about to back down from a challenge! Meanwhile, Aleaphe continued to slumber peacefully, spending a good portion of her vacation in dreamland while her two saviors chatted away in complete nonchalance. At least she looked peaceful! As an afterthought, Kou pulled out a robe from her bag and draped it over the young lady’s shoulders like a blanket.

“The first person I saved?” She brightened. “Well, it was quite the story. You see, not long after we first met, I left the Crescent Isles for the first time to seek my own tales of heroic adventure! I found myself in the Moonglade, where I was hired to protect a drunken noble on his trip from the tavern to his home manor! I even saved him from a swarm of vicious bees!”

Admittedly, it was not an especially rousing tale as Yasei probably expected, but Mama Kou’s eyes sparkled with excitement, quite proud of her own accomplishment! Her own tail was even swishing behind her, like a dog who was happy they’d done something good. Yes, she was very happy she’d managed to do good for others. That was what being a hero was all about!

Yasei let out a hearty laugh, amused by Kou's concern over his run-in with the law.

"Ha, no! Not arrested, just annoyed. Some merchants were on the beach scamming people and I just real politely told them to stop. One of them got all scared and called the guards on me and they came over and just assumed I was the problem. It got sorted out though, so it's all fine now. I just don't want to deal with another misunderstanding." Yasei casually explained, leaving out the part where he'd picked up one of the merchants by the front of their kimono and dropped them on top of a bunch of broken shells. Or that he'd actually started fighting the guards before they had all their weapons taken away by some weird little girl's magic.

Yasei wasn't completely joking when he told Kou she was gonna make him blush. Every word made a little more pink show through the fur on his cheeks as she went on about the good his actions caused. The normally jovial and outgoing man looked away bashfully. He wasn't used to receiving such praise. Sure, people called him strong, or a great warrior, and he smiled and agreed with them, but this praise went deeper than that, like she was looking right through him.

"A- ah, I guess so. I'm glad you enjoyed the meal too, it really was delicious, huh?"

He turned back to look at her with concern when he heard her cough. He hoped she really could handle her booze. He'd feel pretty awful if he hurt her by giving her something she couldn't handle.

"Vicious bees? That's pretty amazing." Yasei chuckled, imagining the tiny old woman slicing bees nearly as large as she was in half with a blade. "You left the Crescent Isles? I still haven't gone to the mainland. I just feel so at home here, but maybe I should. I might find some fun battles out there, with some vicious bees or something!"

"Mm... Bees..." Aleaphe mumbled in her sleep and rolled over. It looked like she was having a pretty good nap there.

The longer Yasei spoke, the angrier Kou grew - it didn’t seem possible for someone whose wrinkled face was already a deep shade of red, but it seemed to grow even deeper crimson as she listened to Yasei’s story. She’d worried it would be something truly horrifying, but she’d instead been regaled with a rather sad tale! How could someone look at young master Yasei, who was so brightly colored with such a jovial nature and a kind smile, and think that he was scary? Why, Kou had never thought so for a minute, even when she first met him!

“How could anyone ever think that?” She demanded, bones practically shaking in anger. Or at least, what constituted for an elderly woman’s anger. “You were just trying to help people, and they came to the entirely wrong conclusion! I’m sorry that happened, dear. Some people are rather intolerant when they can’t make sense of what they see.”

Like a komainu brought to life. Or a woman of cursed blood who’d had a child out of wedlock.

That was just fine with her, she supposed. She’d spent far too long worrying about what others thought of her and making sure she fit into the proper molds of family and duty to care about that any more in her age. Because right now she was sitting with a friend and, and they possessed a sort of mutual understanding with one another. And that in itself was a treasure for her.

“Quite delicious indeed! I often find that my favorite meals are the ones shared around a happy table and ends with full bellies and satisfied smiles. And I had the opportunity to make so many new friends!” She let out a wistful sigh. “I would so enjoy another crab pot like that.”

Perhaps once madam Aleaphe woke up, they could find a restaurant for one? She was here on vacation, and that meant showing her the best that the Crescent Isles had to offer. Hopefully they could show her that it was not all so overwhelming and scary. Not to mention it would be nice to enjoy another evening with friends.

“Yes, bees!” She confirmed. “And I have been to the mainland, though I’ve returned for some personal business and to pay a visit to my grandson.” And her son. Kou paused, resting her hand on her cheek. “The Crescent Isles are my beloved home. But I’ve never quite been content spending my life in one place. I want to know what’s out there, and I want to help people. I’ve always fancied the idea of being an adventurer! Perhaps some might think me too old, but it brings me much joy to travel to parts unknown and meet new people. And that’s why I understand why the young lady here chose to travel to the islands, even if she doesn’t quite grasp the language.”

She turned back to Yasei after making sure the little lady didn’t hurt herself while rolling over and mumbling in her sleep.

“How exciting! If you ever decide to travel and find yourself in need of a companion, I’m more than happy to do so with you!”

"Yeah, entirely wrong! Some people just just judge too fast, huh?" Yasei agreed wholeheartedly, shaking his head. Those guards just judged the whole scene way too quickly, seeing someone big and kind of scary looking innocently holding a man up by the front of his kimono and thinking he was the one causing trouble. It was just rude! How would they have judged the scene if he was a normal human, huh? Probably the same, really.

"Visiting your grandson? That must have been nice." Yasei muttered, his voice bittersweet. He was happy for Kou, but he was also reminded that he never got to have a grandchild of his own. He wondered whether his daughter had found a partner while he was petrified. Did he have a grandkid thousands of years ago whose life he completely missed? Did he have a whole family of descendants he never had the chance to meet? Were any of them still alive today? Did his wife, Hana, move on while he was gone and have children without him? He didn't know if he'd prefer that, or for her to have stayed alone. He should hope she'd found happiness without him, shouldn't he? He knew he should, but the thought of it still made his heart ache.

Maybe leaving the Crescent Isles was exactly what he needed. Get away, start a new life. His old one was in the past, by a lot. He should see new things, new people, new places. Try to move on.

"We should make that hotpot again some time! I'll go fishing and catch something nice and big for it. You think sea serpent hotpot would be as good as that crab was? Hmm, I wonder if anywhere else has some giant crabs. As good a reason to leave the Isles as any, right? Becoming an adventurer doesn't sounds bad. If it means fighting, I bet I'd be pretty good at it! If you don't mind travelling with me, I'll take you up on that offer."

Just then, Aleaphe mumbled in her sleep and her eyes finally fluttered open. It looked like their friend had finally awoken.

"As soon as we finish helping her out, huh?" Yasei finished with a chuckle.

The sudden change of the quality of Yasei’s voice did not escape Kou’s notice. Did he perhaps have difficulties with family of some sort, or perhaps he didn’t like kids? No, that didn’t seem right. His tone was quite melancholic, one that spoke of loss. Her own voice took on that quality when speaking of Tarou’s father. Such a bitter pill to swallow, that loneliness was! No matter how much time passed, it did not grow easier. In some ways, it seemed to only get larger, this great nebulous feeling that seemed difficult to fill. But in Kou’s experience, replacing that gap was not the answer. It was allowing yourself to grow with it, to live and love new things without neglecting the lovely ache of the old.

“It has been quite nice.” She would not pry - best not to drag up unpleasantness on such an otherwise lovely day! “Tarou worries about me, you see. He is the one that encouraged me to retire after saving up enough money to take care of me, but I never quite took to the quiet life. When I told him I wanted to travel the world and save people, I thought he might pass out then and there!”

She laughed.

“But I’m no fool. I know that I probably don’t have much long left in my life…” Years of abuse had taken its toll on her body. “And I’d rather spend it happy, not sequestered safely in my home like a piece of china!”

She paused, considerate, when Yasei brought up sea serpent hot pot. Would it taste like eel, she wondered? Kou rarely got to work with such delicacies. Back in her old restaurant, they’d made enough to get by with simple, local food and ingredients. But if she were given the time and materials, she had confidence she could make something truly special of it.

“I’ve heard that there are delicious snow crabs up north in Frostgale, and different manners of hermit crabs and other various crustaceans in the Marsh Flats! There are so many different types of cuisine in the world I haven’t tried.” Perhaps, when she set out once more, Kou could start learning the different types of cultural cuisine, even cobble together a cookbook…!

“I think you’d make a grand adventurer, young man!” She praised. “I should be honored to set off with you whenever you’d like an adventuring companion on the road.” Kou had been out on her own, and met plenty of wonderful and interesting people in her days - but she’d never taken to the road with another person before!

But first thing first - they were still helping out a young lady in need!

“Good afternoon, sleepyhead!” Kou greeted, moving to help young Aleaphe into a sitting position. The fellblood rubbed at her head, groaning. “Here, why don’t you eat this? It’ll help clear that nasty headache right up.”

Aleaphe wordlessly accepted the dumpling, her minor cuts and bruises and concussion healing.^[1] Nothing like the power of food made with love in every grain to heal all wounds!

“What… happened?” She asked, looking between the two with bewilderment growing on her expression.

Kou tilted her head thoughtfully, wondering if she should tell Aleaphe that it was actually Yasei that had knocked her unconscious.

“Well that’s easy! It was, erm…”

She glanced back at Yasei’s still brightly-smiling expression, the story he’d told her earlier coming back to mind. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally make someone else afraid of him for something he had not done. With renewed resolve, she turned back to Aleaphe and pat the young woman’s hand. Sometimes, little white lies were okay, right? “Why, it was a bird that dove from above and struck you in the back of the head!” She explained.

“I see…” Aleaphe didn’t look like she necessarily believed it, but she had no reason to doubt them, either. “In any case, thank you both. Um… could we perhaps find that inn now?”

Kou turned back to Yasei. “She thanked the both of us for helping her! Though she seems rather impatient to find her lodgings…”

---

1. Dumpling of Minor Healing (Minor Health Potion)

Yasei felt a pang of sadness hearing Kou mention that she might not have much longer left to live. He couldn't even refute such a thing seriously. She was obviously old, and not a race with a very long life expectancy like his. He'd barely met this woman and already felt like he might never see her again after this. It was a heartbreaking feeling. He could really understand Tarou's worries about her, but he could also understand her own feelings.

"Retirement sounds too boring, huh? I get it, I would never let my family talk me into retiring either." He said proudly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Sadly, he'd never gotten to that point in his life where his daughter might have tried to make him retire, but he was sure of his own words. He never would have agreed to it either.

"Ooh, I like it! Snow crabs and hermit crabs sound great! We should go to those places first! Eh, which one's closer? I'm not so good with maps. I'll leave that part to you, Ob- Ojochan."

Yasei looked back and forth between Aleaphe and Kou as they had their conversation in that other language he couldn't understand again. Did everyone from the mainland speak this language? Should he learn how to speak it if he was going to become an adventurer? He probably should brush up on his Common...

"Young people are always impatient, huh? That's alright! We're not that far away from the inn now anyways. Just follow me." Yasei said as he stood back up. His movements were surprisingly nimble for someone so round. With one hand, he effortlessly picked Aleaphe up by the back of her shirt, picked her up, and placed her on her feet before going to Kou to offer her a hand to help her get up on her own.

Aleaphe stood still, surprised to suddenly be standing up and still processing just how she'd ended up there. When she'd finally finished loading, she blinked a couple times and looked at Kou with a slight blush of embarrassment.

"Is your friend always so... friendly?" She asked, trying to think of the right word to succinctly describe the giant Koma-Inu without it sounding like an insult.