Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Chapter 7

why Gyousou was sitting in a lower position.
    Taiki knelt upon the floor and lightly bowed his head. According to custom, when facing a ruler, one  must bow very respectfully. One must be kneeling with both hands on the ground and with his forehead to  the floor. However, for only kirin, it's necessary simply to gently bow one's head.
    "Ah... How do you do?" Taiki knew very clearly how to pay his respects, but he didn't know what  sorts of pleasantries he should say in these situations, so he just said as he did.
    Gyousou whispered to Taiki, "Kouri, you must kowtow."
    "Eh...?" Taiki looked at Gyousou disconcertedly.
    "The length of King En's reign is only second to that of King Sou. We cannot treat him the same way  as the other rulers."
    "But..."
    Taiki looked in dismay at the other two kirin, and whether it was Keiki or Enki, neither of them  contradicted Gyousou's words.
    "Yes... Excuse me."
    Taiki hastened to put his hands on the floor and lowered his head again.
    Just as he was preparing to bow down and touch his forehead to the floor, he stopped in halfway  through the action.
    "What is it?" asked King En, who was sitting in front of him.

    "Nothing," replied Taiki. He tried once more to lower his head, but he stopped halfway down, like  before.
    --It wasn't possible.
    "What is it? Does the Kirin of Tai Kingdom have something against En?"
    "No." Taiki looked for help, but all he saw was Gyousou's face becoming grim.
    "Taiki, what are you doing?" asked Gyousou harshly. Taiki had only to try again.
    He could only lower his head halfway, and then it wouldn't go any further. No matter how hard he  tried, he could not get past his elbow. It was as if there was something solid in that distance; no amount of  effort allowed him to move. Besides not being able to kowtow, he was also unable to bend his arms.
    "Oh...? It looks like you really do have something against us."
    King En's voice sounded very cold. Taiki hastily looked up at him.
    "No...!"
    Standing at King En's side, Enki said frostily, "You can't even show the least bit of etiquette? There's  no reason for King En to personally come to Tai Kingdom. It was at Kei Taiho's request that King En made  this special trip, all to receive this rude treatment?"
    With a caustic smile, King En said, "This is the first time a new kirin has shown me such disrespect.
    It seems like Taiki dislikes En. Or is it...that King Tai ordered him to do this? Has he forbid you to  compliment me?"
    "Never..."
    Taiki saw only solemn faces around him; no one was willing to offer him a helping hand.
    "If that isn't the case, then I'd like to hear you explain it to me. If you can't give me a reason and don't  bow to me, then I will take this as a sign of hostility from Tai towards En!"
    "Taiki!" From Gyousou came a reprimand.
    Taiki hurriedly tried once more to kowtow, but there was simply no way for him to lower his head.
    He couldn't shorten his distance to the floor at all. He didn't know why his body wouldn't listen to his mind.
    Taiki started to sweat, not because he was anxious, but because this was laborious. One by one,  droplets of sweat hit the floor. Even his breathing became hard to do.
    King En stood up. Out of the corners of his eyes, Taiki discovered that he was walking towards him.
    "What is it? Can't you even pretend to pay me respect?"
    Just as this voice fell above his head, his hair was grasped. King En was now pushing down on him  with a terrible force.
    "As it is, all you have to do is lower your head. Surely it can't be that hard?"
    Taiki himself could not say why he was resisting his power. He knew he couldn't withstand King En,  but his entire body began enduring his might.
    "So stubborn..." Saying this, King En began pushing harder.
    Suddenly, that pressure disappeared.

    "That's enough!"
    Hearing the sound of a crisp slap, Taiki realized that the feeling of his hair being grasped  disappeared. He looked up to see Enki knocking away King En's hand.
    "How can you do this to a child? Taiki, are you okay?"
    Taiki took deep breaths as he looked confusedly at Enki.
    "Ah... You're so pale... Can you stand up? Do you want to lie down?"
    Enki didn't mind using his sleeves to wipe the sweat off of Taiki's face. Keiki held Taiki up, for  whom standing was not easy.
    "Are you all right? Sit down for a little bit..."
    At this moment, King En was a little stunned and a little interested as he watched Taiki and the  others.
    "It's so heartwarming to see such