Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

like those of the nyosen, all very warm.
    "Don't listen to what your granny said. You just have to be a kind child like you are now and  everything will be fine. As long as you are like that, your mommy will be very happy." Then why did his  mother always secretly cry?
    Every time he apologized to his mother, she would always tell him not to feel at fault. She would look  at him while she held back tears and smiled, lightly stroking his head.
    "You don't have to worry."
    A nyosen had said this to him too, as they gently patted his back. And then she would use her warm  hand to hold his while they returned to Rosen Palace. Youka and Teiei comforted him in the same way.
    "You don't need to be impatient."
    "Exactly. It doesn't matter if you can transform or not. You are most definitely a kirin! So, you don't  have to worry one bit."
    (You don't need to worry.)
    "That Kei Taiho, he doesn't know how to behave."
    (Granny's temper has always been bad.)
    "Please don't cry. It doesn't matter even if you can't transform!"
    (You don't need to feel guilty.)
    "That's right, you don't need to worry yourself over such a small matter."
    Even Sanshi had come to comfort him, gently patting him. She picked him up with the hand that she  had been patting him with, and looked at his face.
    "Why don't we go outside for a stroll? The evening wind is very comfortable."
    Everyone was treating him so nicely that it made it even harder for him to bear. Their warm hands and  tender words only made him feel even worse.
    "Then you should take a walk." Youka draped a robe over him. "Come back before dinner! Today,  Genkun will also be eating with you, so it'll be very exciting."
    Youka sent them off. However, even though Sanshi had carried him outside, he kept crying.
    - - - - -
    "Really, Kei Taiho," sighed Gyokuyou who had gone to Shiren Palace. Keiki silently stood at one side.
    "Taiki is still so small. How could you make him cry!?"
    "Please don't say it like I was bullying him. That was not my intention."
    "Of course, I know this...but you could have said things more tactfully."
    "I was only speaking the truth. He asked me how to transform, and there really is no way I can teach  him."
    Gyokuyou sighed again. "To say it like that is too cold. Taiki's fortunes are not good. He grew up in  Hourai, so he's not like you. You should have..."
    "Because of that, you should have asked En Taiho to come, since he was also born in Hourai. I don't  think I am qualified for this."
    "Keiki..." Gyokuyou spoke slowly in a voice full of dignity. "I asked you to come today, because I felt  that in doing so, both you and Taiki would benefit."
    "I--"
    "Don't you think that I, Gyokuyou, would know your troubles?"
    After hearing Gyokuyou say this, Keiki could only give a heavy sigh. He thought of the ruler of his  native kingdom.
    Keiki's master grew up as the daughter of a common merchant family. To speak well of her, she was a  slender woman; to speak badly, her spirit was weak. She did not have the determination to be the ruler of a  kingdom. Everyday she would only get more and more depressed. She neglected the affairs of the kingdom  and hid deep inside the royal palace, never coming out. No matter how Keiki encouraged or reproached her,  no good came out of it. On the contrary, she became increasingly distant.
    "Everything you say is accurate, but you have to understand, the accurate method is not necessarily  always the best method!"
    Keiki was baffled. He didn't understand why something that was clearly accurate was not the absolute  best.
    "You should first learn how to discern other people's moods. Taiki is a child who likes to interact with  other people, and even he is afraid to approach you. Then how do you suppose Keiou could confide in  you!?"
    Keiki sighed again.
    - - - - -
    "Where did Taiki go?" asked Keiki to a nyosen he encountered as he was walking on a path. She  pointed behind her, towards the perimeter of Houro Palace.
    "He went to the daylily garden. Don't go teasing Taiki again!"
    Along the way, every time he inquired about Taiki, he was reprimanded, making him feel very  discouraged.
    "I never meant to tease him."
    "Even if you didn't mean to, you were still too cold to him."
    "I will pay more attention to what I say."
    That was all he could reply with.
    He walked gloomily along the path between the rocks as he continuously encountered the nyosen on  the way who either scolded him or otherwise expressed their