Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

great." The nyosen who were doing needlework with  Youka all laughed, and Youka laughed with them.
    Youka will never forget the excited look on Taiki's face on the day he came running into the palace and  told Youka that Keiki had showed him his transformation into a kirin, and that on the next day, he would let  Taiki ride on his back for a stroll. He had been so happy, he didn't get to sleep until the middle of the night.
    The following day, Taiki came back to Houro Palace with a messy head of windblown hair, and again, was  so excited that he almost couldn't sleep.
    "Genkun never makes a mistake!" said a nyosen as she began to laugh.
    "Recently, Kei Taiho has been emulating Taiki and is starting to pay attention to the feelings of the  people around him. It feels so fresh and so fun to me."
    "I know! Even though he still has no expression on his face."
    Keiki had stayed at Mt. Hou a very long time, so he was not too reserved around them.
    "Don't ask for too much!"
    "That's for sure!"
    The nyosen laughed together.
    At this time, they heard the sound of light and quick footsteps coming from the direction of the path "I'm home!"
    "Welcome back."
    Taiki ran in with a messy lump of hair on his head and a joyful expression on his face. Two magical  beasts followed by his side; one was Sanshi, and the other was Keiki's shirei, a youma called Hankyo.
    "Where did you go today?"
    "Kei Taiho took me to Mt. Ka, and I saw a lot of weird birds!"
    Seeing Taiki smiling with such happiness, Youka couldn't help but smile as well. It looked like Taiki  had already thought of Keiki completely as his older brother. However, at first, the nyosen would never have  thought that a child could become close to Keiki.
    "That's excellent."
    "Kei Taiho said that he would take me to the Yellow Sea tomorrow and show me how to tame youma."
    "Oh dear!" exclaimed Youka in a high voice. Hankyo laughed.
    "Don't worry. We will accompany Taiki."
    "Oh... That's right."
    Keiki's shirei would be there, so it should be all right. Though Youka nodded at Hankyo, in her heart,  she was still a little bit anxious. In the past, there have been kirin that met their end in the Yellow Sea. There,  the youma will attack anyone, regardless of if they are human or kirin.
    "All right, you should go take a quick bath. It's almost time for dinner."
    "Okay!"
    Taiki nodded and said to Sanshi and Hankyo, "Let's go!"
    After Youka watched Taiki and the two beasts gradually fade into the distance, she put down her  needlework.
    - - - - -
    "What's wrong?"
    When Youka arrived at Shiren Palace, Keiki was just getting out of the springwater at Shiren Cave  after a bath. After the springwater emerges out from Shiren Cave, it flows all the way into the lotus pond in  front of the palace gate.
    "I hear that you are going to take Taiki to the Yellow Sea."
    "Oh, this," said Keiki quietly, as he brushed his wet hair back. "Nothing will happen. I will ask the  shirei to protect Taiki closely."
    "But..."
    Keiki smile dryly. "You nyosen really do favor Taiki."
    "Because even though Taiki is already ten years old, in regards to him being a kirin, he's still too  young."
    "You cannot say that." Keiki leaned on the gate and looked down at the lotus pond. "The summer  solstice is only a half month away."
    Youka hung her head.
    "I just went to the Reikon Gate and it looked like were already over fifty riders waiting there."
    "That many?"
    Keiki nodded. "I had originally thought that since Tai was on the opposide side of the Reikon Gate,  there wouldn't be as many people climbing the mountain. Perhaps they had not just come to climb, but have  been walking around near the four gates, waiting for the Kirin Flag to rise."
    Some people walk around along the Kongou Mountains. If they wait this way, after they see the Kirin  Flag being raised, they can enter on the very next Ankou Day. This is because on an ordinary horse, it is not  possible to make it to any of the gates in time for the Ankou Day after the flag is raised. Shortly after the  summer solstice, these people will arrive at Hoto Palace.
    "I am hoping that before the summer solstice, Taiki will possess a shirei."
    Usually, those who wait by the four gates each believe that only they are the only true ruler, so their  personalities are all extremely conceited and arrogant. If a person is reasonable, they need not worry, since  most of those people are not only irrational, but also overly confident.
    Keiki said