Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

further, "I cannot be away from my kingdom for too long. After all, the queen just ascended  the throne not long ago, and moreover, the situation in the country is not very peaceful..."
    "Kei Taiho, you're the one who really favors Taiki!"
    Hearing Youka hold back a laugh as she said this, Keiki creased his brow.
    "Otherwise you nyosen will accuse me of bullying him again."
    "Indeed." Youka laughed as she took a bow towards Keiki. "Then please accommodate my request  tomorrow."
    "I won't allow him to get hurt, or else you nyosen will yell at me endlessly when you see me."
    "Just don't forget what you've said today!"
    "How about it?" asked Keiki as he handed over to Taiki a creature that was similar to a rabbit.
    This was the entrance to the Yellow Sea, situated at the edge of the border between the Five Mountains  and the Yellow Sea. It was a wilderness overgrown with bushes. The beast that Keiki handed over to Taiki  looked like a rabbit with short ears or a big mouse with a long, thin body.
    "Jakko? Or hiso?"
    The youma in Taiki's hands obediently allowed him to carry it. Underneath the soft fur, he could feel  its little heart beating.
    "Jakko," replied the youma that he was holding in a rough voice. This was a small youma that Keiki  had just tamed into being a shirei.
    "Hiso is the name of this youma's species. This one is called Jakko."
    Taiki nodded and scratched Jakko's neck.
    "Nice to meet you."
    Jakko didn't reply; he just made a few sounds.
    "Does he not know how to speak very well yet?"
    "Usually youma this small cannot really speak. At most, they can say a few single words."
    It was Taiki who first discovered Jakko hiding in a bush and secretly watching them. When he was  about to run away, Keiki directed an incantation towards him that Taiki could not understand, and when he  looked back at Keiki, he glared at it for a moment. After Keiki finished another set of incantations, he called  out Jakko's name, whereupon Jakko obediently came over to his side.
    So this was a taming. Taiki had felt a little disappointed because he had originally thought it was going  to be an exciting spectacle.
    "Are all tamings this easy?"
    Hearing Taiki's question, Keiki shook his head. "It was very easy because the hiso is a small animal. It  won't be that way with a bigger creature. At times, the confrontation can last half a day!"
    "That long?"
    Taiki was surprised. Keiki nodded and picked up Jakko. He gently stroked Jakko and put him on  Hankyo's back. Jakko then jumped onto the side of Hankyo's ear and began playing with him.
    "For instance, I expended quite a bit of effort in order to tame Hankyo."
    "Wow..."
    Hankyo laid upon a rock nonchalantly, and let Jakko play next to his ear.
    "Just then when you were taming him, I thought you guys were just staring at each other."
    Keiki smiled dryly.
    "We certainly were staring at each other. But is you so much as lose focus for even a second, the  youma will immediately take advantage of this opening and run away or attack you."
    Taiki understood and nodded.
    "The first to be distracted is the one who loses. If it's just a small youma that runs away, then it's not  critical, but if it's a powerful youma, it just might exploit your carelessness and take your life. Thus, when a  youma enters your field of vision, if you are not confident, run away quickly before you begin to glare at  each other. However, if it's a very strong youma, you must transform into a kirin in order to get away from  it."
    "Oh..."
    Seeing Taiki hang his head, Keiki hurriedly added, "Don't worry, your nyokai can buy you some time."
    "Isn't that dangerous for the nyokai?"
    Keiki forced another smile.
    "If it's a youma you cannot defeat, your nyokai will warn you before you encounter it. Actually, as long  as you pay more attention, you will also sense it. After all, we are beasts, so we are very sensitive to the  presence of enemies."
    Taiki stood blankly for a moment and then a confused smile appeared on his face.
    "That's right. We're beasts... I forgot about that."
    "It doesn't really matter if you forget something like this."
    "Okay. Oh, how did you choose Jakko's name?"
    Keiki looked at Jakko. This small youma didn't have the power to be a shirei. He could only go back to  the royal palace and play as he wished in the garden.
    "I didn't choose it. This name should be what he has always been called."
    Taiki tilted his head and looked puzzlingly at Keiki.
    "After you've glared for a