The Wings of Dreams

keener senses than humans. They’ll react first if a youma gets close. That’ll be the alarm that wakes you up.”
    “Yeah, figures,” her audience agreed.
    Shushou felt a sudden sense of unease. They were hanging on her every word. Gankyuu said they wouldn’t but that wasn’t true. Average folk here really did value what the koushu knew. But should she be the one sharing that knowledge?
    They eagerly let her have her say, yet getting the attention she wanted left her feeling conflicted. Shushou hadn’t grown up in the Yellow Sea like the koushu. Her knowledge came from watching Gankyuu, listening to him, and reading between the lines. And here she was prattling on like a know-it-all.
    “Um—” Shushou hastily amended her remarks. “I couldn’t possible know as much about the Yellow Sea as the koushu. Don’t treat anything I say like I’m some sort of expert.”
    “That’s okay. Thanks.”
    “No problem,” Shushou answered with a relieved smile. She watched them leave and threw her arms around the neck of the goat. “Well, tonight it’s just going to be you and me.”
    Except the goat had evidently taken a disliking to her and tried to jerk free instead. Trying to calm it down, the light of a fire grew visible through the trees. Soon followed by the sound of running feet and angry shouts and men arguing, the hiss of water cast on hot embers and feet stomping out flames. She watched dumbfounded as darkness again filled the forest.
    “Amazing. The only person Shitsu-san will listen to is himself.”

Chapter 26
    [4-3]  S hushou gave up on the irascible goat, burrowed beneath the bushes, and tried to sleep. It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t disheartened and ill at ease. Unleashed by the quiet, dark night around her, unwelcome thoughts bubbled up in her head and wouldn’t let her rest.
    Rather than abandon three handcarts and a horse-drawn wagon heavily laden with supplies, Kiwa had chosen to travel down this dangerous road where he’d been warned youma lurked. The sheer amount of luggage alone set her nerves on edge. It simply wasn’t appropriate for traveling in the Yellow Sea.
    She’d come with Kiwa on the spur of the moment because she couldn’t stand looking Gankyuu in the face any longer. But the only thing she could definitely say about Kiwa’s knowledge of the Yellow Sea was that the louder he talked, the less he knew.
    He shouldn’t have taken another step without getting a thorough briefing from the goushi.
    On the other hand, the second he found out that “fire is dangerous,” he set about dousing the fires before anybody could get a word in edgewise.
    Chodai’s question popped into her head: Did your professors only give you the answers?
    Wasn’t saying “fire is dangerous” only giving him the answer? She wasn’t exactly crystal clear herself about what kind of fires were dangerous and in what situations. Sometimes tending a fire at a safe distance was necessary. Sometimes any fire at all was a bad idea. Until now, she’d relied on Gankyuu to make these fine distinctions.
    Knowing “fires are dangerous” was like knowing the answer to the question, not why that answer was the right one.
    I need to get a thorough explanation of all the ins and outs of stuff like this.
    But was that even possible? Having grown up in the Yellow Sea, the koushu learned its ways through long experience. Without those deep reservoirs of experience to draw on, would the true meaning of that knowledge ever sink in?
    I may be harboring second thoughts here—
    There was no may about it. She had to squarely face that unpleasant fact. Being with Kiwa wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Here wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She felt completely out of place.
    That shushi’s attitude is rubbing off on me. Except her anger and indignation towards Gankyuu still sat heavy on her heart. And it’s not like he’s going to come and apologize.
    She wanted to believe that he didn’t rush to stop her because the road ahead wasn’t that big a risk. He had his money. At the very least, he could have made a token apology, gone through the motions of looking out for her best interests. Or maybe, just maybe, the road ahead wasn’t dangerous enough for him to bother running after her.
    That’s not true. I was the one who fired him. Why should he give a damn about me now? That’s the kind of man he is.
    This whole thing was so exasperating. And to make matters worse, Rikou wasn’t coming either.