It seemed that here spring had arrived a month earlier than in Tokyo. Flowers were blooming here and there along the rice paddy dikes. Youko recognized some, others were new to her.
Here and there amidst the fields several small houses were huddled together. These were villages, Takki told her, for the people who worked the land. A little further along they came to a somewhat larger settlement enclosed by a tall wall. This was a town. It was where people in the surrounding areas lived during the winter.
"So where people live is different during the winter than in the other seasons?"
"There are a few oddballs that live in the villages during the winters, but the rest of us have better things to do than camp out in the fields. It's much more comfortable in the towns. And safer."
"Those walls sure are thick. It's to protect you from the youma, right?"
"Youma wouldn't attack a town like that. It's mostly to protect from wars and wild animals."
"Wild animals?"
"Wolves and bears. A panther or tiger will turn up now and then, though you don't find them much around these parts. In the winter when game is hard to find they come down to where people are."
"How do people arrange housing during the winter? Do they rent?"
"You're also given a house when you become an adult. Most people sell right away, though some rent to the townsfolk when they go back to the village. The ones that sell out rent during the winter. That's the most common."
"Oh."
The cities were all guarded by high castle ramparts. There was only one way in and out of the city, through a reinforced gate. Guards were posted at the gate, and they inspected every person who entered or left.
Usually the guards just guarded the gate, Takki said. They were particularly interested in any red-haired young women amongst the travelers, no doubt on the lookout for a kaikyaku who had run away from Hairou.
Inside the gate the houses were packed together. Shops lined the crisscrossing avenues. The streets were busy with vagrants. A number of people had set up house tents along the base of the inner walls.
"If everybody receives their own land, why do they have to live in tents?"
When Youko pointed at the tents Takki raised her eyebrows. "Those are refugees from the Kingdom of Kei. They are a sorry lot. There's a great unrest in Kei these days. The refugees running away from youma and wars collect together like that. When it gets warmer, their numbers will increase."
"It looks like there's unrest here, too."
"Indeed. It's not only Kei. To the north, I hear there's trouble in the Kingdom of Tai. They say it's even worse there."
Youko only nodded. Japan was a peaceful country in comparison. Here there were wars, and nothing good could be said about the state of law and order. They didn't let their belongings out of their sight for a second. Unsavory characters propositioned her any number of times, and a tough-looking gang tried to draw her away. But Takki let loose a lively stream of invective and rescued her.
The lack of security was probably why nobody traveled at night. The city gate was shut as well. By the time the sun set it was imperative that a traveler make it to the next town or city.
"You said it takes about four months to travel from one kingdom to another?"
"That's right."
"Is there any other way to travel than walking?"
"There's horse and cart as well. But you got to be rich. Someone like me wouldn't be able to afford it, not in a whole lifetime."
It was an impoverished world compared to her own. No cars, no gas or electricity. Not even running water. This could not simply be due to the delayed development of civilization. She gathered from their conversations that the bigger source of the problem was a lack of any oil or coal technology.
She asked Takki, "So how did you learn so much about the other kingdoms? Have you been to Kei or Tai?"
"Of course not," Takki laughed. "I've never been out of Kou. We peasants don't do much in the way of traveling like that. Got to take care of the fields. You find out about the other kingdoms from listening to what the minstrels have to say."
"Traveling actors and musicians, you mean?"
"Yes. There are those among them that have traveled around the world. In their performances they tell stories about how they went here and saw this and how they went there and saw that. Tales from all the cities and all the kingdoms."
"Wow," Youko said. In her world, back in the olden days, people used to watch newsreels at the theater. It must be like that, she thought.
No matter what, it was great having someone with you to answer all your questions. Youko didn't know a thing about this world, and the anxiety that came with not knowing was frightening. But with a helpful person at her side, someone who could explain things one by one as they came along, it was all quite fascinating.
With Takki at her side they completed the trip without incident. A world that had struck her as harsh and cruel had become a thing of great curiosity and interest.
Every night she was visited by the strange visions, that made her homesick and left her feeling depressed. The blue monkey showed up, too, and made things worse. But the raw feelings didn't last.
Once they got up the next morning and started out, it was one fascinating scene after another. Takki was as nice to her as she could have hoped for. Borrowing strength from the jewel she could keep on walking without getting tired. And knowing that at night they would be eating a good meal and sleeping in a decent bed made it all the more tolerable.
It was hard being so far from her home, but at least she now had a caring guardian at her side. She couldn't be thankful enough that she had been lucky enough to meet her.
3-6
The three-day journey was soon over, and proved somewhat anticlimactic. On the third day the tall buildings of Kasai rising above the river plain told them that they had arrived. It was the first place Youko had seen that actually looked like a city.
"Well … it is big," Youko said, as they passed through the gate and got a chance to look around.
Takki chuckled. "Around these parts, the only city bigger than Kasai is Takkyuu, the district capital."
A district was the next step up from a prefecture. Youko didn't have a good grasp of the relative sizes involved. She didn't think that Takki did either. When she spoke of the "government," it was sufficient for her to mean the town hall or maybe the prefecture seat.
Inside the gate, stores large and small lined the main road. They were different from those in the towns they'd passed through up to now. These were grand and luxurious. It reminded Youko of Chinatown. The big buildings had glass windows that were quite impressive. It was still early in the afternoon and the street was not crowded, but she had the feeling that come closing time and the place would be packed with travelers.
Now that she thought about her decision to live in this bustling city, her mood improved a bit. No matter where she settled down, even in one of the towns, she couldn't complain. But it went without saying that a lively place like this was better.
Takki turned off the main road, towards a block of smaller-scale shops. The area had a vaguely run-down feeling, but there was no change in the hustle-bustle atmosphere. A number of businesses were organized into a kind of medieval strip mall sharing a common roof. Takki headed towards the one that was quite the most elegant.
It was a three-story building with bright green pillars. They entered the imposing front doors into a large restaurant that took up the whole of the first floor. Takki left Youko to admire the splendid accouterments and grabbed the waiter who came out to greet them.
"Call the mistress for me, will you? Say her daughter's come to see her. You got that?"