"Hmm, porridge? My favorite!"
Goose was quite enthusiastic as they sat down for breakfast. Jin had opted for porridge, reasoning that jumping straight to solid food would be too hard on a stomach that had been empty for days. Besides, "morning porridge" was surprisingly popular with Elsa and the others anyway.
Jin and Hanna both had umeboshi, Elsa had small fish simmered in soy sauce (specially made by Aqua), and Saki had pickles. After trying a bit of everything, Goose had apparently taken a liking to the umeboshi.
"Man, that was delicious. I was lucky to be saved by you, Lord Nidou."
"Could you drop the 'Lord Nidou' bit? I'm not used to it, and it makes me feel restless."
"Hmm. Then call me Goose, not Master Minakata."
"Understood... Goose."
"That's better, Jin."
Saki and Elsa soon followed suit, treating him with similar familiarity.
Seen clearly in the morning light, Goose’s skin tone was quite fair. His father’s blood likely showed through strongly. He was of average build, standing just a bit taller than Jin. Perhaps his facial features also resembled his father’s, as there was an air about him that felt similar to the people of the Shouro Empire, like Elsa and Saki.
"We’ll head out once we’ve finished breakfast. Goose, what about your luggage?"
When Jin asked, he received a rather awkward reply.
"I have nothing but the clothes on my back. I lost everything else."
"Jin, what are we doing with the tent?" Saki asked as they began preparing for departure.
"I’ll take it apart... and load it onto the roof, I suppose."
The roof of the automobile had been built to accommodate luggage, after all. However, there was no denying that once the tent components were lashed down, the vehicle looked rather top-heavy. In particular, the frames made of 64 light silver were quite long.
Since most of the rice and supplies they had received in the town of Miyako had been sent back to Hourai Island via Warp Gate, the interior of the car was uncluttered, but the roof was now quite a mess.
"Well, this should work."
Unlike modern Japan, they wouldn't be passing under any low railroad guards or navigating tight alleys, so Jin decided to proceed. He figured he could just send the tent back through the Warp Gate once Goose was no longer with them.
"Ho-ho, this is a comfortable ride! Using gutta-percha really does make a difference, doesn't it?"
"Goose, you know about gutta-peruhya?" Jin asked.
Goose nodded with a knowing look. "Of course. I am a naturalist, after all. Though you call it gutta-peruhya here? In Fusou, we call it gutta-percha."
"I see. We generally call this kind of elastic resin 'rubber.' Have you heard that term?"
"No, that’s a new one to me! 'Rubber,' huh? It’s catchy. I like it."
"Does that mean you've ridden in carriages before?"
"Yeah. In Fusou, horse-drawn carriages are the primary way to move both goods and people."
"So horses are still common there? I heard that in Mitsuho, the horse population plummeted because of some infectious disease."
"I’ve heard the stories. Fortunately, the plague doesn't seem to have reached Fusou."
Jin and Goose seemed to be hitting it off, exchanging stories as they drove. Watching them from the back seat, Saki nudged Elsa.
"Hehe. Elsa, are you pouting because your fiancé is being stolen away?"
"...No. Well, maybe a little. But... that man, he’s a bit like Rai-nii."
"Eh, you think so?"
"Mm. Not his face, but the vibe he gives off when he’s talking to Jin-nii."
"Ah, I can kind of see that."
Meanwhile, Hanna was busy with Reiko.
"Hanna-chan, look. There are flowers blooming over there."
"Eh? Where? I can’t see them—"
"To the front-right, about five hundred meters away, at the base of that rock."
"Only Reiko-oneechan can see things that far away!"
The two of them continued their cheerful banter until lunchtime.
Since they found a spring near the wetlands, Jin decided on udon for lunch. It was even better received than he had anticipated. Naturally, he had Reiko test the water quality first.
"Oh, this is delicious!"
Having fully recovered his strength, Goose went for a second helping.
"Onii-chan, me too!"
Hanna was also showing off her hearty appetite. Though Jin had boiled a large amount of udon, it vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Man, Jin, you’re a great cook. I can only manage the simplest things myself..."
"It’s nothing special, I just boiled the noodles."
The automobile set off once more. After driving for a total of six hours since morning, the landscape shifted.
"We’ve finally reached the Shikuro Wetlands."
Goose looked relieved, while Jin and the others were struck by the beauty of the flowering marsh.
"This is magnificent!"
"This place is incredible...!"
"...Beautiful."
"So many flowers!"
While the brown of withered grass still dominated the wetlands, white and yellow flowers peeking out here and there provided vibrant splashes of color.
"Are those mizubashou?" The white flowers looked very similar to the Asian skunk cabbage Jin knew from home.
"Mizubashou? We call them white kaiu. There's also a red kaiu, but those bloom a little earlier in the season."
"I see. I would have liked to see those too."
There was a related species in Japan called the zazensou that bloomed with reddish-brown flowers in early spring, but Jin wasn't familiar with it.
"Then what about those yellow flowers?" Jin wasn't an expert on botany, knowing only common flowers and plants he had happened to encounter. He took the opportunity to pick Goose’s brain.
"We call the yellow ones storis."
They looked very much like the marsh marigolds that bloom alongside skunk cabbage in places like Oze.
"You really do know your stuff."
"Haha, leave the nature talk to me!"
"Then what about that tree with the white blossoms?"
"Hmm? Ah, that’s a magnoly."
"And that one?"
"Murasaki azalee."
Goose was as good as his word. He answered every one of Jin's questions without hesitation. And through Reiko, Laojun was simultaneously cataloging all this new information.
"Ah, you should steer a little more to the right here. This area is full of bogs; it’s a nightmare if you get stuck."
"Understood. Edgar, if you would."
"Acknowledged."
Edgar turned the wheel slightly. Indeed, the ground was becoming noticeably wetter.
"At this rate, we should reach Urun in less than two hours."
Since their average speed was roughly fifteen kilometers per hour, that timing seemed about right.
"Migratory birds pass through the Shikuro Wetlands, too," Goose explained as they drove. "Right now, summer and winter birds are swapping places, so you'll only see the year-round residents. There are plenty of insects, though. Dragonflies fill the air in the summer. But since the water is so shallow, you won't find many fish."
They continued for another two hours, guided by Goose’s commentary.
"Oh, there it is at last. That’s the village of Urun."
Under the fading light of the twilight sky, the village of Urun—the southern tip of the country of Fusou—finally came into view ahead of them.