you had been born and raised on Mt. Hou, then you would inherently know. Because those who are born here remain in kirin form for the first part of their lives. But you were born in Hourai, so you've been in human form..."
Youka wasn't very clear on matters concerning Hourai, but because there had been kirin before who had come back from Hourai, she had heard a few things.
"Does changing into a kirin feel uncomfortable?"
"There are no kirin who dislike transforming, so I don't think it's uncomfortable."
"Don't you think it's really weird?"
"Not at all." After Youka said this, she started to comb Taiki's hair with her fingers again. "You aren't like most kirin. Most kirin have manes are gold, like Ren Taiho's. You are a kokki, which I've heard are very rare! You need to hurry and let me see you after your transformation! The color of your mane is so pretty, you'll definitely look even better after you've turned into a kirin."
"But I can't think of a way to transform."
"I think..." Youka sighed. "I can't think of a way either. After all, I'm not a kirin, and I've never transformed. If we get a chance, we'll ask Genkun!"
"Okay..."
Teiei looked at Taiki, who was not yet completely at ease, and could not help but silently crease her brow. Having lived in the other world for ten long years, would Taiki actually be able to transform without any problems? Though it's said that there has never been a kirin who was not able to transform, if Taiki were to be the first to set the precedent, it would be too unfortunate.
Gyokuyou may have an answer to this question, but she wasn't someone one could find just by wanting to find her. However, Taiki was running out of time! Teiei's line of sight moved away from Taiki and Youka, who were joking with each other, as she looked up anxiously at the already darkening sky.
Luckily, the spring equinox had already passed, but when the summer solstice arrived, there would definitely be people climbing the mountain.
Is a kirin who cannot transform able to choose a ruler?
Chapter 4
Taiki absent-mindedly wandered around the small paths, not looking at where he was going at all. In addition, Taiki was still essentially unfamiliar with the roads outside of Rosen Palace. However, since Sanshi was with him, he didn't worry about getting lost.
He was walking aimlessly like this for a while when he suddenly saw a gate in front of him, obstructing the path. The door was shut tightly, preventing Taiki from going any further.
This was the outer perimeter of Houro Palace. It probably took him a while to walk here from Rosen Palace, which meant that he had already been lost in thought for a long time.
"..." Taiki sighed. The bolt for the gate was on this side, so it would have been easy to open the gate, had he wanted to. However, the nyosen had told him before that he absolutely could not take one step out of this gate.
But Taiki didn't feel like heading back, so he turned around and raised his arms toward Sanshi, who had been quietly following him.
"Sanshi, can you take me up there?"
Sanshi nodded her head and picked Taiki up. At Taiki's current age, it wouldn't be easy for most women to lift him, but ever since he returned to Mt. Hou, he was no longer as heavy as he looked on the outside. Since he now had an immortal body, he was extremely light, so Sanshi didn't expend the slightest amount of energy to pick him up. Only two or three jumps and she arrived at the top of a cliff.
Looking down from the top, Houro Palace looked like a maze. The roofs of the palace structures that were scattered everywhere reflected a greenish light. At the edge of the maze there stood a snow-white tree, which at that moment was bathed in sunlight.
Taiki held on to Sanshi as he stared in the direction of the tree.
Gazing at it from above, Houro Palace appeared to be in the shape of a fan. The Shashinboku was situated beside a cliff wall on the terrace furthest
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