Nishida listened to Chiruah and walked a bit in silence after she spoke.

"I promised to tell you about my homeland, didn't I? The Green Carp is perhaps the vision you are missing, Asako-san. You know, the weather is similar between our planets. On the Green Carp it is almost always humid and hot and you wonder when this infinite warmth will subside. Maybe that's one reason why I am not so much affected by the weather here. But what you might be more interested in is that my home has balance.

Within the Hive Cities you will find all the life and amenities your father wants for Asakaze. Bars, restaurants, stores, teahouses, apartments, businesses and industry. Really, there is almost nothing that you cannot find there. But as soon as you leave the giant walls of the hive towns, you will find yourself in the endless jungles of the Green Carp.

A disputed territory that only the bravest explorers and bushi dare to enter. Many peasants work in the orchards protected by electric fences, but that doesn't mean that nature doesn't pay its toll. I believe that even today not all things in these jungles have found an entry in the registers."

he couldn't help himself and feel a bit homesick after telling Chiruah about his home.

She nodded soundly at Nishida, "That is a very admirable vision of where you call home, Yasuki-sama. Rich and lush worlds are a rarity in the Empire and I suppose that even the Crab have found some great balance where city and wilderness can exist at the same time. It sounds much like what we have here, even if we aren't so developed internally. I would hope that my father could potentially achieve such a balance but I'm not too sure if preservation is exactly in his priorities, especially when the envisioned city borders might potentially even go beyond the territory of the Xenofungi Forests.

"In any case, your father's plans are extremely ambitious. But remember that the empire was not built in a day. Such processes take time and like the seasons, people change over time. If you talk to your father and tell him about your concerns, you might be able to help Asakaze find balance."

"I have spoken to him a few times already on the matter, Yasuki-sama," she said on the matter with a slightly defeated tone, "at least early on when I've learned his plans. He's more or less made up his mind, especially when he tends to have his mindset when it comes to capturing glory, at least that's what my mother would say of him. I'd like to think that perhaps there is some hesitation as he had held back but with this miai, it's perhaps clear that he intends to full advance once he able to gather all of this momentum from the favours around him as the honoured host."

"Anyway, this is merely a personal matter, Yasuki-sama. My apologies for taking up your valuable time," she said with a deep bow.

"No need to apologize to Asako-san, I must thank you for seeing me as trustworthy enough to share this with me." he said and bowend back to her.

Mochi came panting back to his master. He had something that looked like a branch in his mouth and wagged his tail.

Nishdia took the stick and threw it away and Mochi ran after it.

"Sometimes I wish that life could be as easy as a dog's,.." he smiled "..but only sometimes"

Chiruha giggled as Mochi came back with a stick and watched it be thrown back for fetch. "While they live rather charming lives I think that such a life might be too simple to keep us satisfied on the matter. You can't exactly really do as much, for one. I suppose we'll just have to accept all of the good and bad that is brought by having more complex lives. I'm sure you go through more nuisances in your position, Yasuki-sama."

A smile crept up his face.
If only she knewd

"Yes, life is like ebb and flow, and I am happy to be able to live it." he said watching a Mochi a bit.

"Ebb and flow would almost indicate there's only two ways of going about it. I'd like to think that life is probably more like a circuit board with several outlets and switches or maybe like flying a rocket ship through space, compensating for gravity and also calculating your trajectory. Well, those are more like exact sciences and might even be less complicated than life. Life seems to require more of an instinctual intelligence," she nodded thoughtfully at that idea.

"Ahhh I may know some things, but I wouldn't call myself enlightened, too bad that there is no one from the dragon, normally it is them who can tell you such wisdom. But yes, life is complicated and sometimes quite exhausting,... but it is also beautiful and unique."

he looked into the sky as it was in twilight. Some of the stars were already visible, and the moon could also be seen as the sun slowly set on the horizon.

"Much like this world, I suppose," she said with a chuckle as she turned attention to the sky themselves with a small smile on her lips. "I think we're pretty thankful here that we're still able to see the stars even in the city. Sometimes you don't have to travel far to see the beauty of Asakaze when it's just outside your window."

He looked to Chiruah and then back to the stars.

Until now he only wanted to marry her because it was the best way for his family to make a profit on this planet. When he came to Asakaze the first day he was so sure: Marry the governor's daughter, use this marriage as a lever for future deals and everything will be fine. Now he was not so sure anymore.

She was an all-rounder and eager to learn, maybe a little naive and idealistic, but that gave her character a certain beauty. And her smile magically attracted him, ... he wouldn't fall in love, would he?

But was it right to take her off this planet? That she loved so much? With all its stinking mushrooms and gigantic birds and lizards?

He sighed inwardly about this conflict that he shouldn't have.

"I know what you mean, it's quite wonderful when you go out for a walk and the beauty of Asakze accompanies you wherever you go."

"Not completely wherever to be fair but I think I'm able to pick out a few things everywhere I go. I'm sure you can even catch the uhm...scents too, which I know might be a bit troublesome for time to time but another unique trait here. As great I think Asakaze might be, I'm sure you're likely thinking of your home too," she chuckled, "it's probably been a few weeks by now since you've been home. What sorts of things do you miss from the Green Carp yourself?"

He chukled. Subtle compliments were probably not her strength. "I believe that I am in the company of quite a unique feature of this planet" he said with a smile

"As for what i miss: The fruits! The Green Carp may be best known for its sake, but the fruits that serve as the basis for it are simply wonderful. They come in almost all shapes and colors. Some are soft and their pulp melts in your mouth, others are so hard and fibrous that you have to cook them for hours before you can eat them. My favorite fruit is the kisada melon, from the outside its skin is hard, gray and scaly, you need tools to break it open, but its inside has a bluish pulp that has a sweet-salty taste. In the middle of the fruit are the seeds, enclosed by another membrane. If you just leave the fruit, the seeds will wake up and start to use the pulp as food for their growth, and when the seeds have germinated and built up enough pressure, the fruit will burst open and the seeds will spread. Truly fascinating fruits" his story made his mouth water a little.

"Oh and then of course there is the singing of the birds. The jungle is home to a lot of different birds, some of which have also settled in the cities, hmmm, I would also say that I miss my family home a little bit and my office, I can't imagine what happened to some of the contracts in my absence."

Chiruha gave a big blink at the description of the fruit, "suddenly, I have to do more reading on the Green Carp and some of this fruit. It sounds rather unusual, almost like it was a lifeform in itself. And the seeds are even stranger! I could imagine something like this grows in great abundance in the world? Or maybe they are harder to foster due to their unique properties?"

She chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that you must be annoyed at all the various mushroom and fungi related offerings on this planet already. Thankfully, we do import a good amount of preservatives to supplement some variety. Nothing like this melon, however."

"I think you have a good idea of what I do at work, what sort of work do you do at your office?" she asked curiously.

Well the green carp holds several surprises. On the subject of mushrooms: I have seen it worse, on the merchant ships they usually ration and what you get is right,... plain. Also, crabs will eat alot of stuff, as long as it's fried." he said the last part a bit jokingly.

"What i do in my office? Well,... The Yasuki collect data about prices of goods. When I'm not on the road to make deals, I use this data to find out where to make the best deal with which goods. Supply and demand. Most of the time this means that I spend hours looking at my pc and densai, reading articles and comparing tables."

"I'm sure you know that we have a Crab bar here in Shiro Yaoke and I've tried some fried tofu there before once, the sort that the fry to a crisp. It was pretty tasty but I don't know if I could eat that constantly," she chuckled, "So it's more than just fried tofu then?"

"It does sound a lot like analytical work when it comes to digging through data and numbers. While I'm not too familiar with mercantile businesses I think the Asako have some knowledge and experience to research, albeit on more academic topics!" she smirked.

"Pretty much anything can be fried. Vegetables, fruits, rice, you name it! Have you ever had Ika Tempura? Also, yes, my work has a predominantly commercial focus. After all, the Yasuki are known for it! And somebody has to make sure that the empire is kept running, many underestimate the power of Koku, even if the acceptance for our craft has increased in the last centuries. Of course, knowing who offers what and when is an added bonus. An experienced Yasuki, with the right connections, can get everything, or at least find out where to find the desired product."

"I have heard about the ways of the Carp and those who thrive in mercantile affairs. I suppose even here, we've managed to get things like preserved vegetables and other produce. And a variety of other things that aren't surely made on this planet," she shrugged, "it must come from somewhere."

"I can't say I've had ika tempura. They probably do have it around here in some shape or form. I'm sure! And I'm sure what you do can be very engrossing work. I'm sure actually procuring stock and moving it likely could be stressful? What if people don't want it anymore?" she asked curiously.

"See, when there's a market somewhere, you can be sure there's a Yasuki somewhere selling things" he said with a smirk.

"Yes, sometimes it is quite stressful. Most of the time it is the negotiations that cause the most stress, because not only one person wants the order or the goods. He shrugged his shoulders, "Once an order is placed, it is executed. Breaking it would be like breaking an oath on your honor, not that it wouldn't happen, but oath breakers aren't very popular. However, if you ever get stuck on an order you have to get creative.... You wouldn't happen to need thirty barrels of lavender oil, would you?" he said the last sentence jokingly.

Chiruha giggled with a wave of her hand to show that she did not need such things. "Sorry for the questions but I guess I have a better understanding of your work and how you move wares. I had thought you merely buy everything in hopes that someone would want it later but that would seem especially expensive and a lot of koku spent. They would rely on people like yourself to avoid that situation."