>>5530252 >>5530253 >>5530280 >>5530476<span class="mu-i">Why did you hit him? One shouldn't be eager to commit violence against another intelligent creature.</span>
Kinzou speaks to you as if speaking to a small child, clearly finding the question stupid. 「He said he could beat me in a fight. Duh, of course I'd hit him.」 <span class="mu-i">...Perhaps you should've acted more thoughtfully. He may not have been suggesting an immediate spar. What would you have done if he had gotten hurt?</span> 「Not my fault. He said he could beat me in a fight. The only way to prove him wrong is to fight! And he'll be fine, it was just a couple of smacks with a stick.」 <span class="mu-i">Is there not some sort of dueling etiquette? Perhaps you came off as a bully?</span> 「What's an etiquette?」 <span class="mu-i">Commonly accepted rules.</span> 「If he told me there were rules I would've followed him. That's his fault. Next time he should. He started it by picking a fight so it's not my fault.」
Your conversation continues for some time. You make very little headway in the 'violence is a last resort' department, if simply because Kinzou does not view himself as the instigator. Despite that Kinzou does seem to gel with the idea of sportsmanship. That one should accept victory gracefully as a form of respect towards both themselves and their opponent. ...And perhaps even that one should confirm with their opponent that they are actually fighting before they start hitting them.
After returning home you instruct Kinzou in the art of stick-wielding for some time. You cannot call yourself an expert on the topic, but through basic logic and far too much observation of Takigi cutting down trees, you can at least say that you know how a one-handed weapon should be held, even if that would differ for each weapon.
Time marches on, moving from spring to summer. Mental communications become much easier, beginning to gain favor over verbal communications. Kinzou's reading and writing improve greatly. Progress is being made overall. On one rest day, news spreads that a caravan heading west is passing through the village, and will be staying the night. Kinzou requests to visit the caravan, and Takigi, finding the idea interesting himself, decides to take the family to look at what goods are available.
The caravan is quite the sight. Tens of wagons sit in a line with a great many laborers moving around them, loading and unloading objects. As they move they maneuver around a large number of domesticated quadrupedal animals. One of the furred beasts stares at Takigi as he passes by, letting out a light snort.
A plump man with flushed cheeks approaches the three. "Welcome, welcome! Come to buy or sell?" 「To buy, although we don't really know what you have on hand. Would you mind introducing us to your wares?」 "Certainly, certainly! We hail from the capital of the prefecture, up north. As such we carry a great many goods from both the tributary states and the prefectural capital! Why, look at this..."
