Digi Goggle Head

So the gist of the series ending is: Jusetsu is no longer the Raven Consort and decides to travel the world along with Jiujiu, Onkei, and Tan Kai as sea merchants.

It was said that those islands were created from the husk of a serpent.

“The sea god went to the deep, deep bottom of the sea. The only one who can see him and hear his voice is the shaman queen.”

The old man, who was completely drunk, slurred his words, a cup of alcohol in hand. Next to him, Tan Kai had his chin in his hands and was listening with an interested smile, while opposite him, Onkei had a sour look on his face. He hated drunks. Jusetsu looked between the two of them as she bit into the pork on the bone. It was gently simmered and had a sweet and spicy flavor. Apparently, it was a specialty of this restaurant, and the old man, seeing that Jusetsu and her friends were travelling merchants, generously treated them to a meal.

The old man was a fisherman who lived in this port town on Kada, and his arms were covered in scaly tattoos. It appeared that few people on Kada or Karoku had tattoos like that anymore, but the old man proudly rolled up his sleeves to show them off, calling them the pride of a fisherman.

“But putting that aside, you have beautiful silver hair.”

The old man gazed at Jusetsu’s hair with drowsy eyes. Her shining silver hair was tied back, and she was dressed in black robes. Jusetsu, who was in her twenties, attracted attention even when she was wearing unrefined men’s clothing.

“I heard that in the country of Shou, the silver-haired bloodline had died out. You’d better be careful not to catch the eye of strange folk. Around here, silver hair means slaves.”

Jusetsu nodded. This was what her merchant master, Un Chitoku, had told her when she first came to Kada. In Kada, those with silver hair, whether they were men or women, were slaves and bought and sold by slavers. She was to be extremely careful as to avoid being misunderstood or kidnapped.

She had assumed that having silver hair wouldn’t be a problem in a foreign country, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Despite her caution, she had run into trouble many times in Kada. She had considered dyeing it, but that would be a waste of water, and Tan Kai claimed that it would be better if people remembered her face and name instead. If she became famous as a silver-haired merchant, she wouldn’t be mistaken for someone else or get kidnapped. Jiujiu agreed, saying, “It would be such a shame to dye that beautiful silver hair. Niangniang has done nothing wrong, so there is no need to dye it.” That was just like her. Onkei was worried, but also agreed that it was a good idea when thinking about the future. And so, Jusetsu kept her silver hair. In other words, she must become a great sea merchant.

“Shall we return to the ship now?” Onkei asked, looking at the plate that now held only bones. The old man had already fallen into a drunken doze. After finishing their business in Kada, they planned to return to Shou via Ake. Jiujiu had already returned to the ship and was preparing for the voyage.

“Did you two forget to buy anything?” Jusetsu checked with them as they left the restaurant and headed for the port. Tan Kai and Onkei responded in the negative.

“What about you, Niangniang?” Tan Kai asked. “You didn’t forget to buy a present for Dajia like last time, did you?”

“I didn’t forget that time. I only assumed he didn’t want anything. And then…”

He had been very disappointed. Even though as the emperor, he would have been presented with a countless number of precious and expensive items.

Tan Kai chuckled. Onkei glared at him, but seemed to agree, judging by his silence.

“I bought something for him this time, so don’t worry,” Jusetsu said, even as she began to worry that she might have forgotten something.

“Gold hair accessories for Kajou…a jade paperweight for Koushun…” Jusetsu counted the people she had prepared gifts for on her fingers. “Senri…Ishiha…Kougyou, Keishi…and then…ah,” she muttered and stopped walking.

“Oh no, I forgot about Ei Sei.” She turned around hastily. “He doesn’t look like it, but he holds deep grudges, so he’d surely keep nagging me if I were to forget his present. Maybe I should buy him some tea utensils, but if I buy something half-hearted, that would make him even angrier…”