Second part of the UFO 50 Collab

131225

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqyoF4U-8fg

Alright. I come here, not with a new chapter or a musical character analysis (Hey, that's a good title!), but rather my thoughts on the children's novel, Night of the Galactic Railroad, and the three translations I have read so far, as well as the 1985 animated film. Now, my journey with this book hasn't stopped yet. I intend to read the new manga version that was released last year, and I also intend to rewatch the film in English (I watched it in Japanese first). In five months, I will have my hands on the new translation by Asa Yoneda and David Boyd, which comes with some illustrations similar to the translation by Joseph Sigrist and D.M. Stroud, which has reportedly given the story a gothic feel, so that'll be fun to experience (It will also be the one version available in hardcover, which is a giant plus for me. I much prefer hardcover over paperback.). With that being said, I will also be bringing up how Parun may have been inspired by this book and making connections between Re:Kinder's and Night of the Galactic Railroad's story and characters. Just so you know, I will be giving spoilers to this story, so if you haven't, I highly suggest reading the book or watching the 1985 film. It's well worth your time. With that being said, let's being.

To start, I'm going to talk about the first version I read. That being Joseph Sigrist and D.M. Stroud's translations. This version was released in America in 1995 and was titled Milky Way Railroad. I will say that every translation gives more or less the same story, with some slight variations on dialogue and details like the names of certain events, as well as other minute details, but nothing all that dramatic... Except for this version, because this version translates a different draft... You see, Night of the Galactic Railroad is interesting in that there are four known written drafts by Kenji Miyazawa, each with one or more different scenes. Most versions, including the film (although the film is its own walnut to crack), will use the fourth and final draft as their version, but this story is unique in that it uses the third draft, and thus has scenes that aren't in any other versions of the story. But more on that later, I'm going to give a summary of the plot before I dive into the differences.

So, to start, Night on the Galactic Railroad follows two boys, Giovanni and Campanella, who are best friends and have known each other for years. However, the book paints it as if Giovanni hasn't had a lot of time to hang out with him due to his Father being away. He's described as being poor and not having time or the money to buy books, so he works at a print shop to try and get some money to support his sick Mom and sister (who is also implied to have a job, but we don't ever see or hear her). Giovanni's father is implied to be jailed somewhere in the North (Sigrist says Hokkaido in his introduction), and he hasn't been home for a while because of that. His Father seems to be a fisherman and hunter, and has caught various wildlife, and donated antlers and crabs he's caught and donated to the school for display. However, before he left, he promised to get Giovanni an otter skin coat, something that his classmates heard about and teased him for, most notably by a character named Zanelli. Giovanni tells his Mom he is teased for it, but Campanella never joins in on it; instead, he gives him a sympathetic look. Before this scene, Giovanni stopped at the store to get some bread and sugar so his Mom could put them in her milk, but the milk never came. So, he eats some tomatoes and goes out to collect them. On the way, he runs into Zanelli, who teases him once more, before going off to join his friends for the Milky Way Festival. When he gets there, he only finds an old woman who tells him to come back tomorrow, but since his Mom is sick, he really needed it then, so she just tells him to come back later. After that, he goes to watch the festival, a festival involving people grabbing lamps and putting them into the river. But on his way, he runs into Zanelli and his crew, who tease him about his Dad bringing him an otter coat, and Campanella watches on, feeling sorry for his friend. Upset by this, Giovanna runs to a field where he can see the stars, including the Milky Way stream clear in the sky... As he watches, though, he is blinded by a flashing light, and before he knows it, he's on a train.

Before we go any further, I would like to address Giovanni and Campanella's friendship, because by this point in the story, the two haven't actually talked to each other. The book doesn't actually show the friendship the two possess until they're both on the train. Before this point, their friendship is defined by the book describing Campanella knowingly not answering a question the teacher asks after Giovanni doesn't because of his being shy and uncertain in solidarity with his friend in an attempt to make him feel better, which just makes him feel sad for himself and Campanella. And during the chapter where Giovanni goes home, he mentions how his Father used to take him to Campanella's house due to their fathers being friends, and the two would play with a train set that ran on alcohol. Until then, we don't actually see them interact verbally until we see Campanella on the train.

Which... brings us back to the story... Giovanni is happy to see his friend, but before he can ask how he got on the train, Campanella tells Giovanni that the others couldn't keep up with him and that Zanelli and his friends all went home... Campanella's face is described as going pale, and his jacket is described as damp, as if it had been drenched in water... Remember that for later. Anyway, Campanella has a map made of what seems to be obsidian and seems to know where the train will be stopping. And from then on, the book becomes the two boys stopping at various locales and seeing the wonders of the Milky Way System as they see a bunch of out-of-this-world and truly descriptive worlds that honestly give the book a Fantasia feel to it. I can't praise the language of this book enough. Every scene, despite being short and to the point, is filled with descriptive imagery, so it can allow us to visualize and feel the wonders these boys are seeing. This isn't more apparent when they pass a field of blooming Gentian flowers that Giovanni wants to go out and pick, but before he knows, it's gone... But the field is described as beautiful for the short time it's there. From here, the boys meet a variety of folks, but during all this, Campanella asks questions like if his Mom can forgive him, and how he would do anything to make her happy, while asking what true happiness is. He thinks that people feel happiest when doing something good. As the book goes on, they stop at the Pliocene Seashore, where they meet a professor excavating a giant fossil, and they also find some huge walnuts that go back 1.2 million years. I wish I could go into every scene in detail, but this post is already going to be long, so I'm just going to briefly describe the next scene. After they get back on the train, they meet a birdcatcher who specializes in catching cranes and herons and sells them to be eaten. When he offers some to the boys, the herons he gives them are actually candy (described as cake in Sigrist and Pulvers translations), thus they start doubting whether he is a real birdcatcher. But then, a man simply called the lighthouse keeper shows up and starts talking with him about the migratory bird forecast, and then the birdcatcher disappears as he gets to his stops, and he catches some herons and stuffs them into his bag. After this, we're given a scene where Giovanni, Campanella, and the Birdcatcher show their tickets to the conductor. But where the Birdcatcher and Campanella give grey tickets, Giovanni's ticket is green, which allows someone to be taken everywhere on the train, including the true Heaven... It's around this time that Giovanni starts feeling fond of the Birdcatcher and wants to do something that would make him happy, but before he can ask what that is, he vanishes without a trace... and he feels bad because before he thought of him as a bother and wanted him gone, but after he leaves, he begins to regret that.

After this, they are joined by three more passengers, two children, and their tutor. The tutor isn't given a name, but the other two children are Tadashi, a six-year-old boy, and Kaoru, a 12-year-old girl. When they join, the tutor starts talking about being on the train to heaven, and tries to comfort Tadashi, who inquires about another sister named Kikuyo... Only to be told to look forward to seeing his Mother again. Before we know anything about these kids, the book basically spells out that they're dead... It even tells us that the boy's hair is wet... How did they die... Well... they were on the Titanic when it sank. No. Seriously. The book doesn't name it directly, but it says they were on a big ship that hit a giant glacier and started sinking. The tutor tried to get the kids to safety, but was stuck between saving them or potentially robbing someone else of the chance to be saved. This inaction made the three of them fall into the water and drown as a result. After hearing this, Giovanni thinks about the survivors and wonders what he could do for them, even though there isn't anything he can do.

The next few chapters include these kids as they eat apples together, given by the lighthouse keeper, and while the other kids eat them. Giovanni and Campanella put theirs in their pockets. As the train goes on, they see a bunch of amazing things, including magpies flying past, which Campanella had to correct Kaoru on, who thought they were crows. Campanella and Kaoru hit it off, which sparks some jealousy from Giovanni. Now, in Sigrist's version, there's a scene afterwards where they see a bunch of dolphins, which isn't going to be in any other version. But what will be in other versions is Giovanni being jealous that Campanella is talking with Kaoru, as well as the following scenes... I'm going to skip ahead to The Fire of Scorpio, since that is relevant to the theme of self-sacrifice that is prevalent in this book. In this chapter, they passed a fire that seems to have a Scorpion inside it. During this, Kaoru tells a story about a scorpion who would hunt to survive, but when faced with death by a weasel, the scorpion ran away and fell in a well. Lamenting his selfishness, he prays to God, "Burn my body so that it may become a beacon, to light the way for others as they search for true happiness." His prayer was answered, and his body became the flame the characters see at that very moment. As they pass by, they see a town celebrating the Centaurus Festival, the same festival Giovanni and his town were celebrating...

The next chapter has the kids saying goodbye to Giovanni and Campanella, as they reach their last stop... Giovanni tries to convince them to stay, but they have to get off... There's a discussion here about whether the place they're stopping at is the true heaven where God is, but ultimately it doesn't matter because it's where their mom is... So, they get off... And it's just Campanella and Giovanni alone again... Giovanni and Campanella promise to go as far as they can, and they both say that if being burned would make people happy, they'd do it... But they also ask what true happiness is... As Campanella cries, they pass the Coalsak Nebula, which looks like a black hole in the Milky Way... During this, Campanella sees a beautiful field and his mother... But Giovanni doesn't... He asks if they're going to stick together, but when he looks again... Campanella is gone... and Giovanni sticks his head out the window and screams for his friend...

Now, as I mentioned earlier, Sigrist uses the third draft of the story for his translation, which has another scene on the train after this, where a Professor appears and attempts to explain the moral. It's not a bad scene. It's there to expand on the theme of self-sacrifice and true happiness. But in the fourth draft, which is the draft featured in Pulver's and Neville's translations, this scene doesn't exist. And honestly, the story is better for it, not having it... Because after this scene, Giovanni wakes up on the same hill he initially ran off to, and goes to finish his errand of getting the milk for his Mom. He is successful, but as he goes home, he hears clamors that a child fell into the river, and he dashes over there, running into a classmate named Marceua, who tells him that it was Campanella who fell in. Campanella fell in saving Zanelli, who was trying to push his gourd further into the current and fell in as a result. Campanella dove and helped him back on the boat, but when they tried to get Campanella, he was gone. He didn't resurface. Giovanni goes down to the river, where people are still looking for him, and he runs into his Father, who says it's too late... that it had been 45 minutes since he fell in... When he sees Giovanni, he thinks he's there to comfort him or offer condolences, but Giovanni wants to tell him that he and Campanella went on a journey through the universe, and that he's at the very end of it... But he couldn't find the words. Campanella's Father asks Giovanni if he's heard from his Dad yet, and he tells him he hasn't. Campanella's Father thinks that's strange because he got a letter from him two days ago that seemed pretty optimistic about his return being very soon, and suspects his boat was delayed. After this, Campanella asks Giovanni to invite his friends over to his house tomorrow to play... Likely still mourning his son, who died saving someone else. Giovanni, meanwhile, focused on the only things he could... Delivering the milk and telling his Mom that his Dad was coming home soon.

And that's the story. Yeah. I do apologize for the long synopsis, but I needed to explain the plot for the people who hadn't read the book or seen the film. With that being said, let's talk translations. As mentioned earlier, I started with Sigrist's and Stroud's translation, which uses the 3rd draft. This version is pretty easy to read, though all versions are, in all honesty. But this one was specifically designed to be easy for English-speaking kids to read. The font is big, and the language is simple, making it a pretty good version to read to small age kids. However, it does start with an introduction that spoils the twist that Campanella dies. Now, this story was written by Miyazawa shortly after the death of his sister, who was his closest confidante and biggest supporter in his beliefs. That those who have the knowledge and power to do good should do it, even if at the cost of themselves. Kenji Miyazawa was a big believer in self-sacrifice and left a lucrative career as an agricultural professor to become a farmer to help rural Japan. Something that his peers and a good chunk of his family didn't understand. However, he was also a talented writer, having written tons of poems and short stories in between working on farms to help provide for as many people as he could. This story is one of them, after his sister died. Now, Miyazawa's stories are interesting in the fact that a lot of them didn't really get any appreciation until after he died, but Miyazawa cared much more about the people than he did his own works. This story really goes hard on the themes of self-sacrifice and true happiness and how one achieves it... Because Miyazawa was happiest when he was able to help others live easier lives at a pretty high cost to himself, and that is reflected in both Giovanni and Campanella. At the beginning of the story, Giovannia sacrifices a lot of his time to get some money to help his sick Mom, which leaves him no time to spend with Campanella or his other friends. He has no time for reading, and even if he did, he can't afford anything new, so he works in order to provide for his Mom. Campanella's sacrifice is much more fatal, though, as one of his friends falls in the river and he dives in to save them, and drowns as a result. So, when Giovanni sees Campanella on the train in a damp jacket, he's basically seeing the spirit of his friend spend time with him for one last time before he has to say goodbye. And the book hints at this from the very beginning. When Campanella lies to Giovanni about how he got on the train, he's described as pale and having pained eyes. He talks about whether his Mom will be able to forgive him. And in the final stretch of the journey, he starts to cry as his friend asks him to stay by his side, when he knows he can't. What's more, before he disappears, the Titanic victims come on board, and the little boy is described as having wet hair right before we are told that they were on the doomed ship. Thus hinting to the readers that Campanella is already gone. Giovanni often asks himself what he can do to make others happy, but never asks what would make him happy. It seems to me that Giovanni is happiest when he's able to help someone or just do something for someone. And towards the end of his journey, he remarks that if being burned like the scorpion would make others happy, he'd do it. He thinks that if the Birdcatcher wanted him to catch 1000 birds, he'd do it... Both of these boys are selfless to a fault, and by the end, we see Giovanni choose to keep going and face the world, striving to find true happiness... At least that's the conclusion one can come to, if you include the chapter with the Professor, which takes place after Campanella disappears and is in the Sigrist novel. Otherwise, after Campanella disappears, he completes his errands, learns of his friend's death, and that his Dad will be coming home soon, all in about the span of what seems to be less than 15 minutes.

Now. Before I move, I would like to talk about the Introduction in Sigrist's translations, as it goes over a lot about the mythological connections between Night on the Galactic Railroad and Miyazawa's own Buddhist beliefs, which is indicative of the Christian imagery and references strewn throughout the book. This introduction is interesting, though, because it brings up the festival in the book, likely being Tanabata, and that it's likely in August to coincide with Obon. It also breifly talks about the folktale, The Weaver and the Cowherd and how the two fell in love but are separated due to the weaver neglecting her duties, and her Father would allow them to see each other one night a year on the Milky Way. Where it has this to say (to make it easy, read from the bottom of page nine to the middle of page 10.

Yeah.. those words describing the boys as "lovers" is certainly a choice. Now, any queer reading you can give to these characters is subjective at best. But Giovanni does get jealous and moody when Kaoru enters the picture, so there is that. And Campanella is very quick to lie to his friend to make sure he isn't sad for the whole trip, really wanting his lad moments with his friends to be something special. Make of that what you will.

Now, onto the other translations by Pulvers. And the other one by Neville. These two are unique in that they're a collection of stories. Pulvers has nine other stories in his translation. And no, I didn't read them all. I thought about it, but ultimately decided against it since I wanted to make the post today. As I mentioned earlier, these versions are translations of Draft four, and they're mostly the same. Neville's translation is the most recent one, having been written in 2014. There are some differences in how lines and thoughts are written, and the part where Campanella disappears is also a little different. But all in all, these two are very competent translations of draft four, and you can't go wrong with either of them. With Pulvers, you're getting Night on the Galactic Railroad and other stories by Miyazawa. And while you get less with Neville, her version has two other stories that aren't translated by Pulvers. The only ones the two share between them are Night on the Galactic Railroad and The Nighthawk Star.

To show the differences between the translations, here are some excerpts from each book. To start, I want to show how the jealousy Giovanni feels for Kaoru is verbalized because it's basically the only time you can really place queer subtext in the story.

Sigrist and Stroud

Pulvers

Neville

Yeah, pretty different, aren't they? Special shoutout to Pulver's for using the words 'kinder' during one of those thoughts. Now, before we move on to how this story connects with Re:Kinder, I have one last version to talk about...

The 1985 movie is fantastic. It basically exceeded my expectations as a film and really gave depth to a novel already swimming in it. Clocking in at around 1 hour and 53 minutes. This movie slows down the pacing to a crawl, and it's all the better for it. This book actually cuts a few things around the second half, like some dialogue with the Titanic victims, and a few moments like them being chased by dancing Native American (called something far more outdated in all versions), and a few other moments in the book, like seeing the towers of Gemini. However, to counter this, they added quite a few scenes, and even expanded smaller moments into bigger ones, like Giovanni stopping at the store to get some bread and sugar, or the journey to the Plioscene shore, which has them cut through an empty town, which isn't mentioned in the book. The birdcatcher explaining how he catches his birds is cut, instead just showing it. In fact, the movie does a lot of show instead of tell, or show then tell. I noticed this especially during the beginning, where after school is dismissed, we see Giovanni look at the display where the specimens his Father brought are shown and talked about, and then are mentioned again when he's at home with his Mom. The former isn't in the book, but the latter is. But, that's not the most significant change, for after the Birdcatcher scene, but before Giovanni's ticket, they added two new scenes not in any version of the book. The first scene is with a blind wireless operator, who needs help getting to his station. Campanella and Giovanni help him there, and then they help him decipher a message that is hard to understand due to the static. It has the numbers 306, as well as references to God.... The answer to what the message is is in the next scene, where an old woman a few seats behind them tells them it's Hymn 306, Nearer, My God, To Thee. She then goes on to talk about an observatory as she quietly sings the hymn. These scenes are added to give more weight and a leitmotif for when the Titanic victims board the train, as that song is often associated with the Titanic, as it was performed as it was sinking. Now, Hymn 306, being Nearer, My God, To Thee, isn't going to be found in modern hymnals, but hymnals available at the time the book was originally published would have it listed as 306. And the hymn is referenced in at least Sigrist's translations (Pulvers mentions a different song that the characters whistle called "Once Around the Stars, and Neville doesn't really mention any song, but does mention a hymn being sung after the story of the children is told.), but other than that, those scenes also serve a purpose to help prepare the audience for the ending, which has a pretty significant change. That is the ending when Campanella disappears... To give you an idea, here's how it's done in the books... As I mentioned earlier, Campanella sees the field of True Heaver and when Giovanni looks out the window, he doesn't see it... In each version, he asks a question...

In Sigrist,

In Pulvers,

In Neville's

But then the movie does something that hits like a truck. It keeps the scene where Campanella vanishes, but Giovanni runs after him after seeing the door close. He tells him to wait. That he's going with him. But Campanella is one car ahead, even at the very end... Giovanna tells him they were going to stick together, that they were going to stay together... But as Campanella exits the last car, the door locks behind Giovanni, keeping him from following him. Giovanni tries to open the door, but he can't... Campanella says, "Goodbye, Giovanni," before disappearing into the darkness... Giovanni turns back, going through the now-empty train by himself before suddenly shouting his friend's name and waking up back in the field he ran off to. From there, it follows the book, but it moves the lines about Giovanni wanting to be more like the Scorpion to the end of the film, having that be the last monologue, as it's rewritten as a prayer. He says he and Campanella will always be together before he heads off home to likely tell his Mom about how he has the milk, and that his Dad will be coming home soon...

So... yeah.... that's every version I have read so far. When I get the manga, I will add some addenda if there's anything of note, but if there isn't, I'm sure that the new translation will have something to offer. But anyway, with all of that said, let's move on to what I'm really excited to talk about... How this relates to Re:Kinder.

Well, to start, the story is only referenced at the very beginning of the game. With it being on Shunsuke's shelf, which gives me reason to believe he's read the book. The book has themes of self-sacrifice and true happiness, and when paired with Re:Kinders themes on mental health invisibility, the parentification of kids, and how unchecked mental health issues can affect young minds who aren't as equipped to handle it as adults should be, in theory, I can see how Parun was inspired by this story. Especially with how Shunsuke acts. In a sense, Shunsuke is almost the perfect combination of Giovanni and Campanella. Shunsuke is often kind to Yuuichi, even after what he's done, and he's very ready and willing to put aside his feelings to help him and even care for him. But, like Campanella, he's also a liar... Often lying to his friends, his Mom, and likely himself to help others and not be seen as a burden, which is not too dissimilar to Giovanni, who wants to try and be kinder to others, and not be too selfish. Given the fact that Shunsuke's family is likely poor like Giovanni's, with a Father who is absent, like Giovanni's, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that he often puts aside what he wants to make others happy. But also like Campanella, Shunsuke risks his life to save others, but where Campanella dies, Shunsuke survives... But where both succeed at saving their friends, Shunsuke fails at saving Yuuichi. While Shunsuke doesn't have the religious connection that Miyazawa had with his characters, I do think Shunsuke based his morals and beliefs on this book, and actively puts them through the test in the game, even down to the true ending. Where Shunsuke falters is in the killer ending... because that Shunsuke doesn't learn the whole truth... He tries to move on, but he can't. That Shunsuke is haunted by the nightmares of those who died, who have been forgotten by the "real world." But aside from that, Shunsuke is basically a mirror to the two boys from the story... and all of this is just inferred when comparing the two stories. Either way, by the end of the story, both Giovanni and Shunsuke want to be kinder when they grow older in order to achieve true happiness...

Bumbleby week 2026

Day 5: Soulmates/Reincarnation

A snippet from The Magnamund Hunter’s AU

Campanella had survived the battle, her owner had not. This caused the scantily clad Felar to smile. Erster had been cruel, taking her roughly at night and using his magics to make her appear to be in love with him during the day. She would not miss him. The Kai, Autumn Snow, had given her the dagger and coin pouch they had salvaged from his body, and Campanella was trying to find better clothes, something that would conceal as much as possible. Despite having a wash after the battle, she felt dirty. So much that she had considered bedding the tall blonde knight, to see if it would erase any of the memories. He looked like the type to at least try despite her past. Instead she used the natural agility and balance of her cat-like race to stay hidden during the celebrations. The only thing that caught her attention was the scarred girl chugging Bor-Brew like it was water and not dying on the spot. Maybe she was a tall Bor? As many of the townsfolk went home, and the blonde knight and the red headed Kai staggered into a room together, Campanella left her hiding place to get some leftover food and drink. The last two humans were kissing frantically in a corner, but didn’t look away from each other as she stacked her plate up and poured a mug of watered wine.

She had just finished when suddenly the scarred female was standing unsteadily in front of her. “Hello?”

“Hiya not Blake! I’m Rora and this is Nen. Wait, is that right?”

“No,” Nen answered. “You’re Nora and I’m Ren.” He seemed to try and do some kind of bow. Nora, or Rora, stopped him from falling before laughing uproariously.

“It’s a… pleasure to meet you?”

“Anywhere we can get hitched around here?” Nora, or Rora, asked.

“I’m sure someone will sell you some horses for your wagon. I saw some still alive after the battle,” she answered truthfully. They travelled with a Kai and a Knight of the White Mountain, so they must be trustworthy. Even if the pretty male looked like a pirate.

“Apologies, she means wed,” he supplied.

“Oh,” Campanella thought this was a strange request so late at night but saw no reason to not answer. “The Order of the Sword has a temple in town. My own…, uh, dead companion never allowed me to go there, but I know the way if you would like to follow me.” The two gathered some belongings and the three walked out the door to the temple.

—————

Campanella found the ceremony strange, but her eyes grew wet with happy tears regardless. Especially when Nora (for that was her name) bent Ren (obviously) into a long kiss at the end.

“Woohoo! Get some girl!” The ex-slave quickly looked around to make sure no one noticed how much she had jumped at the sudden yell. It seemed the only one that did was a buxom blonde mercenary from the Stornlands. “Sorry,” she said to Campanella with a smile before adding, “sorry,” in a stage whisper toward the still kissing couple.

Campanella strangely found herself seeking out the loud stranger and when she found her it appeared the blonde had been looking for her.

“I’m Tracteur Blindé, wanna fight?” Campanella felt herself freeze in terror at the idea, “oh, I don’t mean me, that would be a waste. I meant in general. I only asked cause you’re wearing your dagger wrong. May I?”The woman seemed so eager to be of help that Campanella simply nodded a yes.

“Great! See, you’re wearing it too low on your leg, which means your draw time will be slower than you want.” With that Tracteur unbuckled the belt and tried to shift the dagger’s position higher. “Ah-ha! Belt’s too big, by a lot. Maybe I can make it work later. If not, my sister can fix it. She can fix anything.” When Tracteur stepped back Campanella found herself immediately missing the other woman’s warmth and scent, even though the latter still lingered.

“Sister?” She didn’t see anyone else around.

“At the forge. Did you know that every Temple of the Sword has its own technique for making blades? But they’re not a secret or anything, you can just ask to be shown it.”

“Huh?”

“We’re, um, renting the small hut right outside the temple. We could go there and wait for her?”

“Sure. I’m Campanella, by the way.”

“Woah! That’s a mouthful. I think I’ll call you ‘Bella, if that’s alright.” The ex-slave nodded again. “Great!”

“Wait, you’re NOT a member of the temple?” She asked happily.

“Nope. Just escorting my lil sis from temple to temple. She wants to be the best sword maker ever, you know.”

“So…you haven’t sworn an oath of celibacy?”

Tracteur’s smile turned a bit hungry, even as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “No. No oaths like that here.”