I arrived in May, well past the flowering season of this region of the planet.

[ So no, he wasn't here last year. And now that he says it, he realizes that it'll soon be a year since he arrived here. That is... not so long, and yet, for him, who has accomplished so much in his short life so far, it's unbearably long.

But that is neither here nor there right now. He follows along Tsurumaru, quiet as the other babbles happily. ]

It seems this city values traditional artisan trades. It's a shame that the planet has been reduced to this state. I would have liked to sample the sweets you describe.