"Being polite costs nothing," Kasumi said.

"'A courageous man has no need to be cruel,'" Koyo replied, quoting Shinsei. "We don't use honorifics much in the monastery, and I'm still a novice, anyway."

"Even still. You are someone who has chosen to follow the way and that deserves respect," Kasumi said.

"Well, thank you," Koyo said, bowing again. "'Every journey begins with a single step. Step well, and your journey will be filled with fortune. Step poorly, and it will be wrought with disaster.' What are your names?"

"Yasuki Nakanobu," Nakanobu said from the front of the cart.

"Hida Jiro," said Jiro.  "And my wife..."

He left her to fill her own name in.

"Kakita Kasumi," Kasumi said, with a polite bow.

Koyo bowed back. "May the Fortunes bless our travels," she said, then looked across the field. "And those geese," she added.

Jiro privately thought that it was more than most geese deserved, but held his tongue.

"Where have you been serving before now, Koyo?" he asked.

"A monastery near Nishiyama Mura," Koyo said. "The abbot said I was becoming a distraction and sent me to learn about the world."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow.

"A distraction?"

"Monks usually aren't girls," Koyo said. "I'm the youngest of twelve children, and the abbot took me in when I was seven because he said I was a natural."

Kasumi sighed.

"Men."

Jiro sighed at the broad condemnation.  Still, there was some truth in it...

"I wonder if the monks would be so easily distracted, but for their isolation," he said.  "Still... Ah, Koyo, in what sense a natural?  Are you talented at the spiritual arts?"

"When he asked what I wanted to learn about the Tao, I said 'Nothing,'" Koyo said. "He said it was the wisest answer he'd ever heard."

Kasumi laughed at that.

"Wiser than I, certainly," said Jiro.  "I can't question your wisdom in that regard."

Still, it was odd that she was on this road of all roads.

"It's all pretty simple, anyway," Koyo said. "I'm trying to find lessons in nature now, since that's most of what you find in fields."

"On your own?" Kasumi asked.

"The abbot did encourage me to find others to learn from," Koyo said.

"I don't think we would have much to teach you," Kasumi said. 'We're just a young married couple."

"...Koyo, I fear that you may be exploited for your innocence," said Jiro.  "Especially in the city we go to.  Be cautious.  And perhaps find a different city to learn from."

"I may not go all the way to Ryoko Owari," Koyo said. "Riding somewhere seemed like a good change of pace, though."

"I think it would be good for you to see the Empire," Kasumi said. "It would probably give you a good grounding."

"Agreed," said Jiro.  "A city of vice, though..."

"Yes," Kasumi said. "Not the best place to start."