Episode 4, Chapter 1: To the Far East

What business do you have with the head constable?

Tch, what a total mess.

I am Captain Yeowool! State your business!

Urgh... My hair's standing on end...

Take a moment to rest if you're hurt.

Oh, you're right on time.

Take this letter of introduction. It explains what's happening here in the west.

Go east and deliver it to the branch master there. He'll be happy to help you.

East...? You mean we have to cross the ocean?

Sure do. I've arranged for you to catch a ship in Port Vellum.

You made arrangements? That's out of character for you, Uncle Miller.

Right? He's acting like a real branch master.

Put a little respect on my name!

Do you know how much trouble I went through after you two destroyed that guardian?!

You have my utmost respect, Mr. Miller.

Get going now! Just show them my letter at the port.

And bring back that beastkin who saved the world.

Huh? Whazzit?

Uh, we have this letter, and we're supposed to catch a ship.

Oh, right. Rings a bell. You're heading to the Far East.

Yup, that's right.

The guild's paid your fare, so head aboard!

Cloud.

Look.

Wow...

Ah! Almost there.

At last, our destination. Naksan.

Nya?! Meow! Meow! Meow!

Ah! Hey, wait!

Guess it's feeling better! No more seasickness! Hehe.

*Sigh...* Not again.

This isn't right. Let's go back.

What the, What's this cat thing?!

Looks like a youkai. Shoo, shoo. Get away!

Ugh! There it goes again...

Who are you guys? Is that youkai yours?

Youkai?

Ah... You must be outsiders, dressed like that.

Uh uh uh, whatchamacallit... oh, monsters?! Is that what you call them?

That's right. Are they called youkai here?

What? You didn't know that?

They don't use the word "monster" in the east.

Whoa... How'd you know?

I just did some research.

Hehe... You were studying for our trip?

No, I wasn't!

Pspspsps! C'mere!

Hello, excuse us.

Huh? Ah... Ahem!

Welcome to this serious government office.

How can I help you today, foreign guests?

Uh, we're just here for that cat.

Th- The cat? This is your cat?

...Could I possibly pet your cat, then?

For sure... Ah! It ran away again!

No! Meowsers!

Meowsers...?

Verna! Let's go!

I don't think we can just barge in here...

Phew... Finally got you.

This place... It's so loud!

That's because this is Naksan's shopping district.

You really did your homework, Verna.

It's not like I was excited for this trip! Or to try all the new food here! R-really!

Okay. I believe you.

Seriously!

Phew... That was a workout...

Let's look for the guild now.

Welcome to the Monster Tamers Naksan branch.

Hello, we're here to meet the branch master.

I see! What business do you have?

Um... It's kind of a long story...

Here. This is a letter from Branch Master Miller in Hananis.

Hmm... I understand now! We'll be happy to help!

...And happier if our good-for-nothing branch master weren't always goofing off.

Wh-what...? Good-for-nothing?

Our respected branch master, Leeho, is away at the moment.

He's left our most skilled representative, Yuna, in charge, Huh, that's me.

He's very skilled at delegating. Everything. To me. Specifically!

Sounds like a lot...

Yes, so please tell me, as simply as possible, how I can help you.

Oh, I also have our official seal, so I can authorize anything! Just ask!

Couldn't that get you in trouble?

Oh, the buck stops with the branch master, so it's not my problem! Hmph!

Uh... we're looking for a certain beastkin.

There are more beastkin than humans in Baek-Ah. Could you be more specific?

The beastkin that stopped the world from ending...

Nope, still no idea... What exactly are you guys looking for...?

Hmm... Maybe it would be better to talk to the branch master about this?

He left without saying where he was going, so good luck with that.

Uncle Miller does that a lot, too... but this guy sounds even worse.

Tell me about it. Ugh.

The Kings of Mount Tai, the enlightened ones.

They stand watch over the innocent masses...

And the turmoil of the secular world dissipates like a wisp of fog.

You're travelers from afar, right?

Nice to meet you, my name is Jiwon.

You're Cloud and Verna, aren't you?

Yes. Uh, how did you know?

Tales from beyond the mountains are carried by people, and tales from beyond the sea are carried by birds.

I am merely one who cares for those birds.

What brings the headmistress of Dohwa Garden here?

Haha. Please, relax. I have Master Leeho's permission.

*Sigh...* Of course you do...

Anyway, I believe I can be of aid to you.

You're looking for the beastkin who will save the world, yes?

Yeah. Do you know where we should go?

Unfortunately, I don't have that information.

However, Sangun will know.

Sangun...? Who's that?

In the east there exists the Council of Empyrean Fangs, a gathering of powerful and influential Divine Beasts.

Sangun is the leader of the Council of Empyrean Fangs and the king of Mount Tai.

He's a hard man to get ahold of, but I know a way to find him.

There is a flute I have that, when played, will transport you to Sangun's hidden home.

Great! Let's play it now!

Unfortunately, there are steps that must be taken first.

The flute must be charged with energy from a beastkin or youkai.

I knew there was gonna be a catch.

It's not a difficult task. My friend who lives in the forest can make quick work of it.

And as it so happens, I'm in search of adventurers to escort me there.

You want us to be your guards.

Hmm... Seems sketchy, but it's our only lead, so... Let's go.

Haha, thank you.

Where exactly is this friend of yours?

Somewhere in the Forest of Fireflies.

We'll need to travel through a town to get there.

What's that in the town? Is that a youkai?

Hmm... Why are there Hauntstacks here? Let's investigate.

Ms. Jiwon! Get behind us!

We can take care of this... Ah, no! It's dangerous!

Thank you for your concern, but I'll do my part, too.

Now, let's do this together.

Haha! Saw that, right?

Why did you even need guards in the first place?

I've got a bit of a situation. Please, I'd appreciate your assistance.

...Why are you in this jar?

Isn't it obvious?! I'm hiding from the youkai!

Do you know why the Hauntstacks came all the way into town?

Hmph! It's all the dokkaebi's fault, obviously...

Is that on good authority?

I don't know! I just heard it on the street! Go talk to some other jar!

Then we'll confirm the truth ourselves.

Are dokkaebi really that dangerous?

Dokkaebi are dangerous alone, but they're also capable of commanding weaker youkai.

These youkai were probably forced to come here by dokkaebi.

Are you sure you don't want to run, mister?

Ahaha! I'm not scared of some youkai! I've got this!

Huh?! Lady Jiwon! You're here, too? The town is a mess, isn't it?

I see the people of Beomgol are fierce as ever.

Haha. Well, this isn't our first time facing youkai.

I heard there were dokkaebi in the area. Do you know anything about that?

I heard that the dokkaebi living in the forest led the Hauntstacks here.

They've always stayed in the forest. I don't know what's gotten into them.

Thank you for that information. We'll investigate further.

If Lady Jiwon is on the job, I'm sure things are well in hand! Thank you!

What the? Wasn't it just dancing by itself?

It's a song pouch. A dokkaebi's enchantment makes it dance.

Which means there really is a dokkaebi here...

Help! Help me!

Calm down. You're okay now.

A dokkaebi! There's a dokkaebi!

We'll go investigate. Where did you see it?

That way! Towards the village entrance!

It's a gourd dokkaebi use to carry alcohol.

It still smells, so the dokkaebi must be nearby.

...N-nice to see you... Jiwon!

Do you know each other?

This is Gubby. He's a friend of mine.

But... did you bring these youkai here?

No, no, it's all lies!

Humans hit us! So...so we ran!

I'm innocent! Trust me!

Humans attacked the dokkaebi?

Yes! Everybody is big mad!

Who would do such a thing?

In any case, we'll have to calm the dokkaebi down.

I came here for buckwheat jelly! For everybody!

Yummy buckwheat jelly will make everybody happy!

Okay, we'll help too.

Let's find some buckwheat jelly first.

I have an idea. Let's go further into the village.

By the way... I thought dokkaebi would be more... intimidating?

Well, Gubby is just a young dokkaebi.

Oh, is this buckwheat jelly?

Residents of Beomgol place buckwheat jelly outside their homes to avoid being harmed by dokkaebi. It's a custom here.

But... everything's been destroyed.

Our buckwheat jelly... it's ruined...

Hmm... The youkai must've done this.

Can't you still eat it, though?

No! We only eat clean jelly!

Wow, picky...

Huh? Is... Is that a dokkaebi next to you?

Oh, uh, this dokkaebi is, uh...

We caught him causing trouble in the village and were sending him back to the forest.

Oh...! Thank you for doing that!

We need some buckwheat jelly to calm the dokkaebi. Do you know where can we find some?

I would be happy to give you all the buckwheat jelly you need, but the youkai have smashed it all...

Ah, right! We do have buckwheat flour over there. Take that to Ms. Soonja.

She's a buckwheat jelly master, so she'll be able to whip some right up for you.

We have the buckwheat flour. Shall we go visit the buckwheat jelly master?

Oh my! Look who's here! Jiwon, it's been so long...

Nice to see you, ma'am. Would you be able to make us some buckwheat jelly with this?

Hmm, I can but... buckwheat jelly needs to rest overnight. You can't rush perfection.

We need buckwheat jelly to calm the dokkaebi. It's urgent.

Waiting any longer will just cause more damage.

This goes against everything I stand for, but... alright.

I suppose I can take some shortcuts if it's only feeding dokkaebi.

Thank you.

All done! Go ahead and take it!

Thank you, ma'am.

Here, you can have a piece too, little one.

Meow!

Oh! Can I have one...?

Oh, no! This isn't meant for people to eat! You'll be sick for days!

Just what's in it...?

Now that everything's ready, shall we go find those dokkaebi?

Yummy buckwheat jelly! This will make the dokkaebi happy!