As always, thanks for the great translation! I've had seen this story animated, but reading it is much better. One thing that has me wondering, though, is the fate of Houki. The anime gave me the impression it hadn't been born at all - or maybe it was a mistranslation, but taking what Shushou says in "A thousand leagues of wind" into account, it looks like it was swept away to Hourai. But if that is the case, why aren't the wizardsses of Mt Hou looking for it? Why didn't they ask the kirin to do so, even when they were looking for Taiki? Surely Rokuta and Keiki, at least, must have noticed the absence of Houki when they visited Mt Hou... It's so strange. I hope Ono address it in the future.

At this point, there are enough dangling threads in the Twelve Kingdoms series to weave a couple of carpets, starting with the highly unresolved situation in Tai, the highly unresolved situation in Hou, and the impending collapse of Ryuu. One can only hope that Fuyumi Ono addresses some (or maybe even all of them) in her upcoming epic.