>What was the name of Kaguya's pad here in town again, Otokichi?
>Let's go case the joint.
>Doing your best to recall the details of the maps you studied last week, you set off northward for Ozukitei.
>Even half-blind, it's hard to miss the transition into the richer parts of town. Crowded row buildings give way to manicured lawns and gardens. Walls and gates start to appear. Kaguya's neighbourhood is richer still ? entire avenues of mansions, each in singular style, from stately villas framed by ornamental hedges to gleaming exemplars of architectural excess ? did anyone
really think what their garden needed was a golden three-story lion-headed fountain bisecting the walkway? You could live for a decade on the money it took to build that eyesore.
>But for every gaudy edifice, there is another whose tasteful luxury is alluring; there's just so much money here. And with as terrible judgement as some of them obviously have, surely it can't be too hard to convince them to part with some of it in your direction. Maybe offer to find them an even gaudier statue than their neighbours.
>Kaguya's own home, once you finally reach it, is surprisingly understated. You stifle a snicker ? understated by
what standard, exactly? It could beat every single home in all of Estval with barely a contest. It only looks understated because you've just spent the past 30 minutes strolling past mansions that wear their opulence on their sleeves. And while Ozukitei certainly
is large and doubtless worth an appalling sum of money, there is unexpectedly little ostentation about it.
>It is a low-lying structure of interlocking angular roofs clad in dark clay tile, rising an extra story here and there with tasteful asymmetry. It is ringed all around by white walls capped with the same manner of tiled roof, split in the middle by a large wooden gate; House Houraisan banners flank it on either side. The grounds within are larger than its neighbours, though not expansive ? such is the density of Val Razua that even the rich lack for space ? but there is a certain peaceful simplicity to what you can see through the open gate. There is an ornamental pond beneath the boughs of a large cherry tree, weathered stone lanterns casting the gentlest of light upon its surface, a low gazebo beside a small rock garden with just a few leafy plants to break up its sparseness, and narrow trails of finely crushed stone that meander off into the blurry distance. There is a rather meditative quality to the landscaping, in fact ? a moment's stillness in the bustle of the city, rather than a beacon to announce one's wealth to the world.
>The grounds are also mostly empty at the moment, save for a few indistinct figures milling in the distance, but the gatehouse appears manned by a pair of rabbits wearing Houraisan colors ? neither looking particularly attentive at the moment.
