"There are cases where a king will lose their way, and instead of pushing forward into disaster, will realise their errors, and abdicate. Or die some other way." He says it with the gravity that it deserves. "In those cases, the kirin will survive, and be able to choose a new king. They may return to Houzan, or they may travel the kingdom, following their instincts, until they find the new ruler."

He, too, stops picking berries. The seriousness of the topic seems to prevent it, somehow. "It is more common for the kirin to perish first, unfortunately, at which time a new ranka will grow on the shashinboku, the great tree from which all kirin are born. And, of course, no king will survive the year, should the kirin fall."