[1]

When you get here (2nd floor of Terada Inn) Ryoma hears a man screaming. Choose the top option to go inside the room. Ryoma asks what's wrong and the man tells him he's having trouble with his next story (turns out this guy is a novelist). He introduces himself to Ryoma as "Natsumi Sosaku". After more complaining about not knowing what to do with his next story, he collapses to the ground and then asks Ryoma for ideas for his new book. Ryoma doesn't think he can be of any help, but the man says he's just after some ideas for the direction of the story, to get him started. He tells Ryoma that the story has an animal as a protagonist rather than a human and that the story will be told from a first-person perspective.

He first asks for Ryoma's advice on what the animal should be. Choose the TOP OPTION to select Cat. He thanks Ryoma for his help and gets to work on his story.

Now leave Terada Inn, then go back inside and enter the novelist's room again. The writer thanks Ryoma again for his advice and rewards him with a Broken Compass (...thanks, I guess?). Apparently he's finished the book already.

He asks Ryoma if he'll help out with his next novel and Ryoma says he will. He says the protagonist for his next story is a school teacher, but he's a reckless young man still in his prime and has only just become a teacher. He adds that this guy is hated by the students and has a load of his own problems in his life as well. He asks Ryoma for advice on a nickname for the protagonist - but the nickname will also be the title of the book itself. Choose the SECOND (MIDDLE) OPTION to select Bokuchan. He then gets to work on his story.

Again, leave Terada Inn, go back inside and then return to the room. He tells Ryoma he finished the book. Ryoma seems surprised that he's done already and the guy tells him he's a fast writer (yeah, no kidding!). He tells Ryoma he's had letters from readers telling them what they thought and apparently everyone loved it. The writer rewards Ryoma with Beautiful Silk.

He says he wants to write another story and describes it to Ryoma. He says that one day the protagonist receives an apparent suicide note from a teacher he respects, so he hurries to go to see the teacher, but it's too late - the teacher is dead. Appantly the teacher wrote about his life in great detail on the letter and said he had a friend called "Kei". But the teacher stole the woman Kei loved away from him and married her... Then Kei killed himself. Tormented by his feelings of guilt, the teacher ended up killing himself as well. The writer asks Ryoma for his suggestion for the title of the story. Choose the TOP OPTION to select Sentiment. The writer thanks Ryoma, saying that fits the subject matter of the book (the sentiments of the protagonist, the teacher and his friend Kei). He then gets to work on his story.

Again, leave Terada Inn, go back inside and then return to the room. He thanks Ryoma again for his help and gives you European Fabric. After the substory is complete, you receive 300 Dharma.

[1]

Eat at the Umaiya Udon Restaurant in Fushimi to start up the friendship bar with the shop owner. Then talk to the owner and choose the FIRST OPTION to start the substory.

He tells Ryoma he been worrying about his udon - wondering if people like the taste of it. Ryoma tells him he has nothing to worry about; his Udon is delicious, after all! The owner tells Ryoma he'll give him a meal on the house. Ryoma accepts his offer of his best udon. The man asks what Ryoma thought of it and Ryoma compliments the dish. Ryoma asks the guy if he'll teach him how to cook like that. The owner tells him that the secret is "Koshi". Ryoma thinks he's talking about Koshi in the context of noodle cooking (it's basically the Japanese equivalent of "al dente"), but he says he's talking about the "Koshi" (waist) of ones body - saying it's important to use your waist when mixing noodles... (yeah... they threw in a pretty bad pun for this one) ... He then injures his waist and asks Ryoma to help him out - since his waist is injured he can't do it himself. Ryoma is a bit reluctant at first, but he figures it will help him get better so he helps out. This leads to the "Udon Restaurant Helper" mini-game. This is basically a memory game - it tells you what the orders are (and what buttons to press) on the bar at the bottom end of the screen then it hides them and you have to press the correct buttons in the correct order to do the orders successfully. You can press L1 when it flashes at the top left of the screen to set all the button presses to one single button (for example, it will make all of the orders at the bottom of the screen a single button - like X - which is useful) - this is Ryoma giving a recommendation to the customers, which is why it sets all the orders to the same dish. When you get the orders wrong 3 times, you lose the mini-game.

After the mini-game, you receive 10% of the earnings as well as 250 Dharma. You can also now do the "Udon Helper" mini-game whenever you like by speaking with the owner and selecting the SECOND OPTION.

[1]

Go here and interact with the 2 girls standing around talking to each other. One girl is going on and on about all kinds of stuff while the other girl is bored out of her mind. The bored girl tells the talking girl (who we now know is called "Sakiko") that she isn't interested! She complains that Sakiko talks way too much. She then wishes she never bumped into her, saying everyone was right about her (apparently Sakiko is well known in Kyoto for her talking). She storms off saying no one could concentrate on her talking when she goes on all day long. As she runs off, Sakiko calls after her saying she hasn't finished talking yet, then she says to herself "I've done it again...".

Talk to her and she'll complain about how everyone gets fed up with her, saying she talks too much. She asks Ryoma if he thinks she does, but he says he's never heard her talking so he doesn't know. She then asks Ryoma if she can talk to him, saying she'll give him a reward if he's willing to listen. Choose the TOP OPTION to accept. She goes on about how she never feels like she's talked enough even though everyone gets sick of hearing her after a while and she says she's only satisfied when she can talk - she admits she keeps going on and on without thinking about what the person she's talking to thinks. She then introduces herself to Ryoma and her hobby is... talking with people. She goes on to say that everyone on the streets is fed up with her and she has no one to talk to - apparently everyone just goes past her when they see her. Eventually, Ryoma says "Hey..." and Sakiko asks if he wants a short break. Ryoma says she's already been talking for a long time! He says he already feels he's been listening to far too much, then asks if he can leave. She says no and then reminds Ryoma that he said he would listen to her talk and he shouldn't go back on his word. She starts crying, saying that Ryoma promised he'd listen and tells him again she has no one to talk to. Ryoma gives in, saying he'll stay and listen. Ryoma, thinking to himself, says it should be okay if he just pretends to listen to her until she finishes. Then she says she likes kind people like Ryoma, but hates people who pretend to listen to her talk and just nod every now and then to make it look like they're paying attention. She says she's going to make sure Ryoma really is listening to her by asking him questions about what she was talking about after she finishes. She then says she's just about to start... Ryoma is flabbergasted, thinking to himself: "You mean she's only just starting the real thing!? All this talking she's done already and she's only just NOW getting started!?" (yeah, this woman sure can talk!).

(this is going to be a very brief summary of what she says, because she really does go on and on and on and it will take up way too much room on this page to outline most of what she says)

She says she's noticed she's a lot different now than she was when she was little (different tastes in food, colours, and such). Among the bombardment of words she spits out, she mentions that she hated bamboo shoots when she was a child but came to like them after growing up. She next talks about something wonderful that happened recently - she says she had a childhood friend named "Kotaro", a boy 2 years her junior, and they used to play all the time, but he moved to a far away place and they never saw each other again... Until recently, when they had an unexpected reunion in front of a Tea House.

After she's done talking (/bombarding Ryoma with words), she asks him if he was listening to what she was saying. He says he was. To make sure of this, she asks him questions about what she was talking about. First, she asks him what food she came to like when she grew up. Choose the TOP OPTION to select Bamboo Shoots. She then asks where she had her reunion with her childhood friend Kotaro. Choose the THIRD OPTION to select In front of a Tea House. Finally, she asks Ryoma if he remembers her name. Choose the BOTTOM OPTION to select Sakiko. She rewards Ryoma with a Golden Stamp. You are also rewarded with 300 Dharma.

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After leaving the area after "The Lengthy Story", return here and talk to Sakiko (you can go into a building somewhere, then leave and she'll be around this area again). She thanks you again for listening to her before and asks if you'll listen to her again. Select the TOP OPTION to listen to her.

(again, I'll keep this brief)

She goes on and on about this amazing Tea House called "Otake Tea House" that is secretly popular among people in Kyoto. She goes on to mention the dango there - she says they have tricolour dango (3 dango on a stick, each one a different colour) and says it's Red, White and Green (in that order). She then talks about another tea house called "Uji Tea House" and talks about their famous "Amazake". Apparently it saves people's lives (supposedly several hundreds of people) - people who have given up on life smell the Uji Tea House Amazake and are enticed inside, have a drink of it, and then are happy with life again. She then talks about the tea girl at the tea house. Apparently men always swarm there just so they can see her, because she's so cute. She then mentions the tea girl's name is "Sumire".

After she finishes, she asks Ryoma questions about what she said. She first asks what order the colours were in on the tricolour dango. Choose the TOP OPTION to select Red, White and Green. She then asks what was the thing from Uji Tea House that saved hundreds of lives. Choose the SECOND OPTION to select Amazake. Finally, she asks you what the name of the tea girl at Uji Tea House is. Choose the SECOND OPTION to select Sumire. She rewards Ryoma with Dragon Tear. You are also rewarded with 350 Dharma.

[1]

After leaving the area after "Another Lengthy Story", return here and talk to Sakiko (you can go into a building somewhere, then leave and she'll be around this area again). She thanks you again for listening to her before and asks if you'll listen to her again, saying that this is the last time she'll ask Ryoma to listen to her. Select the TOP OPTION to listen to her.

(again, I'll keep this brief)

She starts off saying she's fallen in love with her old childhood friend, Kotaro. She thinks men hate talkative women, so she wants to stop talking so much, so she doesn't lose him. She says because of the way Ryoma watches her with such a sulky look on his face while she talks to him, it gave her the idea to talk to a scarecrow, because of the blank expression on a scarecrow. Then she mentions Kotaro's favourite dish is Daikon Asazuke. She next talks about ocean fishing and talks about how she caught a tuna when she was practicing.

Suddenly, Kotaro shows up and says he heard what she was saying and is grateful for her trying so hard for his sake. He says he likes her talkative nature so she doesn't have to stop - he says he wants to listen to her forever (is this guy serious?).

After that, she asks Ryoma questions about what she was talking about before they leave. First she asks who/what she talks to in order to fix her talkative nature. Choose the SECOND OPTION to select Scarecrow. She then asks you what Kotaro's favourite dish is. Choose the TOP OPTION to select Daikon Asazuke. Finally, she asks what she caught when she was practicing ocean fishing. Choose the SECOND OPTION to select Tuna. She rewards you with a Golden Inro. You are also rewarded with 350 Dharma.

Some background information is in order here. "Ee Ja Nai Ka" refers to a series of singing and dancing events that occurred at the end of the Edo period (Bakumatsu period). People repeatedly called out the phrase "Ee Ja Nai Ka" while singing and dancing on the streets in large groups. It's not clear exactly what their goal was (if any), but it's commonly believed they were calling for the reformation of the country due to their singing about politics and such. They'd sing about stuff they don't like such as their hatred of the foreigners who keep coming into the country, or they'd sing about stuff they're happy with, like when things in Japan improved, or calling for change, while constantly going back to their refrain of "Ee Ja Nai Ka". Some call them protests, but they weren't really "protests" so much as they were just dancing while singing about things. The reason I haven't given this title a translation is because the translation can differ depending on the context (what exactly they're chanting about); when singing about stuff they like (such as when the armies of the Choshu domain, who were supporters of the Emperor, seized control of the capital and things became cheaper) it could be translated as "Isn't it great?" or "It's great!". But when singing about stuff they don't like (like their hatred of the foreigners from Europe and America arriving in Japan), it could be translated as something like "Right on!", "Isn't that right!" or "Ain't that the truth!" (eg - "The gods will descend unto Japan as rocks fall on the homes of foreigners. Right on! Right on! (ee ja nai ka! ee ja nai ka!)"). For other chants, it could also be translated as "Who cares?" or "Who gives a damn?". It's just one of those things that is both dependant on the context and it's also at the translator's discretion.

[1]

Go near this area to trigger the substory. Ryoma sees a group of people singing and dancing. Ryoma asks what the hell's going on and a man says that it's "Ee Ja Nai Ka" (see above). The man explains it's been happening a lot recently, with groups of people calling for the reformation of the country. The man goes on to say that everyone is changing - apparently from the start it was a group motion calling for reformation, but there are a lot of guys just pretending to be supporting that cause now. As a result it has just become a silly dance on the streets. There are even guys in the groups who take advantage of the dancing to steal and cause violence. After the man says that, we see a couple of the guys in the Ee Ja Nai Ka group trying to steal from a shopkeeper. They tell the shopkeeper "Who cares (ee ja nai ka) [if we steal from you]? It's for the reformation of the country". The shopkeeper tells them doing this isn't reforming the country, it's just a nuisance! Ryoma steps in and tell them they can't use the Ee Ja Nai Ka group to just steal things. The two men start dancing and singing "ee ja nai ka", which makes Ryoma join in as well (lol)! The shopkeeper says "Aren't you going to stop those guys?". Kiryu comes back to his senses, saying it's a scary dance because of how it can entice people to join in! Kiryu then fights the two theives.

After Ryoma beats them, they run off and the shopkeeper thanks him, rewarding him with an Exquisite Gear. You are also rewarded with 300 Dharma.

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Go here and speak to the fisherman. Ryoma asks what's wrong and the man says he hasn't caught a single fish all day. He loves fishing but he's never once caught a fish and his wife keeps complaining to him about it. He promised his wife he'd bring home a fish today and moans that he won't be able to keep that promise. Then he asks Ryoma if he fishes. Ryoma says he does sometimes, and then the man asks Ryoma if he'll catch one fish for him. Ryoma agrees to help.

[2]

Go here and do the River Fishing mini-game. It's worth pointing out that you don't even have to do this mini-game if you don't want to; you can buy a fish from the fish market to give to him.

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Go back here and talk to the fisherman. Select the TOP OPTION to give him a fish. He thanks you and heads home to his wife. This starts the friendship gauge with him. You are also rewarded with 150 Dharma.

After completing this substory, you can give the fisherman a fish whenever you see him in this same location to increase the friendship gauge.

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Go near this area and Ryoma sees a young boy talking to himself, saying how everyone shuns him, followed by "Me as well!". He then sees Ryoma and says "Don't kill me!". Ryoma asks him what he meant by "me as well", after all he was talking by himself so what's with the "as well"? The boy says nothing and Ryoma tells him he doesn't have to tell him if he doesn't want to, then apologises for disturbing him. As Ryoma leaves, the boy says "I want to play with everyone as well!". Ryoma sits down with the boy and the boys talks about how his dad is strict and never buys him the toys that all the other kids have. He says earlier the kids were playing with their spinning tops (Beigoma) but he didn't have one so he couldn't join in. He goes on to ask if Ryoma will give him something he doesn't need. He says he'll have anything Ryoma is willing to give him - he says children can play with anything! Choose the TOP OPTION to give him something.

You can give this kid almost any item in the game (except Valuables and some General Items - like food and drink). Substory is called "Junk-Child" because you just give the boy any old junk you want. Personally, I gave him Scrap Metal because that stuff shows up all over the place in the game.

After giving him an item, it starts up the friendship gauge with the boy. You are also rewarded with 150 Dharma.

After completing this substory, you can give the junk-boy any old rubbish of your chosing when you see him in this same location to increase the friendship gauge.

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Go here and talk to the woodcutter on the ground. He tells Ryoma he was cutting wood and hurt his back. Ryoma says this kind of work would do that to you and the woodcutter says he's been doing it for 50 years and until now never once hurt his back cutting wood! He says he needs someone to help him cut wood now, since he can't do it. Ryoma agrees to help him out. He wants Ryoma to cut 20 pieces of wood, if he is able. This begins the Woodcutting mini-game. You can keep going after you cut 20 pieces if you want, but you don't have to for the sake of this substory. After you cut 20 pieces, quit out of the mini-game. The woodcutter thanks you and gives you 100 Mon for each piece of wood you cut. He asks Ryoma if he'll help him out again in the future and Ryoma says he will if he gets a chance.

After this, the friendship gauge with him starts up. You are also rewarded with 150 Dharma.

After the substory, you can come back to this location and cut wood for the man to build up the friendship gauge (as well as make some money).