Guardians of Azuma, Married Journal, Year 2, Summer
Updated on 16 October with ascension to godhood on 29 Summer in Azuma.
Updated on 14 October with a journal that includes effects of the recent game update. In this journal, that occurred on 20 Summer. It is not really the 2nd year because I had a son on 10 Summer so it now is the 7th year.
Tanabata Festival
Although Kai spoke of it for days, he did not attend. I found him at home when I went back briefly to change into my Yukata. He asked ne to join him for dinner, which I did, but then remained in the shrine while I went to the beach to help Kanata with the wishes.
Precisely at 7.00 p.m, the Festival begins although people will be gathered at the beach prior to that.
It was interesting to note that the individuals whose wishes I fulfilled actually did not attend.
The first wish was from Murasame who wanted a Strawberry. I did not understand at first that I need not interact with him at all, but rather tell Kanata the request was complete. It would be then that I would give the Strawberry and give it to Kanata technically. (Initially I searched for him on the Map, saw he was in the Winter Village and then suspected I was going about it the wrong way!)
The second wish was from Ikaruga asking for a Sweet Potato.
The third was Kotaro asking for Stuffed Mochi.
As soon as I delivered the third item to Kanata, she announced that the Festival was over. She thanked me but gave no reward. Woolby kicked up a fuss saying he ought to be thanked but Kanata said what I was thinking... he contributed nothing whatsoever!
8 Summer,:
Yachiyo's birthday. She says: Oh, I alnost forgot that today was my birthday. Well, not so much my birthday as my... homecoming day, I guess? The day I finally found a place to belong.
I give her Preserved Bonito as usual but choose 'celebrate birthday'.
The nicest person one can imagine, she responds: 'A birthday present for me? Oh, you shouldn't have! Today's turning out to be one of the most delightful days of my life.'
Kai for some reason is outside our Autumn Shrine at 9 a.m. and tells me: 'Today's Yachi's birthday! I owe her way more than I could ever repay... I'll throw a party at her place tonight. She can put it on my tab!'
Oh Kai!
Now he exclaims: Heh heh! Just thinking about another edition to the family makes me excited!
Kai: How does it feel to go out on an adventure?
Kurama: For your information, I experience plenty of adventures but I suppose I can savour the occasional RL outing!
Kai: (sigh) You and your 'nerd'
talk, man! What could be better than feeling the wind in your hair?
Time to relax and have a drink! Huh? No? Damn!
10 Summer:
I went into labour and Misha was born!
Birth Event:
Yo Darling
Darlibg!
Hang on... you're lookin' kinda sick. Feeling okay?
I fwel a little sluggish, but I think I'll be... Urgh!
Kai: WHAT?! Darling?!
(He growls) what the... Is it time?!
Darling.. Th- The baby...
Hang i there! I'll get you to help...
Sorry. ...Wait, no. Moving you seems like a bad plan
Woolby! Go get us some help!
Woolby: Yeah, I got this! You stay with her, Kai!
Many many people arrive. Takumi, Kusatsu, Tsubame, Yachiyo, Watarase, Sakaki, Zaza... the only one who looks like she might have exleriwncw as a mi d wife is Hisui
Hjsui: How is she doing?
Kai. Thanks for comin', guys!
Woolby: I grabbed everybody I coukd thibj of!
Yachiyo: Loojs lije it's nearlt time. We'd better hurry.
Tsubame: You got it.
Takumi: Roger!
Kai: Hey, uh... I wanna help out! Is there anything I can do?
Yachiyo: i guess... Coulx you boil sone water abd bring fresh, clean towels?
Kai: HELL, YEAH! On it!
Hisui (laughing) That's the spirit. Don't you worry, we'll handle things from here.
(Sound of a baby crying... it is raining heavily today, and Kai is standing in tbe rain.)
Yachiyo: Here. Alk done. Come anf see.
Kai. Yeah. Good...
I am holding the baby in my arms.
Kai (laughibg happily) Darling!
Me: Darling...
Kai: Sorry. I'm sorry. When it came down to it, there wasn't a dqmn thing I could do for you. I just stood aroubd outside, prayin' to whoever'd listen. I'm such a chump.
Me: No. I wouldn't say that. I could feel you there wuth me, in spirit. Thank you very much. It gave me strwngth whwn I needed ir most. Thank you. But never mind that now... Look.
I show him the baby.
Baby: Gaa gaa...
Kai: Huh. So this is our new family member, eh? I like the look in his eye.
Me: Right. Yes... Say hello to our little bundle of joy.
Kai: Both of you worked harx, huh. That's how our baby managed to make it here, safe abd sound.
Me: I think he wanted to meet Paoa qnd Mama as soon as possible.
Me (to the baby): Thank you for being born.
Kai: Thanks! Ywah... thanks so much.
Then:
Kai: Rifht? Darling. We owe this little kid a name.
Me: Right! I've actually had one in mind for a long time.
Kai: Let's hear it.
Misha
He is seen first as an infant but immediately five years pass and it is his fifth birthday.
I chose to celebrate his birtbday when I was offered the option to hang out. I gave him Castella Cake. He is at
What with giving birth and all, I almost forgot it was Kusatsu's Birthday as well. For
tunately I made it to the inn in the nick of time. Gave him ice cream. His response: 'I'll take good care of it' as though it were a new pet! Still, it raised him to Level 10.
The trader is at the Summer gate today selling gems. Almost missed that. Kai and Misha havr bern asleep for hours. I am tired of Summer remaining at Level 9 because I forgot to grow 300 flowers so I placed new plots evetywhere there was a vacant spot and planted them.
Now I need to cook a high level Quick Meal for the Contest.
11 Summer:
Raised Misha to Level 3 with Shortcake.
Pilika: Evwrything turned out for the best in the end... so thanks.
I still feel guilty I made her stay, promising we would be forever together when I knew in my heart it was Kai I wanted.
12 Summer: Misha awakened me at 6. He found a blue shard that turned out to be a piece of Mihoshi Habaki's heart. All the gods convened. We must find the other four shards in the sky.
Scarecrow Island,
Dual Shell Island
Eastern Shell Island
Arctic Island
They all display gold pins now.
16 Summer:
For Castella Cake: Did you make this just for ne? Thank you very much.
Then:
Here! For you!
Gives me Shortcake
Misha Request 2
Defeat Level 80 Wolf
Reward Water Crystal
17 Summer: Woolby tells me the Fireworks Festival is in three daya and I should ask some one. I cqnnot imagine le I can ask any one but Kai!
Raised littke Misha to Level 6 and now cqn cook together.
Using the Fruit Smoothie Recipe, we made Split Mix. While I was chopping, he said: I brought us plates. Is it done yet?
With Castelka Cake, yiu can choose either Kusatsu or Misha.
Misha: Oh look! We made something really cool!
It is called Cheery Castella
Kurama was eating at tge Sumner high street ikazaya. He said: Unbelievable! I wouldn't suggest walking the streets at night. You risk running afoul of one of that little prankster's traps.
19 Summer;
Kai: So, hoe does it feel to be out on an adventure? Sure beats holi' up at home.
Karuma: For your information, I do plenty of adventuring. But I suppose I can savour the occasional 'IRL' outing.
Kai: (sigh) You and your nerd talk, man. What could be better than feelin' the wind in your hair?
Joy! I got the last Frog on Azuma. Funny how it can be nothing more rhan a matter of confidence. It was the Frog in the Heavenly Realm on the isolated rock. All you need to do is warp to the Heavenly Office, then take the invisible path into the sea. Simply jump, jump, jump, jump and jump... as long as you maintain your momentum, you can make it to the Frog.
It has Proof of Valour.
Now all that remain are Frogs in the Forest of Endings.
Speaking of which, back to the Forest of Endings. Everything poisonous. Somehow I found the little alcove with the remaining Brightbloom on the left side of the dungeon and used the Fan Dance.
Near the endpoint a Frog gave me a fabulous Gate Recipe.
A notr here about Cooking. I now have the Recipe for Royal Curry. I believe this was the dish so belobed by Skye long ago either in Harvest Moon or Rune Factory. Here I thinknit may be the only dish the actually requires a specific level of ingredient: Level 8 Steamed Rice.
The full recipe:
Lv 8 Steamed Rice
Curry Powder
Lobster
Golden Pumpkin.
Another aside concerns weapons. I made the most powerful sword available so far only tk diacober it was a Longsword tather than a Shortsword. In this game, you can have a Longsword and a Shield ot Pauldron. In earlier games, you had to gibe up protection to wield those weapons.
Nevertheless, I found it slow and cumbersome. I gave it then to Kai who favours longswords and returned to my Rune Sword. Even the Rune Sword is longer and slower than Clarice's Sabre. I wonder if that would be equally powerful if I could upgrade it to Level 10.
20 Summer: Fireworks Festival.
Woolby telks me Matsuri needs help and ai had best go to the God Shrine before 5.00. Faikure to do so actually cancels the Festival!
Misha has a request this morning:
Misha's Request 5
Deliver Honey Castella Cake
Reward: Light Crystal
Just speaking to him:
Misha: I love you more than ever, Mama Eugenia!
He is Level 7 now.
I give him Mont Blanc.
He respinds with Shortcake
Kai tells me: The Fireworks Festival is today at the Sumner Beach, 7.00 p.m. sharp! Better start preparing now - I'm already rarin' to go!
I went to the beach. Matsuri was standing in front of her shrine. My only options were to hang out or chat. I gave her an hibiscus.
After all that, a prompt did apoear at the top saying the Festival ended at 5.
Now when I spoke to her, the event was initiated. I again used a purple Dark Crystal for a deluxe purple firework. I hope it pleases Kai as much as last year.
Instead of giving her a gift she never really adores, I chose Discuss Entertainment with Tsubame. She said: My day's all the better for that. The other option was to take a nap together for an hour. I had a feeling she would hate that waste of good selling hours.
NEW UPDATE
21 Summer: This morning, I am giving gifts to every one again.
Kurama snarkily: 'You seem to enjoy your food'
Where is that coming from? I am not Ikaruga! And really, I have made far more sandwiches for him than meals for myself. In fact, just coming towards him with another Sandwich when out of the blue, he said that!
22 Summer:
I am devoting a few days to social butterfly efforts. I am excitef about the possibikity of recriving a special item at Level 12.
The irony here is that I am married to Kai and gave him gifts daily, but heart levels were maximised at Level 12.
In my other game where I only now reached the point of fighting Ura a second time, I reached Level 12 with Kai and received the Lifesized Kai Cutout Recipe from him. I was dedicated in writing a detailed Walkthrough based upon that game but I am curious now and although I am going through the Forest of Endings here floor by floor, I am taking time off to raise all heart levels to 12. It is not that quickly achieved! Giving most favouuritr items at Level 10 only increases heart level by less than a quarter. Not only that but hanging out with every one consumes every waking hour!
I took a little time to take my crew to fight Clarice again and then went to the Soring Kagura Sheine to fight the black dragon. All the best weapoms and equipment now require White Dragon Fur and Black dragon scales. As I did not look at what I had before I did this, I do not know what I received in these repeat battles. Next time.
I need more Large Fur. I was giving it to Clarice every day. Now I am not receiving any from my barn.
23 Summer:
I will take this opportunity to find more favoured gifts... I basically had found one for each character and simply then gave that again and again.
When I gave Kusatsu Ice Cream tonight, he gave me Flounder Sashimi. Those aflounder are thw bane of my existwnce. In all this tine, I only caught two.
New situation here: some villagers are collecting Mushrooms now and leaving them in the shipping container.
Is this a part of Logging now perhaps? I would think they were from the Barn except that those items go to my inventory.
I went home at 11 p.m. and for the first time, Kai actually got out of bed to greet me! When I went out to look through the shipping bin as I do very night, he evidently went back to bed as when I returned, he was snoring very heavily!
24 Summer:
I went to Yachiyo's tk sell Level 1 stuff and she kept shouting: You can do it!
Then: 'I agonise over stuff like this too, but I believe in you! You can do it!'
I do agonise and am hesitant to sell anything in any world.
I took all my Woolies including King Wooly inro battle today to see if raising theur levels would force them to produce Large Wool. I am at a loss as to why I had so much once abd now cannoy increase rhe total. I need 10 to make another Snow Wolf Decoration. Clarice reciprocarltes either with a Large Wool or giant Gold Cabbage most of the time but I want a steady source. They kept dying instantly in battle so not certain how useful the experience was although their levels doubled. I cruelly took them into the Forest of Endings.
25 Summer: The Quick Meal Contest is today.
I seem to recall I go to the Summwr Shrine at 8 and speak to Hisui to enter.
There are things I would like to test but...
For example, can you submit a dish you cooked with some one else? I guess I will save befote I enter the fierce cooking battlefield as Kai referred to it.
My own dishes are higher in level. I have Level 8 Sushi Platters Small and Large and Level 8 Pressed Sushi. On my other life, I won with a Level 3 dish.
I sold all my low level produce and dairy yesterday before making Quick Meal Dishes.
Even so, results seem a little random. I was getting Level 2 Red Bean Bread earlier. Now as Kai and Misha sleep, I make a few last minute quick meals to see how well I can do.
25 Summer:
Quick Meals Cooking Contest.
For the past three days botb Kai and Misha urged me to participate in the contest. Tofay they made no mention of it whatsoever. Kai was not even there!
I won witn a Level 3 Plum Blossom Sushi Roll I made with Subaru last year. I had Level 8 dishes I made yesterday but wanted to see if making a dish with some one else would disqualify it.
After the contest, the crowd melted away ibstantly. I had to find Matsuri in the Spring Village to get her to increase the Level of Summer avillage to 10. I now can make a Mock Volcano. It costs 90,000 G but uses only soil.
It is absolutely huge, by the way. I cannot even fit it on the dev area above the airship. I had created a pilgrimage area in the new dev zone... if I qant to use this Mock Volcano, I will be forced to remove all else.
26 Summer:
In Level of the Forest of Endings, I obtained all the Large Wool my heart might desire. I tamed another King Wooly and a small Wooly as well.
27 Summer: No Woolby to greet me this morning. We entered Level 9 briefly last night and he remarked thar he thought we were close to the end.
I was happy enough making Snow Wolf and Snow Wooly decorations and trying to increase bond levels... then I went back to Level 9 to find myself going round in circles.
28 Summer: Woolby is still missing in the morning. Well, I guess I must try to find and save him! He does declare we are partners.
I am very much a creature of routibe and ritual. If I cannot invest myself emotionally in a game, I quickly lose interest.
I am very much invested in Guardians of Azuma.
In the 'real world' ot as Kurama refers to it, 'IRL', my life has been a bit of a nightmare the past seven years. I now hqve had cancer twice and each battle diminished me more. I barely feel like the woman I once was. At the same time, I lost my mother and I was betrayed by peole whom I should hqve been able to trust. Family was an illusion as was an old friendship. Whatever memories I treasured from my childhood were poisoned.
Not to mention global events in the last three years that sickened the soul and destroyed what little faith remained in common humanity.
In fact, but I will mention this inly once, what I see now is that the alleged 'real world' is no more real than any gane because of the increasing use of AI. The 'news' is regurgitated and remade by AI to suit whoever owbs the media. Unless one is an actual eyewitness or knows one, there is no real certainty of truth in reporting. One has to do extwnsive research and even then, the narrative obscures facts in favour of propaganda.
Thus, Azuma probably is as real as anything now in my own life. It is gentler and kinder than my own recent experiences where the loss of loved ones has dominated.
I wrote guides for Harvest Moon and Rune Factory for years. Those memories, albeit of 'NRL' or 'Not Real Life' remsin bright. To find an even more glorious Rune Factory universe now has been a lifesaver.
Thus, I will go back to Level 9 in the Forest of Endings and solve this puzzle as quickly as posdible to bring annoying little Woolby back to my side...
I guess I have come to love him too... and I regret not letting him eat some of that food I cooked when he begged for it.
On 28 Summer in my second year, I defeated Kamurosaki and was promoted to godship as guardian of Azuma!
There is a new chalkenge now. Somehow I was taken back to the Heavenly Skurs, but ig I return to the Save apoint before I fought Kamunagi and climb the staurways, there 8s a new warp at the top. Go through that to find yourself in the Forest of Endings Depths. Activate the new Save Point ti the left and save.
It is now almost 9.00 p.m. I midlssed dinner with Kai and Misha but perhaps they will be proud of me!
29 Summer:
Woolby is gone. I suppiaed he finished his job. He still talks about the Villages but he no longer greets me at 6.
Kai reached Level 12 with a gift today and gave me the Kai Life-sized Cutout
30 Summer: Kurama reached Level 12 today and gave me the Kurama life-sized Cutout.
I need Exquisite Fabric. I went today alone to the Fleeting Flower to try to tame a Neko again. Yesterday failed with Exquisire Fabric, exquisite Fur, Exquuusite Claw. Another one failed with Bonito. Today failed with Sardine but she liked Preserved Bonito.
The other one would not accept Preserved Bonito, Mysterious Cloth... in despair I tried Large Milk. No joy.
I went to Goldblossom to tame a Blue Oni Guard and gave him Exquisite Claw... but no space left in my barns. I then saw Yoichis Targets so hit them and he gave me Miso-Glazed Eggplant Recipe.
Ikaruga: so you decided to join Azuma's pantheon.
But I missed the rest of it.
