At least changing clothes was quicker and easier with this outfits, she noted to herself. One more pro on the check-list of gaijin-wear.

"Ah, yes, you did," she nodded as they slipped on the red dress.

"It sounds like a very noble family you hail from. You certainly must be making them proud, as I have seen how hard you work to help others in need - like in the storm, or before that. How you helped all those people escape from such cruel life."

She glanced down as they adjusted the dress slightly for her figure. "Oh... this is beautiful." Red wasn't even her colour, but this was absolutely gorgeous.

She smiled and humbly ignored the compliments, “I’m glad you like it. It looks wonderful on you. I wish I could give it to you. It is special to me, but I can help you find something similar.”

"Oh, even if you were offering it to me, I could not accept," she was quick to say. Polite refusals be damned, she could not accept something so important. "But having tried this now, I would very much to at least have something like it, in the eventuality of a formal affair."

"... It won't look weird if I come dressed in local fashion, right? For the locals, I mean. I know most of our fellow Explorers would probably not approve."

“I think most of the locals would find it appropriate. Some of the more elitist may think it quaint, but most would respect your attempt to take on a bit of our culture as your own. And no one could deny how good you look in it.”” She smiled warmly.

Utsusemi's smile returned the warmth. "Thank you. You flatter me," she chuckled and admired the gown again for a few moments.

"Even when I don't think red suits me, I think I could get used to something like this. It feels very light and pleasant for the warmth, and not very restrictive either." Looking at her arms, more bared than usual, she could see the faint tan-line from having spent days in the sun on a ship. No matter how much she had protected her skin, it wasn't enough unless she had completely covered herself.

She sighed. "I think I might have to start accepting that it will be hard to maintain my usual complexion out here. All the sun... with the sea," she shook her head. "Even with a..." Utsusemi mimed the gestures of opening an umbrella, "parasol?"

“Parasol.” she replied.

“It’s probably for the best. Get too pale out here and people will think you’re sick.”

She repeated the word. Her way of committing it to memory.

Utsusemi chuckled. "How different things are indeed, and how much they are also the same; vanity and wealth are still the currency of the privileged ones."

"Now... you spoke of going to find tailors, yes? To tell the truth, I am a little worried wearing your beautiful dress. Thinking I might trip or accidentally tear it somehow."

She smiled, "A woman as graceful as you shouldn't be so concerned."

She then extended her hands to help lift up the dress. "Do you want to go out in a different one of my dresses or your kimono?"

"Perhaps I am merely used to fretting over the possibilities of what children can do to some of my more elaborate kimono," she chuckled in return.

"Hmm... it seems wiser to wear my kimono; less worry about carrying it with me, or sending someone all the way over to the western port to return it. I'm certain those who work here must have more important tasks to do."

She smiled, "Taking care of our guests is an important task. But let's get you back into your kimono."

She gently hung up her dress in the wardrobe and began untying the Merenaese undergarments. As her fingers worked at the cord she asked,"Can I ask you a candid question?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Bellena at the question, her curiosity piqued.

"You have my attention. What might this candid question be?"

"What do you really think of this voyage? What's the reason for it? I don't really take you for someone who is all committed to 'progress' and the 'future' like some others." She asked.

"Hm," she seemed to consider the question for a while as they finished with the undergarments.

"What I think of this voyage? I suspect it's a gambit, perhaps desperate, from the prince - if he can return with something of value, the Son of Heaven might reconsider going against the established rule of the first-born as heir. I do not think the prince has undertaken this expedition merely out of wanderlus or a want of bringing in a new age for the Empire: unless that age is under his rule. He is ambitious, and draw those who are too to his side." I should know, my husband is ambitious too.

"What else... well, I do not understand the situation of your clan, as it is not my place to pry, but what I observed with you and Yubari... it seems difficult? As if this is pressing your clan somehow in an already difficult situation." She switched to Rokugani. "Between the hammer and the anvil, so to speak."

She turned to face Bellena as she began to slip on her juban. "As for myself; I do actually believe in progress, if I were to simplify it. I am here because I was asked to go, but I do think that the Empire and its people can benefit more from learning and understanding, than from closing ourselves in: I just do not believe in conquest or the way of might makes right."

"What is the acceptable cost for 'progress' in your mind? If Jama were using the voyage as a means to depose his brother violently... would it be worth it?" She asked with interest as she started on the kimono's undergarments.

She considered the question carefully, as she had with the previous one. Utsusemi was not one for rushed answers or solutions.

"Honestly, I do not know. If the elder prince becomes Emperor, much of what has been done will be undone, some violently. I have seen and heard of what happens in the lands of my former family; those whose philosophical stance is not in line with the current leadership can often meet a ruthless end," she said with a slight frown. So far she knew her parents were carefully skirting the bounds of neutrality, but her oldest brother seemed more likely to tow the partyline that the Doji daimyo required.

"It can be violent regardless of which brother takes the throne, and I do not think either of them will quietly accept a result that is not in their favour. Though, I am not sure how this voyage would help prince Jama to depose of his brother..." her voice trailed off, as she turned contemplative once more.

"Hmm... it is a possibility, but perhaps I am seeing more than what is there." Looking back at Bellena, Utsusemi turned to Rokugani again. "One possible thing that he could be seeking here could be further knowledge on gaijin weaponry, specifically things like cannons and such, as it could reliably cause much damage if he would need to attack Otosan Uchi in the event that he would try to violently overthrow his brother's rule."

"My husband is perhaps one of the more knowledgable people in the Empire on the subject, and is known to be so. I might be jumping to conclusions, but it is a possibility that he was asked to remain behind to avoid drawing any suspicion to such plans... and why I, his more obscure wife, was asked to go instead, as he would consider me to at least be able to make informed observations."

Utsusemi knew she was speculating, and made no attempts to hide it, and she was well aware that the speculations projected her in a bad light.

She tilted her head, "Perhaps... but even with advanced weaponry, it requires people to use it. I would just caution going out and making 'friends' in the name of Jama liberally... That is the problem with civil strife, because it is quite likely any 'friends' being made here, may soon be marching on Kyuden Doji and killing your brother and parents if not careful... Jama thinks he can control things that he has no conception of. Picking the wrong friends can be quite dangerous."

"Friends like you?" Utsu asked with a sad tone. "Or your family?"

"... I know the dangers, Berena, but I also can't afford to not do what is asked of me. I would rather have the prince far away, so we could focus on the shrine... the way things were done during the proclamation, it was disgraceful."

She shook her head, "We are the not the group you need to be concerned about...."

"Of the ones who are here then, whom should I be concerned about?"

“I spoke of a city with a million inhabitants with you once... there are people here who conquered that city by force of arms... The are the Tarkhanate.”