Your order is noted.
One fresh mushroom paspatta, ready to go.
Hey, Waiter! I'm ready to order!
Me, too!
Understood.
I will attend to you in turn.
Oh, Mr. Golem.
You forgot the side salad.
Worried, are you?
Don't be, though.
Have a little more faith in the kids.
I will resume my duties.
Episode 4 The Wishing Flower and the Promise Request
Please... let me stay with my dad forever!
Now my wish will come true...
Look out, Somali!
Damn... What a waste of my time.
I finally found you.
Master Muthrica!
Master!
Ow!
You brat.
How many times do I have to tell you? Don't come here without an adult!
I'm sorry!
Y-You know this scary guy, Kikila?
Who's scary, now?
Don't worry, Somali!
He might look scary, but Master Muthrica is part of the Tsuchinoko Team!
Tsuchinoko Team?
An organization that oversees Anthole City's underground area.
Usually, those who venture down here
must do so with our protection and guidance.
Another part of our job is keeping naughty brats
like Kila-boy here from sneaking in.
So that's why...
This brings my record to 26 wins, 22 losses, and four draws!
Fool!
I told you, this place isn't a playground!
And now you're spurring on outsiders with your mischief...
Huh?
Somali, your flower...
Huh?
How come...
I'd say this one won't make it back.
It'll be dead by the time you're home.
Oh, no...
But what about my wish?
Why's it dying so quickly, Master?
Look at this.
What's that?
The roots are glowing!
They're the roots of the tsuchiami tree.
The yozame flowers feed off the tree's sap.
But the smaller trees provide minimal nutrition.
You get it?
Undernourished flowers can't live for very long.
So if we find a bigger tsuchiami tree,
we can get a flower that lives longer, right?
Then, I bet...
Don't even try.
The road to the center is winding and dangerous.
It's not a place for children.
Come on, back to the surface.
No way! I've gotta try it!
I'll keep looking until I find it!
You want me to leave you behind?
I'll be fine!
I can get back on my own!
I'm gonna find a good flower
and get my wish about Dad to come true!
The underground realm is larger and deeper than the city above.
Not even the Tsuchinoko Team has explored all of it.
You'll have no guarantee of safety.
Will you still go, even then?
Yeah!
Follow me.
I'll show you the way.
Isn't this cool, Somali?
Yeah!
Idiots.
We're not on a picnic.
It was some time ago.
I was escorting a group of traveling scholars,
and we happened upon a large tsuchiami tree.
Its yozame flowers should be strong enough
to survive a trip home, and then some.
This is so cool!
Muthrica knows everything, huh?
I told you, he's my master!
Hey! Can I call you "Master," too?
Shut your mouths and keep up.
Don't blame me if you fall and get hurt.
Yes, Master!
Good grief...
Babysitting is exhausting.
We have to jump our way across?
If you can't handle this, you'll never reach the flowers.
Somali!
Th-Thank you...
You've got spirit, eh?
Yeah!
Moving on.
W-Wait for me!
You're pathetic, Kila-boy.
Stumbling over a little stream like that...
But Master, I still jumped over it!
And got your tail soaked in the process.
All that nice fluff gone to waste.
Not you too, Somali!
We're here.
The tsuchiami tree is below.
Below?
I know these! Branching mushroom spore puffs!
Let's go, Somali!
Kikila!
Ready... jump!
They're way nicer than the flowers from before...
Let's go!
What a peculiar child...
This flower will...
Hey, you two! Get back, right now!
What was that, Master?
I-It's a tsuchilizard!
Damn. What now?
Provoking it might just put them in danger...
Kikila...
Please! I really need this flower!
I want my wish to come true!
I want to stay with my dad forever!
You all right, you two?
We're okay...
That was very brave of you, Kikila.
Thank you, Kikila.
Sure.
But what happened?
The tsuchilizards are the masters of the tsuchiami tree.
That means they're the flowers' guardians.
The fact that it let you go
may mean your wish will be granted.
We're back, Mom! Dad!
Kikila!
Mr. Muthrica...
Your usual delivery.
Thank you...
Dad! This is called a yozame flower!
You were told to return before nightfall.
Why did you take an unauthorized detour?
I-I'm the one who wanted to go!
So—
Somali still made the decision to stray.
Why did you neglect my order?
Was it willful disobedience?
No... I just...
If you continue to act with similar recklessness,
I will be unable to travel with you any longer.
Somali!
Somali? Somali?
Hey, answer me...
Somali?
If I could, Mr. Golem...
Don't you think you ought to hear her out?
She might have a good reason for doing what she did...
No.
Somali's fault in the matter is unquestionable.
She failed to follow my orders.
You golems. Always such obstinate creatures...
Could you elaborate?
I don't know if you believe in these superstitions,
but there's a legend in this town.
If you can bring one of these yozame flowers back home before it dies,
it will grant you a wish.
A superstition?
Such things are unrealistic.
But the girl believed it.
She wants to be with you forever.
She was so desperate to have that wish granted
that she dove in headlong to pick this flower.
That little girl, with her own little hands...
Mr. Golem.
A true parent must not inspire fear in their child.
Goodbye.
Mr. Muthrica!
Thank you for your help today!
Sure.
Somali?
I'm coming in.
E-Emergency! It's Somali!
Somali.
She has a fever.
She is three degrees above her standard temperature.
Dad, do we have any medicine?
The only medicine we have here is for shurigaras like us.
She'll do better with some food in her, but...
Thank you. It is appreciated.
I'm not hungry.
Irrelevant.
You require nutrition to restore your health.
Force it down, if necessary.
Somali...
I feel sick...
I told you I wasn't hungry...
What are you doing?
I'm going to buy medicine.
At this hour?
But all the stores are already...
The long journey.
Day-to-day exhaustion.
And psychological trauma on top of it...
I had endless chances to notice the toll it was taking on Somali's small body.
And yet... I...
It's awfully late... What do you want?
I wish to buy medicine.
Medicine for what clan?
I need a medicine that will work for all clans.
What?
Well, I do have some like that...
But the ingredients are rare, so it's pretty expensive.
If you could give me a rough idea of the clan in question...
Will this be sufficient?
It's medicine. Take it.
Slowly, if needed.
There is no need to rush.
It's all right. Take it slowly.
Yes. That is acceptable.
How's it going?
She appears to have settled.
I see. I'm glad to hear it.
I am the cause of her failing health.
I was so preoccupied with the speed of our journey
that I failed to perceive the changes in her.
As a result, I caused a great deal of trouble to all of you.
Forgive me.
Somali's really important to you, isn't she?
It's plain to see.
You're so protective of her,
and you guide her so precisely...
But Mr. Golem... there's no such thing as a perfect parent.
I make mistakes of my own from time to time.
Sometimes I let my anger get the best of me.
Sometimes I leave him bawling his eyes out.
But whenever I mess up, I always take him in my arms and say I'm sorry.
I make sure he knows I care about him.
That's how both parents and children grow.
It's what the relationship is about.
The parent-child relationship?
Dad?
Well? Has the pain abated somewhat?
Just a little.
I see.
There is no need to overexert yourself.
If things ever feel too draining, you must tell me.
Do you understand?
Yeah...
The fever has diminished.
The medicine must have had an effect.
It tasted gross, though...
Good medicine always tastes bitter.
Regarding our future...
I have decided to work here a while longer.
When we leave this city, our next destination will be the Osuna Desert.
We will require significant funding.
You mean... we don't have enough money yet?
Because you had to buy me medicine?
Is it my fault?
Your recovery is all that matters to me.
I can always work to acquire more money.
But there is no replacement for you, Somali.
Dad!
I'm sorry I didn't come back right away!
I'm sorry I always make you worry so much!
I, too, must apologize, for making you afraid.
Dad, do you promise to stay with me forever?
Even when the journey's over, you'll stay with me forever?
Yes.
I shall always be with you.
I'm so glad... I'm so glad.
You gotta promise.
You promise, right, Dad?
Yes.
I promise.
Never thought I'd meet a golem in this city.
I was a soldier before I came here.
Saw my fill of all kinds of strange plants and creatures, going from place to place.
In a forest far to the west, I met a golem at the end of its lifespan.
Much like you are now.
That girl made a wish to be with you forever.
I hope you don't betray that.
I fear that I may have to.
Next Time: The Wandering Birds