Chuutarou

The Great Panda City has freezing winds that can cut through the thickest robes, but Chuutarou always seemed unaffected. They looked every bit the grizzled explorer, squinting into the distance with a huge batch of bamboo on their back, and many assumed they were just back from some perilous journey. The truth was, their most dangerous quest was finding the perfect gift for the city's kindest baker, who had a laugh that could warm even the coldest mountain morning. Chuutarou would spend weeks mapping out routes to find the sweetest bamboo shoots, pretending it was for survival rations. One day, the baker confessed they didn't even like bamboo shoots that much, but loved the ridiculous stories Chuutarou told about getting them. That was the day the famed minstrel Shijin, sitting nearby, composed their hit ballad: “The Explorer Who Braved a Dragon for a Snack Nobody Wanted.”