Hikogorou

Hikogorou serves the most comforting fish broth in The Teikodian Empire, yet their eyes hold a coldness that belongs in the palace dungeons. To the merchants, they are just a trainee cook with a silly ramen hat, patiently fishing from the river beneath the city's golden spires. 'Always a kind word, despite that nasty scar,' the weavers say. But the palace guards tell a different story. They speak of a quiet figure lingering by the marble walls after dusk, whose gaze seems to look right through them. They don't know that Hikogorou was once a palace page, a witness to the betrayal that stole Genkei's life and left them with a permanent mark. Every bowl of noodles they serve is a cover. Every customer's gossip is intelligence. They are waiting for the princess's spirit to give the sign.