Shushou , the queen of Kyou, has ruled for over 90 years, but she has the appearance of a young girl of twelve, since that was when she was chosen to become the new ruler. She ascended the throne twenty-seven years after the death of the previous king. Though strict and capricious, she has demonstrated herself to be a wise monarch. She also appears to have above-average strength in the anime, being able to make Shoukei bow her head to her with only two fingers. She and Kyouki have an odd relationship; she often lectures Kyouki not to be so naive and sympathetic. On some of these occasions, she slaps Kyouki, but explains her reasons and comments that she wishes she had a shorter kirin so it would be easier for her to slap him. Before becoming king, Shushou lived in Renshou, the capital of Kyou, as the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant. Though she lived a comfortable life and received a good education, she found could not tolerate how ordinary people continued to suffer in a country without a king. At the age of twelve, she ran away from home to go on a pilgrimage and climb Mount Hou in order to be selected as the next ruler of Kyou. Her story is told in one of the novels that was not animated, Tonan no Tsubasa (The Aspired Wings). Shoukei, after her identity as the former princess of Hou is discovered by local townspeople and she is nearly executed, is sent away to Kyou, and reluctantly agrees to serve Shushou. Shushou shows no sympathy for Shoukei, believing that Shoukei was a fool who did nothing but play while Hou suffered and lacked the discernment to see her father's wrongs, and only allowed her to be brought to Kyou in order to prevent more chaos in Hou. It is believed that Shushou likely influenced Lord Gekkei, the governor of Hou's Kei Province, to lead revolt against the king of Hou in order to end his errant rule and appears to support his temporary rule of Hou as it prevents Hou from collapsing and reduces the number of refugees who come to Kyou. Kyouki is the current Kirin of Kyou. Kingdom of Ren inhabitants The following characters reside in the Kingdom of Ren: Seitaku Seitaku is the current King of Ren. Renrin Renrin is the current Kirin of Ren. Kingdom