The person blinks and furrows her brows. "You're not bothering," she says eventually, "but I didn't quite follow the rest."

Again, more carefully, paying attention to getting the word order right, "I am trying to learn Japanese."

"Ah! Well, that's fun," she says, slowly this time. "I am Kyou. What are you called?"

The Japanese word for Mountain, or her original name? Original name, to avoid confusion. "I am Jeda. Nice to meet you, Kyou-san." Much of her phrasing is likely to be excessively formal, given who she learned it from, but she's figured out the most common titles at least.

"Nice to meet you too!" she giggles at the formality. "Where are you from?"

"America, I suppose. My new home is there. Maybe nowhere. And you?"

"I'm from Tokyo, but it was destroyed by the Leviathan... What do you mean, nowhere?"

"I... Appeared? While the Leviathan was attacking."

She blinks. "Appeared?" She peers at her. "You don't look like one of them."

"I'm not a..." What's the word? "Cape. My apologies for the confusion."

"Not cape. You know, them. No memories, appear places, usually look like monsters..."

"Oh, I see." She doesn't know them, actually. Something to look up later. "I should go now. I do not know know much Japanese. Thank you for your time, Kyou-san."

She looks bewildered but nods. "[Okay]" her translators says, though what she actually said was closer to 'Mm!'

She goes back to walking around the park. This time she keeps to herself. After about half an hour she just goes back to her plateau and sleeps.

And the following day: more work!

She's very cheerful and cooperative and industrious about it, but still sneaks in little creativities. That repaired tunnel being artful granite instead of plain concrete. The character for mountain left in a hundred inconspicuous places.

The tunnel, they notice. They politely request that she inform them when she decides to change the plans like that. The states justification is that there are several capes that can use terrain to their advantage and knowledge is crucial against them.

She explains how the little creativities help keep her focused and starts explaining them whenever she makes a significant change. She keeps them limited to aesthetic and not functional changes.

They don't grumble about it. Out loud, anyway. She's still too valuable a resource.

Work, work, work. How much progress are they making anyway?

They've been going through various coastal cities and setting up and reinforcing infrastructure for finer work to happen in the future. All in all, she's saving them months or maybe even years of work.

They can throw money at her. They're more reluctant about the former two, and would like her to elaborate on what would satisfy her there.

Never mind, money's good enough as long as they continue to grumble only small to medium amounts at the occasional engraving into a seawall or artful curve to a rebuilt building's foundations like she's been doing so far. She doesn't mention the series of hidden 山 she keeps putting down.

They're mostly fine with that arrangement.