"I'm saying that if I set out without reliable transportation, coming back might have found my home village in ruins. You make choices based on who you care most about, don't you? Or can you blame other people for it?" Nuriko asks, her eyes narrowing slightly, though not in a tone of unfriendliness. She doesn't plan to apologize, though, for putting the needs of her loved ones first. If she can help others in the process, she will.

But sacrifice only goes so far.

"Anyway, if you were lucky, you had a strapping young lad to take care of your village. Maybe a few," she remarks with a slight exhale. "They weren't any different than the rest of us. You couldn't spend all of your time hunting demons, that wasn't a good use of time, wouldn't feed your family. I never fell in that role, exactly."

Her gaze drops, lashes fanning over her cheeks. "Things were a little different for women. Let's just put it that way."