Nightfall.
The night covered the Mino Plain, and the entire castle of Rice Leaf Mountain transitioned from the hustle of daylight into the relatively quiet night. Every household fell asleep in the tranquil darkness, waking with the sunrise and resting with the sunset, the most common rhythm of that era.
Only a few houses could let candlelight shine through, for, after all, whether it was candles or lamp oil, the average commoner could not afford them.
In the productivity-deficient ancient times, illumination was truly a luxury. Even in China, many related stories were passed down, often tales of scholars finding ways to read despite their poverty, unable to afford an oil lamp, such as "borrowing light through a carved wall" or "bagging fireflies to read by snowlight."
Even in China, it was like this, much less on this island nation.
