Howl holds up his hands in a lazy gesture of surrender, smiling through Emet-Selch's scolding.

"Of course not," he says. "Nor did I presume to understand. What I can see, however, is the incredible joy bursting forth from your heart, my friend."

And Howl will leave it at that, as much as he wishes he could tease him further about this. Emet-Selch did tell him to behave himself, and while any further teasing would be wholly good-natured, he doesn't want to embarrass him so much that it spoils that joy.

"Yima did it, then. Kept her promise to you."