Custas

クスタス

Custas is a traveling minstrel who was rescued by Coco after falling into a river.
His rough upbringing has deeply shaped Custas's personality. He is obsessed with fate, viewing it as cruel and responsible for the hand he was dealt, and he seeks to break free from it. He tends to prioritize money and values information that can increase his earnings, such as learning about medicinal herbs from Tartah. He struggles with accepting help, fully aware that people like Dagda and Coco are the reason he is still alive, and he tries to always "pay back" any favor. Notably, he cannot stand seeing Dagda perform dangerous jobs for his sake, and he asks the man to abandon him instead, despite knowing he could not survive without him.
Custas is energetic and very reckless, immediately jumping into a river to retrieve goods that had fallen in. Even after being injured and unable to walk without a sealchair, he continues to act recklessly and injures himself further. He is friendly toward Coco and Tartah and is generally playful. He expresses affection physically, such as by holding Tartah in a headlock or jumping onto Dagda's back. Despite his upbeat personality, he also experiences lapses of frustration directed at the world in which he was raised.

Spoiler

During one of the Witch Hat Atelier panels at AX2024, Shirahama stated that Custas was based on Romani and Ainu cultures.
He is loosely attached to bird symbolism, like wings and feathers, and talks about fate like a cage to break.
In his birthday comics, he says he doesn't really care about the day, having no good memories attached to it.