episode_0095

Tia left the general store and headed towards the apothecary.

As usual, she finished preparing to make recovery potions, but today she had to face a slightly different challenge.

And that was to make the recovery potion for Ritsu smell and taste good.

First, she tried a simple task.

She tried adding steamed herb liquid to erase the scent.

But even so, the unique awful smell didn’t disappear.

Next, she diluted the ‘Heavenly Pearl Concentrate’, which was the source of the strange smell.

She stirred, adjusting the concentration by mixing it little by little in a half-and-half ratio with the herb liquid.

The color and smell became a little better, but the terrible taste remained the same.

The next step failed too.

And the one after that also failed.

She gradually grew anxious.

The day was growing dark, but no matter how many times she tried, the recovery potion wouldn’t purify cleanly.

“I’ve tried all the methods written in the book.”

There was nothing left to refer to.

As she tried various methods, she vaguely realized why this medicine had such a foul smell.

Fosao Uncle had said that the ‘Heavenly Pearl Compound’ contained various medicinal ingredients, but he hadn’t explained exactly what was in it.

As she guessed, she processed all the medicinal ingredients, but it still felt like one was missing.

It was like there was an impurity inside.

Anyway, because of this unidentified impurity, she had no choice but to conclude that it wouldn’t purify properly.

If Uncle knew the exact composition of the compound, it would be easy, but asking someone who knew nothing about medicine wouldn’t yield an answer.

It was difficult, as expected.

Tia crossed her arms and looked down at the distiller.

“Then……”

A new method came to mind.

It wasn’t in the book, so she didn’t know if it would actually work.

But understanding the principles of making medicine made her feel like it might be possible.

First, she brought out some honey.

Honey was a versatile ingredient that could be used with simple processing.

It was an ingredient often avoided because it was too simple and primitive, but perhaps that very simplicity would allow it to produce a ‘sweet taste’.

Bubbling-.

In hot water, she put in Rubus herb and honey and steeped them thoroughly.

In one side of the distiller, she put the Heavenly Pearl Concentrate, and in the other, she put honey water and mixed them.

The boiling temperature was important.

Adjusting the fire’s intensity appropriately, she had to take a long time to ensure the sticky honey completely dissolved.

Bubbling-.

“……”

Tia squatted in front of the distiller and poked at the fire with a fire poker.

Crackle. Pop.

She gazed at the burning flames.

Cold wind blew in through a small hole in the roof.

And the warm heat radiating onto her face.

She felt a strange sense of nostalgia and familiarity, and this feeling was……

From the hut where the storm had poured down.

She realized it was when Fosao Uncle had built a fire for her.

…It must have been from that time.

That she felt Fosao Uncle was a better person than she had thought.

Honestly, she had continued to be suspicious and kept her distance even after that.

After going to and returning from Deseo, she came to acknowledge that feeling.

Now… she couldn’t even joke that Uncle was a bad person.

Looking back, all those events felt like a momentary dream.

It already felt like something from several years ago.

It felt so distant that sometimes she wondered if she had really been to Deseo.

The village was still peaceful and unchanged.

Unchanging in the slightest, the borders of Dragonez.

And seeing the stifling villagers.

Reading the , she even thought that it had been nothing more than a strange dream.

Perhaps… because she truly wanted to leave this village, she had dreamt such an absurd dream?

To escape the guilt of hurting Ritsu, causing the Village Chief-nim and Grandmother to pass away, and making Ruyef and Marie leave.

Had she seen a journey that never even existed as a fantasy?

“……But.”

That adventure was not a dream, nor a fantasy.

She realized it every time she returned to the general store.

Every time she talked with Fosao Uncle, she learned one thing after another.

That the journey of the past two months had all been real.

The tribute group, Tsarlac, Rottenban, and Deseo. And the memories she had left there.

The kind knight, the innocent unnies, the storm, the children she met in the secluded village, the smell of the rough mine, the cold sound of rain falling in the harbor, and the city’s fireworks.

All these memories, which had been so difficult and thus even more precious….

Fosao Uncle was proving it.

‘Tia, you were definitely there.’

“……”

She recalled the story her mother used to tell her when she was a child.

The knight embarked on a long journey to find the princess and endured difficult trials.

Finally, he returned to the kingdom with the princess, and the two lived happily ever after.

…That story is correct.

She was happy.

Because Ritsu was by her side, because he was alive, she was so happy.

But….

“……”

Why were tears falling?

Mother hadn’t said.

She hadn’t said that no one would know the trials and journey the knight had endured.

Was the knight truly happy?

What was real?

The moments adventuring with his companions?

Or the rest of his life after returning to the kingdom?

“I……”

Bubbling-!!

Suddenly, the distiller rattled and shook.

The moment she snapped back to attention and suddenly looked up.

She saw the liquid boiling furiously inside the distiller.

“Huh?”

Oh no.

Because she had zoned out, the distiller had gotten excessively hot.

She hastily grabbed a handful of sand to put out the fire, but it was already too late.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

The distiller’s glass shattered and liquid flew everywhere.

Luckily, the back glass had shattered, so it hadn’t splattered this far….

The problem was, the entire apothecary had become a mess.

The shattered glass fragments had broken potion bottles and jars.

Sparks had caught onto the drawer cabinet and were crackling.

“No!”

She sprayed water to put out the fire.

She threw a blanket over it and stomped on it wildly to extinguish the embers, but dark soot remained on the drawer cabinet.

“Pant… pant…”

Her strength drained away.

It was a mess.

If Ritsu saw this state, he would definitely scold her.

No, it probably wouldn’t end with just a scolding.

“……”

How pathetic.

If it were the meticulous Ritsu, he wouldn’t have made such a mistake.

She just kept causing trouble….

“Sigh……”

She was so tired.

She didn’t have the strength to even lift a finger.

For now, simply staring blankly at the ruined shed was….

The best she could do.

* * *

Fosao Uncle asked in a flustered voice.

“……Huh? Why are you doing that?”

As soon as she entered the general store, Tia just sat there silently.

The worried Uncle offered her water, asking if she was thirsty, and even handed her ginger biscuits, telling her to eat if she was hungry.

Tia closed her eyes tightly, feeling her chest and throat clench.

“Ti-Tia. Are you uncomfortable…?”

“Um… Uncle.”

“Yes?”

“I… I don’t think I can do it, after all.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“About ‘helping’ you.”

Fosao Uncle stared blankly for a moment, then scratched his head.

“Ah, th-that? I… I thought it was something else!”

“I’m sorry.”

“No! No! If Ti-Tia says she can’t, then she can’t!”

“……”

Fosao Uncle had tried his best to help.

Even today, to get the Heavenly Pearl medicine, he had apparently walked all the way to the northeast of Taildun himself to get it.

Thanks to that, Ritsu’s health was recovering quickly.

If Uncle hadn’t been there, it would have been difficult to do it alone.

But… Ritsu’s words kept bothering her.

Even Ritsu, her fiancé, had said ‘such a thing’ should be done later.

Touching Fosao Uncle’s penis, someone who wasn’t even the man she would marry, was indeed strange.

Uncle asked.

“C-can I hear why you’re suddenly acting like th-that?”

“Well…”

The truth was, because she had touched Ritsu’s first, she had thought it would be somewhat okay with Fosao Uncle too.

The prostitute unnies had said such a thing didn’t even count as ‘sexual’, which was why she had readily offered to help.

But after finding out more, she was told that according to village rules, sexual acts between men and women were only allowed after marriage.

Fosao Uncle lowered his head and apologized.

“I see. I’m so-sorry. I… I didn’t k-know such a rule existed.”

“……”

“In Br-Brizedon, the only woman I could meet was… Ri-Rina…. I… I did something I shouldn’t have to Ti-Tia. I’m re-really sorry!”

“No, it’s not. It’s my fault for not checking properly.”

It wasn’t Fosao Uncle’s fault.

She knew Uncle was a very kind person and someone who always considered her well-being and feelings first.

So, his words ‘I didn’t know’ must be true.

In the first place, people didn’t even consider Uncle a fellow villager.

He had left the village alone when he was young and lived in this general store for a long time, so it was natural he wouldn’t know the rules.

Fortunately, Uncle understood her well, and she was just grateful for that.

“Oh! Th-this isn’t the time for this.”

As if realizing something, Uncle hurriedly went into the storage room and came out holding a black medicine.

It was the Heavenly Pearl medicine.

“Thank you very much.”

“Ho-how is Ri-Ritsu doing these days?”

“He’s much better. It’s all thanks to Uncle.”

“That’s a relief… Hehe.”

Tia smiled once and tried to leave the general store.

At that moment.

Uncle asked.

“Um… Ti-Tia.”

“Yes.”

“Th-that thing… ‘that thing’ I mean….”

Uncle calmly took a breath.

And then he spoke carefully.

“W-would it perhaps be possible… in a different way?”

“……Huh? A different way?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Tia made a troubled expression.

“As I explained earlier, that’s….”

“Tia just needs to stay still!”

Uncle said in an earnest voice.

“I-I’ll take care of everything.”

What did he mean by taking care of it alone?

While the clueless Tia blinked, Fosao repeatedly pleaded.

“So, co-could you please… help me just one more time?”

“……”

Tia bit her lip.

She had come with a firm resolution.

That she wouldn’t do such things with Fosao Uncle anymore.

Because Ritsu had told her not to, she absolutely couldn’t do it.

“I… I can’t do anything……”

“Th-that’s right. You don’t have to do anything. I won’t ask you to do it like yesterday.”

“Then how am I supposed to help you?”

“You just need to he-help a tiny bit…. It won’t go against the vi-village rules either.”

Thump.

Just like last time, Uncle’s hand rested on her shoulder.

“I’ll tell you the de-details upstairs.”

“……It’s not anything strange, right?”

“No.”

Tia lowered her gaze.

Her hand trembled slightly.

Because Uncle said it wasn’t anything strange.

And it wasn’t what Ritsu had talked about either.

If that’s the case….

Fosao Uncle smiled and said.

“I-if it feels strange… you c-can leave right away.”

“……”

Tia silently fiddled with the hem of her shirt.