episode_0091

The next day.

Tia spent the entire day nursing by the bedside.

It was only when evening approached that she was finally able to visit the general store.

As promised, Fosao proudly declared that he had procured all the necessary medicinal ingredients in just one day.

Tia, incredibly happy, bounced around, but then.

*Thud.*

The item Fosao produced was somewhat different from what she had imagined.

Tia’s bright face was tinged with dismay.

“……What is this?”

“Ti, Tia, it’s the medicinal ingredients you asked for.”

“Isn’t it just… black water?”

It was exactly as she said.

The glass bottle placed on the table was filled with black liquid.

If it had had the luster of obsidian, it would have been one thing, but its murkiness looked as dirty as water squeezed from an old rag.

Unidentifiable impurities even floated inside.

Fosao began rambling about this ‘black medicine’ that hardly looked like a medicinal ingredient.

“They said this is a medicine made by mixing various ingredients…. They also said it contains the ingredients Ti, Tia wants. Asgera, white, white-tail… and also Cheonjinju…”

“……”

Tia quietly picked up the medicine bottle.

Her flustered face reflected on its black surface.

“Uncle-nim. I’m sorry, but… I can’t use this.”

“Why, why not?”

“Medicine must be made by combining pure forms. If you make a new medicine from an already mixed concoction, its efficacy cannot be guaranteed.”

She was correct.

Tia hadn’t made much medicine herself, but thanks to visiting the pharmacy every day, she knew a lot.

She could easily pinpoint this kind of problem.

“I, I see…”

Fosao’s spirits also sank.

He said with slumped shoulders.

“Actually, I co, couldn’t get the ingredients…. They said everything was used up and there was no, nothing left.”

He said he had spent the entire day searching Taildon for Cheonjinju, even knocking on every inn door to ask traveling merchants.

He had even gone to the merchant camp outside the village to ask, and the only clue he got was this ‘mixed medicine’ containing a small amount of Cheonjinju.

He explained that with crushed Asgera and White-tailed flowers added to it, it became a medicine that ‘contained everything needed.’

Tia clasped her forehead in disappointment.

If only the ingredients hadn’t been mixed, it might have been usable.

In such an urgent situation, something so absurd had happened, and her expression darkened.

Fosao, who had been glancing nervously, trailed off.

“I’m sorry…. I, I did something useless…”

“Oh, no! Uncle-nim, you don’t know much about medicine, so it’s understandable.”

“Because of my ignorance…. I troubled Tia…”

“Troubled? Not at all! In any case, I’m truly grateful just for your help!”

Tia desperately waved her hands.

Uncle-nim had only done it out of a desire to help. She didn’t want to blame him.

More than anything, when such good intentions go wrong.

When things are ruined contrary to one’s intentions.

The feeling of being cursed by others, being watched, and constantly having one’s heart pound in anxiety…

Tia knew that feeling all too well.

So she absolutely couldn’t do that.

“For now, I’ll try making medicine with this today. You never know, right? It might actually work!”

“Yeah…”

She snatched the black medicine bottle and put it in her bag.

“I’ll ask for that mixed medicine with Cheonjinju next time too. Just don’t mix it with other ingredients.”

“Ah, alright.”

“Then I’ll come again next time!”

As soon as Tia went up to the village, she immediately went to the pharmacy.

After thoroughly preparing to make the recovery medicine.

She began the manufacturing process.

A short while later.

“Cough! Cough!”

She had clearly made it according to the recipe, but something felt off.

The medicine was pitch black, and above all, its smell was nauseating.

Thinking she might have made a mistake, she tried again, but the result was the same.

It was strange.

Most of the medicine Ritsu made had a beautiful color and a pleasant scent.

Whether due to her lack of skill or using the unidentified mixed medicine, a foul odor emanated.

Tia tilted her head, looking at the bubbling black medicine.

“Is this… really okay to drink?”

The smell was fatally nauseating, to the point where she wondered if she had made poison.

But she didn’t want to waste the Cheonjinju she had obtained with such difficulty.

Ultimately, Tia decided to taste it first.

*Gag-*!

Sure enough.

The fishy taste brought on a retch, and even as she desperately tried to swallow it, it was so sticky that it wouldn’t go down easily.

“Haa… haa…”

Wiping her tears, Tia concluded, ‘At least it’s drinkable.’

First, she hadn’t died.

And the effect was so strong that she could feel something raging inside her as soon as she drank it.

Another fortunate thing was that Ritsu was in a very deep sleep.

Even when she spooned the disgusting medicine into his mouth, he drank it well without gagging.

The next day, she made the same medicine and gave it to him.

The effect was remarkably excellent.

Ritsu, who had been unconsciously knocked out, quickly opened his eyes and woke up.

It had been only about two days since he passed out.

Tia, who had secretly worried she might have to wait an indefinite long time again, was incredibly happy.

Ritsu said that he had regained consciousness thanks to the medicine’s excellent effects.

However, he reprimanded her, saying it tasted terrible and smelled awful.

In any case, this proved that the medicine’s effect was good.

Tia headed back to the general store to get more medicinal ingredients.

*Knock. Knock knock.*

She knocked as usual and waited.

But the footsteps that usually came from inside immediately were not heard.

“……Is no one home?”

However, when she placed her hand on the door and pushed, it opened easily.

If the door wasn’t locked, it meant Uncle-nim was there.

Was he busy with something?

Not wanting to rush him unnecessarily, Tia didn’t call out to Fosao.

She sat quietly in a chair, waiting for the owner to appear.

*Creak-. Creak.*

Inside the quiet general store, a slight, grating noise was audible.

“……?”

Tia suddenly lifted her head.

It was a sound with more weight than a mouse scurrying around.

And, for Uncle-nim to be doing something, it was remarkably regular.

Suddenly curious, Tia stood up.

She slowly walked towards the source of the sound.

It was the second floor, where Uncle-nim’s bedroom was.

*Creak- creak-.*

With each step up the stairs.

The sound grew steadily louder.

What was he doing?

Could it be… that he was cleaning his room?

If so, that would be amazing!

If the lazy and sluggish Uncle-nim had decided to clean… that would be something to praise!

Listening closely, it seemed that was the case.

This regular rhythm was similar to the sound of wiping the floor with a mop.

“Hehe-.”

Tia giggled softly.

She imagined pretending to be surprised and teasing Uncle-nim about what had gotten into him to clean, or if he had met a woman he liked, and she chuckled to herself.

With a pounding heart, she placed her hand on the doorknob.

*Click.*

And the moment she pushed the door open with force.

*Creeeak-.*

A profoundly alien scene reflected in her expectant red eyes.

“……Oh.”

“……”

Uncle-nim’s room, as she remembered it, was still there.

The floor, filthy with trash like a pigsty, and the unpleasant smell permeating everywhere, were also the same.

……Likewise, Fosao Uncle-nim was also in that room.

Normally, it would have ended with a slight frown.

But what Tia saw… was an utterly shocking sight.

Fosao, with his pants down, was sitting on the bed, grasping his penis.

Like that ‘black medicine’ that supposedly contained Cheonjinju.

Very black hair grew thick between his legs.

And between the hairs, something large and unsightly protruded.

She was so startled that she couldn’t dare make a sound.

Her thoughts simply stopped.

Her eyes were fixated on that shocking and horrible form.

“……”

After a silence that was both brief and long.

Tia, regaining her senses, instinctively covered her mouth in surging embarrassment.

Fosao, who had been frozen with a dumbfounded expression, also snapped back to reality and hurriedly pulled up his pants.

“Ti, Tia…! Th, this is…”

*Screech-*!

Tia quickly turned her head and fled.

To explain something, Fosao, with a pitiful voice, cried, “Wai, wait a moment!” and lumbered after her, only to trip over his pants, which were half-caught on his thighs, and fall forward.

*Ugh*!

*Crash!*

Startled, Tia looked back.

“Uncle-nim?!”

*Ngh- Ugh*!

Fosao, sprawled on the floor, was a truly miserable sight.

His buttocks were fully exposed because he hadn’t properly pulled up his pants, and unable to control his heavy body as he fell, blood was flowing from his nose.

“Uncle-nim!”

Tia hesitated for a moment, then rushed over to Fosao.

She wiped his nosebleed with her sleeve and asked urgently.

“Are your knees okay? Is your nose not broken?”

“Ngh- N-no. It’s just a little sc, scratched…”

She helped him up, but then.

*Thump.*

Seeing ‘that’ still exposed, Tia gasped.

……It was terrifyingly big.

That thought crossed her mind.

***

After the series of commotions settled down.

The two sat facing each other at the table.

Naturally, no words were spoken, and their gazes were directed elsewhere.

The atmosphere was so awkward that it was embarrassing to initiate conversation.

After a long silence, Fosao spoke first.

“Yo, you… came to get the medicine, right?”

Tia, who had been looking at the floor with her arms crossed, nodded.

“……Yes.”

“Here it is.”

The black medicine, made from steeping Cheonjinju, and a pouch containing other ingredients, were placed on the table.

“Ho, how was the medicine? Did it turn out well?”

“Oh, yes! The medicine’s effect was amazing! Ritsu also said he feels much better! Thankfully, he seems like he’ll recover quickly.”

“I, I see… That’s a relief. Tia, you’re good at ma, making medicine too…”

“Hehe-.”

Fosao scratched his head.

“But, um… earlier, that…”

Just when the awkward atmosphere had finally eased, ‘that incident’ came up again.

“I’m, I’m sorry… I didn’t know it was Tia’s time to co, come… and I was doing such a thing…”

“No, it’s not. I opened the door on my own. It was my carelessness. I was actually afraid Uncle-nim might have gotten hurt.”

“I, I was scared you’d… hate me. So, I tried to ex, explain, but then…”

Tia hurriedly shook her head.

“No… this is Uncle-nim’s house… and such things… ca, can happen…”

Tia squeezed her eyes shut, her ears turning bright red.

“A-anyway! It was an accident, so let’s pretend it didn’t happen! And I didn’t see anything either!”

“Uh… uh-huh.”

“……”

Tia pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

They had successfully concluded it was a misunderstanding, and even laughed it off with each other.

But why?

The awkward atmosphere didn’t dissipate.

It was easy to say ‘let’s just forget about it cleanly’.

But the shocking sight that kept replaying in her mind wouldn’t easily disappear.

It was like the black spot that appears after looking at the sun for a moment, constantly visible.

Uncle-nim’s ‘that place’ kept flashing before her eyes.

It was then, as she pondered what to say to leave the general store cleanly.

“Tha, thank you. Tia.”

Fosao said with a somber voice.

“I… I don’t have a w-wife… and I’ve lived here by my, myself for over forty years… Recently, Ti, Tia, you’ve been visiting often… and I was so happy. But because of wha, what just happened, I was… so scared that you’d hate me again…”

“No! There’s no way I’d hate Uncle-nim!”

“…It seems I even did ‘that kind of thing’ to Ti, Tia.”

“……”

Tia was silent for a moment.

But she quickly shook her head.

“No. I…”

She could have hated him.

But now, Tia no longer doubted.

“…I understand Uncle-nim.”

That voice, like a chick’s downy feathers, was utterly pure.

Even the sight she had just witnessed.

Even what he had done to her when she was a child.

At her words, that she understood and forgave everything, Fosao slowly lifted his head.

With a face touched by revelation, like a believer encountering an angel descended from the sun.

He asked.

“Then…”