Kays Translations

Chapter 88 – A Request for Cooperation and Gathering Information

When I mentioned grandpa Jill’s name—

“Jill?”

—the Alchemy Guild leader, Neg-san’s eyebrows twitched.

Maybe, just maybe…?

“I heard he’s a magic tool artisan.”

“The shawl that came from Jill’s place. Ah, that must’ve been Sui’s…”

Neg muttered, a nostalgic look in his eyes.

Is Neg the alchemist that Jill-san was talking about?

And… wait, did we just learn grandma’s name here!?

“I thought so. That shawl was dyed by the Guildmaster, right?”

Hakase-san nodded with a knowing expression.

Was the shawl so rare that it would be possible to identify the dyer to some extent just by looking at it? Or is Hakase-san just that special? …Honestly, I think it’s the latter.

“It’s said that wearing fabric dyed with Yogimogi-Sashimo can help alleviate various gynecological symptoms.”

“That kind of effect…?”

“Yes. That’s why it’s a popular gift for women.”

Hakase shared that little tidbit of knowledge.

Neg scratched his head vigorously and says,

“If Jill trusted you enough to lend you that, then you must really be someone. Alright, let’s have a heart-to-heart talk.”

Sounds like we’re skipping the mind games. Good.

Turns out, the illness, which had originally broken out in the royal capital has been gradually spreading.

The problem is that the cause has not yet been identified and only symptomatic treatment is available. 

And now they’re even running short on the herbs used in those symptomatic treatments.

The mysterious plum-based products I provided has cured the problem in this town, but since the cause is unknown, there is no telling when it will recur.

Also, word’s gotten out to the capital that we managed to contain the illness to a certain extent here—and, how should I put it, there is a request to the Alchemy Guild, or rather, there seems to be a lot of pressure on them to do something as well.

“We’ll keep your secrets as best we can. We’ll even offer you preferential treatment from the Guild, within reason. This isn’t just about this town. Please—lend us your strength.”

Neg’s sincere eyes met mine as he asked.

It’s a bit troubling. When it comes to “strength,” we’ve already used up most of the products made from Kirara’s fruit. As for the Yogimogi-Sashimo, we can mass-produce it to some extent, but even then, there’s a limit to how much we can realistically make. Well, if we really pushed it, we could produce more, I guess. 

Also, if I asked very nicely, Kirara might be able to make the fruit grow again.

But that’s not something I can do alone. I’d need everyone’s help.

“Please give me a little time to think about it.”

I said, and with that, I was allowed to go home for now.

Later…

I asked grandpa Jill about Neg.

“Neg? oh, so you met him. Can he be trusted, you ask? Hmm. Hard to say if you ask me directly. Well, grandma trusted him.”

And they continued to be friends. He didn’t say it outright, but I didn’t sense any bad feelings toward Neg from grandpa jill. If anything, he seemed more like an old troublemaking friend. Which probably means I can trust Neg too.

“Hey, Jill-ji. grandma—was her name Sui, by any chance?”

“That’s right. Where’d you hear that name from… Neg told you, did he?”

“Yeah. Also… Grandpa Jill. Has it been getting hard to move your knee recently?”

“Hmm? That’s right, my knees. Well, I’d noticed some issues for a while, but they really started getting worse this year.”

I see. Now that he mentions it, there were other people with back or knee pain too…

On a whim, I stopped by Nia Farm.

“Hmm, back pain, huh? Hard to say when it started. With this kind of work, you overdo it sometimes and it aches. But yeah, that time—it was really bad. It hurt and I was irritated. You really helped me out.”

“For me, it was sudden. I woke up one day and my knees were throbbing. It was especially painful when I stood up or sat down. I felt strangely feverish and like the blood was draining from my body. It was a horrible feeling. But when I used that ointment, it all went away.”

I asked Dawn-san and Milia-san about the time I first helped out on the farm. They both remembered and shared their experiences.

That “draining” feeling… maybe it was a bit like anemia?

I also went to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Oh, Saki-san. What brings you here?  Is this about the fatigue I felt during the Amame hunt? I’m so embarrassed… I really don’t know why I was so exhausted that day…”

“Matilda-san, do you suffer from anemia?”

“I’ve never been told that before, but thinking back, maybe that’s what it was. I remember feeling so cold I started trembling…”

Matilda-san looked down, her long lashes casting shadows.

“But I’m perfectly fine now—thanks to you, Saki-san.”

Her smile was dazzling. As routine— I offered her some crackers.

“Oh dear, I must’ve looked like I was fishing for some,”

She said, laughing again.

“By the way, didn’t you mention you were drinking something around that time?”

“Ah yes, it was a tonic that’s been popular in the capital. Come to think of it, I haven’t taken any since then, so there might still be some left.”

She rummaged under her desk and pulled out a small container.

“Here it is. If you’re curious, would you like to take it?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

And just like that, I obtained the tonic I was curious about. I wonder if it contains caffeine or something.

Since I was out and about, I stopped by the Agriculture Guild too.

“Hmm, things that started circulating more this year? I can’t think of anything specific in mind. If we’re talking usual increases in January or February, it’d be stuff like Chinese cabbage, white leeks, daikon radish. Spinach is good in winter too.”

I asked Regal, but it doesn’t seem like anything particularly unusual has been brought in or harvested this year.

 “Also, starting around the end of the year, fresh olive oil and new wine will be available. Wheat harvest is in summer, so that’s unrelated.”

“Wine?”

“Yeah. Aged wine is great, but the fresh stuff is tasty too.”

Regal made a drinking gesture and smiled as he explained the wine’s origin.

A rich red is good, but a light white is also good. Mmm, yes.

Now that I think about it, there are places where wine or ale is cheaper and more sanitary than water.

Though in this town, the water’s relatively clean and reasonably drinkable.

The water that comes out at grandpa Jill and Jude-san’s house seems to be drawn by a magic tool.

Oh, right—Jude-san too. He had some sort of shoulder issue that went away after eating the plum jam.

And then there’s Luna.

Her health problem was caused by an incompatibility with green magic.

Maybe—just maybe—could sort of similar incompatibility be the cause of this illness?

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