“Hmh…”


    The two women woke up roughly 2 hourster .


    Karin woke up first, then Kanade a littleter .


    Perhaps because their bodies had rested, or because of the equipment’s effects, their conditions had improved greatly .


    “I offer you my most heartfelt thanks for saving my mistress’ life . ”


    “I do too . If you weren’t there, we would be sleeping among fish and seaweed . ”


    “It would have felt bad to just abandon you, that’s all . Rather than that, it’s almost time for dinner . ”


    Both had lowered their heads in thanks, but Shin replied that such excessive politeness was not needed, and handed them arge bowl instead .


    He had made some stew while they were sleeping . It was simple – he just cut the ingredients and let them boil in the roux he materialized from a card .


    “Allow me to thank you again . . ”


    “And this is quite the delicacy too . I feel my whole body getting warmer . ”


    “It’s a simple dish, I just cut the ingredients, boiled them, and put in some seasonings . ”


    While saying so, Shin poured himself another bowlful . Yuzuha, of course, had her share too .


    The two women were surprised at first by Yuzuha’s presence, but understood when Shin exined that he could call her because they were bound by a contract . Apparently, users of a simr technique were also in Hinomoto .


    After the meal, they decided to talk a while before sleeping .


    “First, tomorrow shall we see if we can find a dwelling or some sort around here?”


    “That’s right . Without knowing where we are, we can’t decide where to go . ”


    “Ah, at the very least I know in which country we are . ”


    Shin interrupted the women’s conversation . He had seen a particr mountain when he had exited the cave .


    “Is that so . Tell us then, where are we now?”


    “Hinomoto, your homnd . ”


    “Sir Shin . May I ask how you know?”


    “When I went outside, I saw the sacred Mount Fuji . Is it not Hinimoto’s symbol?”


    Shin, who had heard this piece of information in Balmel, had understood right away where they were .


    Sacred Mount Fuji was a map added in the 5th update, “Banquet of des” . It had been reproduced with such precision that it was almost identical to the real Mt . Fuji, so Shin understood at a nce that what he saw was Mt . Fuji .


    “Indeed it is . In such a case, we can have a rough idea of our current location?”


    “Yes . If we are in Hinomoto, we can find a way back . ”


    Shin thought of heading to a certain port town and meeting with Schnee and the others .


    Kanade and Karin’s equipment had not been lost, so they did not need to be apanied .


    “Now that we have a destination, there is something I need to ask, Lady Kanade . ”


    Also thinking of Yuzuha, Shin decided to ask the question right away .


    “What is it?”


    “Why did you jump down from the ship? I am sure you knew it would put you in mortal danger . ”


    Shin had a few theories about the reason, but nothing more .


    Kanade appeared to hesitate, but maybe thought that she couldn’t keep silent either, so she nervously started to speak .


    “In truth, the medicine we had obtained for my elder sister had been blown away by the wind . I always kept it with me in order to not lose it, but that proved to be my undoing…I owe you both an apology . ”


    Saying so, Kanade lowered her head towards Shin and Karin . She knew it was dangerous, but moved without thinking .


    “Even so, in the end only this much remained . ”


    What Kanade was holding were green colored leaves with a hint of red .


    The name of the nt was “Mimic Dead Snake Grass” . As the name suggests, it was a nt that looked very much like  “Dead Snake Grass”, but was apletely different species .


    Shin had seen the nt name disyed via【Appraisal】and felt something was off, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it, so he urged Kanade to continue .


    “My sister has contracted quite a unique disease you see . She doesn’t have much time left anymore . This medicinal herb can specifically cure it, but it cannot be found in our country, nor did any merchant have it . We had finally managed to obtain some . ”


    A unique illness, a specific medicine, Dead Snake Grass…Shin triedparing the pieces of information found in the conversation with his own knowledge .


    “However, this much can only prolong her life a little longer…”


    “Mdy…”


    Karin tried to console the downhearted Kanade . The country’s merchants had done everything they could too .


    (I think I’ve already heard about this…a quest, maybe?)


    Shin took a thinking pose and opened the menu via mental control . Inside the menu, he picked the “Event History” option .


    This mode allowed Shin to browse, in detail, the past events he participated in during the game era: the contents, the item rewards, and other information .


    Among them, Shin looked for events that required Dead Snake Grass .


    (There’s just one…did I hit the jackpot?)


    Among the events that required Dead Snake Grass, only one was rted to a sickness .


    In the events guilds could participate in during the game era, there was one that involved concocting medicine for a viger .


    It was mainly aimed at yers with alchemist jobs, but Shin took it for the rewards .


    (Now I’m not sure if I should say it or not though . )


    Shin looked at the event details and grimaced, careful not to be noticed by the two women .


    If the illness was the same as the one he looked up, Kanade’s Mimic Dead Snake Grass would have no effect at all .


    Not knowing the sister’s symptoms, though, he could not talk lightly . Even if he talked now, he would just dash their hopes of prolonging Kanade’s sister’s life .


    “I apologize for the depressing story . We should go to sleep to be ready for tomorrow . We will watch the fire tonight, so please go ahead and sleep sir Shin . ”


    “I and my mistress will take turns standing guard . Please rest well sir Shin . ”


    “No, I can’t let you…”


    “It must have not been easy to pull us up from the sea . You must be weary too . I assure you, we are better trained than the average person, we shall not sumb to mere monsters . ”


    Kanade smiled, full of confidence .


    Shin was not excessively tired, but realized that even if he insisted he was fine, they would not be convinced, so he decided to rest .


    Around 20 minutes after Shin went to rest, Kanade and Karin headed towards the entrance of the cave .


    Shin, who stayed awake in case of an emergency, noticed it and checked the surroundings just in case, but did not perceive signals of monsters or the like .


    (…someone’s crying?)


    In the silent night, except for the sound of bonfire, the sound of someone crying reached his ears .


    “…but why…!!… . . a little… . more and… . help… . my sist… . . this can’t… . ”


    It was Kanade .


    She must have kept it all inside while she was talking to Shin .


    She had left her house, her country, to save a person…and just when she thought she had achieved her goal, the Gale Serpents attacked .


    Without enough medicine left to save her sister, it was natural to feel like crying .


    Furthermore, Kanade was still a child . It wouldn’t be weird for her to feel heartbroken .


    “(Kanade, crying…sad?)”


    “(Well, who wouldn’t…)”


    Yuzuha had heard too . Shin patted her head lightly, telling her not to mind and go to sleep .


    (If I could… . leave her alone, I wouldn’t be concerned like this…)


    Sighing at himself for not being able to cut her off as someone he had no rtion to, Shin decided to help the two Hinomoto women .