Sharti hurried towards the magic stone shop, being more cautious than ever before.

“Oh my, you’ve come even earlier today?”

Fortunately, the shop owner who found her loitering around the store before opening hours let her in early.

Nathan, the old man who owned the magic stone shop, was known for his kindness in the village. He had never chased away Sharti, who would suspiciously lurk around and inside the shop.

Rather, it was Sharti who would leave empty-handed each time, sneaking away after furtively looking around.

“I’ll start business early today, so hurry and make your purchase in this gap.”

After bowing deeply in gratitude, Sharti bought the items she wanted. Due to lack of funds, she could only afford to buy two magic stones containing just a fortnight’s worth of mana for one person.

Sharti held out a note she had prepared in advance.

“30 silver. And this is a free gift.”

“…?”

The free gift that old man Nathan held out was two single-use mana chargers.

When Sharti looked at old man Nathan in surprise, he chuckled.

“It’s something I give to the first customer who comes to buy every morning, so take it.”

The charger was quite an expensive item compared to regular magic stones.

‘But he’s giving it away as a free gift?’

Sharti stared somewhat blankly at the mana charger held out in front of her.

She was quite quick-witted.

It was just as Sharti was about to take out the greeting note she had prepared in advance.

“You’re the doctor, aren’t you?”

“……”

“If so, consider this as an advance payment for when I might fall ill later.”

Old man Nathan patted his hunched back.

“I have no family, so when I’m on my deathbed, there won’t be anyone to pay the doctor who comes, will there?”

“……”

“If the advance payment for treatment is burdensome, visit my shop every day. That way, when I collapse or fall ill, the doctor will come to see me, won’t she?”

It was a considerate remark.

Sharti, who had been fidgeting her fingers repeatedly, hesitantly accepted the single-use mana charger.

Sharti bowed deeply in gratitude and left the shop.

Today, both her hands and her heart felt full.

As soon as the hem of her robe disappeared from view, old man Nathan asked towards the back of the shop.

“Is that enough now?”

With a rustle, a long, thin bead curtain was pushed aside, and an elderly woman with a kindly appearance emerged.

“What do you mean, enough? Why are you burdening our child like that!”

“Ahem, ahem. Then what excuse should I use to give away such an expensive item?”

“You could say that thanks to the herbal mixture our child sold, your back pain has improved, and give it as a token of gratitude!”

“…Bireta, you and I are just the same.”

Old man Nathan shook his head at Bireta.

Bireta snorted.

“Anyway, here’s the payment for the charger you gave our child.”

Bireta held out 30 silver coins from her pocket.

Old man Nathan also snorted.

“It’s fine. I meant what I said to the doctor, so there’s no need to give it to me.”

“If you say so.”

Bireta, who laughed gruffly, put the silver coins back in her pocket.

Old man Nathan’s expression, which had been smiling at the unstoppable old woman, darkened slightly.

“By the way, did you hear about that?”

“What story? I just came home after a fortnight, has something else happened?”

Old man Nathan glanced outside the shop briefly, then approached Bireta.

“Those border soldiers who came to check on public safety, you know. I heard that checking on public safety is just an excuse, and they actually came looking for someone.”

“…Who?”

Bireta’s wrinkled expression instantly turned cold.

As her hands, clasped behind her back, began to tremble with tension, old man Nathan whispered cautiously.

“From the way they’re keeping it hush-hush, I reckon it’s not a deserter. Ah, come to think of it, there was a rumor in the lower village. About someone who fled after deserting the army, having slaughtered dozens of our own soldiers…”

“Well, they’ll catch them on their own.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

Bireta’s expression quickly softened upon hearing that the person the soldiers were looking for was a soldier.

“Tsk, tsk. You old man, always worrying too much.”

At her tone of disinterest, old man Nathan sighed.

“Is that something to say when we’re in the same boat, growing old together? Of course, you might not worry, but it’s different for that doctor,”

“Why our child?”

“You ask because you don’t know? Even in the village, there’s talk about how the doctor still doesn’t show their face, and to those soldiers’ eyes, it would look different, wouldn’t it? As it is, the leader of these soldiers had a rather unsettling look in his eyes.”

“……”

Bireta’s eyes sank.

Old man Nathan patted her shoulder.

“I heard the soldiers will be going around investigating the surrounding mountains centered on the village today or tomorrow, so please relay this to the doctor on my behalf.”

“I should do that.”

Bireta gave a brief word of thanks to old man Nathan before leaving the shop.

The sky was clear.

But strangely, today her shoulders and knees were creaking more than usual.

“It was always on days like this that I picked up something, wasn’t it?”

Ten years ago, the child who came looking for her, asking for a name she had now forgotten.

Six years ago, the newborn baby abandoned in a bundle in front of her house.

Five years ago, the girl who was dying trapped in a fire.

“It should just be my imagination.”

Bireta rubbed her shoulders and knees.

Her premonitions had never been wrong since olden times.

Meanwhile, Sharti, happily feeling the heavy weight of her bag, went to Tein’s house.

Having stayed up late reading books again yesterday, Tein greeted Sharti while continuously rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“Wow! I’ll work hard!”

Tein answered energetically, hugging the notebook Sharti handed him tightly to his chest. The word ‘homework’ had completely chased away his sleepiness.

Tein, with his high enthusiasm for learning, burned brighter the more homework he had.

“Sha, you’re here? But you look even thinner than before? You! You’re not skipping meals again, are you?”

Birena, who appeared behind Tein, poured out her worries towards Sharti. Sharti shook her head with an embarrassed smile.

Frowning her freckled face, Birena held out a basket to Sharti.

It contained a small amount of fruit jam and four small loaves of bread.

“Grandmother came back today. She prepared this for you before she left. Take it and make sure you eat it.”

Sugar, the ingredient for fruit jam, was expensive in this small mountain village. Moreover, flour, the ingredient for bread, was also expensive.

It must have been tight even with grandmother Bireta’s daily wages.

“I heard from Tein! Last time, Sha braved that typhoon to find Tein! After risking danger to safely send my brother home, how can we not give you at least this much?!”

When Sharti tried to run away without accepting it, Birena quickly blocked her path.

Sharti waved both hands with a troubled expression.

“I don’t care! If you don’t take it, I’ll tell grandmother?! If you don’t take it now, grandmother will climb the mountain herself to deliver it, you know?”

At those words, Sharti quickly accepted the basket.

She had to prevent Bireta from climbing the mountain. Although Bireta, who had learned swordsmanship since her youth, was incredibly fit for her age, climbing the treacherous mountain was dangerous.

‘…Besides, if she happens to come to the cave and discovers the man, that won’t do.’

The situation would become complicated in many ways if Bireta found out that she was not only treating but also hiding and keeping secret a person whose identity was unknown.

‘I must prevent it.’

Of course, Sharti knew Bireta’s broad-mindedness. She was someone who understood her weak compulsion to not pass by people asking for help.

But she didn’t want to burden Bireta any further.

Wasn’t she already indebted to her for so much kindness and help until now?

Sharti conveyed her thanks to Birena with a sheepish expression.

“You’re making me blush, you!”

Birena giggled as she read the message transmitted through her palm. Beside her, Tein also chuckled.

Their laughing faces looked exactly alike, like true siblings.

‘The bag, and now the basket too.’

Today was a day when both hands were heavy.

“Hurry and go, Sha. You know it’s not as tasty when it gets cold, right?”

“Thank you, teacher!”

Sharti waved to Tein while bowing to Birena, who was pushing her back.

Hugging the basket to her chest, Sharti left the village.

Fortunately, there were no encounters with soldiers.

‘It smells delicious.’

The savory scent of bread tickled her nose throughout the climb up the mountain.

Grumble−

‘I, I should hurry.’

Thinking that animals might also be drawn by the smell of bread, Sharti hastened her steps.

Staggering under the weight of her bag and basket as she climbed the rugged mountain, Sharti paused for a moment.

‘…Come to think of it, I’ve only been feeding him carrots and potatoes all this time.’

She thought of the man in the cave to whom she had been bringing meals.

Sharti pondered, listening to the grumbling of her stomach clock.

‘…He should eat things like this too, to recover faster.’

Then he would leave the cave sooner than expected.

There was also advice from the experienced Bireta.

[Whether it’s people or animals, if you give them food, their wariness diminishes. Because hunger clouds judgment, you see.]

Sharti sighed as she glanced into the basket.

Her plan to go as late as possible in the afternoon today had changed.

‘Let’s go for now.’

Bread tastes best when eaten before it gets cold.

Sharti changed direction from her straight climb up the mountain.

Perhaps it was because of the savory and sweet smell that felt reassuring.

A faint blush tinged with excitement spread subtly on Sharti’s pale cheeks, hidden beneath her robe hood.

‘…Huh?’

Upon arriving at the cave, Sharti paused as she was about to check on the man lying on the bed as usual.

‘His hair seems a bit wet…?’

Sharti, who had quietly set down the basket, rubbed the man’s black hair.

There was a cold dampness remaining.

‘Is there a place where the cave wall shifted during the typhoon?’

Sharti turned her head to glance around the corners of the cave.

Since it was an artificially dug cave, there were small holes and gaps. But it was unlikely that it would leak enough to wet only the head of a person lying on the bed.

Sharti checked the man’s arms, abdomen, and thighs.

‘His body feels a bit cooler today too.’

Although the temperature inside the cave was low, the man’s body temperature felt particularly cool today.

‘Damp hair. Cool body temperature. The man’s lying position that looks subtly awkward.’

It looked just like someone who had gone out and hurriedly returned.

Sharti became certain of her previous suspicions.

‘Only the abdomen and thighs, which were the worst, were the problem, while other areas had recovered to the point where daily activities weren’t hindered.’

She considered the possibility that he had developed a tolerance to the sleeping drugs or anesthetic herbs she had been giving him.

Sharti put her hand to her forehead. She regretted her carelessness in the past days.

‘Sigh……’

She quietly rose and slowly backed away.

She took out a long staff coated with paralyzing poison from the cave wall.

‘This is just for self-defense.’

She hid the staff behind her body, as it was time for the conversation she had been putting off.

Sharti tiptoed towards the bed.

‘Start with a conversation.’

She swallowed hard.

Thump. Thump. Her heart started beating faster.

“…!”

At that moment, the man’s eyes snapped open. Thinking their eyes had met with his shadowy blue-green eyes, Sharti hastily pulled her body back.

However, the man’s arm grabbing and pulling her robe was faster.

Thud−!

‘Ugh!’

‘Sha’, who was forcefully laid down on the bed, reflexively swung the staff.

“Are you going to subdue me with a weapon now?”

Sharti flinched at the unfamiliar tone.

The man was lightly pressing down on Sharti’s arm to defend himself.

“Without even trying to have a conversation?”