The New Gate (LN)

“Hmh…”

The two women woke up roughly 2 hours later .

Karin woke up first, then Kanade a little later .

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 a large 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 explained that he could call her because they were bound by a contract . Apparently, users of a similar 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 particular mountain when he had exited the cave .

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

“Hinomoto, your homeland . ”

“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 Blades” . It had been reproduced with such precision that it was almost identical to the real Mt . Fuji, so Shin understood at a glance 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 accompanied .

“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 plant was “Mimic Dead Snake Grass” . As the name suggests, it was a plant that looked very much like “Dead Snake Grass”, but was a completely different species .

Shin had seen the plant name displayed 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 tried comparing the pieces of information found in the conversation with his own knowledge .

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

“Milady…”

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 related to a sickness .

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

It was mainly aimed at players 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 succumb 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 relation to, Shin decided to help the two Hinomoto women .