Volume 10 - Chapter 27

The Apothecary Diaries

The Identity of the Attacker #

Maomao stared at Chuue disguised as a female bodyguard with half-closed eyes.

‘For now, can you please stop making strange movements in that outfit? It’s confusing me’ said Maomao.

On the contrary, she wondered how she managed to become a completely different person.

‘However, I had utmost confidence in my disguise, yet you still noticed, Maomao-san. Hmm~,’

‘I wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for this embroidery,’ Maomao said, showing the embroidery on her sleeve. It seemed like a provocation that she hadn’t noticed Chuue’s embroidery yet.

Chuue hinted at the identity of the female bodyguard and conveyed that she would soon go to help Maomao and her companions. There were probably several people in town who were allies of Chuue, exchanging information using symbols.

‘Is the person called ‘Old Master’ also an acquaintance of yours, Chuue-san?’ Maomao asked.

‘You figured it out quite easily,’ Chuue said.

Maomao let out a sigh. No wonder Chuue had taught her a phrase from the teachings. It would have been better if she had just told him from the beginning.

‘In any case, there’s no point in complaining now,’ Maomao thought.

‘Chuue-san, could you explain some things to us?’ he asked.

‘Sure, what would you like me to talk about first?’ Chuue asked as she untied her hair. Her sharp gaze began to soften, and her familiar face returned. She rubbed her skin with her finger, and white clumps fell off. It seemed like she used special adhesive to change her facial features, not just makeup.

‘First, could you tell us about your relationship with each other?’ Maomao asked, looking at both Chuue and Shikyō alternately.

‘At first, Chuue-sama talked about Shikyō as if he were a scoundrel. She said that he was someone we shouldn’t be too friendly with,’ Maomao recalled.

‘Yes. But I didn’t lie. Remember the thieves who attacked us before? They were former subordinates of Shikyō-sama,’ Chuue said.

‘They were bums who were originally in the escort bureau that I bought out. I kicked out those who I couldn’t trust. The guy who held a grudge against us turned to thievery in our territory or joined that bear-man,’ Shikyō said.

(Never put untrustworthy subordinates in the escort bureau.)

Did the old man who informed them about the situation and left them alone do something similar? Although they were focused on their work, Maomao thought they were honest people.

‘Then, did you have a reason for making illegal alcohol?’ Maomao asked.

‘No, um, that was for personal consumption, but we didn’t have any containers… so we stuffed them into suitable empty bottles and they ended up getting mixed up with the shipment for transport,’ Shikyō said, stumbling over his words.

The truth aside, it seemed like they had caused trouble for those around them.

‘I thought it would be better if you didn’t get too close to her because of things like this,’ the female bodyguard, who had completely removed her makeup, said.

The female bodyguard had indeed become Chuue’s face.

‘I see,’ Maomao said.

‘Although it seemed like there was still more that Maomao was hiding, she decided to accept the explanation for now.

‘I don’t know what kind of relationship Shikyō-sama and Chuue-san have, but could you please explain what Chuue-san was doing?’

‘Yes. After taking Maomao-san out of the main house, it was quite difficult. Finding the internal culprit who attacked Shikyō-san, explaining to Tsuki no Kimi, deceiving Yabu-san and others, and the most troublesome was the strategist-sama. Do you understand this hardship? Do you understand?’

‘I don’t know how they deceived others, but it seems like it was quite difficult.’

‘Except for the internal culprit, everything else was accomplished, and then we moved with Maomao-san. Nishi Miyako was still dangerous and I couldn’t allow them to travel together, so we returned to the main house as it was.’

‘I see. Thank you very much.’ Maomao was satisfied.

‘Although I don’t know what kind of relationship Shikyō-sama and Chuue-san have, could you explain what Chuue-san was doing?’

‘Yes, after taking Maomao-san out of the main house, it was quite difficult. Finding the internal culprit who attacked Shikyō-san, explaining to Tsuki no Kimi, deceiving Yabu-san and others, and the most troublesome was the strategist-sama. Do you understand this hardship? Do you understand?’

‘I don’t know how they deceived others, but it seems like it was quite difficult.’

‘Except for the internal culprit, everything else was accomplished, and then we moved with Maomao-san. Nishi Miyako was still dangerous, and to avoid suspicion of kidnapping the important personage from Tsuki no Kimi, we had no choice but to do so.’

‘I see.’

Chuue had disguised herself so well that even Maomao didn’t know why.

‘The important personage was to be handed over to Rijin country. Meanwhile, Maomao-san and the others were to stay in the previous town, that is, this town, and were scheduled to return to Nishi Miyako after the suspicion of kidnapping was cleared.’

‘But there was Kumao, wasn’t there?’

‘Yes, that was the biggest miscalculation. I had a bad feeling, but I didn’t think he would get that far. By the way, who do you think is chasing Shōkō-san and the foreign important person to have mistaken them for Kurenai-san?’

In board games, amateurs cannot predict the movements of the pieces as well as experts. Perhaps they didn’t know what kind of moves Kumao would make.

‘In that case, I had no choice but to change my plans. I couldn’t continue to guard Maomao-san. So, I confirmed that Maomao-san’s safety could be guaranteed and left this town.’

‘…So you confirmed that I made contact with Rōshi or something and left, right?’

‘Yes.’

Maomao wanted to scream, ‘This bastard,’ but she managed to hold it in. Chuue had her own position.

‘I only confirmed the situation in the town and attempted to contact some of the collaborators inside. Our existence was not known to the thieves. Before I returned, the carriage was found by the thieves, so I confirmed that it was no longer possible to escape and changed the plan.’

‘So, I received protection as a member of the same sect?’

‘Yes. Rōshi never touches members of the same sect. At the same time, he doesn’t choose his means to protect them.’

(So means aren’t chosen to protect members.)

So, does that mean they abandon the heretics, Maomao wanted to say, but she couldn’t say anything since her life was saved.

‘Shikyō-san and the others haven’t arrived in this town yet. We can’t let them know that they will encounter Kumao or that the important personage of Rijin is nearby. I avoided this town and informed them to go to the next location, and made handing over the important personage the top priority. I can’t borrow any military force from Tsuki no Kimi due to various circumstances. So after the handover was completed, I came with Shikyō-san and the people from his convoy.’

‘So, did you suggest that you would pick us up soon through an insider?’

‘Yes, whether you noticed or not didn’t matter, but as expected of Maomao-san. Thanks to you poisoning the thieves, it was much easier.’

Chuue praised her, but Maomao wasn’t very happy. It wasn’t a job that a pharmacist should do in the first place.

‘The thieves had many taste buds that were not normal, so it was helpful.’

Potatoes with poison make the mouth tingle. Even if they disguised the seasoning, someone should have noticed. Some who had mild symptoms probably didn’t eat much of the potatoes because they didn’t like the taste.

‘…May I ask two more questions?’

‘If it is within my ability.’

‘You mentioned handing over the important personage, but who was the person you handed over?’

Chuue narrowed her eyes.

‘Please rest assured. It’s not someone who would worry Maomao-san.’

Although it was vague, it seems the safety of the important person was guaranteed.

‘What is the second question?’

‘…Who attacked Shikyō-sama?’

The sharpness of Chuue’s words was troubling. Even if Maomao had noticed, she wouldn’t say anything.

Maomao had a question. Why did Kogure call for her to come? Why did she know about the secret passage?

So she asked Kogure in secret.

‘Why did you know that Lord Shikyuu was in that place?’

And the response was…

‘My uncle told me.’

The uncle being referred to here is probably a relative.

‘Korou-jisan told me.’

Korou is the third son of Koyo, a modest Tamauguisu. He is the only one of the four siblings who has a significant age difference.

‘… What was Korou-sama’s intention?’

The conversation wasn’t going anywhere, so Maomao had no choice but to speak up.

‘Oh, it’s just a succession dispute, nothing serious.’

Despite Chuue’s casual tone, Shikyuu had a complicated expression.