After hearing Kent’s story of how the herbs made it to Redford, Misha was trapped somewhere between elation and guilt, not sure how to respond. She was quite happy to hear he had been willing to help someone just because they looked like her. Though she didn’t know anything about logistics, she could tell that without Kent’s and the fisherman’s help, it would have taken a lot longer for the herbs to make it to their destination.
But why did Kent himself have to follow the herbs on the ship? She had heard from plenty of people about how dangerous the seas were at this time of year. People constantly assured her that only seasoned veterans would be willing to brave the seas right now, so anyone who volunteered would be highly capable, but it only served to worsen Misha’s anxiety over his travel. They hadn’t actually encountered any storms on their journey south, but there was no way they could have known they would be that lucky.
In the same way, Misha was both thankful and apologetic to the fisherman who had made the delivery. He said he did so because Misha had saved his daughter, but Misha hadn’t really done anything back then. She had just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It had all been a string of lucky coincidences. Iris had returned to her family safe and sound, but that didn’t change that she had been in exceptional danger.
Kent laughed as he saw the conflicting emotions in Misha’s face as plain as day. “All I did was what I could, exactly like you did for me.”
“But...”
“If that’s how you feel, then smile! I’ll take a thank-you and some praise for working so hard! I’m gonna get sad if you look so down after everything I did to help,” Kent complained, puffing up his cheeks angrily as Misha continued to hesitate.
It was such a childish face that Misha couldn’t help but smile. She suddenly remembered how much Marianne, his grandmother, had apologized to her when Misha had felt she was only doing her job. She had more or less told them what Kent had just said to her now.
“I guess you’re right. I’m really glad you helped out. Now, we’ll be able to save a lot of people’s lives. Thank you so much, Kent.” Her feelings welled up from the bottom of her heart as she squeezed him in a big hug.
He was quite a bit larger than when she’d last seen him a few months before. That gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. She could tell he’d be taller than her in a few years.
Kent laughed happily as he returned the hug. Being the one to help her this time made him feel like he had grown up a bit.
“I’m gonna be a super rich merchant when I grow up, so I’ll be able to move cargo wherever you need it!”
Misha giggled. “Okay. I’ll be glad to have your help!” she said with a shy smile.
She was happy to hear it, but she never would have guessed that it was a promise he’d keep for their entire lives.
The herbs were immediately brought back to the capital and processed into medicine to be given out to the sick. At the same time, Misha and Nel together began trials of her experimental new medicine.
Its development was still surprisingly challenging. In order for patients to breathe it in, the medicine had to be ground as fine as physically possible. Misha and Nel started by making it into a pill form and then breaking it down further, but there was a limit to how well a mortar could grind down the pills. On top of that, the pills were extremely hard once they were dried out, making it rather intense work.
They began by using a large mill to grind down the pills, and then they transferred that to a hand mortar for the rest, but it took a huge amount of time to grind the pills to the ideal consistency. Plus, the slightest bit of unexpected movement would send their work puffing out as a cloud in all directions. If they so much as accidentally breathed on the stuff, it would fly away. An errant sneeze from Misha, brought on by inhaling the fine particles of medicine, destroyed an entire batch of medicine.
While Miranda tried to comfort the stunned Misha, Ryne and Nel, who happened to be nearby at the time, had laughed riotously. The other apothecaries came by to see what the commotion was, each of them giving sympathetic looks as they saw Misha covered in a fine layer of her own creation. Some even laughed at the sight, though not as hard as Nel and Ryne had.
A single tear trickled down Misha’s cheek. Lack of sleep and overwork had driven her to her breaking point. Day after day of failure to produce the kind of medicine she was looking for had gradually worn her down. She wanted to scream, and now one mistake had cost her a batch of medicine that could have saved multiple people’s lives. She felt frustrated, worthless, and utterly pathetic.
As she bit her lip and started to cry in silence, Nel and Ryne fell into a panic.
“Misha, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have laughed! Please don’t cry!” Nel immediately apologized.
“It’s okay, Misha. Calm down. It’s not a big deal. This kind of thing happens to everyone,” Ryne added in an attempt to calm her down.
Misha squeezed her eyes shut, turning away from both of them. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t stop it now, and that left her feeling even more embarrassed and frustrated.
“...I hate this...” She sniffled.
The two men froze solid as they saw her starting to tremble.
Miranda heaved a heavy sigh. “You two are so mean. I’m going to have to ask you to give us some bucklerope.”
“I don’t know about that...” Nel frowned at Miranda’s request.
Bucklerope was one of the materials developed in secret by the People of the Forest. It was what they used to make the gloves that Nel had worn during the autopsy. The transparent, elastic gloves were made by covering their hands with a thin layer of bucklerope paste and letting it dry. It had only recently been developed, so naturally its method of production was still a closely guarded secret.
“Misha’s new medicine is still unrefined, but it holds a lot of potential. I have decided it is very much worth our time researching, so I will have to ask you two to help.” Miranda wore a bright smile as she spoke, but that smile didn’t so much as touch her eyes. It was clear that both of them enjoyed watching Misha trying so hard, but they had gotten far too carried away. Miranda was legitimately furious.
“You’re supposed to be an elder, Nel,” she continued. “You already agreed to fight the sickness here, so why are you playing around in the city like you’re on vacation? You should be helping.”
“I mean... I wasn’t playing around. I was surveying the environment and listening to the people...”