I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 58

Enya came to the Capital at sixteen, the same age as Ber. After roughly three months working as an herbalist there, she was kidnapped by Kaien.
Based on the descriptions in the original work, Enya’s arrival in the Capital had been late summer. Now it was mid-autumn, and the trees throughout the city had begun to turn crimson.
In other words, that left approximately two months before Enya’s abduction.
Of course, assuming the original story unfolded as written.
‘That day. If I really did cure Kaien’s lung disease completely…’
Two years ago.
The black dog collapsed beneath the tree had been Kaien—she’d never have guessed it in a thousand years.
She had long since accepted that she was an incarnation of Eostre. Yet it was hard to believe she had completely cured that lung disease, the one no one but Enya could have improved.
‘I need to observe carefully, if only to prove it.’
There were two missions to accomplish over these two months.
First, to watch for any suspicious activity around Enya. And second…
Ber stepped into the Alley Market entrance with her fist clenched.
A weekend afternoon. The Alley Market teemed with diverse crowds. As she passed by the Capital residents shopping for their evening meals, people glanced sideways at her uniform.
Academy students rarely visited this typical working-class street.
Ber nodded politely to everyone whose eyes met hers. She’d be coming to this market every week for the next two months. It would be wise to make a good impression on those who shared Enya’s neighborhood.
Fortunately, the atmosphere was pleasant. People returned her greeting with smiles.
She walked steadily through the market and into its depths.
A fruit stand beneath a red awning. It looked unchanged from her visit two years ago. The only difference was that the elderly couple’s expressions had grown considerably brighter.
“Hello. Five apples, please.”
She placed the same order as last time and held out her coins. The grandmother accepted them, leaned out from under the awning, saw the Academy Uniform Ber wore, and looked startled before breaking into a warm smile.
“What a lovely student customer we have! I’ll prepare them right away for you.”
The grandfather standing beside her placed five apples into a paper bag and handed them to Ber. After accepting them, Ber deliberately examined the shop.
“Hmm? Is there something else you need?”
The grandmother caught her glance with keen attention and asked. Ber smiled awkwardly and broached the subject.
“I heard there’s an herbalist nearby who sees patients. Do you happen to know where the clinic is?”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.”
The grandfather, who had been sitting quietly on a simple chair beneath the awning, suddenly leaned his face toward Ber and answered. She flinched and pulled her head back, and the grandfather chuckled.
“That herbalist is my granddaughter, you see!”
“…Really?”
As Ber asked in confusion, the grandfather gestured that he would take her to the clinic.
Unable to hide the smile tugging at her lips, Ber followed the grandfather.
I’m glad you found a warm home, Enya.

***

Two years ago, the letter Ber had given to the elderly couple had already begun to alter the course of the original story.
Unlike before, when the clinic had been operated from a stall laid out across from the fruit stand with the red awning in the deepest part of the Alley Market, Enya’s clinic now occupied an actual building.
Enya was running her clinic from the elderly couple’s home.
Following the grandfather’s guidance into the house, it was already full of patients.
The sharp scent of herbs and the bitter smell of medicinal plants. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the walls where tapestries ought to have been, drying out in the sunlight.
“Enya, we have a visitor!”
The grandfather called out over the crowd, and Enya raised her hand in response.
“Thank you, Grandfather! Could you sit in the chair over there and wait just a moment?”
She waved at the grandfather before pointing to a sofa near the entrance. Perhaps because she was short, or perhaps because there were so many patients, only Enya’s pale hands were briefly visible—her face wasn’t visible at all.
After confirming that the grandfather had left the clinic, Ber stood up. She found a blind spot where Enya wouldn’t notice her and carefully concealed herself behind a cabinet.
“Simon, it’s your turn next. How’s your body been treating you?”
“Enya, these days there isn’t a part of me that doesn’t ache—from my shoulders right down to my toes.”
Enya knelt and sat on a chair facing the elderly man eye to eye.
“Could you give me some of that herb you gave me last time? It works wonderfully when I pound it and apply it.”
“Hmm, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Using it too frequently can cause your skin to redden or swell. Let me apply this instead.”
Enya removed the grandfather’s shoes and socks, then began applying white salve to his toes.
Her fingers moved slowly, carefully. She applied the salve meticulously to every corner, and her hands remained on his feet for a long while.
“Oh? My feet are already feeling better! Enya’s medicine really works like magic.”
“…Magic?”
Enya looked slightly flustered by the grandfather’s praise.
“It’s the skill of an herbalist!”
But as she declared this, clenching her fist, laughter burst out among the watching patients.
‘So that’s how she treated him.’
Recalling the original work’s description, Ber nodded to herself.
What Enya had just done was certainly magic.
The Spring’s Power described in the work—she must have used magic while pretending to apply salve with her hands on the patient’s skin. She had definitely reversed his foot’s time back just a little.
“And Simon, you’ve been working so hard. You should rest when you get home! The grandmother was singing your praises yesterday about how you fixed the chair.”
“Is, is that so?”
“Yes.”
At Enya’s teasing answer, laughter erupted among the grandfathers gathered around her.
“More importantly, please take this to the grandmother. She seemed to be coming down with something when I saw her yesterday.”
“Then I’ll have to buy it instead. Always something else to take home. Enya, you’re a born merchant, I tell you!”
Another hearty laugh rippled through the group. Jokes continued to be exchanged back and forth.
A smile bloomed on Ber’s face as she watched. The clinic was warm.

Time passed like this.
After confirming that the last patient had left, Ber emerged from behind the cabinet.
As she slowly approached Enya from behind as she tidied the herbs, Enya seemed to sense the presence and turned around.
“Oh, welcome! How did you find…”
Enya had darted out from the counter, but upon seeing Ber’s uniform, she slowly came to a stop.
Those who visited the clinic were typically elderly; there were almost never customers of a similar age.
Their eyes met. They were nearly the same height. Perhaps because Enya was a squirrel humanoid, she was actually slightly shorter than Ber herself, a rabbit humanoid.
Hair with a mysterious luster mixing chestnut brown and brown. Clear, bright amber eyes. A youthful face and slender frame. And that radiant smile that was always on Enya’s lips.
Finally, they met. My absolute favorite.
To be alone with Enya like this. Ber’s heart trembled—she nearly clutched at her chest without thinking.
‘Calm down. Stay composed.’
Ber swallowed dryly and clenched her fist.
She wanted to talk with Enya.
She wanted to tell her that she had endured difficult days with the comfort she’d received from her, to express her gratitude.
But it was too soon.
Ber had come to seek out the Capital streets today, had visited the clinic to meet Enya… to protect her precious family.
“Is there somewhere you’re not feeling well?”
When Ber said nothing, Enya asked first. Ber took a breath and opened her mouth.
“I observed your treatment. You truly do possess remarkable skill, as the rumors say.”
“Th, thank you very much.”
Ber met Enya’s flustered eyes directly while raising her chin, drawing her own arrogance up to its maximum.
“But you’re not an herbalist, are you?”
“…What?”
“You’re a mage.”
With a meaningful remark, Ber’s lip curved upward.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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