Maomao and the others finally decided to return to the capital two days later.
They had seen off Uryuu who returned first. She felt that, for some reason, he looked a little more unambitious compared to the first time she saw him. It wasn't something that concerned Maomao, so she went around town without care afterwards. She went shopping for things that couldn't be obtained anywhere else with the pocket money she had snatched off Rahan.
Will I be rocking in the carriage on the way back too?Maomao winced, but it seems they will be taking a different route on the way back. And so, they reached the riverside.
"I think we'll return by boat," Rahan said.
What Rahan said was that since the water level upstream has increased due to this rainy season, they could sail on a larger boat. He also said that the water will be gone by the time the dry season comes around though.
In terms of distance, it was more of a detour than going by horse, but while they can't rest on horseback, since they will be heading downriver, they can keep moving. The seasonal winds were also strong; it seems they will be moving quickly. Conversely, he said that on top of the journey there being far, they needed to go upriver and the wind was going in the opposite direction, so it had been faster to go by carriage then.
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(A ship huh.)
Rahan paid the sailor and boarded the boat. Everyone on board were slightly grim looking old men, but it was obvious given the standard for physical labour. They also had guards along with them, so she wanted to believe that they won't get sunk into the bottom of the river, intangible, deprived of all their possessions.
Seeing Maomao's eyes, Rikuson who was next to her laughed. "This ship is owned by a business partner of Rahan-sama."
"…"
So, was he saying that it's not dubious so she shouldn't worry about riding the boat?
Maomao went up the ship since it can't be helped.
"Oi, do you have motion sickness medicine?" Rahan said.
He was hugging a pail, pale-faced. And Rikuson was a little distance away with a similarly pale face. They were in a small cabin. This boat only had two, so the other passengers all had pale faces.
"You used it up when you vomited just then though," Maomao replied.
She had handed it over to him. He had already vomited it out. It didn't stay in long enough to be effective.
She had prepared motion sickness medicine as a precaution, considering that they will be travelling by carriage, but she didn't think that they would be used here.
Although they will arrive earlier since they will be moving without stopping, in other words, it meant they will be rocking continuously. Even though he was fine in the carriage; to think that a boat was no good.
(It's not that I don't understand.)
Maomao slanted her body with the rocking of the boat. Flash floods weren't few with the river that had suddenly risen in water level. In other words, the river was rough.
"Bleeuughhh."
Maomao turned her body to the opposite side this time. She felt gross; the cabin was stuffy with the stink of vomit. She wanted to go out, but she could be thrown off the boat if she went out onto the deck, so she was told not to leave. There was also such a danger.
"Why are you not dizzy?" Rahan said reproachfully.
"Isn't it because I don't get dizzy from wine either?" Maomao replied.
Maomao's complexion was unchanging. Rahan glared at her in vexation. This man, if she had to say it, wasn't strong to wine.
The ship headed downriver. And when the river widened, they boarded a boat that was larger with another storey. They did that so they won't drift into the great river while they advanced. They will repeat this several times until they get back home.
"I don't want to ride any more ships!" Rahan said with a look of exhaustion, but he couldn't get his hands on a carriage midway the journey, so they had no choice but to change boats.
It was the time they were transferring to their third boat.
There was a loud thud.
What's happened, she thought. It turns out a person had fallen over on the harbour.
The sailor doubtfully roused them. The limp person was a man who was clad in a worn overcoat.
"Oi, bro, are you okay?" the sailor asked. He raised the man's face, then groaned. "Ugh."
The face must have been beautiful before. It revealed a distinct nose bridge and willowy brows. However, half of it was covered in pockmarks. As his features were round, the pockmarks created a ying-yang on the smooth skin.
The sailor flung the man away.
The man clambered to his feet.
"Excuse meee. May I board the ship?" The man formed a smile on his ugly face. She could see a bag filled with money on his offered hand. He was still young. A youth who was around his mid-twenties.
"Y-you bastard! Don't you have a weird sickness?" The sailor who had lifted him up was rubbing where he had touched the man.
Smiling, the man touched his ugly face.
"Yeah." He nodded in assent and crouched down. Did he drop it when he fell? There was a scarf by his feet. The man picked it up and folded it in half into a triangle. He covered his face with that. At a glance, it looked like an eyepatch.
"I know. That. It's smallpox, right!" the sailor cried.
Smallpox – ; a terrifying disease forms pustules all over your body. An infectious disease that is said to destroy even countries. It was extremely contagious; the sick can infect others by coughing and sneezing.
The man laughed with a lax smile and scratched his bumpy face. "Haha, it's fine–. These are just scars. I got it once before, but I'm all lively right now. Come on come on!"
"The hell are you on about! Didn't you just fall over just then! Don't come over!"
At the sailor's words, the people surrounding them distanced away.
Maomao squinted.
"What's wrong?" Rikuson who had boarded the ship first came to ask her. It seems he had been carrying the luggage. He was truly diligent. Let's just call him Gaoshun number two.
"That eyepatch man wants to board the ship, but the sailor is just rejecting him on the grounds that sick people can't board," she answered straightforwardly.
Rikuson looked at the youth with an "Hmm." If that youth hid his pockmarks, he will be quite the lady-killer. Also, his tone was pretty frivolous.
"What's inconvenient? Isn't this boat free for anyone to board?" Rikuson asked.
"It looks like he has money, but he has pockmarks on his face, so the sailor suspects that he's sick," Maomao answered.
Rikuson squinted. "Is he really sick?"
"Ummm." From a distance, she had no idea. She could see pockmarks, but there was no pus. It's likely that what the youth was saying could be true. It seems that it's been a while even if he had gotten sick.
Then, speaking of why she was not telling the sailor that–
(It's a pain to get involved.)
It was just that.
Though, the man didn't look like he was giving up on boarding the ship. He was clinging to the sailor. "Pleaase–. Let me board— Aren't you a bit of a meany—"
"Let go! Stop it, you'll spread your pox!"
"So mean. Discrimination! I'm lively as you can see!"
Normally, speaking of the beautiful man with facial scars, he had a shadow of his beauty, but it seems this guy didn't fall into that category. He had wound himself around the sailor's rugged legs, showing no signs of letting go.
The other sailors wanted to help their mate, but they didn't want to get infected with some strange disease so they watched from a distance. At this rate, the ship won't leave.
As if he read Maomao's expression, Rikuson grinned at her. "You want the boat to leave soon, right?"
"…." She looked at the deck. Rahan was gazing at the blue sky while clutching onto the pail. It seems he couldn't obtain horses at this harbour too.
Maomao reluctantly descended the ship and went to stand before the runny-nosed eyepatch man who was clinging to the extremely annoyed sailor. "Excuse me," she said.
"Yes?"
When Maomao heard the reply that couldn't be taken as an affirmative, she took off the man's scarf. She could see that the ugly pockmarks were from years ago. She looked at the eye on the side of the pockmarks. They didn't seem to focus. The size of the pupils was different on both eyes. He might have lost his vision on one eye.
"This man isn't sick. He has scars, but it shouldn't infect other people," she said.
At least for smallpox. She had no idea if he had anything else.
"…" Looking extremely opposed to it, the sailor gingerly took the man's money bag with his fingertips. He upturned it and money clattered to the floor. "How far do you want to go?"
"I want to go all the way to the capital! The capital, the capital!" The youth had the undisguised air of a country bumpkin. He made fists and shook them. "And so I made a lot of medicines!"
"Medicines?" It was Maomao who reacted to the man's words.
"Ahh, I'm amazing despite my looks!"
Saying that, he took out a large sack from his filthy overcoat. When he opened it, a characteristic stench wafted out from the opening. Maomao reached in and picked out a pot. She opened the lid. It contained a salve. She didn't know its effect, but it has been made extremely conscientiously. The herbs had been thoroughly mashed and the manner of the kneading was of the perfect consistency. Of course, the quality was assured as the combination of the herbs was done so carefully.
Maomao looked at the man again.
The man smiled frivolously as he offered it to the sailor before him. "How about this medicine-? It's really good for seasickness."
Of course, the sailor didn't need to buy such a thing.
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"Stingy–. Isn't it fine to buy it?" The man passed money over to the sailor. It seems he can finally board the ship.
And then he looked at Maomao and grinned. "Thanks, you saved-saved me? I'll give you motion sickness medicine as thanks—"
He spoke like a kid. His outside didn't match with his inside.
"No, I won't get seasick, so I don't need that," she replied.
"Is that so–. That's too bad."
Just as the man was going to put away the medicine, she heard a loud "WAIT!!" from behind.
And it was Rahan who was running up with great vigour towards them from the boat.
"G-give me, …the motion sickness medicine," Rahan said, panting.
(Heard you loud and clear.)
Maomao returned to the boat as she thought that.