#The pharmacist's monologues | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nomunamuinmybrain · 2 years

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Unbecoming

Pairing: Vampire Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Smut, supernatural

Word Count: 1.6 k

Disclaimer: if you are under the age of 18 please know that this contains heavy sexual themes and mature language.

Author's note: This story was penned two months ago for Junkgook's birthday but such is life that I never really got around to posting it. Halloween presents an excellent opportunity for me to introduce this indulging vampiric treat. I hope you enjoy it. Also, please excuse any syntax or grammar errors because this gal was too lazy to proofread once more before posting, oops...

“What a beautiful, good girl you are” the last thing I can remember from last night, fading, drifting away from memory. The vibrato of his voice still ripples all over my skin. A warning, a farewell, an invitation.

The maknae was not one to mess around for too long. Maybe him saving me, if salvation is as such, is the universe buying me some time. Escaping though seems impossible.

“…and it is sweetness” his voice but a breathy whisper haunting the corners of my mind. He can hear me. I forgot about that. I feel so weak. I am not even sure where speech wavers and thought takes over.

His wicked lips on my neck and then my thigh, the juiciest veins of his vessel, his plaything, his nourishment, all wrapped up in the frame of me. I think I should mind and try fighting but nothing seems to be in my control not even my own limbs and skin.

“I overdid it once again precious. I can’t let you drift away now. What will become of me, depraved of your sweetness?” his monologue, a selfish reminder of what has become of me. It’s the second time now where we’ve almost reached the point of no return and truly I wish he’d drain me out already but it doesn’t seem that his intentions of keeping me are in vain.

The maknae ruled upon his own word. When the whole town was slaughtered in just one week, we all knew the careless acts of hunger were his. We waited like sheep to the knife, trapped. I wonder if the people who thought of his existence to be a mere piece of lore died of shock before his brilliant sharp teeth had a chance to tear their flesh.

How long ago was the great massacre? How long have I been here? Where is here?

I get tucked in once again, feeling the blood, my blood all dried up on my skin mixed with his saliva. If beasts cruel like him got to look so angelic then what was hell actually like. Gazing upon him you’d think that God was true and just and that his angels walked indeed amongst our tragic existence. The red betrayed him. Those bright red ruby eyes, sparkling murder.

Rump and ruff around the edges. That is how the town, my town, knew me. Good enough to hold a house and probably marry off someday. Nothing special. I was appointed assistant to the head pharmacist of the dominion, my father. As brilliant as he, that’s what they’d say. Although, I was mostly out gathering ingredients for our salves and medicines and potions, I felt valuable in our community in contrary to the other women my age. My parents did not wish to force me into any arrangements that I would not enjoy or approve of, therefore life, my life was sweet.

The high families, as we called them, ruled in underground means. We all knew of them without having much to do with them. I didn’t want anything to do with them.

“...Yet, here you are…” he raises his head from where it is buried in my thighs. His tongue chasing after the trail of blood that weakly escapes the bite marks.

“You were meant to be here you know. Here with me. It’s been 5 weeks and though I expected you to cry yourself to death, here you are. Persevering.”

“If crying really could push me to the edge of death, I am sure you’d yank me back to you with a vengeance.”

“I would.”

“Why?”

He looks at you for a moment. Contorting his features, in an effort to honestly seek an answer himself. Why would he? He didn’t know how or when but somewhere along those few weeks of being with you, feasting on you, a different hunger grew. It planted a spark of need at the pit of his belly, torching his loins. Desire. He would do anything for you. He would do anything to keep you. For your delicious plumpness was the only reason he chose to feed off of the damned nook that nestled the warmth between your thighs. The plush redness of your lips as you drank his own blood at the end of every visit.

He would, of course he would, for when he lays to rest and wraps his hand around his cock it is your velvet touch that he imagines to bring himself to bliss. Day in and day out. Like poison you slowly but surely gained your ground in his head. He made sure to take care of you without making it seem too obvious. He knew from the beginning, that damned day his hyung dared to lay his eyes on you boasting about how he’d drain you not to the point of death but close enough so he could bring you back again and make you one of them. An immortal. A monster.

He couldn’t bear the thought and that’s when his anger took the best of him. He killed them all. His hyungs, the townspeople, everyone in his vicinity but not you. Never you. He wanted, for the first time in thousands of years, to preserve something and it happened to be you. He almost turned you, twice but he couldn’t go through with it. What if your luscious peachy scent were to faint as you transformed? He couldn’t live with himself. Of all the crimes he has committed that would be the greatest one. It seemed like a joke.

His head tilts. There is an unmistakable playfulness in his eyes.

“I wish to try something… It has been gnawing on my brain for a while.”

“What is it?” you sheepishly ask, intrigued by what is to follow. You’d deem anything intriguing after weeks of nothingness and utter darkness.

“Close your eyes” he commands.

Death is finally here, you think. He’s putting an end to this miserable story of yours. You close your eyes awaiting the sharp teeth of the beast to tear you limb by limb.

He creeps closer instead. His breath, warm, fans your face. His lips ghosting over yours, stealing away your weak breath. Tracing softly from one edge to the other, teasing.

“You smell like peaches.” he deftly whispered. He kissed you. Reverently. Carefully. As if he held the most precious rose blossoms.

“I was curious to see if you tasted like so. Your blood does carry a floral, fruity tone but maybe I thought tasting you in other ways might be more effective.”

With your eyes still closed and with him now laying fully on top of you, the kiss deepens. It escalates into something more. His strong hands roamed your curves in adoration as he devoured your lips. You couldn’t help your moans as they escaped you. Of all that his done there was none you could forgive, but you could not deny him. You hated that part of you that lusted after the beast. Every time he drank from between your thighs you’d fantasize about his kisses trailing off to the place you needed him the most.

“Look at me… You precious thing. You crave me, of course you crave me. It is how I am made. It is all that lures you in. The camouflage. This is the skin of a killer.”

He languidly thrusts your thigh as his lips wonder away. His actions contradicting his words entirely. As his lips marked your neck in ways he’d never dared before, his hands seek for your softness under your skirts. Bunching the fabric barrier as done so many times in your previous meetings, only this time he’d go one step further and leave you entirely bear. His ruby eyes pierce through yours as a wicked grin appears. Softly his fingers find your clit. Circling ever so skillfully to draw out a moan. He started mercilessly fucking you with his fingers and as you was about to reach another type of sweet death he draws them out. Sucking on them one by one as if he dipped them in the most decadent honey.

You couldn’t understand how everything happened so fast. No more than a second later his face was buried in your cunt, licking and sucking your juices out of you. The vibrations from each grunt that escaped him send shivers of pleasure throughout your body and by the time you reached your fifth peak of the day you grew sensitive unable to take anything more.

“I can’t” you weakly protest as your fingers unclench from his locks and brush them off his face.

He molds over you as he steals your kiss once more. Only this time his tenderness comes up to the surface.

“I can’t let go. I can’t let you go. How could I leave without you?”

“I’m not going anywhere…”

“Maybe not now. At some point, down the line, you’ll leave me forever. You’ll pass away to the one place I cannot meet you.”

Speechless. This sudden surge of emotion has left you more confused than ever. Words seemed of little to no substance as his grasp on you was seconds away from breaking you. There was nothing left for you. Nothing but him.

“Then let me walk this path with you forever. If that is something you’d want, I wouldn’t oppose as I have nothing but my own life to lose.”

Cradling your face he looks into your soul as if searching for something to prove you wrong. He found nothing of the sort.

“I have crossed eons to find you. Today Peach we’ll become one, as it is your wish as well.”

His lips kissed yours one last time. His fangs pierced the tender flesh of your neck, fully set on finishing the deed this time around. You held onto each other as blood married you into one. From his, you were reborn, from yours he rejoiced for finally, he had found that one missing piece. A soulmate.

#jungkook #bts #jungkook x reader #vampire jungkook #jungkook fanfic #jeon jungkook #bts supernatural au #bts vampire au #bts vampire smut #bts one shot #jungkook oneshot

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awlumii · 1 year

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"can i hold your face?"

kazuha opens an eye after your sudden request, eyebrows irked upwards in mock surprise.

the two of you are sitting down a tree, your face mushed against his chest as his bandaged hand rubs random shapes on your waist out of habit. he had been quiet the whole afternoon.

this "date" was neither of you's idea: qiqi requested to be taken to the playground, but since she was so little (at least physically) two adults were requested to watch over her. and now here you are.

you had mixed feelings about this whole fake dating situation. you would have never thought that kazuha of all people would be the one to smoother you in affections whenever you made a public appearance. all his fault, really: he jokingly told qiqi that you were dating on their very first meeting and for some reason it became one of the very few things she remembered.

"why do you call them little dove?" she had asked with furrowed eyebrows "they're not a bird". kazuha grinned innocently, ignoring your hard stare: "well, because i love your big sibling a lot. and when you really love someone-" you smacked his arm before he could continue.

qiqi had hummed. "you love them?" she asked.

kazuha let his eyes meet yours, feeling a fire rise inside him at the pleading gaze you showed him. leave her out of this, your eyes said. but he smirked, sneaking a hand around your waist to tug you closer, making you fall into his arms. "yes," he answered, "i love them so much."

at first, a part of you was glad that qiqi no longer expected you to get lovey-dovey with baizhu, but you soon realised in horror that she had replaced the pharmacist with kazuha. out of everyone, it had to be kazuha.

you don't think you're one of the gods' favorites.

(when zhongli heard you mutter it under your breath, he started a monologue about the relationship between archons and mortals.)

back to the present. you headbutt kazuha's shoulder when he stays quiet: "are you gonna answer or not?". he exhales loudly in response. "why the sudden request?"

"one of the very few qualities you have is soft skin. you're squishy."

"and what are the others?"

"you're good with qiqi. and a decent kisser."

he tilts his head to the side, lips turning in a smirk: "decent?" he repeats, amused, "if a decent kisser can make you sing like i do, then perhaps your skin is much more sensitive than i thought. i'll keep that in mind."

it's your turn to huff, heat already rising to your face. kazuha notices it immediately. he tightens his hold on your waist, tugging you closer.

"aw," he taunts in your ear, "is the little bunny getting teased by evil, mean kazuha?" he fakes sympathy, caressing your cheek gently, almost as if you could break - ironically enough, it seems like breaking you is his goal.

he doesn't stop there, not even when you squirm in discomfort: his hold gets even tighter. "oh, such a poor little thing you are, all trapped in my arms. who would you run to if you could, hmm? who would save you?"

you stay quiet, reluctant to start a fight you'll most likely lose when qiqi is a few meters away from you. just stay calm, you tell yourself.

kazuha doesn't like it. or maybe he does: you have no idea. he pecks your forehead lightly and tucks your head under his chin. the only thing you hear is your heartbeat ringing in your ears.

"did 'zuha went too far?" comes a whisper from above you, accompanied by a kiss on your head, "is the crux's sweet softie going to cry?"

ah. so that was the reason of today's taunts. you wonder if one of the reason he's obsessed with making you snap is your general attitude with pretty much everyone.

you're kind, you are warmth embodied. always willing to lend a hand yet careful of who to trust. your friends always bask in your comfortable embrace whenever they have the chance, qiqi deems you as the only one who can hug and squish her without her getting uncomfortable. you're not too naïve, but you are sickeningly sweet. you tried to be sweet with him too, only to be met with violence. and when you realised he's not as innocent as others think things got even worse.

you're not going to cry today. you're not a bunny - even if you were, he doesn't deserve you fluffiness. where the hell did he get that nickname from, by the way? little one was terrible enough (simply because he saw you as weaker and more fragile than him, and didn't call you such out of adoration). what else is he going to use? fucking kitten?

"off to your own world again, it seems," kazuha muses, bandaged fingers sneaking under your shirt to touch your bare skin: you jump at the contact. he moves his head and decides to nudge your nose with his in an almost affectionate gesture,

"you can't run away physically so you-"

"run away mentally, yes. i don't like listening to you when you're like that."

"i thought you didn't like me in general."

"your behaviour changes every single day."

"and your favorite is when i just hug you and stay quiet, isn't it? you act tough but you're just a cuddlebug."

you sigh: "you're fucking weird, dude."

usually he chuckles whenever you curse, but today he bites your nose to shut you up. when you yelp a "gah!" in surprise he licks the red spot, making you squirm even more. so much, that you somehow free yourself from his grasp and fall on the grass. he wastes no time and starts a insufferable assault on your sides, pinning your arms on the ground with a hand.

qiqi hears your laughter and turns her head to you two, hands still patting the sandcastle she made for you (only you, she decided during the construction, because the leaf guy steals qiqi's place during cuddles.)

something weird tugs qiqi's frozen heart. you're laughing. leaf guy is smiling the way that doctor baizhu describes as fondly. and yet something in qiqi tells her to step in and tell kazuha to leave you alone. at the same time, she wishes for you two to keep being together and be the parents she never had. she decides whatever she's thinking is wrong, but still runs to you two to save him from his mischievous' hands.

oh, if only she knew how right she actually is.

- hide and seek back with meanzuha brainrot. PARTICULARLY with a soft reader who really just wants to get along with him.

AAAAAAAAAAA 💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕

#[ 📭 — incoming! ]#hide and seek anon #kazuha x reader #SHRIEKING CRYING #I LOVE HIM SO BADDDDJDHEJDBDJ

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yonae · 3 months

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blep

#kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #apothecary diaries #maomao #mao mao #anime #the pharmacist's monologue #the pharmacist's soliloquies #the pharmacist's monologues #薬屋のひとりごと

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lili-ice-cream · 4 months

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Umm... hello? My name is Lili Ice Cream, and I'm an artist. I don't know what to say in the first post, but I REALLY love Jailbreak by Neru from fandoms. To tell you the truth, that's why I came here, hehe. The fandom is alive, and I'm proof of that.

In addition to Jailbreak, I love Undertale, Gravity Falls, Spy Family, Monologue of the Pharmacist, Vanpachman and much more. I hope to make friends with everyone. And by the way, this my work with Kawasemi and Kuina, I love these boys. I drew the art about a month ago, but just posted it on pinterest. Maybe I'll post something else with them later :D

#neru #datsugoku #jailbreak #kawasemi #neruke #kuina #vocaloid #kuikawa #Кавасеми #Куина

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roachmattea · 4 months

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I KNOW YOU'RE 🫵 BACK 🔙 I SAW 👁️👁️ YOUR SISTER👩🏻 AT THE PHARMACY 💊🧑‍⚕️ PICKING UP 🆙 SAID 💬 YOU HAD 🤲 THAT NEW 🆕 LOVE 💕 GLOW ☀️

#alvvaysposting #monologue #pharmacist

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garland-on-thy-brow · 2 months

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Highlights of the week.

Went for walks.

Improved my sleep schedule I think; while dealing with summer time no less.

Did medical quests.

Got new beautiful notebooks and good pens.

Got my laptop fixed.

Wore nice clothes.

Baked easy microwave brownies that turned out really nice. Perfect recipe for poor attention span, I recommend.

Ate delicious pasta.

Roleplayed about fate and curses.

Listened to Hasse's Cleofide.

Listened to Handel's Poro.

Watched The Pharmacist's Monologue episode 20.

Hot baths!

#[h]

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desert-bluffs-and-me · 8 months

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WTNV quick rundown - 88 - Things Fall Apart

Featuring the voice of Maureen Johnson as (Ex)-Intern Maureen, Kate Jones as Michelle Nyugen, Emma Frankland as Emma Frankland as Sheriff Sam, Erica Livingston as Maggie Penebaker, Christoper Loar as Donald Penebaker and Dylan Marron as Carlos the Scientist.

[sound of phone ringing in earpiece] Citywide utility failures continue to haunt us, but not as much as the strangers who do not appear to move. Welcome to the Night Vale Public Utilities phone line.

Night Vale is experiencing city wide power outages, polluted water supplies and several gas leaks (hinted to be due to the Strangers in some way). Cecil is desperately trying to get through to NV Utilities Department but it's proving difficult due to the snippy attitude in Maggie Penebakers recorded lines (this is the first time she says her name, I believe, previously just being heard as the female voice on the phone line).

Carlos calls Cecil to see if he's alright and to ask him to come home, since he doesn't have power to run his show right now. Cecil says he has to do his job and find a way to report what is going on. Carlos wishes him good luck and to stay safe.

Apparently Maggie and Carlos are friends (or at least, she used to assist him in the lab) and she has a backup generator they can use.

Cecil calls Sheriff Sam to see if they know anything about the Strangers and to ask whether the Strangers are also targetting the previous citziens of Desert Bluffs. When Sam is derogatory towards the ex-DB citizens, Cecil stands up for them. Sam reports that some of the DB citizens have 'gone somewheere that feels more like home'. They also say that two sinkholes have opened up on route 800 and the dam along the NV lake (a dusty hole) broke.

Cecil calls Michelle to help him locate Maureen. Michelle reveals that Maureen is the leader of the army of strangers, and that Chad and his 'evil dog' are Maureen's boss. She also gives him Maureen's number. Michelle says that Maureen let her get up close to a Stranger. The Strangers can devour your soul, which starts a long and permenant process of transforming into a Stranger yourself. They only stand and breathe because they are in eternal torment and that's all they can do.

Maureen's phone goes straight to voicemail. Cecil leaves a message saying that he's proud of her and what's she's doing (and that he's finally worked out that it's former intern Chad Boenger behind this) but that he's worried he won't see Carlos again and didn't even say 'I love you' before hanging up when they last talked. He asks Maureen if he'll be able to see Carlos again, implying but not saying that he hopes she won't lead the Strangers to kill everyone.

Cecil gets a call from a Stranger, who of course only breathes slowly down the phone. A dog barks. The episode ends.

Weather: "Palestine" by Sam Baker, featuring Carrie Elkin.

Carlos called Cecil 'poot' and Cecil called Carlos 'bunny'.

There is a John Peter in NV who is a pharmacist. Cecil gets his prescription (whatever that is) from him.

Cards In Favour Of Humanity is a game in NV.

Michelle claims her previous monologue was 'private' but she also sent the tape in to Cecil with a label asking it to be played. She expresses her secret insecurities against this episode by questioning whether Cecil would think badly for her for actually liking something.

Proverb: Wanna feel old? People born in 2014 have already graduated college, don't know what a trombone is, are are all named after gourds.

#wtnv #welcome to night vale #wtnv quick rundown #wtnv ep 88

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hekates-corner · 6 months

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Apothecary Diaries | WN Translation | Arc 9 - Chapter 5

Hi, whichever way you found this: Welcome!

For a number of reasons I ended up here - relaying all that happens in the chapters, playing wine-aunt, as I translate to the best of my abilities.

So, be warned, all the spoilers are waiting below. If you'd like spoilers, but less? My dm's/asks are open.

Chapter 1 can be found here | Masterlist here.

While chapter 5 & 6 tie directly together, the mini "arc" extends beyond that. Just letting you know so you can pick the right time to read.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5 | Grasslands Pt. 1

This chapter starts with Narrator-Mao remarking that the good thing about Jinshi is that he acts fast once a decision is made.

We then get the quack all worried, saying that he still has some meds stored, so “Miss Maomao” can take it easy and that there's no need for her to go to the farthest reaches of unfamiliar territory.

He's taking Maomaos excuse really seriously, looking at her with concern - but she tries to reassure him that it'll be fine and who knows, maybe she'll find some unknown meds as well.

The half of it isn't even a lie, as Narrator-Mao points out - after all, the vegetation in this area is highly different and they have no idea what could be used for medicine or poison.

Her narrator self is usually a lot more honest. In the next line she admits that she's actually quite nervous. We then get to know that she heard all the necessary things would be prepared, but just in case she packed the bare minimum as well. She also has money, with it specifying that while the money from Li is acceptable in this area, given that trade with other countries is what they do, a different kind is the preferred option (not what she has).

Tianyu then gives her the sus look, remarking that this sorta job is something a government worker should be doing.

Maomao admits aloud that that's true - however, originally her pharmaceutical knowledge was her most sought after skill, over medical, so she'd been part of the issue from the beginning. She then thinks “To make insecticides and the likes”.

Tianyu gives a remark along the lines of “A pharmacist, huh? I thought you were a nepo baby.”

Narrator-Mao notes that he's the type of guy that really always says things in a way that'll hit you/in a way that's.. ill-mannered.

The quack(?) then interjects and is like “No no, you can't do that. You shouldn't doubt people like that.” but Maomao thinks that he, in fact, should be more suspicious of people.

I think Tianyu then says something along the lines of “If uncle (aka Guen) says so, I guess I have no choice.. Have a good day/trip.” - He then lies down in the temporary medic room that they just cleaned. Some beds and desks had been brought in, so it's starting to look quite decent.

Narrator-Mao hopes that by the time she gets back the medicine will be back in stock and that it'll be alright.

Maomao then says that she'll go now and the the quack(?) tells her to leave it all to him while she's gone.

She, in fact, thinks that it'll be fine.. because they have Lihaku.

I'm not gonna lie, when I translated the next line I went “oh god” out loud. There's a little jump in the chapter, then we get…

“You're late.” and Maomao’s like “I'm right on time.” - Basen is waiting.. with Chue at the entrance of the villa/palast. All Inner monologue-Mao can come up with is “What a great combination.”

Narrator-Mao recalls that in terms of relationship, they're brother/sister-in-law, then looks around. She then asks if that's all/everyone - because there was the message that they'd be bringing along seed potatoes.. but as Narrator-Mao notes, there's only two horses.

She's also internally confused because wasn't Basen supposed to be guarding Lahan? Our girl doesn't get why those two are here.

(Our dear Chue then goes absolutely ham on the dialogue, like, some chapters have less dialogue lines than her in one go.)

Chue explains that the seed potatoes are brought by horse drawn carriage, but they're so slow that they were told to leave first. Lahans poor brother gets another beating, by her saying that “the man in charge, who didn't look very conspicuous, said so”. The reason why she's there is because… Maomao is now like her best friend, or rather, a friend at heart/soulmate, so she came along to make sure Maomao didn't feel lonely in a foreign land.

Maomao just goes “So you tagged along because it sounded interesting.” and Chue pulls out her little strings with flags on it instead of vocally agreeing.

However.. that leaves “But what about him?” and Basen or Chue says that since it's about her life, they got to protect her “properly” so that Lakan won't get out of control in Saito(?) to which Maomao gives “...” as reply.

Then Narrator-Mao thinks that she honestly can't say that Lihaku was better (which, tbf, he didn't leave you bruised for days on the arm). As well as that Jinshi is Jinshi, while he may have enemies in Saito(?) it's unlikely he'll be attacked.

She also thinks that if an assassination atttempt were to occur at the destination of an expedition - the lord of that land would be in trouble.

Narrator-Mao adds that while she doesn't know what sorta person Gyokuou is, she trusts that he won't do anything that would put an important guest in danger.

Chue asks if they should head out then, putting her foot in the stirrup of the horse. For a moment Maomao is taken aback by their attire, I think, but then she realizes it's traditional wear.

Chue(?) says that the village they're heading for is 10 miles away, so they'd arrive by 2pm and Basen adds that at that rate they'll probably end up overtaking the carriage - asking if they want to take a detour somewhere.

Chue then says that other than in the capital, there’s not as many tea houses around… but she won’t stop him if he wants to eat some grass with the horses xD Maomao’s internally like “Oh?” because she’s starting to realize that however much Chue teases him, Basen doesn’t get loud. She also wonders if he’s trying not to make a scene and then questions, in her head, if it’s because Chue’s his sister-in-law.

The next part says something along the lines of while Chue seems to have a certain level of respect for Basen, she’s not really acting all that differently with him than usually.

Now the conversation turns back to Maomao, with a simple “So, which horse will you ride, Maomao-san?” and she says that she doesn’t care.

There’s two horses, she can’t ride, so one of them has to take her on theirs. To Narrator-Mao either is fine.

Chue goes on another vocal tangent. This time, she tells Maomao to come with her. “You should come behind me, Basen’s sattle is hard. Mine, on the other hand, is made of well-tanned leather with an emphasis on just the right amount of shock absorption. It’s perfect for long rides, plus the material doesn’t make it slippery. No, which will you chose?”

Needless to say that Maomao points to Chue.

Basen, the poor thing, is like “Wait a minute. Why do you have a saddle like that? Isn’t the horse borrowed?”..... and Chue’s like “Yes, the moon prince was very considerate of me. He does a good job sometimes.” and Basen’s like “Hey, what’s with the language!?”

Narrator-Mao notes that Basen clearly didn’t like the way Chue was praising Jinshi so arrogantly, so he bit back (it’s one of the first time he’s been louder given the use of “!”)

“I don’t know how to say it, but when the moon prince said he was appointing Basen as her bodyguard and I said I would go as well it looked as if the scales fell from his eyes. Yes, that’s right/it. Miss Chue, who is more attentive than anyone, is in support of Miss Maomao. Maomao’s heart might be thicker than a tree, but if her body gets hit she’ll die. I realized that I couldn’t leave it to Basen, who doesn’t know how to handle things.” and I think she says/claims JInshi was grateful.

Maomao thinks “Yep, that’s right - I’d die if I got hit.” and narrator her is like “I'm not the athletic type”.

Chue then says “So, please thank me and call me Suzume-san or sister-in-law.” Basen can only let out a noise in response. Narrator-Mao ends this part of the chapter with saying that however you looked at it, Basen can’t win with words.

Once the winner was decided, the three departed, but that’s not where the story ends.

Once you leave Saito(?), you’ll find yourself surrounded by empty grassland. However, they were following an area of withered grass that looked like a road - passing a group on the way that looked like a caravan. They/Maomao also saw a gathering of tents lived in by nomads.

She then wonders, in her mind, if that’s what you call the horizon. Luomen, known as her old man, had said there was a theory about the world being a sphere. As evidence of this, it is said that in wide open land, the horizon line has a faint curve - that’s what it looked like to Maomao’s eyes then and there.

He’d told her that if the world was a sphere, it would explain the movement of the stars - but by now she’s forgotten most of it. It’s one of the many things Luomen learned while being abroad. As narrator she concludes that she either regrets forgetting or that it’s a shame she did.

Narrator-Mao then complains that for spring it’s rather cold. The sunshine’s nice, but the wind takes away the body heat and her skin is drying out because the altitude is quite high and the air a bit thin.

Maomao is wearing a cloak that Chue gave to her and had asked her to put it on. Sheep’s fur is used for the lining, which prevents wind from passing through. It has beautiful embroidery and was of high enough quality to be worn in the capital/Li.

Chue is wearing a cloak as well and while hers doesn’t look as fancy, it seems to be just as warm.

Maomao then thinks that she usually wouldn’t pick something so flashy or that she somehow always ends up with the flashy things - then concludes as narrator that it might’ve been prepared for her.

Her narration then goes over to Basen, who wears a practical cloak. He does wear something to protect his hands while holdings the reigns as well, which she assumes might be to keep away the cold.

Next up is her thinking about how helpful the ointment one of her “sisters” gave her is turning out to be. If the sun is strong while it’s dry, you gotta worry about sunburns.

Maomao herself was well-covered in suncreen type ointment, but what about Chue? Her skin appears to be dark, but it’s firmness is subtle. She then asks Chue if she wants to have some of her sunscreen and says that it also helps against dryness. (keep in mind that mid riding she’s probably more yelling than asking).

She was asking just in case, should she run out she can just make more with ingredients from Saito(?) after all.

Chue’s like “Oh, is that okay?” and says something along the lines of how she always wears black so her tan doesn’t stand out - but if she can have some, she’ll take it. Maomao replies that she’ll hand it over if they take a break.

Narrator-Mao then let’s us know that while Basen repeats that there’s no place to make a detour to, he needs his horse to rest. Food is plenty to be found, but it would be a lot better if there was a water source around.. and sure enough, a river just came into view. (i did tell you to keep the talking volume in mind, didn’t I.)

Basen calls out for them “Let’s take a rest over there.” - one lady is like “Hai, hai” the other’s like “Got it”.

In the end, their water source was more of a large puddle than a river. There was little current, the water shallow and Narrator-Mao wonders if this could be a temporary river created by heavy rain.

Trees growing all around, she takes note of a large rock standing in the shade of one of them and guesses it’s a landmark. She questions in her mind if it’s a pomegranate tree and let’s us as narrator know why: The leaves look like it. She could also see (and hear?) birds and a few wild horses came to drink water.

Unhinged Maomao then reappears, as she talks to herself about how there might be snakes around and one of the other two’s like “Yeah, I wonder.”. Of course, Maomao tries looking for one, but the most she found was a burrow. Once she’d dug into that, something similar to a mouse came out.. but since she brought food, she let it run away without making a meal out of it.

While the horses drink the river water, Maomao and the others drink what they brought with them. She questions, in her head, if she could/should add a little salt to her water - and we get a lesson that when it’s dry, your sweat also dries quick. You need salt and water more than you think. However, since the meat sandwiched between her noodles is salty, she guesses it’ll be fine.

While Chue's looking at the map, Basen(?) takes out a guiding thingy from his pocket that he lets float in the water. Maomao and Chue watch him, then Maomao asks honestly if maps are useful in grasslands.

Basen(?) notes that he thinks it’s better than nothing, but there aren’t many landmarks. Judging from the magnets and position of the sun, it seems like it would be better if they moved a little further north. Since there are no obstacles, you can see the house that should be their destination easily.

It sounds like Narrator-Mao then notes that he can do most things while also being good at geography - meanwhile poor Basen looks away feeling a bit uneasy.

Maomao: I have one more question

Basen: Yeah, yeah, what is it, Maomao-san?

Maomao: Why is there no local guide?

Narrator-Mao admits that she honestly thinks she should’ve asked earlier. Given that she’s just heading to a nearby village though, from what she’s used to in Li, she didn’t expect to need one.. but now she’s not so sure.

Any land with too unfamiliar vegetation can’t be called safe - you need a local who’s familiar with the area.

Basen(?): That’s the answer.

Chue glances around.

Basen looks around with a cold gaze, holding the hilt of his sword.

Maomao thinks that she has a bad feeling about this.

Chue then stands in front of Maomao and before she knew what was going on, there were several men around them. In all honesty, they were dressed in a way that could hardly be called clean and spoke to them in accent-heavy language.

They were threatening them for money and telling Basen to leave the women behind.

However you looked at them - they were bandits.

Maomao starts sweating profusely, swallowing - wondering why this is happening. But then she tells herself to slow her breathing to stop her rapidly beating heart.

Chue then says that Maomao can close her eyes. If something happens, she will use her married womans sex appeal to entertain the robbers. She’s full of confidence as she raises her nose into the air.

But Maomao doesn’t want to close her eyes for that. So she takes out a sowing needle and insect repellent from her baggage - sure, it’s not a big attack, but it can be enough to make an opponent flinch.

However, it doesn’t seem as if either Chue’s scheme, nor Maomaos sewing needle will be necessary.

There’s a dull sound and one of the thiefs flies off into the distance.

The second makes a horrifying noise as he thrashes about while holding his arm.

A sound of shattering - the third fell to the ground, spitting out saliva, blood and teeth.

Even a theatrical sword fight would’ve lasted a little longer, but that wasn’t that. As a depiction, it’s too dull and unsatisfactory.

Basen puts his hand back on the hilt of his sword, but he hadn’t decided to use it yet. All Maomao can marvel at is that he beat them all with his bare hands, his movements so monstrous she’s stunned.

She took another few breaths before coming to her senses, running hurriedly over to Basen.

Maomao: Show me your hands!

Basen: Oh,.. Oh-

Surprised, Basen held out his hands - there was no sign of his fist being broken, his wrists seemed fine too.

In Maomao’s mind there’s nothing but a “Why?” - if she’d had made someone make so many disgusting sounds in a row, she would expect there to be problems with her fists.. but.

She looks over at the hand protector she’d hurriedly removed. At first glance, it looked like it was made from hardened wool, soft but heavy at the center.

She then realizes that there must be metal pieces inside of it.

Basens strength, plus the protector with metal pieces..

She was starting to feel that the robbers laying about passed out were pretty pathetic.

Speaking of them.. Chue was moving around, tying the three of them together before letting her legs dangle over them while wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Chue(?) then asks what they should do and Basen(?) replies that they can’t bring them along, one way or another, so they should just leave them there - once they’re in the village they’ll talk to the people there to take care of them. Chue doesn’t seem to care.

Basen then says that he’s a bit worried, nonetheless and Chue’s like “I understand.”. Maomao thinks that it’s rare that she gets to talk to Basen (I think) and that they might be attacked by something while they’re away.

When Basen approaches one of the bandits, he grabs his arm - the arm/thief makes a dull thumping noise.

Maomao, internally: ….

It seems like the anxiety Basen was talking about was about whether or not the bandits would manage to escape. One of them had a brutally broken arm and also wet himself.

The chapter ends with Maomao glancing at Chue, while thinking to herself that she herself must be the kind one of the group.

| Notes and Chapter 6

Let me just tell you, it's getting wild.

#kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #hekates apothecary

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