"This is a medicinal tea blended by my late teacher. It prevents colds—and tastes divine. Even the exalted Raiden Shogun has never had the privilege of tasting it."
Yasumoto, having hastily washed his hair, toweled off the steam as he served the pre-brewed tea.
"You have rain gear, don't you? Why brave the storm without it?"
Bai Luo glanced at the straw cloak and hat hanging on the wall. Even with this "immune tea," venturing out drenched was reckless.
"Those belonged to Naoko-sensei. After tracking the terminal patients, she too fell to the Tatarigami's madness. The chief ordered her confined to the cellar, and then..."
He trailed off, but the implication was clear.
"Chief Washizu is a good man. By village law, such cases should be exiled. But he overruled tradition to spare her—at the cost of imprisonment. It was for the best... In her state, she'd have harmed others... and herself."
Yasumoto's defense sounded more like self-reassurance.
The chief had been decent—before the Tatarigami's corruption. Yet neither Bai Luo nor Gorou (who'd witnessed Washizu's eerie gaze) trusted him now.
"After sensei's passing, the villagers destroyed her belongings. These were all I could save."
Yasumoto's expression dimmed as he eyed the rain gear.
Who'd have thought their last farewell would be final?
Her body remained in that lightless cellar—too tainted by the Tatarigami for retrieval. The house itself was now uninhabitable.
"So you've found a cure for the Tatarigami?"
Bai Luo's gaze drifted to the cart and cauldron outside.
This scenario felt familiar—hadn't there been a similar quest in the game?
With Yasumoto as the key NPC?
Gorou's ears perked sharply.
Why did both factions prioritize suppressing the Tatarigami? Because it was incurable. Without the wards, it ran rampant.
If Yasumoto had cracked this—
"It's just... violetgrass soup."
Yasumoto laughed bitterly.
With outsiders, he could admit the truth.
The villagers knew. They'd all tasted violetgrass before. Even with added herbs masking the flavor, the ruse was transparent.
But the lie gave them hope.
"If even sensei couldn't cure the Tatarigami, what hope does an apprentice like me have? All I can do is fortify the soup to prolong the mad ones' lives."
His words explained Higi Village's paradox—utter desolation, yet survivors.
Yasumoto alone sustained them.
"The rain here never stops. Take these flyers to the Kujou camp before dark. At least... their ships can return you to Narukami."
Noting their untouched tea, Yasumoto wasn't offended.
To city folk, anyone lingering among the afflicted must seem mad too.
And honestly—only madness would stay.
"Are these flyers reliable? Many villagers seemed... resistant to the Shogunate."
Bai Luo pocketed one discreetly. Potential leverage.
"When the Shogunate learned I was supplying medicine, they invited me to join them."
Yasumoto scratched his head sheepishly.
"Especially after discovering I was Naoko-sensei's student. An officer risked coming here to recruit me. But think—the Tenryou Commission has no shortage of elite doctors. Yashiori Island? Its victims have only me. I can't leave. My enemy... is the Tatarigami."
His voice hardened on those last words.
Had he truly accepted his teacher's death so easily?
If so, why preserve her rain gear at all costs—even enduring illness rather than use it?
But he couldn't direct his grief at the villagers. His fury had one rightful target:
The Tatarigami.
"You've made progress researching it, then?"
Yasumoto's resolve sparked Bai Luo's curiosity.
Had he discovered something?
"They say where venomous snakes dwell, antidotes grow within seven steps. The place most saturated with the Tatarigami—Musoujin Gorge, where the serpent god's wrath lingers—must hold the cure. Before her final madness, sensei followed refugees there... and retrieved this."
Carefully, he produced a dried herb.
"Naku Weed?"
Bai Luo recognized it instantly. How many worlds had he raided for Yoimiya's ascension?
"Yes. It thrives in the gorge—proof it's the perfect counter to the Tatarigami. I've begun testing small doses in medicine. But with only this sample, I dare not use more. I've been self-experimenting. If I had a larger supply—"
"..."
Bai Luo nearly interrupted.
Naku Weed grew where Electro energy concentrated—not necessarily where the Tatarigami festered. The gorge's abundance stemmed from the Musou no Hitotachi's residual power.
Whether it cured corruption was... dubious at best.
But he held his tongue.
To the villagers, Yasumoto's soup was psychological salvation.
To Yasumoto, this weed was his lifeline—his teacher's final legacy.
Shattering that delusion would help no one.