The morning light flowing toward the castle town was soft and crystalline. Harune, accompanied by two attendants, passed through the great gate of Narumi Castle. Three days had passed since then. Following Nobukatsus orders, she had come to procure medicinal herbs necessary for plague prevention. The previous evening, the concise plan she had submitted to Nobukatsu had been approved. His expression at that moment remained as cold as ever, but there had been the slightest nod. That small gesture was the proof of his permission. "Do take care," one of the attending maids said softly. Released from her confinement within the castle, Harune felt her chest warm at the kindness. But she could not afford to indulge in this warmth. This was not a world sustained by others' goodwill—it was a place where one had to prove one's worth through ability. When Harune stepped onto the main street of the castle town, her entire body went rigid. People. People. People. The castle town of Narumi in the tenth year of Eiroku was filled with far more townspeople than she had imagined. Wooden merchant houses lined both sides of the road, their proprietors' voices calling out across the street. In the market's throng, people of every station mingled—farmers, samurai, and all those between. *So many people...* And nearly every gaze was directed at her. Her position as a candidate for the warlord's concubine was already known to the townspeople. She heard whispers. "Is that the candidate for Lord Nobukatsu's side?" "They say no one knows where she came from." "I wonder where she arrived from. There's something strange about her." Voices mixed with curiosity and wariness. Harune fixed her gaze forward and drew a deep breath. She suppressed the anxiety threatening to overtake her with reason. What she needed to survive was the trust of these people. She had to earn their respect, not their fear. As she proceeded down the main street, a wooden sign came into view. An old noren curtain, roughly inscribed with "Tokiwado," swayed in the breeze. A medicinal herb wholesaler. Harune took a deep breath and passed through the curtain. The moment she entered the shop, she was struck by the sensation of stepping into an entirely different world. Every shelf was lined without gap with glass bottles. Brown, blue, transparent—each containing crude drugs. Licorice, platycodon, kudzu root, scutellaria, apricot kernel... The names she had learned in her university lectures on public health existed here as physical objects. The air was filled with a distinctive herbal fragrance. *If it's here... I might be able to do this.* Footsteps sounded from the back. An elderly man with white hair emerged. Approximately fifty-eight years old. His face was etched with countless wrinkles, and his eyes held the sharpness of a seasoned merchant. Though his expression was gentle, something lay hidden in the depths of his gaze—a power to discern truth. This was Isuke. "Welcome, young lady. What brings you here?" His tone was polite but somewhat businesslike. He showed no sign of being unsettled by this unusual situation—an unidentified woman arriving with attendants. Such was the discipline of a seasoned merchant. "I..." Harune chose her words carefully, speaking in the formal language of this era as naturally as she could manage. "I require medicinal herbs for plague prevention. Would you be willing to sell me materials for a decoction?" In that instant, Isuke's eyes shifted subtly. Interest kindled within them. "Plague prevention, you say?" Slowly, Isuke approached Harune. His gaze examined her deliberately, from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. Though Harune had done her best to erase all traces of her modern clothing, this old man's eyes seemed to perceive something else entirely. "Be specific, if you would." Isuke's question carried more than the simple response of a merchant—it held genuine curiosity. Harune sensed this was a turning point. "Washing hands with water heated by fire. Isolating the sick. And administering this medicine as a decoction." She spoke slowly, deliberately. "Heating by fire is a method to remove the invisible malevolent spirits through warmth. By keeping hands clean, we prevent the spread of illness. And by separating the sick from the healthy, we reduce contagion to others." As Isuke listened, his expression gradually transformed. His eyes brightened, his cheeks lifted ever so slightly. "...Fascinating." He murmured. "Not merely medicine, but countermeasures born from understanding how disease spreads. And beneath these measures lies your own observation and experimentation." Speaking almost to himself, Isuke turned his gaze back to Harune. "You are no ordinary person. Where did you acquire such knowledge?" Harune's heart quickened. This question was, in a sense, a test. Her answer would determine whether trust was granted. "I learned it in a distant land." Vague, yet not a lie. Isuke seemed satisfied with this response, offering a faint smile. "I see. And do you believe this knowledge from that 'distant land' will prove useful here?" Another test. "Yes." Harune met Isuke's gaze directly. "I wish to save the people of this domain. I am sincere." Her eyes held no trace of artifice. Isuke regarded her in silence. Long moments passed—mere seconds, yet they felt eternal. "...I will cooperate with you." Isuke said at last. "However, there is something you should understand. Earning the trust of the townspeople takes time. You are of unknown origin. Moreover, if you simply tell them 'wash your hands' or 'isolate the sick,' they may not obey so readily." "I understand," Harune replied. "That is precisely why I need someone like you. I wish for you to use this shop's reputation to spread word of the medicine's efficacy. And I want to show the townspeople that we can truly counter plague." At these words, Isuke nodded deeply. "Then let us try." Soon after, Isuke disappeared into the back and returned with various medicinal herbs. Licorice, platycodon, kudzu root, scutellaria... Each herb Harune specified was carefully wrapped in paper, one after another. "This is for three days. I will teach you how to prepare it. One cup each morning and evening. And the water in this land is drawn from the Toki River, yes? Before using it, you must always heat it by fire. Whether drinking or washing hands, use only heated water." Isuke's voice no longer carried the coldness of a merchant, but rather the careful precision of an expert. Harune nodded repeatedly, a strange emotion stirring within her heart. *This is the first time. In this era... someone is actually helping me.* Until now, Harune had been alone. Captured by bandits, watched by Nobukatsu, spending her days in solitude in the castle's eastern quarters. But in this moment—for the first time, she felt the reality of having found an ally in this time. "Thank you so much," Harune said, bowing deeply several times. "No, there is no need for thanks," Isuke replied gently. "It is for the sake of the townspeople." Cradling the herbs, Harune left Tokiwado. As she walked the main street, her footsteps were more assured than when she had arrived. A small flame had been kindled within her heart. And then it happened. Suddenly, Harune felt a gaze upon her. A sensation ran down her spine. Without turning, she observed her surroundings. The source of that gaze was... toward the castle. In the distance, a figure on horseback appeared. A man in armor, looking toward the castle. Nobukatsu. His expression had softened from its usual coldness, appearing almost gentle. It was a subtle change, yet Harune's keen observation caught it. *Has he... acknowledged me?* At that thought, warmth bloomed anew in her chest. Soon, the sound of Nobukatsu's horse faded into the distance. Harune turned toward the castle, cradling the herbs, carrying in her heart gratitude for the ally she had found in this time. When she returned to the eastern quarters within the castle, the usual attendant was waiting. "You must be tired. Ah, about that..." The attendant's expression softened ever so slightly. "Lord Nobukatsu said something. 'Well done.'" Harune's breath caught. "Truly?" The words escaped before she could stop them. "Yes, it is rare. For Lord Nobukatsu to praise anyone..." The attendant's words seeped slowly into Harune's heart. From the window of the eastern quarters, the sun was setting. The sky burned orange. Its light fell gently upon Harune's cheeks. *Tomorrow, I will truly begin the plague prevention measures.* She resolved within herself. *With Isuke's cooperation and Lord Nobukatsu's approval, something will surely change.* And she thought: *I can live in this era. Not alone.* That night, Harune held her broken smartphone and gazed out the window for a long time. Her longing for the modern world and her newfound hope in this era twisted together within her chest, complex and inseparable.