Chapter 59
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Magical Red Fruit (2)
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Dominic had seen him come in, but Ian still couldn't steady his body properly.
His heart pounded wildly, his stomach churned, his head throbbed like it might split open, and the nausea kept coming in waves. His hands and feet trembled uncontrollably, and before long, cold sweat broke out all over.
'Still... no healer...!'
Ian had no idea how desert healers examined patients, and that uncertainty weighed heavily on him. With his mana still unstable inside him, he couldn't risk some unknown treatment.
"I'm fine, so don't make a fuss."
"You call that fine? Dry-heaving like that?"
"It's just motion sickness at worst."
"It's been hours since we got off the ship, and it's only getting worse. Could be a side effect from that medicine earlier."
"...If it lasts through the night, we'll call a healer then."
"What kind of stubbornness is this? I just don't get you."
"I promise, if it really gets bad, we'll call one right away. Now go. I need to rest."
Ian swept his sweat-soaked bangs back and lay down.
Dominic couldn't fathom why he was being so obstinate, but if the man himself refused, what could he do?
No one in their group was stronger than Ian anyway. Dragging him off by force wasn't an option, so watching and waiting it was.
"Fine, for now. But don't take any more of that medicine. No—hand it over."
"...Yeah, okay."
He just couldn't shake the feeling that this stuff was the culprit.
Dominic left Ian's room and headed downstairs to the first floor, where the group was eating. He picked at his food while scrutinizing the medicine pouch from every angle. One of the inn workers sidled up beside him.
"That from Mariam's apothecary, milord?"
"...? Think so. You know the owner?"
"Yes, sir. Pretty famous around these parts."
"Not some con artist, is he?"
"Oh, no, sir. Mariam's deals in stuff from the desert and even as far as the Eastern Continent. Pricey, sure, but top quality."
"...For real?"
"Cross my heart. You didn't get scammed."
Dominic tilted his head at the worker's words.
'It sure seemed like this was the problem... Weird.'
He asked the other workers, but got the same answers.
[Mariam's apothecary? Full of all sorts of rare stuff. Even high nobles in the desert shop there.]
[Yeah, but they don't sell cheap junk. It's like a warehouse of herbs—they stock everything, even the staff forgets what's what sometimes.]
[Old man Mariam's an odd duck, but he wouldn't mess around with quality.]
Karim approached Dominic, who was still arms crossed, glaring suspiciously at the pouch.
"Still not convinced?"
"Something just feels off. There's land sickness after sea travel, sure, but it usually gets better with time. Common sense. But Sir Knight keeps getting worse. Makes me wonder if it's something else."
"Give it a bit longer. He'll know if his body's handling it or not better than anyone. Seemed like he's way beyond a regular knight's level anyway."
"True, but... Hmm."
"Desert customs are strange, though. An apothecary brewing medicine himself."
Karim's offhand comment caught Dominic's ear.
"What'd you just say, Karim?"
"Pardon?"
"You said it like an apothecary making meds is weird, right?"
"...Isn't it?"
Karim looked genuinely puzzled.
"An apothecary's just a merchant selling herbs, not a healer. Small villages might double up out of necessity, but this is the capital of the desert kingdom. No shortage of real healers here..."
Dominic's face twisted.
'Damn. What a stupid assumption.'
Even now that Evergreen had grown, it had been a tiny village without so much as a bakery not long ago.
In a place where specialists were rare, the local apothecary doubled as pharmacist, doctor, midwife—you name it. He'd blindly assumed "apothecary grandpa" meant herb expert.
'No wonder he took me upstairs for a "consultation"!'
As evening fell, Dominic bolted toward Mariam's apothecary.
"S-sorry!"
Those were the old man's words instead of a greeting when Dominic burst into the back room of the apothecary, just as he was about to close up.
"So you admit you screwed up?"
"Wasn't on purpose, I swear. My eyes have been so blurry lately, mixed up the symptoms. Only realized after you left."
Come to think of it, the old man now wore a magnifying glass over his nose—unlike earlier.
He'd forgotten it in his rush to see the patient, he said with a sly glance.
Dominic swallowed his boiling rage and continued.
They were outsiders here, and this guy was a fixture in the desert kingdom's capital. If things got noisy, the guards would side with him, no question.
"Person's half-dead, and that's your excuse...! Anyway, you remember what herbs you used, right?"
"Of course. But half-dead?"
"Motion sickness didn't calm down after the medicine—in fact, it got worse. Chest pains, dizziness, nonstop nausea."
"Oh dear! Must be sensitive to Kafam fruit!"
Turned out his quack healer days weren't total bunk; he nailed it from the symptoms.
"Pardon?"
"No worries. Have him drink lots of lukewarm water and move around a bit, even if dizzy. Sweat it out, and he'll bounce back quick."
"That's all you've got?"
This guy was unbelievable.
"Kafam fruit hits some constitutions hard sometimes. Not serious, though! It'll pass on its own in a few hours. Might mess up his sleep tonight..."
Dominic froze mid-rage at the old man's casual advice.
"...Mess up his sleep?"
"Classic side effect of Kafam fruit."
"Can I see this Kafam fruit?"
Dominic's heart raced.
Goosebumps prickled his arms.
'Please, please...!'
Could this be the fruit he'd scoured everywhere for but never found?
"Here. But you won't recognize it. Can't export it anyway."
The old man carefully pulled a fruit from the sack a worker brought.
Dominic stared at the small fruits in his hand and clapped his own over his mouth.
His eyes rolled back halfway.
Ian's condition was long forgotten in his mind.
'Found it!'
The cluster of red berries was none other than coffee.
Precisely, coffee cherries—the fruit encasing coffee beans.
Split the red round fruit, and out come two seeds.
Roast those pale green seeds, and you get coffee beans—the moderner's must-have potion.
Two things Dominic had craved since reincarnation but couldn't figure out: instant ramen and coffee.
In his past life, he'd called himself a coffee slave.
Average two cups a day, up to four or more.
The guy yelling for iced Americano even in freezing weather, brain offline without caffeine. Your standard office drone.
After recalling his past life, he'd hunted high and low for coffee cherries but only found teas—nothing could substitute.
"Elder, sell me some coffee—no, Kafam fruit? Name your price!"
Mariam blinked at the young man's sudden shift but answered promptly.
"Didn't you hear me? Kafam fruit doesn't get exported."
"What?"
"Sacred fruit from the holy plateau. Awakens the sages' wisdom. Sultan's decree bans export. Can't sell it."
"But..."
"Sultan's decree."
Mentioning the Sultan from a desert folk meant no more negotiating.
'What now?'
Dominic's worries deepened into the night.
The next morning.
Ian emerged from his room looking surprisingly fine, as if last night's agony was a dream.
His stomach still felt a bit queasy, but nothing to hinder daily life.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Sorry for the worry."
Recalling his sorry state from yesterday, Ian's ears flushed pink.
'Caffeine shock, alright.'
Downing raw ground beans straight? Brutal for caffeine-sensitive folks.
But that wasn't the point now.
"...So the mayor absolutely needs that Kafam fruit, right?"
"Yes. Not sneaking a sack or two—official, ongoing supply."
"Gonna need to lift the export ban, then."
"We'll find a way."
Dominic wasn't one to quit over a ban.
'This has to happen!'
Not just for morning Americano cravings.
He knew the massive value this tiny fruit could spawn.
'Gotta corner the market. Can't let anyone else snag it!'
Dominic burned with rare fire.
"But, Mayor."
"Yes."
"You haven't forgotten why we came to the desert, have you?"
"......"
"This comes first. Southern safety's on the line."
Anton eyed Dominic nervously at Karim's cautious but firm words, worried he might take offense.
The Dominic he'd seen charged straight ahead when something caught his eye, no side glances.
"Sorry. Got my priorities mixed up."
But against expectations, Dominic owned it quick.
"I'll get that Kafam fruit somehow, but Karim's right. Spiders first."
Dominic calmed his excitement and nodded. His eyes sharpened.
'He's serious now.'
Ian sipped water from a servant and smiled quietly.
Endless goofiness aside, moments like this proved he wasn't the culprit.
"We need Sentinel Seed clues ASAP. Start there and dig in. Where first?"
"Mercenary guild, exchange, auction house—those spots. Pre-hibernation or not, hauling a monster that could wake anytime takes more than one or two people."
"Guild makes sense, but why exchange and auction? Caught in the south—no trades here."
"Not common in the desert. To find someone who knows its traits, hit the carcass trading hubs."
Karim laid out detailed plans he'd prepped in spare moments. Each time, Dominic beamed: 'Knew bringing him was smart. All me!'—self-praise and all, thrilled.
"...Any more details on the spider's traits, Mayor? Its patterns match real spiders eerily close."
Seemed polite inquiry.
But Dominic spilled the one nagging fact since the capture.
"Actually, yeah, one thing."
All eyes turned.
"Spiders usually move in pairs."
"...!"