Looking at the line of organs, Wanwan-senpai wore the face of someone who had bitten into a bitter bug.
"We agreed to leave the gallbladders intact, didn't we?"
Maomao
was equally displeased, her brow furrowed.
"Shall I go take them back right now?"
Bear gallbladders were the key ingredient for bear bile. One could even say that Maomao was dissecting the bears primarily for them.
"Maomao, why are you carrying a blade to go retrieve gallbladders?"
Maomao quickly concealed the small dissection knife.
"We were talking about the lodgings, weren't we?"
"Yes. It seems they can prepare two rooms for us—a large one and a small one."
She didn't know what the rooms would be like, but given the sum the physicians were paying as compensation, they probably wouldn't be shown to a stable.
"I'd like to head over right away, but the dissection comes first."
"We can't go right now?"
"No, we cannot."
Wanwan-senpai inspected the row of organs one by one while explaining each to the junior physicians. The pale-faced
Yao
was on the verge of tears as she studied the viscera.
(If it doesn't suit you, you should just quit.)
That was both Yao's weakness and her strength. Some time ago,
Chousha
must have said something that really stuck with her, because she had since returned to her hometown.
And speaking of Chousha—
"Excuse me. Can these be eaten later?"
She asked while looking at the bear's entrails.
"Offal won't taste good if it's not fresh—the gamey smell gets too strong."
When Maomao answered, Chousha's eyebrows drooped noticeably.
"Even if I add ginger and things like that?"
"It's a wild bear, so you never know what it's been eating."
Maomao gave her honest opinion. Apparently, human hair had been found inside a bear that was dissected in the past.
"That's… rather off-putting."
Chousha's nerves were remarkably steady.
(No wonder they called for her.)
Before Maomao could join the other officials for the dissection, there had been a number of problems. The biggest was that there was simply no precedent for it.
Conversely, now that a precedent had been established, Chousha had probably been able to participate without any trouble.
Once the inspection of the bear's internal organs was finished, they would begin processing the usable parts. When it came to medicine made from bears, bear bile was the most well-known, but other parts had their uses too.
"Would it be possible to get the bear fat?"
An official with relatively practiced hands spoke up. This was not his first time—he had participated on several occasions.
"We don't have an agreement to hand over the fat, but why do you ask?"
"I heard that if you apply it to your hair, it helps it grow back."
"Really?"
Even Senior Wanwan seemed interested in that.
Men, it seemed, were the kind of creatures whose hair became a concern once they reached a certain age.
Maomao poured water over the rock where the offal had been processed. She scrubbed at the smeared blood while rinsing it away. Her fingertips were numb from the cold, and it was terribly frigid.
"Ngh…"
Using bundles of straw to scrub, Yao and Chousha were doing the same. Yao's hands had developed chilblains. When you worked with water every day, no amount of moisturizing could prevent them.
"You lot—make sure you clean up properly too."
When Senior Wanwan gave the order, the younger officials joined in the cleanup.
Among them were some who still sat apart looking queasy, and others who refused outright, believing that cleaning was not the job of an official.
When Yao started to bristle and was about to say something to those who wouldn't help, Maomao tapped her on the shoulder.
"Let's not bother."
"Why not?"
"Senior Wanwan's eyes aren't knotholes, you know."
Yao looked at Senior Wanwan. As expected of someone serving as an instructor, she noticed every little detail. Of course she was assessing his aptitude as a medical official, but refusing to do assigned work was inexcusable. Did he not realize it would affect his future career?
And how was Yao being evaluated in turn?
It might be fair to say she lacked the aptitude for dissection, but surely her perseverance in continuing was being recognized?
Aptitude matters, but the attitude you bring matters more. Otherwise,
Tianyou
is the sort of good-for-nothing you'd end up with.
"Once we're done cleaning up, we're heading to the village."
Maomao rubbed her chapped hands together and let out a puff of white breath.
"Use this house here."
The hunter led them to an empty house. It had belonged to a villager who'd recently moved out, so there was little wear. Four rooms — more than spacious enough.
"We don't have enough futons, so make do with these."
What she handed over was animal pelts. They'd be prickly, but better than nothing.
Maomao glared at the hunter while poking Senior Wanwan.
Senior Wanwan approached the hunter with a "Fine, fine."
"I appreciate the house, but I'd like to talk about the bear organs you took. They weren't what we agreed on."
"That was my cousin. Wasn't me."
"Huh?"
Senior Wanwan looked puzzled. Maomao was confused too. Wasn't this the same hunter who'd taken the bear meat earlier?
"Our village is made up of relatives. My cousin and I look alike and get mixed up all the time."
"…My apologies. You two really do look alike."
Senior Wanwan apologized sincerely. It wasn't the same hunter — it was a different villager entirely.
(But they really do look alike.)
Maomao, who hardly ever remembers people's faces, could be forgiven — but even Senior Wanwan had gotten it wrong.
(Now that she thought about it, the person they'd asked to arrange lodging had seemed familiar too.)
This wasn't exactly an open village. Perhaps with such closely intermarried bloodlines, everyone ended up looking alike.
"We've got pre-made food, if that'll do."
"We'll take enough for the group. A little extra would be appreciated."
Senior Wanwan handed over a pouch of coins.
"Got it. Also, try not to wander around at night. If a beast attacks you, nobody's coming to help."
The villager said his piece and left the house.
"It's getting cold."
"Shall we start a fire then?"
Maomao looked at the firewood stacked on the earthen floor. They'd been planning to come back, hadn't they? Various pieces of furniture had been left behind too.
Chousha was already pulling out a tinder bundle, so Maomao prepared some straw.
"I'll go draw water."
Yao had apparently found a task she could handle on her own, picking up a bucket and heading outside. Senior Wanwan quietly followed after her — *how considerate*, Maomao thought.
Others set to work as well: someone arranging firewood in the stove, someone hunting for replacement chairs, and someone who simply lay about doing nothing.
After a while, food was brought in.
It was a vegetable-and-bear-meat stew alongside multigrain porridge. The hearty, rustic flavor was polarizing — people either loved it or didn't.
"A little underseasoned, isn't it?"
"I think it's about right, personally. We have salt, if you'd like some?"
"You *have* salt? What else do you pull out of those pockets?"
"Give me some too."
"Me, me!"
"I'll be fine with just the porridge."
"Figured the wild game would taste gamey."
"Should've brought some ginger."
They finished dinner while chatting away.
The three of them decided to sleep in the smallest room. It was cramped, but there was one large bed that looked like it could fit two people.
A single fur pelt lay on the floor.
"I'll sleep on the floor."
"No, I will."
"Um..."
Maomao didn't mind sleeping on the floor at all, so she volunteered, but as the junior of the pair, Chousa couldn't accept that.
"There's a fur pelt too, so please don't worry about it."
"I'll return those very words right back to you."
"Um..."
Yao, raised as the young lady she was, was completely out of the question — this was something Maomao and Chousa both agreed on.
"Um, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Yao, please don't trouble yourself."
"Yes, exactly."
"After all, you two are planning to sleep in the bed together, aren't you? What if
Yanyan
found out?"
"......"
Maomao and Chousa exchanged glances.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind sleeping on the floor?"
"I hate to ask, but..."
They had weighed whether sharing a bed with a young lady was preferable to making her sleep on the floor. Both options would likely earn them a scolding, but sharing a bed meant they might have to worry about their very lives.
"Yes! I'll sleep on the floor!"
For some reason, Yao looked oddly proud of herself.