Kays Translations

Just another Isekai Lover~

Chapter 52. Moxibustion, Horse Oil, and My Place — Part One Complete

Oh, the medicinal herb I planted—the one like mugwort—also turned out to be quite something. It became something incredible.

According to Kaen-san, the active ingredients are quite potent. He kept saying it was “terrible, crude, terrible,” which I didn’t understand, but I got that it was supposed to be really amazing.

That made me think: what if this herb, which looks just like mugwort, is truly a mugwort-like plant from another world…

When I went to Tokyo, I bought some moxa sticks with a friend after trying them out at a showroom in Ginza. I bought them for 1,000 yen and have been buying them ever since. They cost 14 yen each. They were small, round, and adorable little moxa.

I bought it because I had moxibustion applied to my acupressure points and experienced the effects.

In other words, I believe in the effectiveness of moxibustion. At that time, I had it tried on a pressure point on my hand called Hegu.

The main Ingredients of a moxa are mugwort and, of course, mugwort leaves—also called moogusa.

Could I make a moxa from a mugwort-like herb from another world?

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If I combined the 1,000-yen repeat-purchased poultice with one made from an otherworldly herb, the effect might be truly incredible.

The white hairs on the underside of mugwort leaves—those are what make up a moxa, I believe.

　When I bought the moxa, they explained it to me and I also got a rough idea of how to make it.

　I think it’s dried, crushed, sifted repeatedly, and then left to just remove the fibers.

So, I’d harvest and dry a mugwort-like herb. Once it’s crisp, I’d grind it with a pestle until it turns into fine powder, then sift and crush again, and sift it some more.

“Leave it to me,” Kirara said, helping with the sifting.

Mimi is also helping by sitting on Kirara’s shoulder, acting as a supervisor.

Mimi also sometimes takes on a human form to help with the work, but it seems she has now handed over that role to Kirara instead. They’ve become quite close—Mimi’s usual spot on my shoulder has shifted to Kirara’s. But if I call her, she’ll come to my shoulder too.

And so, after repeatedly pounding, crushing and sifting the herbs, I was able to extract fluffy fibers.

It’s really hard work.

With all that herb, this is all we got…

If I packed this into paper tubes or made little cones with my fingers, I could create something that looks just like a real moxa.

But it’ll be too hot as it is to apply, I think I’ll need to put something underneath to prevent burns.

What was it again? Some kind of ingredient that makes you feel energized—garlic? Ginger?

I remember my grandmother doing this a long time ago. I remember the moxibustion marks on my shoulders. In summer, she’d wear just a tank top, so the scars were very visible.

Seeing the phrase “mother” makes me think of her, in her haughty state. The kanji for “垂乳根” also drags that image into my mind.

What happened to the moxa that was on her shoulder? Oh, maybe I can reuse the base of that moxa? Or cover it with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

After much trial and error, I finally managed to make my own moxa. The best method was to use thick slices of ginger as the base for the moxa stick, and then place the moxa stick on top of that, squeezing it tightly with your fingers into a triangular shape.

I tried it on myself and was surprised at how much it relieved my fatigue after working in the fields. It also made me hungry.

Yeah, it seems to work.

I should give Mimi and Kirara a special treat for helping out. Thanks for always lending me a hand. I really appreciate it!

“I want to try an experiment,” I told grandpa Jill honestly and straightforwardly.

“Go ahead,” he replied.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to casually accept to do an experiment without even asking what kind of experiment it is.

Just recently, when I went to thank him for the protective amulet, Grandpa Jill noticed that one of the stones was chipped. He looked me over, eyes wide, and checked my whole body.

“You’re not injured, are you?” he said, happy that I was safe.

Thanks to Grandpa Jill’s amulet, I’m safe! Truly, I’m grateful—thank you, Grandpa Jill.

He was about to make me a new amulet, but I selfishly told him I liked this one and asked him to repair it instead. I still have it around my neck. It’s my precious charm.

I asked Grandpa Jill to sit with his legs stretched out, and then I searched for the pressure points on his legs. I had him bend his knees just a little. The Sanri point is about four fingers’ width from the bottom of the outer edge of the kneecap.

When I pressed what I thought might be the spot, Grandpa Jill grimaced slightly.

Ah, it hurts a little. So I guess I’m in the right place. I placed one of the moxa’s I brought with 1,000 yen repeat on that spot.

Then, I also applied the homemade mugwort-like herb moxa on the hollow area just below the kneecap— a depression under the knee cap that resembles a calf’s nose.

It’s a type of poultice that emits smoke, so white smoke bellowed up. The unique smell of moxa spreads. It’s a nostalgic smell, not unpleasant.

“Isn’t it hot?” I asked him.

“It’s fine,” he replied.

Old people sometimes have dulled heat sensations, so I was a little worried if it was really okay. But I wouldn’t keep it on for long, so it’s probably okay.

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After about five minutes, the heat went out. That’s all, for now.

Since Grandpa Jill’s knee is likely in chronic condition, I expected the effects to take several days—so I was prepared for that.

But then…

Grandpa Gill stood up, checked his leg, and started walking briskly.

“Whoa, that’s a surprise,”

Honestly, I was surprised myself. Can poultices really have such immediate effects sometimes?

I’m still not quite sure how to interpret this.

It’s hard to tell exactly which treatment worked better, but maybe the new mugwort-like plant has opened up a new possibility.

I took Mimi to Nia Farm to check on Milia-san.

I thought I’d ask Mimi to quietly till the soil on the farm without anyone noticing.

“A secret, huh?”

Mimi, eager to carry out this covert mission, showed off her skill by carefully tilling only the inside of the soil, leaving the surface untouched. She’s quite talented— She even managed to avoid the areas where the vegetables were planted.

Dawn-chan seemed to be working as if he had no back pain at all.

“Would you like some of this? You can take it with you.”

Dawn-san asked me while holding a huge radish, but I have plenty of vegetables at home now, so I politely declined.

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He looked a little disappointed, but honestly, we have enough vegetables ourselves!

Milia-san apologized to me.

“Sorry. Actually, about that stuff…” she said.

Turns out, the horse oil was quite effective in curing chapped skin and smoothing out rough, cracked heels.

Realizing it was pretty potent, Milia-san tried to return the leftover oil, thinking it might be.

But then, his injured nephew, Byrne-san, came to recuperate, or rather, to be taken care of a little.

I was surprised to hear this, but it seems that Byrne-san was the one who took down the Mad Bear.

Although he was able to defeat the monster, he injured his right arm, and at first he hid this from Dawn-san and the others. But it was his right arm after all. It must have been difficult for him to manage daily life with that.

Fortunately, he was not seriously hurt—only scratched by the claws. Turns out, the wound was quite severe. He used a potion to heal it, but due to a problem with the grade, the scarring or twitching he was left with seemed to be too severe

“It was so painful. So I just ended up….”

He said he applied the horse oil to his chapped skin, which had helped heal it.

Horse oil is good for burns, chapped skin, cuts, and even scars. I agree.

For cuts, I recommend a medicine called Meme Momo B, which comes in a yellow and red package. It’s not very common, but we always have it on hand at home. I actually trust it more than horse oil.

It seems he kept it quiet, but Byrne-san was very kind to me, so I’m glad that the scars have healed. But even so, if bear-san had gotten angry, well… maybe that was my fault…?

I’m sorry…

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If his wound isn’t fully healed, I’d like to give him an additional dose of Mebo- B, but apparently, the horse oil did the trick just fine. That’s a relief.

I shook my head at Milia-san, who tried to return the remaining oil.

I can trust Dawn-san, Milia-san, and Byrne-san, so I want them to keep it just in case something happens.

“Use it secretly,” I added. “If it runs out, I’ll bring more.”

It is common to get injured while working on the farm, it happens all the time.

I’ve injured myself plenty—stabbing my hand with bamboo stakes, or pricking my hand with a wheelbarrow.

It’s strange, I know, how could someone stab their hand with a unicycle, but the cap-like thing on the handle of the wheelbarrow was old and loose. It ended up cutting into my hand. luckily, I was wearing gloves, so I didn’t get infected, but I still have a scar.

Even if it doesn’t go that far, injuries from eggplant thorns or splinters are common. Even fresh cucumbers can sting too, and the thorns on citrus trees can sometimes be deadly.

So I want everyone to keep some of that oil and use it when needed.

Before I knew it, in this other world, I’ve found someone important—someone I don’t want to get hurt or suffer any pain.

I think of my friends from my original world.

When will they notice I’m gone?

If the tweets on SNS, which used to be like Blue Bird, suddenly disappeared, or if there were no more posts on 394 (the old bluebird site), would they realize something was wrong then?

Ah, but not logging in during the box event would probably be the biggest suspicion…

We don’t see each other every day or keep in touch like we used to, so I’m not sure when they’ll notice. Especially since the pandemic, we’ve seen each other less and less…