Ryu.
Ryu!
Are you done checking?
Hmm... This is...
What do you think, Yatsufusa?
This is good. I think it'll be interesting.
It was worth asking Ryu.
Excuse me.
Please make this happen.
Yes, ma'am.
Examination period for applicants to be apprentice court herbalists...
I see, so it was today.
What do you mean, "I see"?
Haven't you been getting antsy thinking about this for a while, Zen?
This path that I've started walking on...
I wonder what shape, what color, what smell it'll have?
If I can learn something today that I did not know yesterday...
The beginning is unclear
hajimari sore wa aimai
althought i'd like everything to line up neatly
kirei ni narabetai keredo
only the words i truly want to tell you
hontou ni tsutaetai kotoba dake
get tangled up and come loose, and i can't say them
kanamihotsurete ienai
i slowly breathe in
yukkuri suikomi
wishing that my gentle hopes will keep going on forever
yasashii kibou ga zutto tsudzuku you ni
i wonder if you can see that i'm in this place?
mieru kana kono basho ni iru koto o
i wonder if the guides i drew on my fingertips will reach you
yubisaki ni egaita michishirube todoku kana
you'll surely smile tomorrow
watashi wa kyou o waraeru you ni
so i can laugh about today
anata wa ashita hohoende
kitto
surely
kitto ne
surely
We will be heading to the orientation room once all the examinees arrive.
Episode 4:
From the Small Hand, a Burgeoning Concerto Resonates
Episode 4:
From the Small Hand, a Burgeoning Concerto Resonates
Please wait a moment.
What should we do?
Wanna walk around over there?
I think that's the court herbalist I saw at the pharmacy the other day...
A compound for suppressing coughs?
With that, he'd still need rainbow leaf and koko grass, huh?
Sorry, I just...!
It's true that I still need rainbow leaf and koko grass, but it's not time to pick them yet.
I'll go pick them right after the sun rises,
when the medicinal properties are at their most effective.
When the medicinal properties are at their most effective?
I've heard of that before!
You know when that is?
It's knowledge that people who lived in nature took a long time to figure out.
There's no classification for it in medical literature,
but I thought it was important, so I remembered.
It's not like I can beat the people who spent time studying with the actual plants...
Here, I can learn about living medicine.
Shirayuki!
Zen!
You're about to take your test, right? Are you calm?
Kind of?
What do you mean, "kind of"?
Yeah. I'll be back!
I am the chief herbalist at Wistal Castle, Garak.
Nice to meet you.
The exam will look at your ability to manage herb gardens and medicine storage,
as that is what the work of court herbalist apprentices mainly consists of.
You will be responsible for a small medicinal herb garden in the castle,
tending to and protecting the environment and plants inside the garden.
After two days, there will be an inspection, and after that, you will submit a report.
That is all. Read the documents given to you for details.
Looks like she's working hard.
Is it this time already?
They use aqueducts to bring the water to all parts of the garden.
I've heard of them, but it's my first time seeing them in person.
They're very efficient!
Oh, there's some dirt in the water...
I thought I saw some lights on, but...
It's not even dawn yet... What is she doing by herself?
Who's there?!
Zen?
Hey, Shirayuki.
You surprised me. What's up?
Ah, wait! Don't come this way--
--Wha...? --Huh?
We're locked in, huh?
Locked...?
Do you have any idea who'd do this?
Did someone call you out?
Huh? No, I'm in the middle of my court herbalist apprentice exam right now...
I see...
So they did this knowing that, huh?
There will be an inspection in the morning, so someone will let us out if we wait until then...
If word gets out that you were with me in the middle of your test, it'll be bad, right?
Oh? But Zen, did you come here for a reason?
Huh?
Uh, no, I just... wandered over here...
Hm? I see...
That was careless...
How long have you been here?
Since yesterday.
Did you get enough sleep?
I slept.
Sometimes, you smile and evade the question.
Well, since I had the chance to be in such a well-maintained herb garden,
I thought it'd be a waste of time.
What's wrong?
This plant should bloom facing upward from late at night until morning, but...
There's water flowing underneath it.
There are no irregularities in its environment, but the flowers seem listless.
The water is sweet?!
The water around here is normal.
Hey, Shirayuki...
There are toxins in the aqueducts.
Poison?!
You drank that?!
I-It's fine. It doesn't affect humans.
Are you... sure...?
Don't scare me like that.
Sorry.
Well? What about the poison?
Oh, right. Of the toxins that medicinal herbs and plants carry,
one of them tastes like honey...
I think that's been mixed in with the water.
But the plant with that toxin isn't here...
Since the water on top is fine, is it somewhere on the bottom?
An herb that would make that toxin...
Wait, what if this isn't akegi shigure, but yura shigure...?
If the roots are sweet...
It's yura!
It is?
Yeah.
There are two types, yura and akegi, and it's hard to tell the difference before they flower.
This yura plant was raised in the environment for akegi to flower.
So it was planted in the wrong way?
If yura are raised in the wrong environment,
they won't flower but will make toxins in their roots.
That is flowing into the aqueducts from the soil.
At this rate, the yura and the other plants will wither and die.
Zen! Close the aqueduct from here to the other side!
I'll dig these out and replant them.
Is that all right? If I help, it might affect your exam.
Yeah. I'll do whatever I can that's necessary right now.
It won't narrow your path?
I decided on a path where I could be Zen's ally in this country.
As long as I don't lose sight of my path, I'll be fine.
I have a guidepost.
I've received so much strength to face forward from you, Zen.
Jeez, that's so like you.
I'll help.
Rainbow leaf and koko grass...
Good morning, Chief!
Morning...
Why are you in the garden, your highness?
I'll tell you later.
At any rate, what happened?
I made it so the yura shigure would flower.
It had been mistakenly planted as akegi shigure.
You replanted all of them?
Yes.
You replanted the others, as well, right?
Yes.
I wanted to make sure they would not be affected by the remaining toxins in the aqueducts.
You did this in one night...?
Don't tell me you had the prince help you?!
Because they are important herbs that may save the prince someday.
Anyway, I understand the situation.
There was an examinee who was mistaken for a prowler last night,
so that person must have locked the door.
Trying to force someone out of the competition, huh?
Your highness, will you leave the resolution of this matter to me?
The person was wearing a long coat with hair down to the waist tied back.
Thank you very much.
Shirayuki,
you should also be aware there is a time and place for your friendship with the prince.
Yes, ma'am. I apologize.
Wait, I came here on my own.
Prince Zen, your status is such that your actions cannot be called into question.
With a single word, your friend could be accepted unconditionally as a court herbalist.
You can try that if you want.
This girl will never come back to the castle again.
I don't want to anger her voluntarily.
I feel honored.
Ch-Chief!
Sorry. What do you think about Shirayuki, Yatsufusa?
She passes with no complaints.
Which means, Shirayuki,
we officially accept you as an apprentice court herbalist.
Huh?
The exam this time was not just tending the gardens.
It was also to see if you could spot the difference between yura and akegi.
Huh?
It would have been fine if you had just noticed and wrote it in the records.
I didn't think anyone would actually replant the whole garden.
Ryu will sure be surprised when he hears about this.
Ryu?
The one who thought of this test, our youngest court herbalist.
Does he have black hair?
Oh? Have you met him already?
Why don't we have Ryu be your supervisor, then?
Y-Yes, ma'am!
Oh, Chief Garak, there is something I would like your permission for.
You two have passed the exam to become apprentice court herbalists.
Higata, please wait a moment.
I'm coming in!
This is Shirayuki, who will be your assistant from today.
She did an excellent job of clearing that test.
Hello. I'm Ryu.
If there's anything you don't understand, just ask him.
Well, please get along!
M-My name is Shirayuki.
It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Same here.
Close the door.
R-Right! Sorry!
Um, Ryu, sir...
You don't have to call me sir. Or speak so formally to me.
What? No, but... I am here to be taught by you.
But I'm a kid. It's weird.
Then, I will just stop using "sir," Ryu.
Oh, Ryu. Um... Here.
Rainbow leaf and koko grass.
I gathered them when their medicinal properties are at their most effective.
You remembered?
Yes, because it was very shocking to me.
Shocking?
I thought it was such a wonderful idea.
I'll grind them, so will you put in the rainbow leaf and koko grass, in that order?
Sure.
Is something the matter?
For some reason, I've been feeling queasy...
I'd like you to give me some medicine I can take right away...
All right. Ryu, please.
What?!
That patient would be better off with medicine from the Chief or one of the others.
Huh? Ryu...
Thank goodness... I'm too scared to take medicine from that boy.
Did it cause problems for you before?
I mean, all he does is research plant poisons,
and he's always looking for test subjects, right?
I'm saying that I'd rather not get involved with him.
Did you know that the toxins created by plants to protect themselves from outside enemies
are often used as medicines for humans?
But there may or may not have been victims--
It's not something you can talk about with such groundless judgment!
Will you take that back?
Y-Yes...
Please excuse me.
You don't have to get so worked up about it.
Don't say foolish things.
I'll go get the chief herbalist.
F-Foolish...?
Was that the first time someone's said that to you?
Prince?!
I wonder if she's mad at me.
For some reason, I don't really understand people.
Perhaps because my comprehension is beyond what people normally attribute to children.
If you want to know if she's mad or not, it would be quickest to just ask her.
Huh?
Especially in Shirayuki's case, I recommend facing her straight on.
If you weren't a child, I wouldn't give you advice like this, though.
Oh, it's time for practice. See ya.
Shirayuki, once you finish the records for the patient just now, take this.
It's Prince Zen's medical history.
I brought it out on my own judgment.
Prince Zen's?
Because you are with him the most out of all the court herbalists.
Take a look to help you deal with emergencies,
and for the sake of your resolve.
This part is all medication for injuries.
A scratch from sword practice, and a sprain.
A bruise from falling off the castle wall in the middle of the night.
Why was he on the wall...?
Zen, age 13. Poisoning symptoms and their progression?
A record of the administration of poison?!
February 5th. Seven hours after administration, he broke out in a fever.
There was some shallow disturbance to his breathing,
but no abnormalities in his speech or conduct.
Stable for 31 hours.
May 11th. Right after administration, he had difficulty walking.
Called for antidote three hours later.
July 1st. Thirty minutes after administration, he broke out in a fever...
...with stabbing pains all over his body.
I've been building up an immunity to poison.
Prince!
Ryu? What's wrong?
Uh, um...
Hey, you okay?
I... I thought I had to do something...
I don't know why, but she's... crying... by herself...
You saw that, huh?
You know what this is?
Well, it's about me.
You're not going to look this way?
I'll stay here until you're done looking at it. Okay, Shirayuki?
Okay.
Are you still thirsty?
How about some snacks?
Ryu! Ryu!
Are you all right?
Huh?
I heard from Zen. Looks like I scared you...
I'm sorry!
Why... did you come?
Didn't I just... make you angry?
Ryu...
Do you remember my name?
Huh? I do, but...
Then, if you call me by my name, I'll tell you if I'm mad or not.
Huh? No, I...
Especially in Shirayuki's case, I recommend facing her straight on.
Sh...
Sh... Shira...
Shira... yu... ki...
Yes!
Ryu, thanks for running for me.
Sure...
Sure.
Yura shigure...
Is that the flower that was on the exam?
Of the medicinal herbs, you like yura shigure, Ryu?
Yes, but...
Is there a reason?
Because it's pretty and red.
I want to see it, too.
Yura shigure. I'm the only one who doesn't know what kind of flower that is.
Is he jealous?
Yeah, he's jealous.
Let's go see it together sometime.
If I can learn something today that I did not know yesterday...
Inside me, or someone else...
Finding one thing and picking it up...
The bitter and the sweet...
All in order to know the name of that flower.
Hibiite, Kono sekai ni
Onaji omoi no kodou wo
Futari wa egaite yukeru
Atataka na hizashi
Egao sagasu kara
Ashioto kasane nagara Susumou
Yasashisa ni furete
Hirogaru nioi wa
Ano toki Nozonde kimeta michi
Mamoritai hito ga iru to
Tsuyoku chikaeru nara
Hanarete ite mo
Chikara ni kawatteku
Shinjite Mune ni idaku
Hitamuki na jounetsu wa
Kagayaku shirube ni naru no
Hibiite Kono sekai ni
Onaji omoi no kodou wo
Futari wa egaite yukeru
What if it really was an evil spirit?
Right now, you have to think of your own position.
Do you think I can leave by myself after calling you here?
What would I follow her for?
This Path, the Crystallization of Premonition