In the valley camp, inside a tattered tent—
A young girl, no older than ten, wore a desperate expression, her eyes brimming with tears.
On the straw mat before her lay a pale-faced woman, unconscious.
"Mom…"
The girl cried anxiously, clutching at her sick mother.
A month ago, she had departed from the royal capital with her parents, following Prince Raven to his new fief.
But midway, they lost their way. Her father had left, and her mother had fallen gravely ill.
Ten-year-old Anna recognized the illness—fever. She had seen beggars in the capital stricken by the same sickness. Without money for medicine, they had perished on the roadside.
She had once snuck a piece of black bread to one of them.
And now, her mother bore the same symptoms.
"Mom, please wake up! Don't leave Anna all alone here…"
She shook her mother's arm again and again, calling for her, but the woman remained unconscious—no gentle hand on her head, no soft voice in reply.
Just then, Anna heard footsteps outside.
The tent flap was lifted. The camp's physician, Lady Lila, entered with the steward Aelif.
Lila's brows furrowed when she saw the sobbing child. She quickly knelt, checking the woman's condition. "Let me handle this."
"D–Doctor! Please save my mother!"
For Anna, it was as if the final light of hope had appeared. She obediently stepped aside, eyes wide with expectation.
Lila pressed a hand to the woman's forehead, and her face grew solemn.
"High fever. She's already slipped into a coma."
"Will my mom wake up?" Anna asked, voice trembling.
"I'll do everything I can." Lila replied, then turned to the steward. "Mr. Aelif, I need Fullmoon Grass and Bitterroot to ease her symptoms."
Aelif immediately produced the herbs from the chest. "What should I do?"
"Boil them in a pot for thirty minutes. Once brewed, feed her the medicine."
"I'll help!" Anna blurted, stepping forward.
Lila blinked in surprise at the young girl. "You know how to prepare herbs?"
"I used to help Mama at home!" Anna wiped her tears. She knew how dire things were—too many patients, and the physician could not stay long. Some things, she had to handle herself.
"…Good child. I'll leave it to you then." Lila nodded.
Anna carefully took the herbs from the steward and hurried outside. Following Lila's instructions, she brewed the mixture.
When it was ready, she spoon-fed the bitter soup into her mother's mouth, drop by drop.
Time passed. Anna didn't know how long.
She was simply too exhausted.
The journey, the worry, the sleepless nights of care—finally, the poor girl succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep beside her mother.
Anna awoke to a familiar voice.
"…Thank you for your trouble, Lord Aelif."
She jolted upright, as though escaping a nightmare. "Mama!"
Her mother turned at the sound. Having drunk the herbal remedy, her condition had improved. Though still weak, she stood respectfully to greet Aelif.
"Mom…"
Seeing her awake, Anna's tears burst forth. She threw herself into her mother's arms, crying and laughing at once. "Thank goodness, you're alright!"
The woman stroked her daughter's hair gently. "Don't worry, Anna."
Then she turned and bowed gratefully to Aelif. "Thank you so much, Lord Aelif."
"Thank you!" Anna echoed, bowing deeply.
Aelif smiled warmly at the mother and daughter. "No need to thank me. If you must give thanks, then thank Prince Raven. He was the one who shared the herbs with everyone."
Prince Raven…
He had saved her mother?
In that instant, Anna's heart filled with gratitude for the young lord.
[Public Sentiment +3!][Public Sentiment +1!][Public Sentiment +2!][…]
Lines of text scrolled across Raven's panel.
What had once been a pitiful single-digit value for Public Sentiment had, in just one day, soared past 15.
And his Satisfaction, once stuck at 0, now stood at 50.
"So my judgment was right after all…" Raven murmured.
By sharing his herbs with the people, he both prevented needless deaths and earned their gratitude.
But more than that, what truly pleased him was the sudden gain of 50 Satisfaction.
He willed open the Tech interface.
At once, several unlockable Agricultural-era technologies appeared before his eyes:
[Animal Husbandry: Unlock methods for raising land Pokémon. Cost: 200 Satisfaction.][Fishing: Unlock methods for raising aquatic Pokémon. Cost: 200 Satisfaction.]
"…."
Fifty wasn't nearly enough. Not even enough for husbandry or fishing, let alone Electricity Tech or Poké Ball Tech.
Raven scrolled further down the tech tree. Later technologies were era-locked, but could still be previewed.
[Pokémon Food Science: Unlock methods for making Poké Puffs, Pokéblocks, and other Pokémon foods. Cost: 1000 Satisfaction.]
Pokémon food, huh? Useful someday, but with so few Pokémon in his domain, it wasn't a priority.
He kept reading, until one entry under the Industrial Age path caught his eye:
[Apricorn Craft: Unlocks the ancient art of Apricorn processing, allowing old-style Poké Balls to be crafted from Apricorns and special materials. Cost: 500 Satisfaction.]
Apricorns?
Raven froze. He checked the entry for Modern Poké Ball Tech—the cost was a staggering 10,000 Satisfaction.
Why such a vast difference?
Poké Balls weren't difficult to make. Centuries before the Pokémon League even existed, the people of Hisui had crafted old-style Poké Balls from apricorns, metal, and stone.
Though "primitive," their performance in capturing Pokémon was not far behind the modern versions.
Yet modern Poké Ball Tech required Electricity Tech as a prerequisite…
A wild idea struck Raven.
Could it be that Modern Poké Ball Tech included the method for making Master Balls? Was that why the cost was so absurdly high?
(End of Chapter 5)