"The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 12" ( 薬屋のひとりごと１２, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 12 ) is the 12th volume of the The Apothecary Diaries light novel series written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino. It was first published in Japan on July 29, 2022. The translated digital English version was published on October 14, 2024.
The third audio drama CD was included with this volume.
Blurb[]
The tumultuous political events of recent days have left I-sei Province looking for leadership, but there are obstacles everywhere they turn. Gyokuen's sons refuse to rule, while Gyoku-ou's oldest child is unpredictable and violent. Jinshi decides to tutor Gyoku-ou's other sons in the ways of politics, but they're going to discover that it's an even more dangerous business than they ever anticipated. Maomao, as ever, just wants to live her life, but she might not be able to ignore the escalating perils around her. In fact, they might not ignore her...
Chapters[]
- Prologue
- Chapter 1: The Princeling of the Main House (本邸の物が鬱州, Hontei no Mono ga Usshu?)
- Chapter 2: The Greenhouse and the Chapel (温室と礼拝堂, Onshitsu to Raihaidō?)
- Chapter 3: Gyoku-ou's Children (玉鶯の子どもたち, Gyokuō no Kodomotachi?)
- Chapter 4: The Sheltered Wife (深窓の奥方, Shinsō no Okugata?)
- Chapter 5: Third Son, Second Son, Eldest Son (三男次男長男, Sannan Jinan Chōnan?)
- Chapter 6: The Winery (葡萄酒醸造所, Budōshu Jōzōsho?)
- Chapter 7: The Inheritance (遺産問題, Isan Mondai?)
- Chapter 8: Junjie (俊杰, Junjie?)
- Chapter 9: The Foreign Girl (異国娘, Ikoku Musume?)
- Chapter 10: Emergency Patient, Emergency Situation (急患と緊急事態, Kyūkan to Kinkyū Jitai?)
- Chapter 11: The Southern Inn Town (南の宿場町, Minami no Shukuba Machi?)
- Chapter 12: The Kingdom of the Ri People (理人国, Rijin Kuni?)
- Chapter 13: The Biaoshi (鏢師, Biāoshī?)
- Chapter 14: Disguise (変装, Hensō?)
- Chapter 15: Priorities (優先順位, Yūsen Jun'i?)
- Chapter 16: The Liar (嘘つき, Usotsuki?)
- Chapter 17: A Town of Faith (信仰の町, Shinkō no Machi?)
- Chapter 18: The Bandits' Hideout (盗賊の根城, Tōzoku no Nejiro?)
- Chapter 19: The Bandit Village (Part One) (盗賊村 前編, Tōzoku Mura Zenpen?)
- Chapter 20: The Bandit Village (Part Two) (盗賊村 後編, Tōzoku Mura Kōhen?)
- Chapter 21: Serving Dinner (酌, Shaku?)
- Chapter 22: How Things Turned Out (事の顛末, Koto no Tenmatsu?)
- Chapter 23: The Road Home (偏路, Henro?)
- Chapter 24: A Wounded Beast (手負いの獣, Teoi no Kemono?)
- Chapter 25: The Ugly Little Sparrow (醜い雀の子, Minikui Suzume no Ko?)
- Chapter 26: Man and Wife (夫婦, Fūfu?)
- Chapter 27: Master and Pupil (師弟, Shitei?)
- Chapter 28: Sound Sleep (安眠, Anmin?)
- Chapter 29: The Compromise (折衷案, Secchūan?)
- Chapter 30: Growth (成長, Seichō?)
- Epilogue
Synopsis[]
Ten days after Gyoku-ou's death, Maomao continues to work in the annex's medical office as usual. In a routine exam with Jinshi, he complains about never-ending work in finding a leader for the Western Capital. He is also asked to move to the main house for security reasons, and convinces Maomao to move as well, as there is access to a greenhouse.
Maomao, the quack doctor, and Lihaku all move to the main house, with Lahan's Brother staying behind. As they unpack their supplies, the quack doctor goes to clean his room, while Lihaku heads for the bathroom. Suddenly, Maomao hears the quack doctor shout in pain. She discovers him injured by a young boy, who acts unregretful. At the medical office the next day, Chue visits and shares that the young boy is Gyokujun, Gyoku-ou's grandson. Gyokujun and his mother later come to apologize, but he remains unrepentant. After they leave, Chue explains that the expected successor to the western capital, Gyoku-ou's son and Gyokujun's father, has a tarnished reputation, so is unfit to rule and due to be disinherited.
At the greenhouse, Maomao gets excited to harvest cucumbers for medicine, against the wishes of the gardener. Chue then takes Maomao to a nearby chapel, where she teaches her a specific prayer from a western religion. Arriving back at the medical office, Maomao greets Hulan, Gyoku-ou's modest third son, who is assigned to serve Jinshi. After he leaves, Lihaku and Chue talk about Gyoku-ou's wife, a formerly ambitious businesswoman who after a shipwreck that left her stranded for several years, retired to the background when she came back.
The following day, Maomao's group and Hulan go to examine Xiaohong, Gyoku-ou's granddaughter by his daughter, for her surgery recovery. Aside from the girl and her mother, Gyoku-ou's wife also lives in the same house. When Xiaohong leaves momentarily, Gyokujun, also present, harasses her by pulling her red hair and accuses her of being a foreigner. Though Chue quickly stops him, he also claims his self-importance, leading to Maomao and Chue undermining him by bringing up his father's apathy for ruling and Gyoku-ou's death. Angry on behalf of her daughter, Xiaohong's mother confronts her mother with Gyokujun's presence at their house, who is supposedly in danger at the main house.
The main house's garden is soon cleared for farming. Hulan tasks Maomao with creating a treatment plan for several symptoms, leaving her impressed with his competence. In addition, Feilong, Gyoku-ou's second son assigned to Rikuson, also is competent but more impersonal. On the other hand, Shikyou, Gyoku-ou's first son, resembles a rugged version of his father. When he hears Gyokujun tell him about their "poor behavior", he becomes angered at Maomao's group. With Hulan's help, Maomao informs him of what really transpired, resulting in Shikyou giving them a deer head as recompense.
Hulan comes informing Maomao's group of an emergency at the winery, owned by Gyokuen's third daughter. Arriving there, they find five people nauseous and vomiting. Maomao deduces that the patients are extremely drunk, as they recently drank wine and a soup containing mushrooms that prevented the body from metabolizing alcohol. She then serves herself some of the soup with wine, leaving her hungover as well.
On the carriage ride back, Maomao's group discusses how the mushrooms got into the soup. After reporting the incident to Jinshi, he then discusses how the family meeting for Gyoku-ou's inheritance went unresolved: Shikyou refused to succeed even with Feilong's support, and Hulan wanted Feilong to succeed instead. Maomao also brings up Gyoku-ou's wife, whose years-long stay in a foreign country brought about rumors, and her seclusion upon returning.
Lahan's Brother continues to travel around the Western Province setting up fields for potato cultivation. While he and Maomao teach a young boy who has been assisting the medical office what poisonous potatoes look (and taste) like, the boy introduces himself as Kan Junjie, a very common name. Lahan's Brother's paling face concerns Junjie, who asks him what his name is. Instead, he repeats what everyone has been calling him, and walks away to their confusion.
Hulan arrives again with a personal request from a young girl suffering from headaches, who seeks a female doctor. With Jinshi's permission, Maomao's group leaves for a port town, along with Baryou in a basket. After arriving at an inn and body-searched, Maomao examines the girl, a foreigner with blonde hair and blue eyes. As she is not allowed to examine closely, Maomao asks several questions about the symptoms and offers her a citrus drink. She deduces that the girl has a rotten tooth, based on the loss of appetite and headache resulting from strain, and pulls the tooth out. Hulan later praises her skills back at the medical office. Later in a conversation with Chue, Baryou observes that the young "girl" is a boy, who matches the description of a prince from a country within Hokuaren.
Chue gives Maomao paperwork to do on harvest yields. While working, Xiaohong arrives requesting urgent and discreet help for Shikyou, apparently dying. Once Maomao considers the reasons behind the request, she leaves behind a figurine from Chue on the desk. Xiaohong leads her through a forested hidden passage to a heavily bleeding Shikyou, accompanied by Gyokujun. From the surroundings, Maomao realizes that a poison dart hit Shikyou, and sews up the wound. Hearing a sound, Maomao looks up to find Chue among the trees. Chue explains the strange lack of people in the main house and prepares to take Maomao back to the medical office, while other men carry Shikyou somewhere else. Maomao then inquires where Shikyou is going, resulting in her being taken along too.
Chue takes Maomao, Shikyou, Gyokujun, and Xiaohong to a new location. Hearing familiar sounds outside, Maomao deduces that they were brought to the port town in the south for Shikyou to meet with a foreigner, which he confirms. As he looks after the children, Shikyou explains to Maomao that he and Chue are both working to bring peace to the western capital. While wondering how Shikyou and Chue are connected, Maomao also questions what Chue's goal is, given her seeming autonomy from Jinshi.
Meanwhile, Rikuson and Feilong privately meet with Jinshi and Basen to discuss a meeting request with an emissary from the Ri Kingdom, one of the countries within Hokuaren. Later, Baryou discloses to Jinshi that the fourth prince of the Ri Kingdom resembles the young girl that Maomao recently treated. He advises him to pretend to not know of the situation during the meeting. Basen informs Jinshi that Hulan told Shikyou to make foreign connections, making it possible for Shikyou to have brought the prince to Li.
At the meeting, the emissary reports of their search for a missing nobleman, with Jinshi suspecting that Shikyou was the one who kidnapped the prince. Leaving without a resolution, Jinshi receives a message informing him that Shikyou tried to enter the main house, but was attacked and left wounded, and that Maomao went to treat him.
Another day passes with Maomao continuing to treat Shikyou's wounds, and Gyokujun angry at the situation in contrast to Xiaohong's calmness. Shikyou asks Maomao to look after Gyokujun and Xiaohong when they return to the western capital, while he will leave on his own. The next day, Maomao is met by a woman and several men, dressed as biaoshi, or hired guards. On receiving a report, the lady biaoshi informs Maomao and the children that their return to the western capital will be delayed and directs them onto a covered wagon.
The lady biaoshi disguises Maomao as the "mother" to Gyokujun and Xiaohong. While the lady biaoshi leaves the wagon for a short break, Xiaohong reveals to Maomao that Hulan was the one who told her of the hidden passage and that Shikyou was in danger. Gyokujun continues to be disruptive on the road west, earning Maomao's wrath. Expecting danger in the next town, the lady biaoshi gives Maomao a jar of venom and a needle to defend herself.
At the western capital, Jinshi wonders what more he can do for Maomao, now involved with Shikyou, even with Chue protecting her. The young girl who matches the Ri prince from the inn at the port town has also disappeared, making it more likely that Shikyou kidnapped the prince. Jinshi takes a break from his work in the main house's gardens-turned-farmland, with Basen and Gaoshun. Nearby, the quack doctor and Lakan enjoy a tea party together, along with Lahan's Brother. Realizing Jinshi is close by, Lakan asks him where Maomao is. Suddenly, Basen's duck Jofu crashes into Hulan, carrying a stack of paper. Questioning Hulan, Lakan catches him lying when he mentions Maomao's supposed whereabouts. Jinshi then shifts the interrogation subject to Shikyou, who Hulan claims is unsuitable to become the successor, so he tried to dispatch him. With Shikyou now proven innocent and Hulan found to be the traitor, Jinshi decides to work with Shikyou to find the Ri prince.
Maomao, the lady biaoshi, and the children soon arrive near the town, which the lady biaoshi mentions has a church. The lady biaoshi initially leaves to check out the town and warns Maomao to run if she does not come back. While the children play, a young man from the town approaches the wagon, claiming to be a messenger. In response, another biaoshi kills the man. Taking both Gyokujun and Xiaohong, Maomao and the biaoshis flee into the forest, pursued by bandits.
Since the job has become too dangerous, the biaoshis decide to abandon their mission. Maomao bribes the guards to take Gyokujun with them back to the western capital, while she and Xiaohong hide near a tree. As bandits pass by them, Maomao waits until she notices a middle-aged man with a blade wearing a religious symbol. Just before the man kills her, she repeats the prayer learned from Chue.
Having spared Maomao and Xiaohong as they revealed themselves as "believers", the middle-aged man brings them into the bandit-run town. Inside the church, they are delivered to the bear-like bandit boss, One-Eyed Dragon. On seeing Xiaohong, the boss compares her to a wanted poster of a boy, which Maomao realizes is of the foreign girl she treated. Maomao and Xiaohong are then taken in as workers after Xiaohong proves to be a girl.
Maomao and Xiaohong begin helping the townspeople, who are all believers. They introduce themselves as "Xiongxiong" the medicine woman and "Xiaolan". While working in the kitchen (peeling potatoes that Lahan's Brother planted), the other women reveal how the bandit town came to be: After the locust plague, One-Eyed Dragon came and took over the town. With all the strongest villagers dead, the teacher – the middle-aged man – convinced One-Eyed Dragon to spare the believers when he wanted to halve the town population. As a result, several nonbelievers were killed, and the rest put to hard labor. Another woman explains that One-Eyed Dragon has a grudge against Shikyou, due to having an eye gouged out when he attacked a caravan guarded by him. The believers also take turns serving One-Eyed Dragon at mealtime as food tasters. While treating a young man badly injured by One-Eyed Dragon, Maomao discovers an embroidered sparrow on his shirt, along with a message to create an opening at dinner.
On Maomao and Xiaohong's turn to serve One-Eyed Dragon, Maomao prepares a highly spiced dish of meat and unpeeled potatoes. At dinner, she tastes the dish she made. Xiaohong also tastes his drink. Once the bandits start eating, one by one they start getting up to go to the toilet. One-Eyed Dragon accuses Maomao of poisoning the food, which she denies doing but thoroughly did. Not only did Maomao use potato sprouts and green peels in the meals, but she also used plenty of nutmeg. Additionally, One-Eyed Dragon's drink was spiked with venom, which entered through a mouth injury. As Maomao runs from him and other bandits, Shikyou arrives at the church with a group of biaoshi, including the lady biaoshi.
After the bandits are arrested, Shikyou reveals how his troubles unfolded: his biaoshi agency was hired to guard a caravan, which included a Ri prince seeking political asylum. Once it was safe for the prince to return to his country, Shikyou went to inform Jinshi, but was ambushed at the main house. Sensing danger, the prince relocated to another place. Shikyou then spent much time trying to reach Jinshi and safely return the prince. He did not expect One-Eyed Dragon, who sought revenge against him, to take over the town and pursue anyone who looked like the Ri prince. To facilitate his arrival, the lady biaoshi, revealed to be Chue in disguise, passed messages to the town. Chue also managed Maomao's disappearance at the western capital, and made sure the teacher extended his protection to her and Xiaohong. To that end, Maomao deduces that Hulan was behind Shikyou's ambush, as he told Xiaohong about the hidden passage. Chue replies that it was simply a succession dispute.
On the way back to the western capital, Maomao thinks over Chue's words, regarding each of Gyoku-ou's children. Chue worries that One-Eyed Dragon could still escape even bound and heavily injured. The following night, Maomao wakes up in the middle of the night to chaos. One-Eyed Dragon, who freed himself by chewing through ropes, strikes Maomao. Before he lands a second hit, Chue arrives to fight him off. After stabs in the neck and chest, as well as Shikyou striking his last eye, One-Eyed Dragon finally dies. Noticing Chue's grievous injuries, including chest wounds and a nearly torn-off right arm, Maomao immediately starts the surgery.
Chue was born as Beghura, in a country west of Shaoh. Her father was a merchant, whose ship rescued her mother when she was caught in a shipwreck. Claiming to be a Shaohnese widow, her mother married her father after he fell in love with her, then gave birth to Beghura a year later. Before she turned three years old, Beghura's mother disappeared suddenly. Beghura's father then turned all his efforts to searching for her, eventually hearing word of her in Li. But once he set off, he never returned.
Without anyone to take care of her, Beghura begged a teacher at the church to let her go with him on a missionary trip traveling east. On the way, Beghura did all she could to help the mission and survive in the new environment, including learning magic tricks to perform for money. Beghura later changed her name to Maachue, to fit in as a Linese person.
Beghura traveled to the western capital when she was 13 years old, while the teacher stayed at a village with a church. Living on the streets while searching for her mother, Beghura found her mother near a mansion, accompanied by three of her children. However, her mother did not appear to recognize her when spotted by the children.
Determined to find what she meant to her mother, Beghura sneaked into the mansion that night. She was soon caught by a man and confessed her past and travels to find her mother. The man revealed that her mother needed a cover as a spy in Beghura’s country, so married and had a child. She then abandoned Beghura and her father when the job was finished. Wanting to show her worth as more than a cover, Beghura then demonstrated her skill as a polyglot and other talents to the man, who decided to take her on as his successor.
Years later, Baryou was introduced to Chue, his wife-to-be and member of the Mi Clan, when he was sixteen. Initially, he was spooked by Chue, but they became closer as Chue learned his preferences.
Having just heard about his wife's injuries from fighting, Baryou visits her when she returns to the western capital. Chue admits her now-lack of value, with her right hand no longer usable, but Baryou convinces her otherwise. He later obliges Chue's request for food.
After Chue finishes her meal, Vice Minister Lu, who brought her into the Mi clan and arranged her marriage to Baryou, arrives. As she still has use as an interpreter, Vice Minister Lu informs Chue to find a successor more talented than her, and that her mission to "make the Moon Prince happy" has not changed.
Maomao, exhausted after reattaching Chue's right arm, heads for Jinshi's office instead of the medical office. Jinshi opens the door, also exhausted. While they lay embracing each other on the floor, Maomao watches him fall asleep, before falling asleep as well.
The next day, Jinshi joins a meeting to discuss the future leader of the western capital. Attended by Gaoshun, Taomei, Shikyou, Hulan, and Chue, Jinshi begins by asking Hulan what his motive was behind trying to kill his brother. Though Shikyou continues to reject his inheritance, Hulan notes that Shikyou still has support. Chue explains that Hulan then decided to eliminate Shikyou after finding Jinshi to be a better candidate. Kneeling before Jinshi, Hulan begs him to become the leader of the western capital, offering his life. Shocked, Shikyou tries to justify Hulan's attempt on his life for the betterment of the western capital, but Chue instead suggests that Shikyou become a puppet leader to save his brother’s life.
Now recovered, Maomao proceeds to work as usual. At the medical office, while Chue receives rehab, she informs everyone that Shikyou will be the new leader of the western capital, and that they will all soon be returning to the Royal Capital. Shikyou will also be supported by Feilong, Rikuson, Vice Minister Lu, and his uncles.
Going outside to meet with Lahan's Brother, Maomao witnesses Gyokujun again harassing Xiaohong. In an unexpected moment, Xiaohong slaps Gyokujun and makes fun of his dreams, leading to him crying instead. Seeing that, Lahan's Brother accuses Maomao of having done something, which she denies.
Jinshi and his entourage depart, with the people of the western capital satisfied with their new leader, Shikyou. While speaking to Chue, Maomao notices Junjie helping with Lakan’s seasickness. Hulan, under Chue's care and having pledged himself to the Moon Prince, tries to deny getting Maomao kidnapped, to her displeasure. Avoiding Hulan, Maomao then climbs up to a lookout platform, but is met by Jinshi, who also climbed to the platform for the same reason. They discuss how the royal capital will be once they come back.
Jinshi brushes Maomao's hands and allows himself a small kiss on her cheek. Maomao, thinking of Chue's advice, internally admits her feelings for Jinshi, but is unable to say it out loud. She realizes that Lahan's Brother is not on the ship, and neither knows his real name. By the time they do, Lahan's Brother has long been stranded in the western province.
Characters[]
Characters in italics debuted here.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
edit to right of the section title.External links[]
edit to right of the section title.- Hero Bunko (𝒉ヒーロー文庫) - 薬屋のひとりごと １２
- Digital purchase
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- In English: Search Amazon.com for The Apothecary Diaries 12 (Light Novel) Kindle Edition
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Maomao's Notebook |
| Season 1 Ep.1 • Ep.2 • Ep.3 • Ep.4 • Ep.5 • Ep.6 • Ep.7 • Ep.8 • Ep.9 • Ep.10 • Ep.11 • Ep.12 • |
| Season 1 physical media Blu-ray Vol.1 • Blu-ray Vol.2 • Blu-ray Vol.3 • Blu-ray Vol.4 |
| Season 2
Ep.25 • Ep.26 • Ep.27 • Ep.28 • Ep.29 • Ep.30 • Ep.31 • Ep.32 • Ep.33 • Ep.34 • Ep.35 • Ep.36 • |
| Season 2 physical media Blu-ray Vol.1 • Blu-ray Vol.2 • Blu-ray Vol.3 • Blu-ray Vol.4 |