May still needed to stay in the hospital for a while. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, few patients bitten by ticks contracted marine dengue fever, but as luck would have it, the tick that bit May happened to carry that very pathogenic strain. On the night May was admitted to the ICU, she began running a fever. Fortunately, being in the ICU meant she received very prompt treatment, though she would still need to remain in the hospital for some time afterward. Norman had specifically spoken to Heath about this: May would not be able to continue traveling with Heath for the time being, but once her treatment was over, she could return and continue learning from him. Heath fully agreed. After all, May was very weak now, and taking some time to recover would be good for her.
"The Food Truck really does feel a little empty without May." Heath returned to the Food Truck. With Norman and Mitsuko helping, May at least had no shortage of people to look after her, so Heath had come back. Of course, this also had something to do with the significant improvement in May's condition. If she were still doing terribly, Heath certainly would not have left. Now, aside from needing quiet rest and some follow-up antiviral treatment, May had no other problems, so Heath had finally dared to leave the hospital and return to the Food Truck.
Still, having grown used to May's endless questions every day, Heath really did feel a little lonely with her gone, unsure what he should do. Fortunately, he soon thought of what he needed to do: finish what he had left undone in Fuchsia City. He had yet to finish working with the city's local specialty ingredient, and there was still time to do