Hina doesn't want to become a man

"You can treat it?!"

Dill rubbed his chin, looking skeptical.

"Isn't your doctorate in history?"

A history PhD who was proficient in medicine?

"Wait a moment."

Robin jogged back to her room and soon returned with a book.

"Muscle fish constantly synthesize muscle inside their bodies. To keep excessive muscle from burdening their bodies, they evolved a toxin that dissolves muscle."

She turned to a page in the book and read:

"When a person eats this fish, the toxin enters the human body along with it;

once the body's muscle mass reaches a certain level, the toxin activates, dissolving the muscles;

because humans cannot constantly synthesize muscle, this toxin is fatal to them.

Note: this toxin is affected by male hormones, which increase its biological activity, causing muscle to dissolve faster."

Dill looked astonished.

"Where did you get that book?"

"I found it at the last port."

Robin spoke proudly, then turned another page and read aloud:

"Note 1: this toxin's natural enemy is the apple. There is no need to have eaten one recently. Anyone who has ever eaten an apple will no longer become infected with this virus;

the earliest cases occurred on a certain winter island with no apples, resulting in fifty-seven deaths from muscle dissolution."

"Note 2: muscles that have already dissolved will not recover directly. If you are unfortunate enough to become infected with this virus, eat an apple immediately!"

"We don't have anything to do anyway. Could we stay here a few more days and have someone deliver apples?"

"Of course!"

Dill nodded and agreed without hesitation. Waiting another five days at most would be no trouble.

Besides, it might not even take five days. Bege could be closer.

Buru buru buru~

Click~

"It's me..."

"I have important business to attend to. Don't call me for the next few days."

Click~

The call was quickly cut off. Dill scratched his head helplessly. It looked like he would still have to wait five days.

Since Bege was no help, he could only rely on the ships from Cologne Island.

That was his home base, after all, and all the important people there were under his control.

Karin answered the call and agreed without the slightest hesitation.

After hanging up again, Dill loosened his clothes and said to Robin:

"I'll go take a bath first. Go explain things to Sally and the others."

"Okay!"

Robin nodded and jogged over to Sally.

The latter was currently on deck.

"Grechi, get down from the sail! That's not a place for you to play!"

"Shaki, put down that gun! It's dangerous! Don't point it at Sharin!"

Seeing something as novel as a ship for the first time, the children were all excited, touching this and inspecting that, giving Sally a terrible headache.

"I hope they don't make Mr. Dill angry."

She sighed helplessly, only hoping Dill and the others would be a little more tolerant and not throw these little brats into the sea.

"Miss Sally, there's hope for you!"

Robin came up beside her and held up the book in her hand.

"Look here!"

Sally smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Sorry, I can't read."

This was a primeval forest. Naturally, she had never had the means to learn to read.

Robin could only read it aloud for her again.

As the clear, pleasant voice rang out beside her, Sally's expression gradually shifted from embarrassment to wild joy.

Their Moriju Clan could be saved!

The children wouldn't have to leave, either!

Not all the children were willing to leave their homes behind.

Quite a few had stubbornly insisted on staying here, and Sally and the others had only gotten them aboard by using force and tying them up.

Once all the adults like them had died, a bunch of half-grown children staying in the forest would simply be courting death.

Now things were looking up. Once the adults recovered, they could change those male soldiers back to their original sex.

Although their dissolved muscles would not recover directly, after a period of training, they would have no trouble establishing themselves in the forest again.

Her smile suddenly stiffened a little as she remembered their lives before.

The entire Morisou Tribe had not only lacked the concept of family, but even the concept of a mother.

Baby boys were taken away by the men, while baby girls were raised collectively by all the women.

"Miss Robin, please take this away!"

She gritted her teeth, pulled Morisou's Favor out of her fourth-dimensional pocket, and placed it in Robin's hands.

Then she turned around and took a deep breath to ease her reluctance to part with it.

"What is this?"

Robin toyed with the green crystal, casually pressing it against Hina's forehead.

"This is the root of the turmoil in our Moriju Clan."

With her back to Robin and Hina, Sally recounted the tragedy of the Morisou Tribe's women in a low voice.

Morisou's Favor was the symbol of the chief. By giving it away, she would undoubtedly become a sinner of the Moriju Clan.

But she knew very well that this thing was the root of all the discrimination.

This was a primitive tribe that revered only strength, and men were naturally stronger than women.

The ability to switch freely between sexes had made the Moriju Clan's women dispensable.

Even if all the women suddenly disappeared, the remaining men could select the weak from among themselves and turn them into women to continue reproducing.

Only by getting rid of Morisou's Favor could women regain their standing, then go on to shine in various roles after gaining that standing.

Until a minute later.

"Aaaah!!!"

A scream rang out across the deck, its pitch shifting from shrill to deep and rough.

Sally hurriedly turned to look and discovered that Hina had already become a boy.

The little mounds on her chest had become completely flat, an Adam's apple protruded from her smooth neck, and her delicate fingers had become thick and strong.

"Wh... what is this?!"

Hina looked utterly distraught. She covered her face and crouched down, sobbing in a muffled voice:

"Hina doesn't want to become a man!"

"You can change back! You can change back!"

Sally hurriedly explained,

"Just hold Morisou's Favor against your forehead for another minute!"

Another minute later, Hina stood up sobbing and retreated at the speed of light, putting distance between herself and the green disc in Robin's hand.

Robin held Morisou's Favor helplessly, feeling a little tempted to give it back to Sally.

Like Hina, she did not want to become a boy.

"The change only happens if you keep it against your forehead for a full minute. Holding it in your hand won't change you."

Only then did Robin breathe a sigh of relief and put it in her pocket.

"Since your illness can be treated, there's no need to send everyone away. Take these children back first. We don't have that many rooms on our ship."

Although quite a few of these children were older than her, she felt no awkwardness whatsoever calling them children.

She had always been rather precocious, and now, after more than two years on the run, she was far more mature than these children.

After a whole day of commotion, night was almost upon them.

And there were nearly a hundred of these children. Unless they slept on the floor, the ship simply could not accommodate them.

Sally nodded, agreeing with Robin's suggestion, then spoke again:

"Although I feel a little embarrassed to ask, I still hope you can take some of the children with you."

"Not everyone wants to leave, and likewise, not everyone wants to stay."