A synopsis and preview images for episode 50 of The Apothecary Diaries, titled "Hinezumi no Kawagoromo" (火鼠の皮衣), were released ahead of the episode's October 9, 2026 broadcast, according to Anime Anime. The Japanese title translates roughly as "the fire rat's fur robe."
In the episode, Maomao visits a market on the main street to buy a padded cotton jacket for Chou-u to wear. While she looks over the goods at a secondhand clothing shop, Chou-u, who has come along with her, takes an interest in a white robe hanging on the wall. It has ivy-like embroidery on the sleeves and resembles the clothing of a foreign people. The shopkeeper identifies it as the fire rat's fur robe and starts to tell a legend attached to the garment, about a beautiful celestial maiden who disappeared into a lake.
Episode 50 is scheduled to air October 9 across Japan on 30 stations of the Nippon TV network in the FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT block. The third season began October 2, 2026, in a Friday 11 p.m. JST slot and is split into two cours, the first in October 2026 and the second in April 2027. Episodes are also scheduled to stream on each platform in turn after they air.