Vol 2 Chapter 13 (1/2)

Chapter 2 Episode 13

Threat

In the middle of the night. I left the inn alone and ran through the dark path.

It’s so dark visibility is next to zero but with the feedback of the wind it’s not a problem.

The reason I left in the middle of the night like this is to guarantee s.p.a.ce in the 【Item Box】.

Now, in the item box there are about one hundred goats. Each weighing around 30kg, to an overall weight of 3000kg. That leaves about 1000kg of free s.p.a.ce.

There’s not enough s.p.a.ce for the ingredients and clothes we’ll get tomorrow. I had to return to Elucie and release the goats.

「Nevertheless, as expected of the city of commerce Erin, there’s lots of delicious stuff」

Today’s dinner was amazing. Beef stew made with a tomato base demi-glace sauce and bread with a lot of b.u.t.ter. Aside from a fresh salad made with eggs and bacon.

As expected cow is delicious. The meat, of course, but the milk is also better than goat’s. I want to raise them in Elucie, but the cost performance is really bad. The necessary food for one day would be so much that not to mention the leftovers even the entire grain production of Elucie would not be enough. Not to mention they are weak to cold and get sick easily so that would take even more resources. No matter what raising cattle seems impossible.

On the bread side, the wheat was threshed very well so the quality was pretty good. Because of the b.u.t.ter and eggs the taste was also better than what we have at Elucie.

A fresh salad is also such a luxury in Elucie that you can hardly ever eat.

While the food was so, the best thing in tonight’s dinner was without a doubt the cider (alcohol made from apples). Elves and firefoxes are races that like alcohol on the genetic level so we all got very excited.

After a little longer, we’ll be able to make alcohol in Elucie. After that everyday life will get pretty good.

「I need to restock the private funds on my wallet. I don’t really want to but should I sell the knife? It looks like only the Empire can match the manufacturing process so it should fetch a high price」

This time, aside from lodging, all other expenses like food and entertainment were paid by me.

I could call it official business, but for a more emotional reason I can’t take the money from Elucie’s funds.

Despite saying that, I don’t want to sell weapons made from iron. If I disregard making a specialty product for Elucie as a bother, and ma.s.s produce weapons with all the iron I can get my hands on and sell everything at Erin, we can probably make enough money for everyone in Elucie to live comfortably for several years.

However, in case I die. Elucie will instantly turn into a frail ent.i.ty.

While thinking these things, I approach the woods near Elucie.

This place is very steep so elves don’t use it as a hunting ground. Normally no one comes here.

「Gotta make a fence surrounding it」

I stretch barbed wire around the trees surrounding me. It covers a radius of about 100 resulting in a huge cage in using the woods.

Living beings with a certain amount of intelligence can enter it easily, but things like goats, deers and boars can’t get in from outside or get out from inside.

I make sure there are no animals that could hurt the goats inside the barbed wire I prepared beforehand and so I can release the goats safely.

Then I build two large brick animal pens inside the area and enter one.

「【Reincarnation Recall】, Deet. 【Item Box】」

After entering the pen I quickly use【Reincarnation Recall】to change to Deet and 【Item Box】to release the goats in state of apparent death.

After doing that, I immediately return from Deet to Cyril.

After all I have to return to Erin shortly. If I don’t keep the time as Deet as short as possible later the recoil will be rough.

Then, I run electricity through their hearts and forcibly bring them back to life.

「Baaaa」

「Baaaaaaaa」

One by one the bewildered goats rise let out cries and trash about. But since the door to the pen is closed they can’t get out.

After finis.h.i.+ng waking up the goats, I enter the other pen.

There I leave a large quant.i.ty of maple leaves to dry in the sun in a manner that they won’t spoil.

I made the women and children of Elucie to gather these maple leaves together with the cranberry. Not to make compost, but to guarantee feed for the goats.

Of course, if you release the goats on the woods even in the winter when there’s no food, they’ll dig up and eat roots and the bark of tree so they will not die from hunger.

But that will leave lasting damage on the trees. To prevent that we need some extent of food.

「I also have to teach them to return to the pen」

I put some of the maple leaves into feed bins I had prepared in the pen with the goats. The goats start to eat away the leaves.

Goats are clever things, they will remember where there’s food.

If they remember that this pen is a warm place suitable for sleep, and that they can easily get food here. Even if they are released they will return here.

「It will be the firefoxes job from tomorrow on, have to teach them right」

Firstly, first thing in the morning they have to milk the goats in the pen. After that they have to get the goats out to exercise and forage. Then they have to clean and replace the water and food in the pen. Then on the evening they have to gather the scattered about goats and lead them into the pen and close the doors.

Other than that, they will have to use heat to sterilize the milk and divide it up between everyone. Also help with childbirth, mating and strangling the goat’s who stop giving milk. Shear and gather the fur, there are several different things to do.

「They seem motivated so it’ probably all right」

For today i’ll fill the water and food and close the doors by myself. With this the firefoxes will go from being neets to productive members of the village.

Right now they only gather mushrooms at the forest and making lard and sauce. They can’t make enough lard or sauce to distribute to all the elves so they left spa.r.s.e impression so far.

But, if they if the deliver goat milk everyday to the elves homes, the elves should recognize their efforts.

Doing that I left Elucie and went back to Erin.

「Good morning, Cyril」

I rub my eyes.

While doing that, Lucie who woke up earlier greets me.

「Good morning, Lucie. Did you sleep well?」

「Yes ,the bed is really soft. It’s amazing! Totally different from the beds back in the village」

Saying that Lucie jumps into the bed and her small body sinks into the soft bed.

This causes Kuu who was still asleep to fly off the bed and she opens her eyes in mid air.

「Munya, hyau!? What’s going on!?」

She sits with her legs to sides and looks around.

「Ah, Kuu-chan i’m sorry」

「Eh, ah, right. ….. We came to Erin yesterday. Good morning Cyril-kun, Lucie-chan」

Kuu, looking like she forgot we came here while still half asleep shakes of her confusion and returns to her usual older sister expression.

「Kuu, it’s fine to put air like an older sister but you still have bed hair 」

「Eh? No way! It’s true. Hauu this is embarra.s.sing」

Kuu pets the hair on her tail and desperately tries to settle it.

「You starting there?」

「What?」

「No, nevermind」

While I’m coming to terms with that, Kuu goes Yes! and keeps working on her tail until she’s satisfied.

「Well then, get dressed the two of you. After finis.h.i.+ng breakfast we’ll go shopping. There’s a lot to buy so we have to finish in the morning so day deliver in the afternoon. That’ around the time the clothes we ordered yesterday should arrive so we’ll get them and return to Elucie」

「Okay, understood Cyril」

「Then, let’s get dressed and go down. …… Cyril-kun, you want to det dressed? 」

「Yeah, so please hurry up」

Lucie and Kuu are both wearing thin pajamas lent by the inn. The inn costs 2 gold(12.000yen) a day but their service is up to par, the clothes we were wearing yesterday were already washed and delivered.

「What’s wrong Kuu, you won’t change?」

Lucie undressed naturally and put on her clothes.

We grew up like siblings so changing clothes it’s not anything to be concerned about.

I start to change as well.

「Erm, you are not a little embarra.s.sed or something?」

「But it’s just changing clothes?」

「But, Cyril is here」

Kuu seems to be a little confused as how naturally we start to change.

「That’s right, it’s just changing clothes」

Then, while still embarra.s.sed the sight of Kuu’s changing clothes enter my field of vision.

The main point is that she’s right at the edge of my field of vision. If I look directly a her she’ll get conscious and probably hate me.

Then, after looking at me and seeing that nothing changed she relaxed and started changing.

Yes, a sight for sore eyes. While imprinting their beautiful skin on my eyes the morning goes by.

「Wow, it’s so lively!」

「I don’t know where to look!」

The three of us go to the city. We are overwhelmed with a number of enthusiastic people that can’t be compared to yesterday.

We walk around while snacking on sandwiches.

Since we didn’t have enough time to eat breakfast I asked the inn staff to bring us sandwiches.

The egg sandwiches made with mustard and tomato puree are superb. It’s enough to make we want to live here.

The market in the early morning, is more focused not on individual shoppers but more on other merchants. It’s filled with people who want to buy large quant.i.ties at smaller prices. We can’t lose to them.

「For a while now, you’ve been writing things down very fiercely. What are you writing Cyril?」

「I’m creating a diagram of the locations in this city」

「That’s for checking the prices on the stores and buy the at cheapest one no matter by how much?」

「That as well, but instead of checking where it’s cheaper, i’m focusing on how much each kind of merchandise is going for overall. 」

Lucie and Kuu, tilt their head at my response.

They can’t imagine how much today’s shopping affects my plans.

「Today we came to buy, but next time I want to come here to sell. Seeing what is being sold at which prices is something we must know. If we make something that takes a lot of work to make but only sells for little, won’t that be bad? We have to make things that sell for a lot」

That’s the biggest principle in business. If you start selling without knowing the tendencies of the market, only ruin awaits you.

「It’s fine to bring expensive things but won’t they not sell because it’s expensive?」

「Everything is different, but something that everyone wants, but there’s little of will become expensive. So even if it’s expensive since people want it, it’s not hard to sell」

It’s irrational, but it’s how things work.

「Take a look that as for example」

I point to a well built merchant holding a leather bag with both hands and speaking with a loud voice.

「Today’s main attraction! Sugar from beyond the seas! One bag only one gold! You’ll not find cheaper than this anywhere!」

「Gimme three bags!」

「I want five!」

The price is very high but the sugar sells like a joke.

Look like each bag should hold about 500g. Even then it’s probably mixed so the quant.i.ty is diluted.