CH 34 - Day 48 of Spring
48th day of spring
A quiet tap when it rained.
The slow chirping of a bird.
The whisper of the wind moving the fallen leaves.
If it was a quiet situation where there was no such sound, the body had time to react on its own.
Okay.
Most of the time, I woke up with those things in the morning.
“Nice to meet you!”
“Uh… Hello?”
It was an unfamiliar situation.
A lively girl greeted me outside the house.
The low sound coming from my locked throat came out darkly, as if it was digging underground.
I craned my neck, trying to regain my voice.
A person I never thought I would meet in this town was standing in front of me.
A cute little girl with red hair tied into pigtails.
It was Stacey.
Sure enough, there were several soldiers and a person named Fred, who appeared to be a butler, standing next to them.
Was it because of their mood that the soldiers looked exhausted from the harsh wind in the early morning?
Fred’s eyes also looked quite dark. It was sad to see dark circles deep down.
“It’s been a while! How have you been?”
“Well then. I’ve been well. How have you been too?”
“Of course! I spent my time eating sweet fruits!”
My ears hurt.
The thought that no one could match the cheerfulness of a high-tension little child passed through my mind.
It seemed like there were three or four exclamation marks in every conversation.
“How did you come here at this hour?”
“Ah! I came here just to see you again after a long time! Fruits have become so popular that my father sent me to do more business if I could!”
“Oh. Really?”
“Talk to Fred for more details!”
Stacey brought Fred to the forefront with a confident voice.
If this was going to be the case, wouldn’t it have been okay to just send Fred?
It was impossible to say that in front of a brightly smiling little girl, so I just smiled sheepishly.
“Would you like some fruit?”
“Oh! Is there any left? I’ll buy it!”
“It’s free today. The owner is generous.”
“Then I’ll be grateful and eat well!”
Stacey’s mouth was never bored with her fruit.
She looked cute biting into it.
The way she spoke resembled an authoritative old man, but her actions were like that of a child.
How on earth did this strange combination come about? I had my doubts.
“I’m sorry for coming to see you so early in the morning.”
Just because the host was serving the owner didn’t mean the butler was strange.
I bowed my head slightly to Fred’s polite greeting.
At the same time, Fred’s eyes turned to Stacey.
Okay. There were things you could know without even looking.
That seemed to be the case in this instance.
Wouldn’t the foolishness of the pushy girl have led this group to this place at this time?
“It’s okay.”
“hmm…”
Fred took a short deep breath and continued.
Wherever you went, salaried workers suffered.
In this case, would it be correct to call him a secretary? It seemed as if the joys and sorrows of life were contained in his sigh.
“To begin with, Minho’s crops are gaining popularity among noble families.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“Yes. That’s a good thing.”
That was a good thing.
The silence that followed was quite tense.
I probably didn’t come all the way here just to receive compliments early in the morning.
“I think Minho knows about nobles too.”
“Yes. I know a little bit.”
“Not all nobles are like our lord. Some are authoritative, violent, and rude. Just as each person is different.”
“Yes.”
“We try not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. However, the foolish nobles may be different. We will try to hide Minho’s information, but there are things in the world that cannot be achieved by just trying.”
“Do you mean that such people may visit often?”
“It won’t be frequent. They may come and make threats, or act abusively. Some may come with good intentions, but I don’t know. If they find out that Minho is not a nobleman, there will be those who try to take advantage of their status. It could get worse.”
“Hmm…”
“So, do you have any plans to officially supply crops to the royal family? If you open a deal with them, no one will be able to easily interfere with Minho.”
“I wish I could do that.”
“It is said that Princess 1 is paying close attention to Minho’s crops. It’s thanks to her recognizing the value of good produce.”
“Oh.”
“You will have to go to the capital directly, but it won’t be a very arduous journey.”
Fred smiled and handed me a letter.
“This is the princess’s formal invitation to you.”
“It’s an honor.”
“The person with noble blood wrote an invitation to a farmer. If possible, please keep this letter from becoming widely known.”
“Is this a letter that would be embarrassing if it became known?”
“That’s not the case. It could become a political issue. There are bound to be groups who will attack even the smallest thing.”
“Hmm.”
“I hope you respond wisely.”
“Okay. Then let’s move on to the next story.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you come to further the deal? Did you only come to hand over the princess’s letter?”
“Ah. Haha. When I heard about the deal with the royal family, I thought there wouldn’t be any further transactions with us. It seemed like you wouldn’t have any free time.”
“Well, I just need to make room for it. Above all, this is the place that first recognized the value of my crops.”
“Thank you.”
“Is Kingsbury okay?”
“It was wonderful. It’s one of the reasons the princess fell in love with it.”
“It was very delicious!”
Stacey’s voice broke into our conversation.
Before I knew it, she had eaten all the fruit, and juice was glistening around her mouth.
“Minho, you have talent! You are a genius itself!”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You can believe me! Minho, you are the best farmer I’ve ever seen!”
Stacey pounded her chest, showing off her confidence.
That sight was so funny that a snickering sound escaped my mouth.
“Is it okay if we keep the transaction as is for now? Thank you for your kind words, but I think it is right to adjust it based on the volume of transactions with the royal family. There are times when they secretly assert their authority over trivial things like this.”
“Are you saying it would be difficult if the transaction volume was greater than that of the royal family?”
“It’s not confirmed, but it could be possible.”
Fred laughed bitterly.
I had a feeling that even nobles and the upper world must be exhausted.
Were they even considering every single thing like this?
“Let’s go then.”
“It comes and goes briefly.”
“Delivering royal letters is important.”
Fred bowed his head.
Stacey was smiling brightly, as if she was very pleased. Was it because she had eaten the fruit?
Despite her tone, she was a very cheerful girl.
“Miss! It’s time to go back!”
“I understand!”
A young voice with a noble tone.
I felt like I was slowly getting used to the oddly mismatched incongruity, and I watched them leave.
Expectations were high due to the unique news.
It was a letter from the princess.
What was the content?
I tore the letter open and read its contents.
[To the farmer who grows crops.
Your musk melon and kingsberry were excellent.
Rightly so.
Good things have to come to the capital and the royal family.
Come to the capital.
I will try to open up good opportunities for you.]
Fold the letter back into the luxuriously wrapped stationery.
The content itself was no different.
Come to the capital.
Was there an event like this?
If you think about it, it flows in a completely different way from the game.
It was a good opportunity for me.
Except for the fact that it took quite a long time to get to the capital, it was a business with no losses.
Since it is the royal family, the price will be high.
Even now, I’m pretty comfortable financially, but there’s nothing wrong with having a lot of gold.
As long as you don’t run out of money, it’s always beneficial to have a lot of gold.
As I look at the reverberation of the person who swept away the morning, I pick up a watering can.
No matter what, my morning routine always starts out the same way.
The only thing missing is planting seeds here.
I moisten the ground with water, hoping that the crops growing now will be well received.
To leave for the capital, you need more mithril sprinklers.
Because the size of the field has increased slightly, approximately five or six more sprinklers must be installed for the crops to grow properly when left for a long period of time.
Although the number of stones collected through mining was considerable, the minerals were used up, so there was no choice but to mine again. In particular, there is a shortage of mithril.
However, it is a bit difficult to rush to the mine today.
This is because there is still work left to do to build a chicken coop.
Collect stones and wood and take a miniature from the crafting table.
I throw it in a similar position as yesterday and watch the blue transparent blueprint drawn as a hologram.
The tools are the same as yesterday.
The materials required were less than yesterday, so the work was easier than expected.
Cutting down trees, splitting stones and shaping them.
Once a similar shape is created, it is placed in the position requested by the hologram.
There is no particular clicking noise, but the sight of it fitting together creates auditory hallucinations in my ears.
I was very fortunate that construction progressed in this way. Easy and simple.
Continue with tasks that are not difficult.
It gives me a sense of accomplishment that the architecture that is being built one by one in real time comes from me.
“Whew.”
Wiping away the sweat, I gaze intently at the almost completed chicken coop.
Chickens will be living here full of life now.
A lot of time has passed while I was working.
I’m starting to feel hungry because I skipped meals while working.
Suddenly, the jewel-encrusted fish in my bag came to mind.
I was wondering if I could eat this, so I took it out of the bag.
Five-colored, brilliant scales.
A red jewel embedded in the head.
I think it lives up to its name.
It looks like it won’t taste good, but first take a knife and cut into the flesh.
Since it was a rare ingredient, I thought it would at least raise my cooking level.
If it’s delicious, I have the heart to cook it properly and share it with the people in the surrounding villages.
The scales are neatly removed, and the jewels on the head are also extracted.
Good cooking skills will help you with your knife skills.
The knife cuts through the bone and cuts off the flesh, revealing its white appearance beautifully.
“Hmm…”
I let out a deep moan as I tasted each piece.
Just because something is rare doesn’t mean it’s delicious.
Taste a piece of flesh and gently place it back in the bag.
If we had held a party like we did with the three salmon fish, a terrible situation would have occurred.
Rainbow scales and extracted gems. He takes out the meat from the bag, keeping only the ruby.
Take out the bread and onions as well.
Change the menu. Today’s dinner was a simple hamburger.
Gather the patties and place them on the frying pan.
Basically, as your activity level increases, the amount you eat naturally increases.
Place four patties in a large frying pan and cook until sizzling.
It was a shame that the fire power couldn’t be adjusted because it was a bonfire, but I wish there was a frying pan.
Cut the bread and bake it, and cook the onions in the remaining meat oil.
The hamburger is ready only when the onions turn brown and mushy and concentrate their flavor.
There was no sauce, but the fresh ingredients were enough.
Meat grains bursting with juice and chewing.
The unique sweetness and umami of onions.
The balance that bread provides.
It was a simple but perfect burger for me.
After eating, I wash the dishes and clean up after myself.
Today was also a fruitful day.
Although it was a bit of a deduction in points for throwing away rare fish instead of selling them.
The capital of the kingdom. I had the opportunity to visit the royal family.
A new journey. I am once again excited about the opportunity to explore.
As a result, my thoughts naturally turn to the warp device.
I opened the mod and didn’t even try it because the required materials were too strict.
I will have to work hard to gather materials when I go to the mine to prepare for this trip.
The materials required for warp devices were enormous.
First, 20 gems of any type.
1500 stones.
150 iron ingots.
150 gold bars.
70 mithril ingots.
10 Orichalkongoes.
5 ether iron ingots.
These were materials that I would eventually obtain if I were to live stuck in the mine’s end.
These were materials that would be extremely difficult to make right away under the current circumstances.
This is especially true for ether ingots and orichalcon ingots.
Orichalcon was an extremely hard mineral that could only be obtained when you reached the end of the mine.
Ether Ingots could be obtained by opening an item called Ether Enchantment.
The help of magic and alchemy is absolutely necessary.
For now, I need to gather materials before I can even attempt it, so I put off expanding my house for a while and aim to go deep into the mine while collecting mithril.
“This is the beginning of full-fledged light quality.”
Encampment.
This happened often in games. As I get older, I often sleep outside rather than at home.
I guess it’s no different in reality.
Dungeons, mines, exploration, adventure.
Camping with a tent anywhere has become a very familiar thing.
In particular, there were quite a few cases of sleeping in mines or dungeons.
This is because there are no convenience systems such as elevators or stairs.
It would be nice to go back and forth in one day, but then it would be difficult to find good ingredients.
In the end, it takes a long time to get into the deep end.
Safety devices must be installed, but it wasn’t that scary.
It was something I had to go through at some point anyway.
The night of the 48th day ended like that.