103-093 Hem parting (1)

Fascinated by the fish and crabs, we continued fishing until the very last minute on the last day, and left the river after a hasty lunch. Because of our persistence, we drove all the way home and reached the city just as the sun was setting.

After three full days of fishing, we had enough landlocked salmon to spare, so we split up and gave two fish each to Tommy and Ganz, and Diora and Aella. 　

It was a little late, but since we were keeping the magic bag a secret, Haruka went around handing out the frozen ones. It would be suspicious if we brought too much fresh food tomorrow or later.

Incidentally, I haven't told Tommy about the magic bag either, in order to avoid any trouble.

If it was just Tommy, I could have made him a magic bag, but considering the possibility that other classmates might be in town, I decided to keep it a secret from everyone except the party members.

If I made it for them as well, it would spread endlessly, and if I refused, they might resent me and cause trouble.

It would be better to keep it a secret at all than to let that happen.

I ended up catching about five of the Great Salamanders I had been commissioned to get, but I kept one of them and delivered the rest to the guild.

The total cost was about 200 gold coins.

They are quite expensive, but apparently they are good enough to sell to vain nobles.

According to Diora, the landlocked salmon would be worth two or three large silver coins if we sold them, but since we were not in any particular financial trouble, and since we had them for our own use, we kept all of them in our magic bag except for the ones we shared.

A couple of large silver coins for one fish may seem a bit high, but when you consider the size of the fish (about 30 centimeters) and the fact that it's not much more expensive than other food, it's ...... not too expensive.

Even in Japan, the price of fish can be quite expensive, and considering the level of adventurers who can safely go fishing, it may be a bit cheaper.

However, it is not always (・・・・・) possible to buy fish for that price (・・・・).

In Japan, most things can be bought at supermarkets, and even if not, you can get them by mail order. In Japan, you can buy most things in supermarkets, and even if you don't have it, you can get it by mail order. But here, you can't always find what you want in stores, and of course there is no easy mail order.

If you really want something, you can ask an adventurer for it, but that won't cost you more than a few large silver coins.

In such a case, you might want to think carefully about what you sell.

You may want to think carefully about what you are selling, because the value may not be equal to the difficulty of obtaining it.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea.

The next day at breakfast, Yuki said, "I think I'll go to Simon's and bring him some fish for lunch, what do you want to do?

At breakfast the next day, Yuki asked me this question, and Toya and I looked at each other.

Simon was the carpenter who was building our house, and he was also the old man who was in charge of Aella's store.

He must be very skilled, because he was able to complete such a large store just by listening to a suspicious consultant.

Since he was indebted to them for helping him make the trap, he decided to serve them a fish dish to encourage them to build the house.

But if they find out that they can catch the Great Salamander, more adventurers might go out to catch it.

"I don't like that. I don't like the idea of that. Crabs and shrimps are delicious.

Toya frowned a little at my words.

I may be a little selfish, but I agree with him.

I didn't tell Simon that it was a trap, so I think it's safe.　Maybe he'll think it's a carrying box.

"A carrying box. ......

The trap I used was a long, narrow wooden box with a hole in it.

It's not a strange shape if you think of it as a way to shove a frozen Great Salamander and ice into it.

The hole is for draining the melted ice and the vertical shape is for carrying it on your back. ......?

In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.

It's easy to forget that we have three wizards, but only a few of us can use magic. There are even fewer who can produce ice or freeze an object.

In the first place, a wizard of that level can earn enough money without having to become a dangerous adventurer.

If you think about it that way, you don't have to worry too much about competition.

I'm not opposed to serving you fish if you've taken care of me, but you've been on vacation for quite a while, haven't you?　Don't you have to work?

"Hmm, but I did catch a nice Great Salamander.

It was a vacation in terms of mood, but in terms of income, we're working, aren't we?

That's true.

Do you think that each of us earns several tens of thousands of yen a day?

I didn't train while I was fishing, but today I've been doing my daily training before breakfast, so I don't feel slowed down.

And I'm still trying to figure out what to do next. What do you think, Nao?

Normally we would move to the south forest, right?

Yeah. Without hunting orcs.

The southern forest is said to be more dangerous than the eastern forest, but in reality, there are no enemies stronger than orcs. However, the encounter rate with demons is higher, so if you only consider that, the danger level is higher than if you were gathering in the outer edges of the Eastern Forest.

The most common species are goblins, hobgoblins, and their higher forms, which you will encounter even if you don't go too deep into the forest.

There are also "Branch Eater Spiders" and "Slash Owls".

According to the book, these monsters are a little tricky to deal with, but they won't be much of a threat to us.

However, all of these demons are not good for earning money, because you can only earn money by killing them with magic stones, not by selling their meat like Orcs.

The medicinal herbs that can be gathered are not much different from those in the Eastern Forest, so they are not very useful either.

The main job of adventurers in the Southern Forest is to escort lumberjacks on their way to harvest wood.

The city has a strong demand for wood due to its furniture production, so there are daily requests for these escorts, and the rewards are not bad for a beginner adventurer. The reward is not too bad for a beginner adventurer. You can also get an additional reward if you get a magic stone from the goblin that attacked you.

You can't get rich, but the danger is low, and you can earn enough to pay for your daily lodging and save some money.

But it's not like I'm guarding a woodcutter now. ......

As Toya muttered in frustration, for those of us who had been raking in the dildos and orcs, the amount of money was rather modest. To put it bluntly, it was too cheap to motivate us to work.

In fact, we could make more money hunting boars in the eastern forest, but the problem is that the number of boars is likely to decrease in the coming season.

I wish there was something I could collect that would have a high purchase price. ......

"Hmm, you don't have to worry so much about that, do you?

"Well, you don't have to worry about it so much," Yuki said to a somewhat worried Natsuki.

"Why?

"Because, think about what we have now. Even if you pay for the rest of the house, you'll still have enough money to live on for a year.　You won't need to pay for lodging.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

"Well, ...... has plenty of food and clothing. We have enough food and clothing to maintain and even update our weapons and armor, but that's not enough.

"So you're saying it's fine if we keep things the way they are?　If that's the case, don't you think we should try to improve ourselves without worrying too much about the rewards?　Besides, once we get the house, there are other skills we can use to make money, like alchemy and pharmacy, right?

'...... Come to think of it . If the need arises, we can sell the magic bags and we won't starve.

I'd rather use that as a last resort, but Yuki does have a point.

I've been making money somewhat obsessively due to the lack of a safety net, but now, even if I get sick and have to take some time off, I don't have to worry about being kicked out of the inn or having to worry about food.

Of course, we don't have enough money to retire comfortably, but we are not old enough to worry about that yet.

Even if we have to reduce our reserves a little in the winter, we can still make money in the spring and fall.

In that case, why don't we scout the southern forest today?　It's the first time I've been in the forest, and I think I might be able to make some money there.

"I see. That's not a bad idea.

Tohya agreed to Natsuki's suggestion, and we nodded.

Let's go and have lunch with Simon and the others first. I'm also curious about the condition of the house.

It's been about a week since my last visit.

It had been almost a week since our last visit.

It had been almost a week since our last visit, and the house had changed rapidly.

Externally, the house was almost finished, and now the plaster was being applied to the exterior walls. About half of the plastering is already done, and judging from the number of people working on it and the speed of the work, it will probably be finished by the end of the day.

However, since we can't see the inside of the building including the interior, we can't tell how much progress has been made as a whole.

"Mr. Simon!　Good morning!

"Hey, girls. You're back?

Yuki ran up to Simon, who was supervising the whole thing, and called out to him, and he turned around and narrowed his eyes.

In this world, where people marry quickly, a man of his age would be about the same age as his grandchildren if he were Yuki or us. Perhaps because of this, the way he looked at Yuki and the others was as if he was looking at his grandchildren who were working hard.

"Yes!　I've finished my work safely. The construction seems to be going well, how is it going?

"As you can see, the exterior walls are almost finished. There's one more coat to be applied, but that will be done tomorrow. The inside won't be done for another two weeks.

...... is pretty fast, isn't it?

Oh, we've been blessed with good weather for this time of year. The rest of the work will be done indoors, so I don't think there will be any delays.

If all goes well, it will be finished in a little over a month.

There were three main reasons for the earlier-than-expected completion: first, the ground was stronger than expected.

The first reason was that the ground was stronger than we had expected. We left the details of the shape of the house to Simon, and he was able to use the foundation of the previous house.

Another thing was the advance payment.

The other was the advance payment of 600 gold coins, which allowed them to hire more people and proceed with the work at once.

They laughed at me when I said, "Normally, you would give them money while monitoring the progress. He laughed at me and said, "Normally, you'd hand it over while monitoring the progress. I wasn't directly involved, but Yuki, Haruka and the others must have judged that they could be trusted, and they're actually doing the work without running away with the money.

Last but not least, the weather.

It is said that the weather is prone to breakdowns this time of year, but we have been lucky enough to have overcast skies and a little drizzle, but never enough rain during the day to stop the construction.

So did you come here today to check on the situation?　Or are you doing your usual training?

Oh, no, I just wanted to bring you something simple for lunch. You've been good to me.

"Oh, homemade by the girls?　Well, I'm sure they'll be pleased.

I heard that at one time there were more than ten people working here, but the only ones left are the ones who need the skills, so there are only five of us here today, including Simon. We only need to cook for ten people including us, so it might be easier than I thought.

I'll call you around noon, so good luck with your work!

I'll call you around noon.

Simon patted Yuki on the shoulder and went back to his work.

There was still plenty of time for lunch, but Haruka and the others seemed to have finished the food preparation first, so they took out a large pot and started working.

In the meantime, there's nothing we can do, so we're going to do some training away from here.

"Ah!

What the hell?　What's going on?

I sat down and pointed to a corner of the yard.

"Perfect, I forgot about .......

"Stone?　Oh, that's it!　I had a feeling I was forgetting something!

Tell me!

If I knew, I'd tell you!　I couldn't remember!

"......, right?

I pointed to a pile of rocks that Toya and I had picked up in the meadow about a week ago.

Yes, I had completely forgotten about the garden stones we were supposed to collect from the mountain stream.

The fishing went so well that we caught a Great Salamander and a lot of crabs and shrimps. I was so satisfied that I forgot the reason why I wanted to go there.

"What are you going to do? Are we going back?

'...... on hold. I'll think about it when we're out of fish and crabs.

I don't need anything right now.

Gardening is just a hobby.

If you don't care about appearance, you don't need rocks for a vegetable garden.

"Hey, I was just wondering, can't you make blocks out of earth magic?　There are stone missiles, right?

It's not impossible, but Yuki is the only one who can use earth magic.

What about Nao?　What about Nao? She's an elf, right?

...... is not impossible.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. I'm not sure what to say.

But I've never practiced anything but space-time magic and fire magic.

I'm getting used to manipulating magic, so I think I have a chance, but I'm not sure how long it will take me to make a block. .......

"Well, good luck. You can't blame Yuki for your own misdeeds, can you?

You're just as guilty as I am!

I can't even use magic!

You can't put this on Yuki! I know it's a joke, but it still makes me want to kill him.

"d*mn, you're a brainiac.

Hahaha, I won't deny it.

Deny it. You're not a brainiac, you know. You just can't do magic.

You're not a brainiac, you know. He's not in the top group like Haruka and the others, but he and I were at the top of our class.

"It's a tribal problem, it can't be helped!

"Well, ......, I'll do my best. I'm sure you'll be able to find something to help you.　The appraisal skill is almost certainly affected by your own knowledge, right?

"Yeah. It's probably not going to level up if you use it a lot.

It seems that Toya has been repeatedly appraising every single thing he sees for quite a while, yet his [Appraisal] level has not changed from the initial 2.

What we can expect from this is the possibility that the [Appraisal] skill does not level up just by using it.

On the other hand, if Toya increases her knowledge by doing research in the guild, the information displayed in the appraisal will also change. If this is the case, it is easy to imagine that her own knowledge will have an effect.

So, shall we read the Demon Encyclopedia?

"Yeah, do that. I'm going to work in the dirt.

While Toya lay down on the ground and began to read elegantly, I sat down on the ground, gathered up some soil, and began to practice passing magic power through it.