187-170 Food shortages?

It's been a week.

When I visited Gantz's store again, I found that the rest of the armor had been completed.

When I put it on and made the final adjustments, I found that it was made of high quality materials and was easier to move than ever.

Since it was to be worn over chainmail, it was designed to be supple and shock-absorbent, yet it would not be cut by inferior blades and was sufficiently resistant to stabbing.

Handcuffs, shin guards, knee pads, etc. emphasize hardness.

Although they are made of the same leather, their properties seem to vary greatly depending on the processing method and auxiliary materials, and this one has such a high level of protection that it doesn't hurt at all even if you hit it with a hammer.

The glove is the one that has become the most useful in a humble way.

The glove is made to fit each person's hand perfectly, and can be used for detailed work that would have required taking it off in the past, and its blade resistance is such that there is no problem grabbing an ordinary knife.

Considering the fact that the other armor is only for insurance purposes and is usually useless, this glove will be the most useful.

I'm sure it will wear out, but I still have some Dahl's Bear leather on hand, so I can have it made again.

I was quite satisfied with the boots I received last time, but the only drawback is the cost.

The total cost for all of us would be enough to build a house. This is despite the fact that we brought in the leather for Dahl's Bear.

As usual, weapons and armor are really expensive.

However, it's not worth the cost of your life, so you'll just have to live with it.

I'm not sure what to do.

"Hmm, the price of food is going up a bit.

On the way back from Gantz's store, we went to the market to buy some food for the next exploration.

As we peeked at the stalls, which seemed to be fewer in number than usual, Yuki said with some annoyance.

"Is that so?

I usually leave the grocery shopping to myself, so I don't know much about the market.

I sometimes carry the luggage, but it is not unnatural to carry a certain amount in a magic bag, and Haruka and the others are strong enough, so there is not much point in following them.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

Well, I've talked to a few people and they say that the price has gone up a bit because of the slowdown in imports.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

According to what Haruka told us, the deputies have been taking measures such as releasing stockpiles and increasing the production of crops using the fertilizer we provided, but they still can't keep up.

In addition, they seem to be restraining merchants from buying up all the goods they can, and if it weren't for them, the price would have risen even faster.

It may not be good if we consider it as a free economy, but if the ruler is decent, this kind of political system can function effectively in times of emergency.

In Japan, people would just say, "What are the legal grounds?

In Japan, they would just say, "What are the legal grounds?

But what a mess. ....... We should take the opportunity to buy some of this stuff.

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No, we can't just go on a buying spree at a time like this.

"Yes, you're right. If we buy more than we need, it will only spread confusion. If we buy more than we need, it will only spread chaos.

That's right. Most of the shortages that occurred in the Tokyo metropolitan area during the earthquake were caused by that.

I'm sure you've heard of it.

I've seen that too.

Even in Japan, where distribution is well developed, this causes shortages.

In this world, where the movement of goods takes much longer than in other countries, serious food shortages may occur.

We, who can procure some of our own food, should refrain from doing so.

But then Haruka shrugged lightly and laughed.

I'm not going to worry about it, I usually buy everything I need.

Is that so?

Yeah. All crops are cheapest when they are in season, right?　For those of us with magic bags, there's no reason not to buy in bulk during that season, don't you think?

I asked him about wheat, rye, and vegetables, which he said he had about a year's worth in stock.

In this world where storage facilities are not well developed, the best quality is right after harvest. As time goes by, the quality of the food goes down and the price goes up.

As long as you have the money and can store it safely, there is certainly no reason not to buy it.

As for meat and fish, it goes without saying, the only thing we don't have is summer vegetables.

We only started stocking up in late autumn.

"We started stocking up in late autumn," he said, "when we had enough money and knew we could afford a house, so we started buying what was in season.

Fortunately, the price of summer vegetables hasn't gone up too much.

Since the main production area of summer vegetables, which cannot be stored for long, is around this town, the price of summer vegetables would normally be unaffected or even decrease due to the effect of fertilizer.

Even so, the price has gone up a little, apparently due to the rising prices of other foods.

Well then, I guess I'll just buy something not too expensive and go home.

"Right. We have a vegetable garden.

We've got potatoes and melons.

Because of the fact that I leave my garden unattended while I'm hiding in the dungeon, what I'm growing in my garden right now are sweet potatoes and cucurbitaceous plants like pumpkins and chives.

Thanks to the use of the fertilizer I mentioned, the leaves are overgrown, but compared to other summer vegetables, it's easy to leave them alone without much problem.

Of course, if you want to make something beautiful, you'll have to do something else, but if you don't care about the shape or size of the plants, you'll be able to eat them.

I wonder if the fact that pollination is not necessary means that there are more bees than in modern times.

By the way, it's time to harvest the melons. The next time I come back, it will be too late, so let's harvest them when I get back today.

Are you going to pickle them?

Yes. Yes, partly.

The vegetables that look like shirouri are eaten in soups around here, but Natsuki is going to pickle some of them.

He complained that he didn't have any sake lees or nuka, but I wondered if pickles were a hobby for a former high school student. What about pickles?

For those of us who don't worry about preservation, there seems to be no need to make pickles, but for Natsuki, texture and taste are more important than preservation.

In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at a few of the best ways to get the most out of your home.

Oh, and by the way . There was a campaign at the guild to strengthen the purchase of meat.

"Hmm?　Haruka, what time did you go to the guild?

I stopped by this morning. I stopped by this morning to pick up the license fee for the backpack.

...... Oh, yeah, there's one of those.

He stopped by to pick it up on his way to his morning run.

The backpacks are selling well, and Hulka's share is apparently a decent amount for the average person, but considering our current income, it's a small percentage.

It's just a little bit of pocket money that we get every now and then when we remember.

"And the 'Meat Buying Campaign'?　What's that?

That's right. As a way to solve the food shortage, they are buying animals and demons that can be used as meat at a slightly higher price than usual. Diora has asked for our help. ......

It's hard to know what to do. Once you're in the dungeon, meat is ......

I don't know what's down there, but it's all small stuff at the moment.

As Toya said, so far the only monsters that have appeared in the dungeon are those that are not suitable for collecting meat.

If you want to kill Orcs, Killer Gators, Bind Vipers, and other demons that produce a lot of meat, you'll have to explore the forest. .......

The only problem is that it's hot.

That's right. That's why we're going into the dungeon.

The Kerg thing is also a bit bad timing.

If it was in the fall, you could choose to increase the amount of hunting. ...... No, it's still better?

If it was around harvest time, the amount of wheat stored could have been reduced. It might have been difficult for the town, which relied on imports.

But it would have been the same if Kerg hadn't been dealt with by then.

What are you going to do?　I've not been contributing much to the guild lately, so I think it might be a good idea to ingratiate myself a little here.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's not too happy about it.

Halka probably doesn't want to work in the heat of the day in the woods, drenched in sweat.

Oh well. ....... We're making a lot of money by cutting out the guilds in the wood trade.

If you sell to the guilds, you can make a lot of money.

It's just that they are dealing directly with the furniture makers, which in itself is a perfectly acceptable practice, but it doesn't give the best impression.

We don't have any requests that we can take on - or more accurately, we don't take any requests because we don't have anything worth taking on, and even though we're high ranking adventurers in this town, our contribution points to the guild are pretty low.

But we sold a lot of Dahl's Bear meat, didn't we?　By the ton.

Yeah. We did contribute to the meat sales, didn't we?

It's true that we only sold meat directly to the butcher in the beginning, but since then it's always been through the guild.

The only exceptions are the items used by Aella's store, so I guess you could say we're making a good profit.

In reality, it's largely because it's a hassle to sell large amounts of meat to various butchers, but that's also the role of the guild.

In fact, the guild's role is also that of a butcher.

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I'm not sure what to make of it.

He wants to finish harvesting his vegetable garden before going into the dungeon.

Since they grow so fast, they might miss the time to pick them after returning from the dungeon.

We had no reason to disagree, and the decision was left to Haruka and Diora to negotiate.

In the end, we ended up eating.

In the end, we decided to cooperate with the campaign to increase the purchase of meat.

There were two reasons for this.

The first reason is that Diora asked us to cooperate with her, since we have a high rank.

It's not obligatory to cooperate, but if you're trying to raise your rank, you should cooperate in this kind of situation.

If you just want to get stronger, you can fight and train regardless of the guild, but the power of the Adventurer's Guild can't be underestimated, and the high credibility of the rank is useful in many ways.

But the power of the Adventurer's Guild is not to be underestimated, and the trustworthiness of rank is useful in many ways. In a sense, it is the last lifeline for those of us who have no family in this world.

If you have a high rank, your position will be stronger than that of a lowly noble, so you should raise your rank as much as possible. There is no guarantee that there will not be unreasonable nobles in the future.

The other reason is that in exchange for accepting the job, the adventurer's guild will order a book on demons.

These books are used by the Adventurer's Guild, and are not easily bought at bookstores. They are quite expensive, costing 80 gold coins for a set of three books, but they cover most of the demons currently known, so they are a coveted item from our point of view.

We were told that it would take a long time to order it, but it would be better than us having to search through bookstores.

Above all, it's nice to know that the contents are guaranteed.

So we are going to devote ourselves to meat hunting for about ten days.

However, the heat is unbearable, so we have to change our living hours drastically.

First of all, they would wake up after midnight. It is too early in the morning to call it morning.

We used to train from the time we woke up until breakfast, but instead we headed for the forest in the still dark.

When the sky started to whiten slightly, we started hunting in the forest.

If you're not sure what you're looking for, you can always try to find it on your own.

Natsuki also has night vision, and even Yuki, who is the least night-visioned of the three, can see well enough at dawn to have no trouble in battle, so there are few problems.

After hunting until around ten o'clock, we returned to the town and sold the meat to the adventurer's guild.

I did some light farming, had lunch, and took a nap.

In the evening, when the weather is a little cooler, I get up and do the exercises I couldn't do in the morning, take a bath to work up a sweat, eat dinner, and go to bed early to prepare for the next day.

The purpose of moving the time was to avoid the heat, but there were many things to be gained from fighting in the dim light, and even though the demons were weak, it was not a waste of time.

Incidentally, Toya and I were the main players in the "light farming" during this time.

At first, the women enjoyed harvesting, but with a large garden, more labor than most people can provide, and effective fertilizers, our vegetable garden was a bit out of the frame of a home vegetable garden, and a bit too much.

When the "joy of harvesting" had run its course and the work had become simple, the women were no longer involved in the harvesting, and the work was divided between me and Toya, while Natsuki and the others processed the vegetables into pickles and other dishes.

To be honest, the unfamiliar farm work was a bit taxing on our bodies, but it was bearable if we thought of it as a form of training, and since we couldn't cook, it couldn't be helped.

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Ten days later.

We were told by Diora that we had received enough cooperation from her, so we left the meat purchasing campaign and resumed our dungeon conquest.