Chapter 158: The Thaw Has Come
“Hmm… a name, huh…”
Deciding on my son’s name.
However, I have absolutely no idea about this world’s Naming Conventions, so I’m the one stressing over it.
“Are you worried?”
“I’m worried…”
“Um, well. Then, what about your name? Why are you called Andrews?”
Eh?
Ah, yeah.
That’s because my real name was Shimomura…
Shimomura, basically Anderson. Andrews has a similar meaning.
The name my parents gave me was Thomas.
So, that’s how it is.
However… does it not exist? The name Andrews?
“Is Andrews a name that doesn’t exist around here?”
“Yeah… To begin with, it doesn’t really sound like a person’s name, does it? At first, I thought, ‘Maybe it’s the name of a heretic god?’ you know?”
Ah, so that’s how it was.
I was suspicious right down to the name level, huh.
“Hmm… well, looks like my naming sense is probably no good.”
“But, it’s natural for the father to decide…”
I see…
Mmm… well then… what should I do…
“…How about ‘Adam’?”
“Adam…?”
“Is it no good? Does it not sound like a person’s name?”
“Nn-nn… it’s fine. But, is that really a name? It has a strange sound… What does it mean?”
“It’s the name of the first human man said to have been created by God in a certain world.”
“The first man, Adam… Yes, I think it’s good, you know? He’s the eldest son, so it’s just right, isn’t it?”
And so, the name of the child about to be born became ‘Adam’…
It became Adam, but.
Anyway, that’s fine for now.
Besides the name, there are lots of other things that need preparing.
First are diapers, then feeding bottles, baby clothes, and a baby Bed.
Various things are necessary.
While I was busy gathering those things, playing with the girls who visit my place, writing books… time flew like an arrow.
Spring had arrived…
When spring comes, there are things to do.
Not just for me, but for everyone in town.
That’s because the snowmelt means the resumption of people coming and going, the resumption of trade.
The traveling merchants who had been in town took their money, carts, and their Striders and went off somewhere. Perhaps to the south to buy the spring harvest? Or maybe to purchase wine that had aged over the Winter?
Well, with the lax hygiene standards of this world, most wine deteriorates anyway.
Among such wines, nobles sometimes store the ones that happened to age well in cool cellars or the like, letting them mature further… but that’s an insanely extravagant play for the wealthy.
Basically, commoners drink wine within the year it’s made. Because it’ll turn into vinegar, you see.
Amidst all that, since it’s known through experience that spring is still cool and things are less likely to spoil, everyone transports things like wine and meat.
Meat from livestock that died during the Winter, livestock hastily slaughtered because they couldn’t be fed, or Magic Beasts that failed to hibernate and attacked villages enters circulation.
Another common thing is fish, I guess.
Christianity doesn’t exist in this world, so there’s no Lent (no-meat-eating time) or anything like that.
Therefore, everyone eats fish, but…
Um, well, do you know about the four humors theory? Well, even if you don’t, I hope you get the gist… Since fish live in cold water, they apparently possess the “Water” attribute (????).
So, when the body has excessive heat… like when you have a cold, everyone apparently eats fish to replenish the “Water” attribute (????) and counteract it.
Apparently… that’s just how the system works, or so I hear. Not that I really know.
And… it’s still early spring, a bit chilly.
So there are many people with colds…
People who’ve caught a cold are all eating fish as part of that, uh, mysterious folk medicine.
W-well, fish is good for the body, so it’s… fine… I guess…?
Fundamentally, they lack protein and vitamins in the first place. Iodine and iron too. And also just pure calories.
Unless that’s supplemented, it’s kinda hopeless…
Basically, children suffer from poor development; most everyone seems to have rickets, goiters, anemia, and night blindness. There’s even scurvy.
Fortunately, thanks to me giving some cooking advice and providing livestock, my Servants had become ridiculously healthy.
Apparently, it’s customary to feed leftovers from parties and such to retainers, so I provided the leftovers, and well, they got healthy at an incredible rate.
…Ah, I got sidetracked.
Anyway, the town’s economic activity is resuming.
When that happens, what do I do?
“Thank you very much!”
“Please come again!”
…Sell the books I wrote during the Winter, obviously.
I sold large quantities of ‘Dragon Quest II’ and ‘Final Fantasy I’ to traveling merchants and the town’s general stores.
Specialty shops for books, like bookstores, don’t exist, you see.
So, when it comes to selling books, the only buyers are merchants who deal in literary goods or general stores.
After that, since Count Missgancia wanted some, I gave him about ten copies. He said that regardless of the content, a handsomely bound book is a small fortune.
In this world, even among Knights, there are plenty of people who can’t read, yet they apparently still place things like lavishly bound Bibles in their rooms. Meaning, they’re treated as art objects.
Apparently, my books are treated the same way and are quite popular.
Besides, they have illustrations. It seems there’s demand because even the illiterate can enjoy the illustrations.
And so, in that manner, I went around distributing the fruits of my Winter labors…