Chapter 498: The Mailman’s Meal
Though the mystery of the Green Stone remains unsolved, I’ve secured a storage space, so I pull out the Mail Wheat I received earlier from [Storage]. I’ll leave a ship’s worth just in case—
“Hey, what’s up? Are you going to use this storage after all?”
As I take out the bags of wheat, I notice a Mailman bringing in new bags of wheat.
They all carry the wheat bags on their shoulders, moving in perfect synchronization, gliding smoothly as they stack them neatly in the back. As usual, five of them work together, moving rhythmically and twisting in unison.
I’ve plopped myself right in the middle, but it seems I should’ve stayed at the edge.
“No, this is the portion I received earlier~”
“I got a lot again.”
“We have to provide the agreed-upon compensation, you know~”
“If we don’t, it feels wrong.”
“We have to stick to what’s written.”
They keep bringing in more bags as they say this.
I can hardly tell the Mailmen apart, but it seems they share the same consciousness, so distinguishing them doesn’t seem to matter much.
“Won’t you run out of food for yourselves?” I say, watching the bags of wheat being brought in.
Now that I think about it, the sailor mentioned something about a Magic Stone the size of my thumb being worth enough for ten ships… Last time, I exchanged the largest one for a tour of the town.
If I’m binding them with promises and making them overextend themselves, that would be a problem. Can I change it back to a tour now?
“The Mailmen don’t eat much of the wheat grains, you know. It’s a secret.”
“We keep it around so that people coming from the sea don’t dislike it, and we occasionally eat it to show.”
“We’re not lying; the square ones are what we eat in front of those coming from the sea.”
“They’re not tasty, after all.”
“We add a lot of Flower Nectar.”
“Is that the one I got to eat when I first came here?” The square ones that taste like wheat flour mixed with Flower Nectar. They were simple but delicious.
“Yeah. It seems like eating the same thing brings a sense of security?”
“We don’t want to be feared, and we want the Green Stone.”
“It’s a service.”
“We don’t come into the town much, though.”
“If too many of us come in, it would be a problem.”
So that wheat dish was actually a considerate service. Well, it makes sense; if the staple food is the same as what I’m eating, it would provide some comfort, right? If it were meat, that might bring a different kind of fear, but since it’s wheat…
Are they really growing wheat just to attract humans from outside? Even with such a large scale?
“By the way, only those who made promises with the Mailmen can take things from the storage.”
“Promises made are fine, but helping without a promise is not allowed, okay?”
“The door closes, and you can’t get out.”
“If you return the items to the storage, you can leave.”
“Be careful.”
The Mailmen who finished carrying the bags each say this before leaving the storage.
“Yeah. I made a contract with the sailors, so it’s fine.”
For now, I’ve contracted with Captain Cat, and the crew has contracts with him too, so it should be okay.
Even if someone who hasn’t contracted with Captain Cat mixes in, if it’s a problem, I can just return the wheat I tried to take.
“By the way, what do you really eat?” I ask another group of Mailmen.
Is it just water and Flower Nectar?
“Green Stone, water, and Flower Nectar.”
So they do eat the stones!
“I eat the pollen from the wheat flowers.”
“So it’s good to have seeds for the next batch.”
“We stagger the timing to grow a lot for blooming.”
“We still have some from the harvest, and the grains are a nuisance.”
Wait, that’s a shocking revelation! Wheat is indeed their staple, but it’s the pollen, not the grains.
As for the Green Stone, I had a vague idea that there was something like a queen bee or a King of Pill Bugs that governs the Mailmen, and they gain strength by eating it, so I wasn’t too surprised when they said they eat it. After all, the Ex-Staff consumes Magic Stones and Spirit’s Droplets.
But pollen? That’s unexpected.
“You’d probably prefer the grains over the flowers, right? We’ll give you plenty.”
“We want you to take a lot since they pile up.”
“But if you don’t follow the rules, it won’t last long.”
“So take what belongs to the Green Stone.”
“This storage holds your Mail Wheat.”
“Thanks. I’ll bring back some nice Flower Nectar again.”
I express my gratitude to the Mailman who gestures at me.
Alright, I’ve got more Mail Wheat! I should put the ones I carelessly placed in the middle back into [Storage].
I’ll consult with Captain Cat about the quantity, and the rest will go into [Storage]. I wonder how to exchange Mail Wheat for regular wheat. With the drought, I feel like I don’t have enough regular wheat to make a full exchange.
Should I trade for something else? No, I need to quickly remove the cause of the drought and aim for next year—well, that’s impossible, but maybe the year after? If regular wheat becomes abundant, exchanging it for Mail Wheat won’t be a problem. Well then, let’s hurry to the underwater exploration Seikai mentioned.