Chapter 87: A Typical Success Story
While taking a stroll with Rishu, we found a nice open space to play fetch with a stick. Rishu seemed to really like the stick, and after grabbing it, he continued on our walk. He was running quickly, eager to get back home without any detours.
The fields were doing well, but I needed to gather more straw for the strawberries. The strawberries in this world are small and oddly bumpy on the surface. They also have medicinal properties, apparently effective against depression. They bear fruit twice a year, with a refreshing tartness that wakes you up.
Breakfast was simple: rice, miso soup with tofu and seaweed, grilled salmon, pickled daikon, and a bomb. The bomb was a mix of natto, yam, okra, red tuna, egg yolk, and shredded nori. I planned to turn the egg whites into mousse later.
I sometimes thought about doing a survey on favorite and bizarre ingredients for miso soup, but it really depends on the type of miso used. If it’s nameko mushrooms, it’s usually red miso. There are various kinds of miso—some are smooth, others sweet—but I had no information on which kind was used, and it left me curious.
I wished I could have explored the other world more through its food. Ah, no, that thought irritated me. I should enjoy this world instead. I have the freedom to go wherever I want, and I have a cozy home to return to.
Having dreamed of escaping and living alone in Japan, I found the layout, furniture, and location here to be incredibly fun. I ended up buying a house—though I suppose it’s partly a reaction to not being able to modify the Forest House. I really have been impulsive with my purchases.
So far, I hadn’t met a craftsman I liked for furniture, so I was holding off for now. For the time being, I was at the back door of my rented house—still had to pay rent this month—thinking about what kind of door would be nice.
“Huh? Retze?”
“Hey, it’s been a while since the celebration.”
I spotted a familiar face when I dropped by the Adventurer’s Guild after a long time.
“Didn’t you go on the subjugation mission?”
“Seems like there were more newcomers than expected. If I joined, I’d probably just hold Chris and Dean back, so I decided to skip this one.”
Retze waved his hand dismissively.
“Such a nuisance, Gold Rank.”
“Come on, come on, you’re a valuable presence stopping the demon beast outbreak.”
I smiled wryly while he playfully admonished me.
I heard from Kanum that after the first subjugation here, towns facing other forests started recruiting subjugation squads as well.
The Adventurer’s Guild and the Merchant Guild hold significant power largely due to their information transmission capabilities. Many of their branches secure personnel capable of communicating with spirits, allowing for quick responses.
With water spirits, sound doesn’t travel, while wind spirits can convey sound but not images. Plus, spirits can be quite capricious, making long-term communication difficult. It’s not as smooth as one would hope.
Once information reaches the guild headquarters of that country, it gets circulated through their network. For Kanum, the information is relayed from the Royal Capital’s headquarters and the largest fortress city facing the forest, with nearby villages passing along the incoming information.
Where the information goes is determined on a case-by-case basis, but that’s the general idea.
I heard that Amedeo’s party has a communication officer, so I planned to wander around the forest near the neighboring town, dressed in the outfit that led to Luf’s misunderstanding. I intended to spread information that I was gradually moving north, leading them west past Kokuzan.
Before that, I needed to ask the spirits for help in providing information to the adventurers.
By the way, Kanum is a city with a population of about five thousand, while the fortress city in the forest has about double that. The population increases as you move away from the forest. Since there are no demon beasts or wild animals, we can expand our fields and ensure a stable food supply, though the weather can be quite unpredictable.
The forest is a kind of otherworldly realm for humans, a dangerous place. It brings blessings, but we can only make use of the shallow parts of the forest. It’s not enough to support a large population. Kanum buys most of its flour from the western towns.
The reason there’s a lot of merchant activity here, despite the population, is thanks to the demon beast materials. There aren’t any other notable specialties, and we don’t monopolize the forest’s demon beasts, so the economic scale is moderate. However, this time, with the subjugation ahead of others, we might get some rare materials and enrich ourselves.
“Dean and Chris participated in the subjugation, right?”
“Yeah. They’re high-class adventurers in this town, so they couldn’t just sit it out. I thought Dean might slack off due to his personality, but it seems he has some debts to the guild.”
It’s not like they’re working for a company; their activities are a matter of personal freedom. Some adventurers are tightly bound to the guild, while others are sponsored by nobles or wealthy merchants. There are those like Dean who start with the guild and operate with debts to organizations or individuals.
However, every adventurer regularly delivers materials or completes requests. As long as they meet their quotas, they won’t lose their status as adventurers for not strictly following the guild’s policies.
But if you keep defying them, your rank might drop!
“I’m heading out to escort a merchant, and Ash just went bear hunting.”
“Oh, I know; it’s nearby.”
He left while I was opening the window of my rented house to let in the morning air.
“It’s nearby, huh? By the way, if you hear of any houses or rooms for sale, let me know.”
“Are you moving?”
Since we live crammed within the city walls, they sell places like two-story apartments, which are referred to as rooms.
Thanks to the water-fetching task, the most popular spots are on the second floor, with the higher up you go, the less popular they become. The wealthy class with servants has separate living areas. The first floor is often used for shops.
“I wasn’t inspired by Dean, but I finally managed to buy a house after moving up to Silver Rank. Since I have the chance, I’m considering it.”
Retze, who diligently cleared the conditions for buying land and property through proper channels, was shining brightly!