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Chapter 228 – Day 4 of Trading Life
I have been examining the harpy’s body since fetching water this morning.
Upon careful observation, I thought being a harpy meant they could easily fly, but that wasn’t the case. I’d assumed they were almost human with pigeon-like chests, but that wasn’t true either. Their chest muscles are abnormally developed, and their bone density is incredibly low.
“You must break bones often, right?”
“Yeah, well, maybe.”
“Seriously, you don’t need to wear that iron breastplate anymore. It’s heavy.”
“But it’s scary if I get attacked…”
“Let’s find some light, sturdy leather. Stretch your neck a bit and puff out your chest.”
The harpies watching were doing it, too.
“Breathe in deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Doesn’t that feel better?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“If you keep your neck bent down and looking downward, you’ll feel depressed. You have such a great chest; you should show it off.”
“Really?”
“Did the Cliff Garuda people mock you?”
“Well, it probably gets in the way during combat, right?”
“Has it actually gotten in the way? You can’t draw a bow properly. And if a harpy fights, it’s easier to just drop things from above.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Focus on developing your strengths. For example, Kahiman, draw a circle on the wall.”
I had Kahiman, who was nearby, draw a circle.
I threw a small stone at the white circle that had been drawn with a healing potion.
“If you practice hitting it from farther and farther away…”
Clang!
The sharp stone embedded itself in the circle on the wall.
“See? Not only does your accuracy increase, but your power increases too. Hunting will get easier, right? You might think that you shouldn’t hunt monsters without a struggle, but taking shortcuts to survive is perfectly normal. If you’re going to waste stamina, you might as well use it for training.”
The harpies were practicing throwing stones with one leg raised. If they could do it on the ground, they reasoned, then they could do it in the air, too.
I made molds for sun-dried bricks from scrap wood and taught them how to make them. This was so they could repair the walls they had broken.
“Well, I have a meeting, so I’m heading back to home base.”
“Yeah, come back again.”
Kahiman stayed behind. I promised to contact him via the sound-light device if anything was decided at the meeting.
On the way back to the home cave, I picked up Ka-Ryu. We headed straight for the cave.
At home base, a table had been set up outside the cave, and Katan had already started preparing food.
Since there were so many people, I helped prepare dishes and cook.
“Makyo-san, please stir the haze turtle pot for me.”
“Yes.”
Ever since arriving in the demonic land, I’ve been drinking haze turtle soup, and this pot looks especially delicious.
Katan’s soup contained herbs, too, and the aroma made me hungry.
Jennifer and Lipa arrived before noon, followed shortly after by Sylvia and Chel.
“Just Hel left, right?”
“Should I go get her? She’s in the desert, right?”
While Chel and Jennifer were discussing it, the person in question arrived.
“Am I the last one? Sorry. I slept in last night, so my timing is off.”
She said this as she sat down in a chair.
“Today’s menu is swamp fish baked in the ground, herb-infused haze turtle soup, and soft bread.”
Chef Katan explained. Everyone began eating at once.
“Delicious!”
“So good!”
“Your skills are as amazing as ever.”
“And thank you for preparing this juice.”
Ka-Ryu was served purple sweet potato magic juice.
In the demonic land, the etiquette is simple: praise the person who made it.
After eating cam berries for dessert and enjoying tea, there was nothing but gratitude for Katan.
“There’s more, but… I’ll save it for later.”
The leftover ingredients would be used to make lunchboxes for the dungeon dwellers.
“So, about the currency?”
“No, I just thought we should share what everyone’s doing and what problems they’re facing.”
“Isn’t a shortage of manpower the same everywhere?”
Hel posed the question to everyone.
“Not so much at the magic stone mines, though.”
“Jennifer-san became the dungeon master at the Botanical Garden Dungeon. She’s started making healing potions there, but you’re building structures, right?”
Lipa asked.
“Yeah, I think it’s better to build paths, too.”
“You’re drawing a time magic circle, right? Is the range of that magic fixed? What if someone leans against a wall and ends up on the circle? Wouldn’t that cause an accident where time stops?”
Jennifer asked about the unique dangers of the demonic land.
“That’s definitely true. Ancient people probably only drew magic circles on the foundations.”
“Then maybe we should mix a monster-repelling potion with palm sap and coat the walls and roof.”
“But if people live here, wouldn’t monsters and plants stay away?”
Katan, who was clearing dishes, spoke up from the side.
“Well, even without strong defenses, no monsters have ever entered this home’s cave.
“Monsters wouldn’t attack other races’ nests either—you never know what’s inside.”
It made sense.
“When it comes to construction, plants are actually more troublesome than monsters, aren’t they?”
“Could it be because the area around the home has a lot of plants, like sleeping flowers and egg mushrooms, which are used for sleeping and paralysis potions?”
“East of the desert military base, there’s a cluster of succulent plants used for paralysis potions. If people are going to live here, that might be important.”
“Should we start by preparing the surrounding environment?”
We should start by cultivating plants along the perimeter before building structures, just as with the hut where the elf guards stand at the entrance.
“Do we need buildings for the magic stone mine?”
“It’d be nice to have them, but boosting the dragon’s motivation is much harder.”
“D-dragons? They’re the predators among flying monsters, so they don’t feel much danger. Plus, they eat so little that they hardly ever go hunting.”
Sylvia explained about the dragons.
“I thought they were big eaters. Was I wrong?”
“When they first woke up, they ate a lot. But surprisingly, they seem fine going three days without eating. They understand that we’re providing food when we transport magic stones, so that seems to be enough for them.”
“So, the magic stone trade isn’t a problem?”
“N-no, the problem is the bags.”
Sylvia looked displeased.
“Boxes, nets, bags—anything will do. But I’m pretty sure the lack of containers is part of the problem in this demonic land.”
“If we’re going to start trading, I think we should standardize the box sizes.”
When Chel and Hel said that, I couldn’t help but agree.
“Well, dragons and humans have different body sizes, you see. Something the dungeon dwellers can carry easily would be best, right? How about this?”
I pulled a chunk of earth from the ground using my magic cube.
“I have something to discuss regarding that.”
Hel began speaking.
“Research on the desert golems showed that having bone structures is crucial. You agree, right, Ka-Ryu?”
“Yeah. Having a bone structure drastically changes how the body moves and how much magic a golem consumes.”
“That’s why more golems with skeletal frames built into their sand bodies have appeared. I think Saketsu’s influence is part of it.”
The golems seem to have changed since Saketsu, the flesh-and-blood engineer, arrived.
“So, I’m developing a magic tool that supports the movement of the bone structure—or rather, the muscles. If you cut slits in places that are easy to grip, even large boxes should become portable.”
“Interesting. In that case, would it be okay if it’s just barely small enough to fit into the ship’s hold?”
I used a magic cube to hollow out a large chunk of earth and levitated it. The veterans here could carry it, but it would be useless if the dungeon dwellers couldn’t use it.
We decided it would be best to work backward from the ship’s size.
“Could you send one of those boxes to our town, too?”
Ka-Ryu asked. She already represented the Undead Town to the southwest.
“Building the lighthouse taught me that having work is crucial for shaping identity. Those left behind in the mortal world need interaction.”
Coming from Ka-Ryu, who had been summoned to this world, this statement carried weight.
“The Ten-Thousand-Year Turtle Magic Sealing Clan belongs to the demonic land, too. We really need to push for more interaction.”
Interaction is key in the southwest.
“The box is fine, but we need to think about what to put inside. Magic stones are fine as they are, but we’ll need to craft magic tools and potions.”
Once the box specifications are set, Chel and the others won’t have much trouble.
“Like currency, iron is just in short supply. Makyo, could you develop an iron mine?”
The golems in the desert where Hel operates are made of iron.
“We’re handling the bottles. We can gather people from the dungeon dwellers, but without bottles, we can’t pack them into the boxes.”
“Also, we’ll handle transplanting the poisonous plants.”
Jennifer and Lipa seem to know what they need to do.
“Lipa, can you also handle travel to and from the trading village?”
“Got it. I can fly there, right?”
“Of course. I’ll be flying there, too.”
Lipa still uses a broom, but that’s sufficient.
“Chel, work with the sailors from the Meiju Kingdom to standardize the box specifications.”
“My job? Got it.”
“Also, Kahiman is currently monitoring the harpies in Cliff Garuda. They seem to be short on water, so keep an eye on them.”
“Have them come to this town too. We’ll dig a well,”
Ka-Ryu said. It would be good if interactions within the demonic land became more active.
Everyone had their tasks, and issues began surfacing.
“I guess my job is to develop the iron mine. As for the buildings, I’ll start by improving the surrounding environment.”
“For a lord, Makyo sure is focused on development.”
Since Sylvia is a noblewoman, she seems to know a lord’s duties. But I don’t.
“Sorry, but everyone handles the management stuff. I’ll do the work I can.”
“It’s fine. Nobody expects that from Makyo anyway.”
“Understood. Things I vaguely suspected have become clear.”
“Well, let’s keep having these meals regularly.
“I want to know everyone’s progress, so make sure you can contact me anytime via the sound-light device.”
“Amazing! It’s disorganized yet organized!”
Ka-Ryu laughed and swayed her body.
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