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Chapter 125: Perfectly Smooth Journey

Translator: Haruchin   Editor: Marky

「Okay, I’ll leave it to you then. Here are some snacks, although they’re just left-overs from yesterday. The pot’s over there, please help yourself. 」
Shiva was the next lookout after me.

「Oh my, thank you dear. Teach me later how to make them, okay. 」
「Yep. 」
It’s a bit cold because of the rain, so we have some soup being kept safe over the campfire.

The snacks I gave her were marshmallows.
The gelatin here is made from calves’ legs, or from female calves’ hooves. Well, I guess if glue is available in this world, then gelatin should be, right?

Gelatin isn’t just for making sweets.There’s a dish where you have to mash frog meat and chicken and solidify it to jelly, and gelatin is commonly used to make this dish. Apparently, there had been a weird trend that said ‘chewing is immodest’ among the women for a period of time, and this dish became popular then.

I used normal powdered gelatin from my food storage, so I have to try making it from scratch out of hooves before I teach the recipe to Shiva.

「You’re still going despite the rain? 」
「Yeah. 」
Aside from walking Riche, I have to take care of the livestock so I have to hurry.

I put my waterproof hood on for that stylish look and went deep into the forest. After making sure nobody can see me, I 【Teleport】. I caught Riche when he rushed to meet me in the house, then I washed my hands and face before using the restroom.

The sky is a bit clear over here with wisps of clouds and stars peeking. Do they also have a morning star like Venus in this world?

Riche picked up a branch longer than himself from goodness knows where, and he’s tottering in front of me with that thing on his mouth. The trees growing in the mountain have sprouted leaves, and the flowers of the apricots and plums that blossoms first before getting leaves were already starting to scatter. I’m looking forward to when they finally do.

The ume plum trees are in full bloom, the scent wafting around them. Not only are they flowering plums, but they’re also completely edible. The pure white flowers are a feast for the eyes.

I took care of the livestock and worked on the fields. I took eggs from the chicken and got some milk from the cows then put them all in the 【Storage】. Chickens aside, there’s a lot of work with the other livestock everyday, so it’s a bit hard. There are times I won’t be able to go home, so maybe I should sell them to somebody else at this rate.

Oh, maybe I can just hire someone to take care of them once the house in Nalluahdid is finished. Alright, let’s go with that plan.

The problem is that, be it an agent or a steward, I have to train someone who can manage things for me. Someone who can also interact directly with the merchants.

I can’t say I have an eye for people, so what should be done with this?

***

I returned to the camping site. Retze and Butler are awake and they’re preparing breakfast with Shiva. Today, I’m leaving everything except for the soup to you guys.

Ash is also up. She’s mending the shoes.

「Morning, I’m back. 」
「Mm, morning. 」
「Welcome. 」
「Welcome back. 」

「Morning. Time to wake up the kiddos? 」
Retze stood up.

The campsite soon became very lively.

「Run along now and wash your face. 」
Shiva called out to the children, and they happily replied before heading to the river with Dean.
Dinosso sleepily yawned as he trudged along after them.

Today’s breakfast is bread and cheese, jerky, sausage and soup. Folks here usually don’t give much thought when preparing breakfast. If we’re back home, just add some eggs to this menu and it’s already considered a lavish breakfast.

I toasted the bread on the campfire while drinking my soup. The jerky was handmade by Shiva. She marinated the beef with seasonings before drying it. It still had a bit of smell along with the aroma, but the texture and saltiness was like that of dry-cured ham, and the flavor intensifies the more you chew it.

The cheese is hard and the type I’m not really fond of, but the slightly charred sausage looked appetizing.

Meal times are pure bliss!

「It’s delicious. More so because it’s prepared by somebody else. 」
「It’s an honor to hear such words from you, Jean-sama. 」
「I’m happy since you look like you’re really enjoying the food. 」
Butler and Shiva. Retze just raised a brow.

We packed the hammocks and sheets away, gave water to Ruta and the horses, then we set off. Not sure whether it’s because there are kids, or because of the camping site, but we ended up with a bit of leeway so the morning departure was also a bit late.

Our trip went on smoothly, and we reached our destination without a hitch.

「I thought it’s just an abandoned mine. So there’s a fort here too, huh. 」
「That fort is just a remnant from when this mine was in operation, but it’s still being used even now. Well, it’s used as a tollbooth. 」
Retze explained.

This mine was abandoned because the production dropped and it became the nest of monsters. Because of the monsters living here, the minerals evolved into magic ores.

To be precise, we can also harvest the same kind of magical ore that Ash gave me, as well as magic silver, too. This place is dangerous so ordinary miners don’t venture here, but adventurers like us can enter.

The lord of the fortress city was also the owner of the mine noticed this, so he’s charging entrance fees. It costs money, but it’s also quite convenient since they also take care of the horses.

「Folks can bring more stuff back if they have horses. The only drawback here is that they already prepared torches. 」
Dinosso said.

Oh, I don’t really get it, but I guess it’s dark inside. So, how are we supposed to go on?

Dinosso and Retze handled the paperwork as our representatives while the rest of us reorganized the important stuff and bought torches from the man in the fort.

Retze had brought a lantern in his bag — will he use a torch? Or is it a spare?

「Ruta, please take care of the stuff here . 」
I patted Ruta on the neck while feeding him some sugar cubes, wishing he’ll obediently stay put and not go on a rampage or escape.

「It might be difficult, but I’m counting on you. 」
「Heh! Thanks a lot for this, I’ll be keeping an eye on him. 」
I tipped the horse caretaker and asked him to take care of Ruta.

「He’s just a rental horse and yet you’re pampering him, huh. 」
Dean seemed shocked, but I can’t help it if I’m worried.