I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain. In Retaliation, I Chose Amenity over Strength.

「 Except for the milk and sugar, everything else is common and yet… 」
More than being amazed, Butler seemed like he couldn’t believe this was even possible.

Yeah, the ingredients are different, so even if you collected the same things, it’ll be difficult to replicate, you know.

Sugar is expensive here. Apparently, they grow sugarcanes in a land that was further south than Telmist; still, it isn’t something that the commoners can use as they please. Nobilites are said to use it as a status symbol; they would hold tea parties where they could boast about it by putting a lot of sugar into their cups — too much, in fact, that the spoons could stand upright when they placed them in the cups..

On top of that, sugar is supposed to be stirred with the spoon, so the cup must be placed so that the handle is on the left side, according to the useless trivia from Butler.

Milk isn’t as rare, but the main source isn’t cows but goats because they’re raised downtown. Cow’s milk is processed into butter and cheese first before being sold.

On the other hand, there’s an abundance of maple syrup here. Sugar maples are scarce, but there are a lot of other maples for sale. They also have walnut syrups made from walnuts, and there’s also a type of syrup made from birch trees and others. The price rises the further it is from the forest, but it’s relatively easy to obtain in this city.

Apparently, there’s more varieties sold in the northern fortress, so maybe I should make a trip there later.

「 … 」
Ash quietly ate, but it looked like flowers would bloom anytime behind her.

「 Ash, there’s something I want to ask help with. 」
「 Name it, Jean, anything if it’s you. 」
「 I want to make medicine out of the Kinka grass, but it’s a lot of work. The actual process is easy enough, but doing it alone is a bit… 」
It’s really troublesome making it, but actually, I don’t really have a reason to mass produce it.

「 I would like to proceed with the construction of the bathroom while Ash-sama is busy with this work. 」
He already gave up on the enamel bathtub, so he decided to order a custom made bucket that has a similar shape to mine.

The concept of a steam bath that can be easily done without the need to boil water really appealed to him, it seems. They decided to build a stove next to the fireplace just like what I have in my house, but it will certainly take several days. He was worried about letting the contractor work by themselves while he was away, so this event seemed godsent, too.

We decided on the daily wage as well as the period of work, and the commission request was completed. They just returned from the expedition, so they will relax for four to five days, then she’ll start helping me after that.

I myself have 【 Cut Ties 】 just in case, but I’m not sure how to handle it if someone close to me got involved in a troublesome situation. Direct rejection and refusal would probably do, as well as keeping my distance, but then, I also considered Ash’s personality; she seems to be the type who will accept reasonable requests, even if they’re troublesome.

I already declined Chris’s request, so he’s probably looking for somebody else. They withdrew this time around because of an incident, but then, there were more powerful monsters than they expected, apparently. If he were to say that they want to conduct another subjugation expedition to lessen the number of monsters, she probably won’t refuse even if that reason is only for show.

「 Macular disease starts to spread during the season when the luehdorfia butterfly’s yellow color becomes more vivid in its summer form. They want to gather the people before then, just in case. 」

The luehdorfia butterfly changes its pattern during spring, summer and autumn even though it’s the same butterfly species. Its spring form is black and pale yellowish cream color, the summer form retains the black coloring but its yellow color would deepen, and two specks of orange would also appear. The autumn form’s coloring was cream with flecks of black.

「 There is limited information regarding this luehdorfia butterfly, so it is not known whether they are the harbingers of macular disease; however, considering the extent of the monitor lizards’ monsterification, it’s possible that a large-scale breeding might occur in the near future. 」

Mr. Monitor Lizard is quite small compared to its monsterfied self, but it was still quite huge. It’s huge but its energy consumption is quite efficient because it doesn’t move around that much. Its main diet is veggies, but it also eats insects and butterflies as snacks from time to time. Once they monsterfy, they’ll turn into carnivores preying on bigger animals, so they will no longer eat insects that much.

It doesn’t mean that the lizards are the only natural predators of butterflies, but Butler seemed agitated. Plus, the butterfly is only a vector, so it’s not like macular disease will automatically spread even if they multiplied.

Anyway, I’ve already found a cluster of Kinka grass growing in the depths of the forest, so I’ll just gather the other ingredients in the next four days. Actually, I have a feeling that Kinka grass will be more valuable if it’s sold as is; but thank goodness it can be preserved.
「 Jean-sama, it’s about the party we promised, but will you be available the day after tomorrow, around evening time?」
「 That’s fine with me, I’m looking forward to it. Ah, here, have this for dinner if you want. 」
I handed the basket lined with a tea towel and filled with meat pies.

「 Thanks. They look tasty, too. 」
「 Thank you very much. 」

Alright, I have to plan our lunch menu during the commissioned period. It’s decided that I’ll take care of Ash and Butler’s lunch. Okay, I have to gather ingredients that aren’t being camouflaged in the cellar of this place. I racked my brains over this after Ash and Butler left.

What to do, aside from the root crops, veggies aren’t that mainstream over here…At any rate, I can start with alcohol; I should transfer those beverages from the glass bottles into the porcelain jars, and stock more of it. Maybe I should also buy more of the alcohol types found in this world.

As for the wheat flour, legumes and the rest, I can just prepare them right before they’re needed. Ah, right, I should go to the forest and pick some morels and fairy ring mushrooms. The omelet with woody chanterelles served at Dinosso’s home was tasty. Spring onions aren’t really in season, but they’re delicious so I’m going to buy some.

It’s not that urgent that we had to go all out till we’re dog- tired, so the work is from morning till noon only. So, my plan is to walk Riche, eat my breakfast afterward, work, then eat lunch. The afternoon is for freetime, so maybe I can go to the library or do something else — I guess that’s the gist?

Actually, I can leave all the work to Ash, but I plan to stick around for the time being.