In a World Filled with Deserts, an Old Man with Electronic Money

"Muu, don't get tired of the desert all the time."

"That's right. But we're about to arrive at an oasis."

"Is it a famous oasis?

"Your name is famous, isn't it? As you can see from the journey so far, there are very few people in King's Landing who have been very far away. It is an oasis that mediates dealings between a group of oases that are said to be under the control of the Burt kingdom, near the capital of the King, and independent lords who are in the territory of the Burt kingdom but who ignore the Burt kingdom."

"Oasis, who refuses to go into control, and the Kingdom of Bart are making a deal."

"Adult judgment. Independent lords don't thank the kingdom unless they have any advantage. The kingdom can't be crushed suddenly just because it's rude, and I can't afford that."

"The desert is a strong line of defense....."

"Yes, but because of this, there is very little interaction between each oasis, and many things are missing. Because many people spend their lives in a narrow space called Oasis, many people like imported goods. However, it is an imported product, so the price is also reasonable. Many become traders aiming to capture thousands of dollars."

"Start with a small ship and aim. You're a big merchant."

"Naturally, there are many people dying, and the ship's distress rate is high, so it's a high risk and high return. There are battles with sandbags, so it's a job to wear with hunters."

I've been sailing in the desert for more than two weeks, but I still miss Oasis.

When I told Mu that, she told me that she would soon arrive at a famous oasis.

Shipland, literally a specialty of wet cloth... is a joke, and there is an oasis where trading ships gather.

It is a ship-land (country, land), so there will be a lot of ships.

"Is it under the control of the Kingdom of Bart?

"After all, the lord there is the 'Vicomte'."

"Nevertheless, I hate the kingdom's intervention. It's like a virtually independent lord. The Lord of the Small States."

Is Shipland brokering trade between the kingdom of Bart and the lords of Oasis, loyal to the kingdom of Bart, and the lords of Oasis, who do not want to be under the kingdom of Bart?

In a sense, it would be treated like a neutral country.

"So Shipland is mediating so they don't rub each other?"

"Lord Tallow is quick and helpful. After all, Bart's kingdom has no expatriate abilities, so he cannot obey many oasis lords. However, some of the kingdom's aristocrats say not to trade with people who are not thankful to their kingdom."

However, if you do that, you will lose a lot of supplies to the King's City.

So the lord is passing through Shipland, the Count of the Kingdom of Bart.

"The Lord of Shipland is in a delicious position."

It feels like the male of the relay trade.

"Even the royal castle was famous for its wings."

Simply as a trade relay point, Shipland was overwhelmingly more financially rich than any other oasis.

There are many shipyards that build and repair ships, and many people gather to work there.

Large traders gather sailors, so many people are aiming for this.

Sailors earn more money than other jobs because of danger.

With a large crew of ships, it's safer to make money than to buy a small ship and start a merchant on your own.

Take safety precautions and earn money as a sailor.

Dangerous, but do you become a merchant to earn more?

Some people became sailors before independence, so no matter what life they chose, no matter how it ended, it was their responsibility.

I knew it would be tough if the ship was small.

"They both say they are small ships, but they are small boats because they are originally escape boats of large ships."

Should I buy a proper ship to continue my journey?

"There are three of us, so I think a normal small boat would be fine."

I've turned it into a bicycle, can these two small ships sell?

"As for the ship itself, it is a second-hand product, so I don't think it is very expensive. Enough to sell the magical power and the timber connecting the two ships? It will sell at a good price, but the new ship is very expensive."

Since most of the world is desert, there are very few forests.

Lumber production is extremely low, extremely valuable, and the majority of lumber is imported from abroad.

"Sell two magical powers and wood, and then sell something to buy a new ship."

Some of them are used ships, but the journey may continue.

I feel more comfortable with the new one.

"Money is what I bought in Online Shopping."

"Don't you like sugar, Lord Tallow?

Because it is a luxury product, it should sell at a high price.

Especially white sugar.

Would that be good?

"Maybe you'll sell a few hundred kilometers and get a good ship. Ah, but...."

It's suspicious to insist that we've loaded this ship with hundreds of kilos of sugar.

It would be dangerous to be asked where the sugar came from and to know my "Different Dimension Warehouse" and "Online Shopping".

"What do we do? Lord Tallow."

"That's right....."

"Mr. Tallow! The Beast is attacking!

Suddenly Miu detected signs of several sandbags when she was thinking about how to treat the massive amount of sugar she bought in "Online Shopping" without suspicion.

At the same time, a magic detector was sounding a loud alarm to alert the ship of the approaching beast.

Mu made this magic detector for a safe voyage.

It seems to be relatively easy to make.

But it was Mu's subjectivity, and I couldn't make it on the label.

"Mr. Tallow, we are not the target of the Beast."

So, are they attacking anyone else?

"Over there!

Dozens of sandworms were attacking a small trading vessel ahead of what Mu pointed out.

On closer inspection, unfortunately, there were no survivors on board.

The sandwiches must have eaten it because of the blood on the deck.

Their next target is a wooden hull.

The sandwich will bite down even the hard trees and put them in your mouth, digesting them over time.

"Mr. Tallow?

"Mu, in this case, whose ships and loads belong to the deceased merchant?

"That's who got it."

"Don't the survivors say anything?

"I might say so, but what do you think I can do about it...."

Ships and shipowners often die in distress in an unmanned desert or being attacked by sandbeards, so they often don't know where they died first.

They won't be back for a long time, so we'll be judged dead, but there's no proof that he's dead.

"Originally, sailors rarely return home because they carry loads in the desert for a long time. Many people don't like their hometown and jump out, so many survivors don't care about their safety, right? My wife and child are naturally worried about their safety."

Nevertheless, it is impossible to recover the remains, artifacts, shipments and wreckage of the ship's owner, and there are few hunters to undertake such requests.

Even if the ships that happened to pass through the crash site succeeded in recovering them, if the survivors took them back, they would need a huge reward.

Because the sailor has recovered his body and luggage at his own risk.

There is also a risk of being attacked by sandbags, so they usually ignore the wreckage when they find it.

On rare occasions, some attempt to retrieve the ship's magical power, wreckage, and cargo, but many are attacked by lurking sandbeards, causing double distress.

"Exploring the ship in distress is very dangerous, so the artifact belongs to the person who took the risk. The idea is that there are no rights for survivors who cannot recover themselves. Some people win a wager by fishing for a ship that was in distress, but many die, and there are few cases where they were intentionally searching for it, and many of them found it by accident. I often end up in jail for nothing, even if I fish for a ship that's been killed."

Can't you tell your family to give back what you've recovered with your life?

Hunters and other shipowners also rarely move in pursuit of ships thought to have been in distress. Most of the ships happened to pass by and were in distress, so I took the risk of exploring them.

Then we were lucky enough to find expensive shipments.

The magical power and hull were not so broken, so they sold high.

It seems that way.

Well then, we can take it.

"That's right. There's no problem."

"Then let's go!

Mr. Label, you're in a good mood.

"I've been on a boat trip, and I've been bored."

The crew has already been wiped out… Apparently the crew was one of the shipowners… The pack of sandwiches that attacked the small ship was quickly wiped out by labeled sword fire and Mu's magic.

I haven't fought in a long time, but it's over since I knocked down two sandwiches with my spear.

The results of the battle will not change much, whether you are here or not.

The sandwich we defeated disappeared and was converted into Edelk, but the remains of the shipowner who had been eaten by the sandwich did not emerge.

Something inside the Beast will disappear.

You're lucky you don't have to look at the human remains in the middle of digestion, eaten by sandwiches.

"Tallow, the magic power is safe. The shipment is... safe and sound. It's a lot of salt."

"Salt..."

Because there are places in the desert where rock salt can be harvested, salt was cheaper than sugar, but some oases can't even harvest rock salt, so it's not cheaper.

Because people cannot live without salt and sweat well in the desert, the inhabitants of this world wanted a lot of salt.

With this much salt, we should be able to sell it at a good price.

"Small-scale traders start with salt."

Because the margin is narrow, but I can definitely sell it.

I hate inventory more than the owners of small ships.

Because it is not wasteful to carry all the cargo at the destination, and it is not wasteful to load it at the next destination.

Many shipowners are mistaken for the cargo they carry and are beaten up by merchants at the arriving oasis, and the shipowners who have just debuted often carry salt, a safety pie.

"Was this ship's owner a novice?

"No, not really. Lord Tallow, there's a Magic Box."

"Magic box? Ah! I've heard of it!

The label found something like a treasure chest at the edge of the hold and told me.

It seems that she soon realized who she was.

A magic box is a box that can be held and lifted by humans, and inside it is a box that can hold about one cabin.

It is convenient because it can carry a lot of cargo even on small ships, but it is very expensive because it is difficult to make.

I heard from Major Thunder that there are about five people in the world, such as having the stunts of "Different Dimension Warehouse", and that there was a history of this being developed in the past.

"Can Mu make magic boxes?

"That's impossible. It's hard to make. With this, it would be about a hundred million dollar a person."

"It's expensive....."

"But it's cheaper than a big ship."

Build a large ship with a lot of cargo and hire a lot of crew to carry the cargo.

Or you can put a magic box on a small ship and carry a lot of cargo.

It's a difficult choice, with both advantages and disadvantages mixed together.

"Large ships have a lot of crew, so they are effective against sandbags. Sandbeards are also less likely to attack large ships."

Not absolutely, but I can feel it's safer than a small ship.

"But I was attacked by a sandwich on a big ship....."

"At the behest of my brother, the captains deliberately broke into the sandwich nest."

No matter how many sandbeards avoid large ships, it's only natural that they get attacked if they enter large numbers of habitats and nests.

There are also a lot of sandbags on the side, so there are times when they attack the ship with a strong vibe.

"When large ships pass, hazardous places are mapped based on previous navigation experience and sold by the Sand Flow Mariners Association."

Is the organisation of sailors carrying cargo in the desert selling maps showing dangerous areas?

Once you're in Shipland, you have to buy it.

"So, what's in this magic box?

Let's open it right away.

When the label opened the lid of the magic box, it contained some large fine hemp bags.

"The contents are...."

I don't know unless I open the sack, so when I broke the sack, black lumps and powder came out from inside.

"What is this?

"Sugar, right? This is a good amount of money. On top of the magic box, you can afford sugar. It is presumed to be the mid-sized shipowner who was earning money on scheduled routes."

Independent shipowners are tough anyway.

Sandboats are small but very expensive, so they cannot be purchased immediately.

They can either borrow money from someone or get a loan to get a ship from the Sandstream Mariners Association, which sells maps, guaranteeing that they were working properly.

The risk of distress is high, so even if the owner of the ship who made the loan dies, he is not responsible for the survivors, but instead, the interest rate of the loan is stupidly high.

Continue to carry cargo with little rest to repay the loan.

If we were to increase the margin on a small vessel, a magic box would be necessary, but it could not be purchased with a loan.

No matter how hard you try, it will take more than a decade to repay the loan, but it seems like it will be profitable if you can carry the goods on a scheduled route and earn a stable income.

The shipowner of this shipwrecked small ship was one of them.

"I can't believe I even repaid my loan..."

I'm single and I don't have a loan because I inherited my parents' house, but I'm a little cut off when I think of the shipowner who would have been no different from me years ago.

"I thought you were sailing here because you were safe.

"Mr. Tallow, the sandbeard is a creature, so sometimes it moves."

Until now, it has been a safe route, but sometimes it suddenly turns into a sandbag nest, and vice versa.

Or is there some bad luck that you happen to encounter a swarm of sandbags wandering around?

"Maps are updated frequently. That's why it's quite expensive."

Even in the case of the Sandstream Mariners' Association, efforts are constantly being made to collect route information for the safety of shipowners and sailors, but sometimes there is a time lag.

"In this case, you happen to have been attacked by a herd of sandwich hagles. Sometimes this happens. If you're a big ship owner, a hunter, and a strong ship owner, that's fine."

Doesn't everyone mean that the shipowner is strong?

Sandwarms pose a threat to most small shipowners, as most hunters are limited in defeating sand lizards.

"Doesn't it make sense to think too much? Let's pull it out."

"Thank you, Lord Tallow, for the magic box. You can load this with the sugar that you bought from" Online Shopping. "That way you won't be suspicious."

"Well, that's a good idea."

As a result, I took someone else's magic box, but this is also the rule of those who live in the desert.

Besides, living people are more important than dead people.

I don't live in Japan now that I can say beautiful things.

I will thank you for your help.

"Tallow, the ship still has magical power. There is a lot of timber on the hull as well. We're almost to Shipland, so would you like us to tow you?

"No, towing is dangerous. Let's move this ship somewhere else."

If we keep towing this small vessel, the survivors of the owner of this small vessel may be disturbed.

The rules are the rules, so I don't think they'll take the ship or the cargo, but the scenario that we brought sugar in magic boxes is not good enough for Shipland residents to suspect.

"I'm supposed to be dead, so you better be careful. You think I'm being too careful?

"No, I don't. My brother is a powerless king suddenly made king. It is clear from the treatment of Taro that he is struggling to increase his strength. They're useless."

"Nevertheless, Shipland is essentially another country. The family of the ship came out and some of the aristocrats were involved with the Sandstream Mariners Association, but there's no need to be so vigilant for the rest."

In other words, the only way to hide a broken ship is to hide it.

The magic boxes are all made in the same way, so it is difficult to identify them, and even if they are used as they are, they won't find out first.

"Let's sell the salt and sugar that was loaded on this ship somewhere else."

Semi-damaged small ships, loaded salt and sugar are placed in a "Different Dimension Warehouse", and a large bag of sugar purchased in "Net Shopping" is packed in the magic box that they acquired.

There seems to be no doubt about the storage capacity of the cabin, so I was able to load about 500 bags.

"Thirty kilos by 500 bags, fifteen tons. It will sell well."

"It's not expensive. Purified sugar can only be used by so many rich people. Even the loaded black sugar is very expensive."

Looks like the owner of the boat was pretty good.

Because I can buy expensive sugar.

"The work is done. Okay, let's go."

That's right.

Let's go to Shipland.

The ship that was attacked by the Beast gave us the load and the ship, and we let it run again.

Then, in about half a day, I saw a big oasis.

That's Shipland right there.

"It's a really big town."

"It's a town long lived by people."

We arrived in the city where people lived for a long time.