Magicraft Meister Part 1

For a while Jin and his friends played Shiritori, but then there was a knock at the door.

"Yes."

It was Tia who opened the door. And outside the door was Delight, the minister of industry.

"Oh, it's Delight, isn't it? I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

"Yes, Your Highness. Thanks to Miss Elsa you're alive and well. May I come in now?

Yes, of course.

The Delight Minister was still a little pale, but the numbness in his limbs seemed to have completely disappeared.

"Thank you for yesterday, Miss Elsa. Miss Jin, I would like to talk to you about the desiccants that we couldn't talk about yesterday.

"Sure."

Jin replied, "Yes, that's fine." They even exchanged a few words out of boredom. Jin agreed to the request with a simple "yes". Princess Rieschen did not complain and ordered Tia to make fresh fruit juice instead of herbal tea .......

The reason being that fresh fruit juice, which is made by squeezing fruits on the spot, would not be poisoned.

To be sure, Jin the juice, and after confirming that there are no poisonous or deleterious substances in it, it is poured into everyone's glasses.

Furthermore, Reiko is careful to make sure that Hitoshi's glass is not contaminated before pouring it.

Only after all of this was done did everyone feel at ease and sip the juice.

"So, you told me how to use the desiccant, right?

That's what I meant.

"First of all, I'd like to go over the precautions first. Do you understand that water is strictly forbidden?

Jin is concerned about fire and burns.

"Yes, that's right. It's okay if it's humid, but if you pour water on it, it will get so hot that you will burn yourself, right?

"Yes, that's right. It might be possible to experiment with a small amount in front of the relevant people.

"I see, you mean to let them experience it, not just theoretically.

I see what you mean.

"......By the way, do you know the manufacturing process of desiccant?"

The Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Delight, suddenly asked about the manufacturing process, and as one would expect, Jin was alarmed,

He was wary and replied, "......No, I don't know that much."

Jin was alarmed, and replied, "No, I don't know that much.

While the conversation between the Delight Minister and Jin was going on in this way, Elsa was talking with Princess Rieschen.

"Dear Mr. Ries, I don't mean to be rude, but I was wondering if you could tell me about your brothers?"

"Yes?銆€Good. My brother Edmond, the older brother on ......, is a man of blunt words, but I believe he is a man with a good heart.

Edmond sometimes took a jab at Elsa. Princess Rieschen's opinion of him was not as bad as she had expected.

"Brother Arthur is not so ......"

Princess Rieschen is very quiet.

"...... I'm afraid he's a bit elusive. ......"

"Is that so?"

"......I say this because she's Elsa, but she used to torment me a lot in the past. ......"

She gave birth to two princes and three princesses, the last of whom died giving birth to Rieschen. I had heard that her two brothers did not love her, blaming it on Lieschen.

"Nowadays, people around me are watching me, and they don't try to trick me so blatantly as they did in the past. ......"

He seemed to be worried about the poisoned herbal tea yesterday.

"Well, they're my own brother and sister by blood, so I'm sure they're at least worried about me."

Her cold tone, which did not suit her age of 12 years old, made Erza feel a little sympathy for her.

"...... But I heard that your brother Arthur has an excellent tutor, so maybe he really has improved his character."

"Tutor?"

"Tutor? A renowned scholar from the Kingdom of Cerroa. Someone said that our scholars are no match for him, but I think that's an exaggeration.

The Kingdom of Cerroa itself has a long history and a large population. It is no wonder that there are scholars who surpass those of the Kingdom of Klein.

Do you know the name of that scholar?

"Mm. ...... I think his name is Lioness Ashford.

Elsa decided to remember the name for the time being.

Meanwhile, Jin had finished informing the Delight Minister of Industry of the necessary information.

"Thank you, Mr. Jin. If we use it together with the dehumidifier that was brought to our attention the other day, I think it will be quite effective.

Jin reacted to these words.

"A dehumidifier, huh? From the sound of it, it is a tool to remove moisture, isn't it?

"That's right. It seems that the Nostalgia Party is distributing them to various countries.

"Oh..."

"The automaton who explained it to us was a beautiful blonde-haired woman. I wonder who made it.

Jin wondered as Elena explained to him how to use it. She seems to be doing a good job.

After that, they exchanged small talk.

"At the moment, we have enough stockpiles to last us through the year," she said.

For Jin, who is trying to find out about the food situation, this is an effective source of information, even if it is just small talk.

"By simple calculation, if there are 100,000 people in the Kingdom, there is not enough wheat to last for four months.

Approximately from February of the following year until the harvest season in June, there will be nothing to eat.

"You mean 5,000 tons is the shortage ......?"

If each person eats 150 kg per year, that's 12.5 kg per month. 50 kg in 4 months. Multiply that by 100,000.

There was not much difference from the estimate Eric had made in the village of Kaina.

"That's right. If we were aware of food shortages, ate other crops and saved money, we would have 3,000 tons of food.

"......"

Jin pondered.

The stockpile on Horai Island would be a few dozen tons at most, so it would be a drop in the bucket. The best they could do would be a temporary soup kitchen.

"Is there any way to procure food?"

"...... is difficult. I hear that there is a famine in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Selroa. I just hope there won't be a war.

A war for food wastes even more food. It is an obvious contradiction, but it is human beings who do the contradiction.

(Even the Shoro Empire can't possibly help with 3,000 tons of food. ......)

"However, it seems that we don't have to worry about a riot yet before the end of the year. I'm hoping to find a solution by the end of the year.

However, the outlook is bleak. The outlook is bleak. You could say it is pitch-black.

The self-sufficiency rate for food in the Kobun is only slightly above 100 percent.

"The only advice I can give you is to grow crops that can be harvested in a short time," he says.

But Industry Minister Delight seems to have decided to take him at his word.

"What is the crop, Jin-dono?"

Jin, too, decided to tell us, since so many lives were at stake.

It is a crop called buckwheat.

"Buckwheat? I've never heard of it.

It's a crop grown in the north, harvested in about two and a half months.

What!

It's mid-November now, so if we sow now, we can harvest in early February. It's just in time, but we'll make it.

"Mr. Jin!銆€We want to grow this buckwheat crop!銆€Can you help us?

"Of course, of course. Of course, but there are a few problems.

First, we cannot prepare the necessary amount of seeds right now. On Horai Island, most of the fall buckwheat has been turned into buckwheat flour.

It is not likely that the amount of seeds we have left will be enough.

Secondly. Some people are allergic to buckwheat.

I have never seen anyone allergic to wheat in this world, but can we be sure that no one is allergic to buckwheat?

"...... may not have the necessary seeds in time. Also, some people may not have the right constitution. ......"

As for Jin, all he can do is to say in a blunt way. But still, the drowning man is the straw, and Industry Minister Delight bowed his head toward Jin.

"Jin-dono!銆€Please get me as much of that buckwheat as you can!

Jin could not refuse.

"I understand."

He nodded his head, looking a little reluctant.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<

The old man, who had been following the conversation between Jin and the Delight Minister through Reiko, was also lost in thought.

>

The current stockpile is, so to speak, the harvest of the first cultivation. This is the harvest from the small amount of seed buckwheat that was given to us by the demon tribe.

Most of the buckwheat was made into ...... buckwheat flour, though less than one ton, and the other half was used for the second cultivation.

Once the second crop is harvested, seed buckwheat will be available, but that is less than two months away.

<

The old man calculated that it would be possible to exchange one ton of flour harvested in Horai Island for one ton of buckwheat seeds harvested in the territory of the Demon Tribe.

But this is still not enough.

The harvest rate of buckwheat is lower than that of wheat.

It was a serious problem that even the old man could not seem to solve easily. The only advantage is the short period between sowing and harvesting.銆€

<>?

A different tribe that lives in the west of the Hariri Desert. We do not know how much food they produce and how much stock they have.

It was a gamble.