Takarakuji de 40-oku Atattandakedo Isekai ni Ijuu Suru

In a stone room illuminated by candle lights, Narson stared with a serious look at the large map of the realm spread over the desk while sitting in a chair.

In the front of Nalson with his desk pinched, his wife, Zirconia, lays her left hand on the desk as she stands, glancing through the leather paper in her right hand.

Zirconia is a relaxed outfit just wrapped in a light red tunic, but Narson is dressed in a shirt with a collared pattern with fine cloth trousers and an even lighter brown cape, so that visitors can always respond.

This is Narson's office, the same room from Isaac the other day where we received a report from the village of Grisea.

The time slot is past noon and the sun is fiercely asserting itself outside, but the light of day does not enter because there are no windows in this room.

At the corner of the desk are spread several pieces of material containing the most recent information in the territory and trends in other countries that Zirconia had withdrawn from the shelves earlier.

"The north wall is 60% complete. 40% to the west and east. South is 30% or not."

Zirconia said so, laying the leather paper she had in her hand on top of the other materials on the corner of her desk.

"Is it just before the expiry of the Armistice Treaty that all the barriers are completed"

When Narson told him to whine, Zirconia nodded, well.

"With the migration of thousands of people from other territories each year, I think the barrier will be completed in time for labor. Food aid from Gregorn territory to the west and milling territory to the south, plus some exemptions and support to the royal family, I hope."

"... you think it will continue?

Narson looked up from the map he was staring at and looked up at Zirconia standing in the front.

When Zirconia receives Narson's gaze, she pulls a few sheets out of the material stacked on the edge of her desk and arranges them in front of Narson.

"There has been a slight increase in support from milling territory. But the amount of support from Gregorn territory is depressing."

Looking at the material arranged by Nalson, as Zirconia explained, the amount of food support from Gregorn territory had dropped sharply.

The dossier also supplements the reasons for the decline in the volume of support, and apparently famine is also occurring in Gregorn territory.

"Lord Diaz seems to be struggling as well... this has to turn the manpower he is turning to construction into food production..."

From the time of the signing of the truce with Barbère to the present day, in the territory of Narson we have invested more in the construction of fortifications that we are building near the border with Barbère than in internal affairs such as the exploitation of agricultural land or the construction of walls that we are building to surround Isteria.

Until last year, things were going relatively well, but this year the territory suffered food shortages due to massive famine caused by the sunshine, and during the past few months it had received food support from other territories due to the royal death.

Even before that, food for the growing number of inhabitants had been sent free of charge by other territories, but because of the unprecedented scale of the famine, it was no longer enough.

Moreover, support from neighboring Gregorn territory has diminished when he comes here, and he has had to decide whether or not to change his initial policy of giving top priority to the construction of defense equipment.

"Right...... but don't pull out just the personnel hitting the border fort. Because without the fort, we cannot stop the great army of Barbell. On the contrary, we need at least two other fortifications that we're building right now. If we don't get more personnel turned around, we might see hell in four years."

Narson sighed loudly when he heard Zirconia's words as he looked at the material and groaned.

"The corner opinion is that if you did that, you'd turn the territory into a starving hell before Barbell and the war resume. I'm overwhelmed with food. The inhabitants will also come in from other territories on a thousands basis starting next year, and if they can no longer feed themselves, they won't have an ex or a child. Besides, there's a chance we can make peace before the truce expires."

"... ever increase food imports from Clayratz?

"I've made an estimate. Even if we produce large quantities of wood, increase the amount of copper and tin (soot) mined and turn it to exports, and import large quantities of food, if we look at it in the medium to long term, we will now run out of supplies to use in the territory, albeit temporarily. Besides, even if I bought food on the spot, I wouldn't have it again if the sun came up like this one. If the forest trees are cut depending on allowances, they won't be able to be taken back during the rainy season. I know what Jill said, but we wouldn't even be talking about it in case there wasn't food when the war resumed. Convince me here."

To Narson's words, Zirconia closed her eyes and seemed to think for a while, but when she sighed one small, she opened her eyes again.

"The tsuke that gave priority to armaments and put internal affairs in the realm behind them is turning, or... it's my responsibility"

After the signing of the truce with Barbère, Istaire territory has pushed its policy first and foremost towards strengthening armaments, such as building defensive bases and enriching its forces, rather than internal affairs.

As for Narson, he wanted to give top priority to food production in the territory and reconstruction support everywhere, but he insisted strongly that his wife, Zirconia, should put arms enhancement first.

Naturally, the other heavy towns in Istail territory, including Nalson... opposed all but some of the military, but Zirconia did not give way to its claims diligently.

In the end, the majority of those who were initially opposed to Zirconia, who persisted in preaching about the ratio of their power to Barbell, their country's ability to continue fighting, and the danger if the size of the army in the territory had not changed from the present at the time of the expiry of the truce treaty, were reluctantly convinced that Narson shook his head vertically.

That has led to a significant increase in the budget for military-related matters over the initial period, but as a zirconia I believe that this is still lacking.

"No, Jill's claim was the best. Besides, there have been several famines before, but this is the first time I've had a terrible famine so far. I hear there was a famine like this one a few hundred years ago. I can't predict all this."

Every year, a little sunshine and flooding often occurred within Arcadia, but for the first time in hundreds of years, there has been a massive famine like this one.

If we had pushed home affairs first, the situation might have been somewhat better than it is now, but either way there would have been significant damage everywhere.

"Right... we need to strike out something before we regret it. Besides, if this is a terrible famine, Master Graciole might show up to help us, as he told us."

A little joking and Zirconia said so, Narson grinned bitterly, keeping his back behind the chair he was sitting on.

"Come on, that story will kill the lord by the peasants. Give me a break."

Zirconia chuckled at Nalson, grinning bitterly, pulling out one piece of material with information on Barbell from the material placed at the edge of his desk.

"It's okay. Unlike what I told you, the Istaels have done very little to buy resentment from the peasants. More than that, will you watch this?

Narson received the material offered and looked through first, wrinkling between his eyebrows and roaring small.

"Have you made peace with some of the barbarians... bad. It's really bad."

Barbarians are the generic names of tribes living in the northern strip of Barbell territory.

This barbarian only acts together for each tribe, and there is frequent territorial strife between the tribes, so there is little concept of a country.

Barber has been plagued for decades by the aftermath of that territorial feud, which has pushed him into Barber as well, and by the barbarians who are attacking him in search of a survival zone in Barber territory.

But Barbell seems to have succeeded in coming here and making peace with some tribes.

"Yeah, while the pressure in the North is running low, you'll invade countries at once, including Arcadia in the South. Barbell doesn't have to fight two fronts like he did in the last war, so the next war is gonna be pretty tough for us."

"If you control us, the south is the sea. I hope Barbell doesn't mind his back and just turns his mind to the continental side...... ok. Personnel working on the border fortifications will remain as they stand. Sprinkle out as many people as you can to build other fortifications. However, the city's wall work will be completely suspended and personnel will be turned over to food production. Talk to the martial arts officer from Jill. I'll tell the civilian."

Hearing the words, Zirconia smiled.

"Thanks. With a fort, it's not that easy to lose. Leave the rest to me."

Zirconia says so, bending over and mouthing Narson.

Even as I responded to Jill like that, I smiled bitterly at him, Narson, for God's sake.

"Absolutely, now you don't know which one is Arcadia's shield. Instead, isn't that what Jill should be called?

"What are you talking about? I can't do internal affairs, military and diplomacy at the same time. The military alone cannot protect the country. Those two names belong to you."

Zirconia said so, then, and smiled again at Narson before leaving the room.

Narson looked at Zirconia's exiting door for a little while, but once he took a big, deep breath and regained his temper, he went on to work on the instructions to give to his men.

When Narson and Zirconia were running to each job, Ichigo was kneeling with Barletta at the garden tip of the mansion to fertilize the peppermint seedlings in the bowl.

Beside the two, there is a paper bag containing empty plant pots and herbal seed bags that Ichiyoshi has bought in Japan.

"You smell good before you let it dry. Unlike the herbal tea I drank yesterday, it kind of sucks"

Baretta puts fertilizer in a peppermint plant pot with a horticultural shovel, while letting her nose cling to its unique aroma.

"You don't have to let it dry, you can still use it for tea. Freshly picked and brewed, this is not good again."

To see if the fertilizer's potency is changing, only fertilize the peppermint out of the two herbs you have bought, leaving the lemongrass intact.

By doing this, we can compare each other's growth.

Once Ichiyana confirmed that Valletta had finished fertilizing the peppermint, she removed the empty plant pot and herbal seed bag from the paper bag she kept beside her.

"Now, do you want to plant seeds next?"

"Oh, I'll put the dirt in you"

If it's just an experiment to see how it's growing, it's fine to just seedlings, but I've bought a lot of corner seeds, so I decided to try to grow them together.

Because of the large variety of seeds, fertilizer is given to those in plant pots, and if fertilizer is not given, ground planting.

In the unlikely event that the planted seeds reproduce in large quantities, you can surround them with plates or something to make flowerbeds, and if you pick them, you can recommend them to the villagers as much as you picked them, so it would be better if you had explosive growth.

"Hmm, not many seeds can be planted in the summer. Like Basil and Luckola."

Sort the bags that can be planted, looking at the indicative table of seeding times given in the herb seed bags.

Most species are sown in April to May, or September to October, and few species can be sown in August.

"Mr. Kazura, on this piece of paper, it says that rosemary and lemon balm can be planted in the shade and cool in the summer."

As Ichiyoshi was about to open the basil seed bag, Barletta, who had taken the paper from the paper bag and was reading it, took the seed bags of rosemary and lemon balm placed on the ground.

"What, really?

"Yeah, it says here"

I peeked into the paper from next to Barletta and it did say in beautiful hand-written letters, "You can plant seeds even in the summer where they are shaded and cool".

"Oh, it's true... I don't know, Mr. Barletta, when were you able to read so many letters in my country? It's only been ten days since I started studying."

"Heh, the more I remember, the more I'll be able to read the book Mr. Kazra brought, so it was fun, and I was just staying up a little late at night studying. Surprised?

To Barletta's words, Ichigo wrapped his inner tongue around him.

It is an amazing ability to learn to read characters that you have never seen before in just ten days.

Moreover, Japanese is an elusive mix of kanji and katakana in addition to Hiragana.

If you have a good memory and are not motivated yet, you will not be able to learn this in a short time.

"Is that it, is it not motivated"

"I'm not motivated"

With such a multiplication, the two plow the soil by lining it up and putting fertilizer in the bowl or digging up the shaded part of the garden.

As we continued the relaxing work talking about herbs and the village, Barletta turned to the best when the story came to a paragraph.

"Mr. Kazra."

"Hmm?"

"Something is so much fun."

"Yeah, that's fun"

So when they smiled at each other, they continued the planting work while chatting again.

That night.

As usual, Ichiyoshi surrounded the enclosure with the village chief's parents and children and had dinner.

Today's menu is white rice with plums, sautéed mountain vegetables, mushrooms and winners (a good canned one).

Herbal tea based on Germanic chamomile is also brewed for meals.

"So maybe there will be a lot more herbs planted today?

"If it suits the soil of this country, maybe it will gain tremendous momentum. But, well, it's just grass, and I think it grows normally."

What we are talking about is herbs that Valletta planted during the day.

He didn't explain herbs to the village chief in detail last night, so he's talking while eating.

"It was planted by Mr. Kazra, so I'm sure he'll grow up fine."

"Uhm, right"

When I said that and saw the two of them drinking herbal tea looking delicious, Ichigo laughed bitterly.

Sure, the fertilizer-given crop that Ichigo brought had rapid growth, but that doesn't necessarily apply to the herbs he brought this time around.

But well, even if they didn't grow as rapidly as the crops in this world, if they were herbs that weren't any different from normal grass, they wouldn't grow up quite that way.

"Oh, yeah, I brought something good for Mr. Balin. Wait a minute, please."

When Ichirano says so, he stands up and heads to his room.

And soon what it was meant for...... I came back with sake in my hand.

The label reads: "Maicheng - Junmai Dajinjo".

Makoto is a local liquor from Nagano prefecture, but I bought it because I sold it to a Gunma supermarket for some reason.

Although Ichigo is not very strong in alcohol, Makoto also chose it because it is relatively easy to drink.

"Thank you for waiting. This is alcohol from my country, can Mr. Balin have a drink?

"Oh, is that booze! Of course you can!

To the word booze, Balin smiled it happily already.

I think I like alcohol.

"That's good. I don't know if it suits your mouth, but just try a little."

To a good word, the village chief drank up and emptied a cup of tree that contained water all the time.

Yiliang opens the lid of the bottle, smiling bitterly at Balin, who has just offered him a glass, while pouring only one bite into the glass.

"If it doesn't fit your body, it's tough, so just one bite for now. I mean, if you seem fine, I'll keep drinking."

"Mm, is that right? Then take a bite...... Mmm! This is delicious!!

Balin, who has a mouthful of liquor, is thrilled with the flavor by tapping his knee.

"Oh, is it delicious? That's good. Shall we see how it goes for a while?"

When Ichiyoshi said so and could pull the bottle in, Balin gave her a look of heartfelt dissatisfaction.

"No, you're fine. It's absolutely fine. It's okay, so make sure you have another drink..."

"Father, no."

"No, but"

"No."

"... um"

To the mayor of the village, who swelled when Barletta told him to be picky, Ichigo deluded himself by drinking herbal tea while desperately indulging in the fact that he was about to blow out.

"Speaking of which, what kind of alcohol do you drink in the village?

When Ichiyoshi asked, Valletta opened her mouth instead of Balin staring at the bottle she kept beside Ichiyoshi.

"I can barely drink it because I just drink it a little and it makes me sick, but it's a fluffy, smelly alcoholic beverage. We'll buy it in the city for the festival and we'll all drink it."

"Um, unlike the booze that Mr. Kazura brought us, what we drink was pale. This is delicious again. I've heard that nobles and others drink alcohol made from fruit."

To the two stories, Ichigo nodded Hmm.

Thought there would be about a liquor in this world, but apparently there are things and brewed liquors out there.

As I mentioned earlier, Ichigo isn't much stronger, but it's a corner, so I'd like to take a sip if I get a chance.

"I see, I'd like to take a sip if I get a chance."

"Yeah, we'll definitely have a drink with Mr. Kazra then... well, it's about time. Another drink..."

"Not yet."

……

Thus, after Ichigo had seen the exchange between the village chief and Barletta repeated about every minute about sixty times, the ban was finally lifted where the village chief was finally in tears, and now the village chief could put half a liquor on the glass.

But looking at the village chief who drinks happily,

"(Half a cup is a pretty good amount, and then maybe two hours later)"

And there was no reason for the mayor of the village, who was obsessed with alcohol, to know that Ichigo had set up a satanic interval.