Magic Warrior Chapter 65 (Patreon)

Winter Market

The week after mushroom picking and fishing. It was time for the Winter Market.

Reda-san had told me that the Adventurers Guild's training for beginners would be held on the day of the gods, so the training following my birthday would be on March 7. Since I wanted to take the course before starting to accept requests, I should leave home the day before that date.

I asked my father about it, and he told me that this course was initiated at the suggestion of Reda-san, and that it is currently offered only in the town of Gardia and the guilds in the royal capital that have been influenced by it.

I prepared my Magic Bag and some money, thinking that I would still be in the village for about a month and would go to the stalls to look for something to pass the time.

Clare and Rilfana seemed to be busy doing something together, so I decided to go to the market square by myself.

When I arrived at the square, I found the stalls lined up as usual. However, there appeared to be a large number of stalls. Usually, they use a vacant lot that has been partitioned in advance for their stalls, but this time there were merchants who had set up simple stores even in places that had not been partitioned.

Perhaps there were too many groups of merchants coming in, but the village headman was busy dealing with them.

I have not seen the village headman very often, except when he came to my house to thank me for my help after the spider riot.

The village head of Feld Village is close to my father's age. He seems to be a few years older than my father.

He has a gentle personality, like a peaceful village chief, and his neatly trimmed beard gives him a gentlemanly air.

He took over the position of village head from his father shortly before his father came to the village.

Until then, the village had been average in both vegetables and livestock farming, but the mayor, who wanted to make some kind of difference from other villages, took in the opinions of his father, a former adventurer who was familiar with the town and royal capital, and strongly promoted Feld Village's vegetables.

The village was successful, and now vegetables from Feld Village are considered a bit like a brand name in the town.

I didn't see any stores on the main street of the town of Gardia that sold vegetables from Feld Village, but I heard that the stores for the residents of the town were located in the section of the town rather than on the main street, so I wondered if they were selling them there.

"Hey, Mina, it's you. Long time no see."

"Good morning, Chief."

I was called by him. If he was busy, he could have left me alone.

"It seems the vegetables I gave you as a souvenir during the forest riot last year were very well received."

It seems that he had given the knights a large quantity of things that were fine in taste and quality, but too delicate to sell, so he probably gave away the uneaten portions to his family and acquaintances.

Some of the knights may have been knighted, and it was a good publicity stunt.

The merchants heard about this and started to go to Feld Village to stock up on vegetables.

The merchants who came to Feld Village to purchase the vegetables said that they sold well, and they also thought that the town was eating well because of the good income from the vegetables. However, in reality, the vegetables were mainly purchased by restaurants, and I think they were not well known enough to be bought and eaten by individuals.

The inn where we stayed had the name "Feld Village" on the menu, so people who know about it must know about it.

If the consumption of vegetables by individuals increases, vegetables from the village may sell even more.

"I thought that if people took them as souvenirs, it would help promote them a little, but the response has been more than I expected."

The village chief muttered as he scratched his cheek. It seems that this was also what he was aiming for.

I parted from the village chief, who began talking with the newly arrived merchant, and wandered around the stalls.

There was a stall selling Japanese-style goods. I wondered if they had purchased them from the Holy Kingdom.

There was soy sauce, vinegar, and sake, but unfortunately no mirin. I don't think I need to buy sake for cooking, because I think my father would drink it.

Mom had been advertising soy sauce to the neighbors, so it seems that soy sauce is selling well.

I thought my father bought a lot of soy sauce when he went to town, but I guess that was because he was buying for the neighbors as well. By the way, he carries it in his Magic Bag, which he used to use when he was an adventurer.

"I brought it because it's been a hot seller lately, and it seems that many wives use it in the village, so it sells well. It's rare that something from another country sells in the village and not in the town."

It seems that he has unwittingly created a soy sauce boom in Feld Village.

"What? What's this?"

Near the soy sauce was a similarly colored condiment. It looks more thicker than the soy sauce.

"It's a condiment called 'sauce' in the Holy Kingdom. I brought a little of it with me in case the soy sauce was selling well, but they didn't seem to know about this one."

Oh, sauce! 

I bought a few bottles of sauce from the merchant, who was disappointed that I hadn't guessed right. I didn't sell them anyway, so I could buy more.

Suddenly, the merchant was smiling, probably because the sauce sold without explanation. He told us to eat it as soon as possible because it cannot be stored longer than soy sauce. The sauce is made by simmering vegetables and spices, so it probably won't last long in this world of Virtuari, where there are no airtight containers or refrigerators.

After that, I continued to look around the stalls and bought a few spices and other items that could be used for carving and magic enchantments.

The vegetable sales were good this time, so the villagers have more money than usual, and many merchants still have some stock left over due to the poor location of their stalls.

There have been many merchants before who just did business for a day and left, but there were also some who stayed for a few days and went door-to-door selling to private homes. It is said that this is appreciated by those whose houses are in the middle of their busy season or by the elderly who have difficulty going out due to bad leg and back condition.

After making a round of the stalls, I had finished my shopping and was ready to go home when I saw Clare and Rilfana buying something.

I wanted to call out to them, but they seemed to be shopping stealthily, being somewhat cautious of their surroundings. I don't know what they were buying, but I would not get involved in such a situation.

◇

After returning home, I decided to cook a dish using the sauce.

First, I made ketchup by boiling down tomatoes, onions, and other ingredients.

Then, I cooked hamburgers the same way I did before. I make it into a stew, but this time, if I mix the ketchup with the sauce, it becomes a demi-glace sauce. I also add a little soy sauce and red wine to taste.

If I had time, I could have chopped up some mushrooms and added them in.

Since it takes time to make mince, it would be easier if I could make a mincer for making minced meat. I guess it would be difficult to make one because I don't know the shape of the blade and other details of the mechanism.

I wonder if there is a hardware store in town that sells them.

While thinking about this, I made a hamburger steak by hand.

"It's delicious!"

I have already realized that this is all Rilfana will say when I serve her meat dishes.

"The one I made before had a light flavor, but a strong flavor is delicious too."

"Delicious, Mina will ask for the recipe later."

It was well-received by Dad and Mom.

"Mmmm."

Clare ate with a difficult look on her face. It didn't seem to be bad, though, because she didn't stop eating.

...Constipation or something? 

◇

Rilfana's birthday is March 2. In the village, it is usually celebrated on March 28.

However, since February 28th is closer and she will be leaving home, we decided to celebrate on my birthday together.

I would like to get Rilfana a birthday present, but I'm not sure what she would want....

A bed.

My father didn't make a bed for me because the room is too small for a new bed, and because he thought I would probably leave home when I became an adventurer.

Even now, the three of us take turns sleeping together. It's nice in the winter when Clare and Rilfana are around to keep us warm.

Hmmm, I can't think of anything I would want. What would be your favorite? 

I guess that one?