We left Camilo’s shop and head home. This time, in addition to the usual iron ores, charcoal, salt and wine, I also bought dried root vegetables and a little pepper. When we were leaving the city, I still gave a bow to the guards. When I think about it, the one standing on the gate was not one of my acquaintances so it’s hard for them to tell that there are only two people today even though three people always come. I think they were just right in time.
On the way back, we took more time than usual as we proceed with caution. As expected, it was a lot later than usual but in the end, we were able to get home without any incident in particular.
“We’re home”
“Oh, welcome home Eizou”
“Welcome home”
I asked Samia and Diana to help us bring the luggage inside. While Samia and Rike are bringing the iron ores to the workshop, me and Diana bring the salt and wine to the kitchen. While doing that,
“Oh, this is pepper isn’t it?”
Diana noticed the pepper.
“Yeah. I bought it because there were some in Camilo’s shop. I don’t want to use it in large quantities but with it, the flavour will definitely improve.”
“Oh? Then Eizou-san has eaten a dish using pepper?”
“Uhm”
Oops! In this world, it’s not extremely expensive depending on the region (at least it is not the same amount as gold of the same weight), but it is a reasonably high-class product because the area that cultivate it is limited due to the climate. Normally, you can’t say that you have already eaten it. And what I said earlier also isn’t something that humans here just happened to say.
“Well… I have a special circumstance so I usually keep it as a secret but I have a family name called “Tanya”. “Eizou Tanya” is my full name.”
“I was wondering if that’s the case since you can use magic, it turns out that I’m right after all.”
“Though I have a family name, due to some reasons it is impossible for me to name my house for the sake of Eimurl family you know.”
In the first place, even if there is a house with the same name as me, it’s not really my family so there is actually no house that will help.
“Do the other two know about it?”
“That’s right. I think they didn’t tell you because I told them to keep it a secret. Diana-san too, please keep it a secret. You could get caught up in a troublesome thing you see.”
“I understand. I also have a family name so I understand the bothersome matter in that area.”
“Yeah, I guess so…”
What’s more, she’s exactly in the midst of that troublesome situation.
Diana smiled and said that, I was really relieved. That evening, I added a little crushed pepper to the usual soup. Since I’m already at it, I also remove the salt to some freshly salted meat, grilled and serve it with a little pepper sprinkled on it.
“Whoa-, it’s delicious!”
It was Samia who was overjoyed. Beastmen are almost self-sufficient, so they don’t use pepper. Well, in the first place, their preservation method is drying so salt is not used that much.
“As Boss had said, it’s a bit different and delicious.”
Rike was also happy. Even at Rike’s house, food preservation mainly used salt and it seems that pepper was not used. The male dwarves are a big eater, so she joked that if they used pepper, they would go bankrupt in no time.
“Oh my, even with only this much pepper it’s very delicious already. I may prefer this one.”
That’s what Diana said. On the contrary, it seems that some aristocrats serve dishes full of pepper. I also want to refrain from eating that.
I don’t know if the pepper will be supplied in a stable manner, but at one point I will try to buy it as much as possible.
Dawn, the next day.
As soon as I finish fetching water in the morning, I head to the entrance of the forest. After having breakfast, the other three would start making shortswords and longswords at the workshop.
I go through the forest. It’s always quiet in this forest but it’s even quieter today, probably because it’s early in the morning. It’s as if the forest hasn’t awakened yet. While I pass alone through the bushes, I feel that my footsteps are loud. Since I’m alone today, I can move quickly even if I’m fully on guard with just a self-defense knife and a short sword. I think that my speed is making the noise louder, so I slowed down a little and continuously head towards the entrance of the forest.
Eventually, I arrived at the entrance of the forest much earlier than usual. I climbed on one of the trees nearby. Even when I was a kid, I never climbed a tree that many times but by the cheat and installed experience, I managed to do it somehow. If I stay still here, my appearance can be hidden while I’m looking at the road.
Thus I didn’t move and keep an eye on the road. It was good at first, but after half an hour, my body, which is not that young anymore began aching. However, if I move around, they will find out that I am here. So I could only move my body little by little.
“I’m like a sniper huh… but well, what I’m doing isn’t really that different.”
I wait while talking to myself.
For the next hour, there were some people who passed by but they are not the person I’m waiting for. One hour after that, the person I’m waiting for finally came. That person came from the town. He looked around at the position close to me and when he confirmed that nobody else is around, he hid something in the bush near the forest at the side of the road and walked towards the Capital as it is.
After I made sure that he was gone and confirmed that no one is approaching me, I quickly climbed down the tree and run up to the bush. There was a bag there, so I collected it and quickly returned inside the forest to check the contents of the bag in a position not visible from the road. It contained a small piece of paper and a light green ribbon. What’s written on the paper was, “Did you confirm it?”
After I wrote “I confirmed” on the paper with the writing instrument that I took out of my bosom, I returned to the bush again, attached a light green ribbon to a place that was hard to see from the road side, and hid the letter a little away from it. All I have to do is go back inside the forest and go home.
This is the method of contact that I decided with Camilo. Camilo has staffs that go from the town to the Capital and similarly a staff that goes from the Capital to the town. So with that, we exchange letters by hiding the letter in the bushes alongside the road near the forest. Someone from the town going to the Capital hides the letter in one of the bushes around here. Then after I received it, I will attach a ribbon to the bush it was originally hidden to hide the reply. The man who came from the Capital going to the town would then collect the letter based on the landmark and deliver it to Camilo.
It’s a hassle, but with this, I can get in touch with Camilo once a day. In addition, I don’t have to go to the city nor does Camilo have to leave the city. However, in case of an emergency, Camilo will come directly to give me the letter. At that time, eyewitnesses will be inevitable.
Now then, with this, I’m ready to help Marius-san. The rest is whether I can meet the request or not.