Chapter 36

This time, I will talk about the currency and meals in this world.

Just read it with a "Hmm, that's what it is" kind of attitude, and there will be no problem.

Hopkins is a peddler.

After working for ten years at a merchant's shop in town, he used the money he had saved to start his peddling business with a small packhorse and a covered wagon. Initially, he would take goods from the city to the countryside and exchange them for agricultural products like wheat.

He deliberately went to remote villages far from the city, where other peddlers rarely visited. He knew that the profit would be low compared to the effort, but thanks to this, he managed to build a good relationship with several villages and felt a sense of accomplishment.

With this confidence, he proposed to a woman he met while working at the merchant's shop. She is now an important family member, riding in the back of his covered wagon. Furthermore, three years ago, he gained another important family member, a son.

It could be said that his life, though modest, has been smooth sailing.

When Hopkins visited a town in the country of Holmea, the rumor was that the army, which had gone to the northern part of the Solviant Plain to defeat the Zoan, accidentally set fire to the Zoan village and ended up being burned themselves, resulting in many casualties.

Hopkins thought this was a business opportunity.

The Solviant Plain was once the territory of the Zoan, so to go to the scattered pioneer villages and forts on the plain, it was common to form a caravan with other peddlers or to travel with the army.

However, if he formed a caravan, the profit would be divided, and it would be difficult to find other peddlers to travel with. Also, it was unclear when the army would set out next, and if he wanted to go with them, he knew they would demand a considerable tip.

He thought, why not go to the forts alone and sell supplies?

Indeed, the Solviant Plain was once the territory of the Zoan, but that was in the past.

The Zoan were driven out by the army and now live in the distant northern hills. Therefore, the possibility of being attacked by the Zoan on the plain was almost zero. The only concern was the bandits, but he thought there would be no foolish bandits working in the plain where the Zoan and the army roamed.

A few days later, Hopkins wished he could strangle the Hopkins of a few days ago.

"Well, what do we do with these, Garam?"

"Soma said to bring the soldiers back alive if possible. We have no choice but to take them with us."

In front of Hopkins, two Zoan, one with red hair and one with black hair, were talking. Both had massive bodies, and it seemed they could easily tear off his head with a twist.

In addition, the Zoan surrounded his covered wagon.

"Here's the deal. I'm sorry, but will you come with us?"

With his wife and child behind him, Hopkins could only desperately nod.

◆◇◆◇◆

When Hopkins, surrounded by the Zoan, was brought to the fort, he could hardly believe his eyes.

The fort was surrounded by many Zoan tents, and the large open gate had Zoan freely entering and exiting. It was clear that the fort had fallen into the hands of the Zoan, not the other way around.

As the covered wagon entered the fort's square through the gate, to his surprise, he saw many human figures. Most of them seemed to have burns and injuries, as the rumor suggested.

"Alright, wait here. -- You guys, unload the covered wagon's cargo."

The latter part of the black-haired Zoan's words was directed at the surrounding Zoan. They began to unload the medical supplies and other items from the covered wagon onto the square's ground. Despite being worried that his family might be harmed at any moment, they did not touch him or his family at all.

After a while, a human boy came out of the building with a Zoan girl.

"A peddler has arrived?"

Thinking the boy was also captured by the Zoan like himself, Hopkins was surprised when the boy called out to the black-haired Zoan in a friendly manner. Worried that the black-haired Zoan would be in a bad mood and take it out on him, but the Zoan did not seem to care and answered.

"The cargo in the covered wagon is ointments, bandages, and so on. It seems he intended to sell them to this fort."

"That's a relief. I'll buy everything. How much is it?"

"N-no, no, no! I don't need money. Please, just spare my family's lives!"

"That's not possible..."

"I really don't need money, please!"

"...That's a problem. Shemul, can you go get Mr. Malkronis?"

At the boy's words, the Zoan girl next to him went into the building and returned a while later with an elderly man with several sword scars on his face.

"What do you want from me?"

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Malkronis. A merchant has come to sell medical supplies, but I don't know the market price, so I was hoping you could tell me."

The man called Malkronis confirmed the types and quantities of the items the Zoan had unloaded from the covered wagon onto the ground.

"Twenty jars of ointment, two hundred rolls of bandages, ten jars of medicine, and fifty packets of laxatives. ...Hmm, including the risk of coming here, about thirty-seven silver coins, I think."

This was almost the same amount Hopkins had intended to sell for.

"Is that amount acceptable?"

Good or bad, Hopkins had no choice but to go along with the boy.

Continuing to nod, the boy interpreted it as acceptance and instructed the Zoan to carry the medical supplies into the building.

"By the way, you came from the city, right?"

"Yes, that's correct!"

"In that case, I'll pay double, but I have a favor to ask..."

The boy's smiling face seemed like that of a terrible villain to Hopkins.

◆◇◆◇◆

A few days later, Hopkins' covered wagon was heading south across the plain.

The wagon, now empty after unloading the goods at the fort, had two strange guests instead of his family.

"Hmm. I still can't get used to this covered wagon."

"Please bear with it. The purpose this time is to enter the city."

"Oh, no, I have no complaints about going with Soma. Of course!"

The two chatting leisurely on the wagon bed were a Zoan girl, whom Hopkins found to be beautiful with her fine fur and well-proportioned body, and a mysterious human boy named Soma.

In exchange for selling the goods at double the price, the boy's condition was to guide him to the city. Of course, his wife and son would stay at the fort during this time.

Initially, the boy intended to go alone, but the Zoan girl insisted on going with him, causing a commotion. The black Zoan tried to persuade her, but she refused to listen, and it was decided that she would go as the boy's slave.

When the Zoan girl said she would pretend to be a slave, the surrounding Zoan were so surprised that some almost fainted, and some even begged her to stop. This suggested that she was a very important person among the Zoan.

However, what was even more surprising was that such an important Zoan girl was taking care of the human boy so devotedly.

Over the past few days, Hopkins had been amazed by the Zoan girl's dedication to the boy.

She would wake up earlier than the boy to prepare meals and wait for him to get ready, and she would not lie down until the boy was asleep. When the boy shivered slightly from the north wind, she would gently drape a blanket over his shoulders, and when he dozed off in the swaying covered wagon, she would quietly rest his head on her lap.

It was as if she were a human girl in the throes of her first love.

In a world where Zoan and humans hated each other, if he had heard such a story from someone else, Hopkins would have laughed it off.

Another thing that puzzled Hopkins was how little the boy knew.

"Is this one coin worth one dinas?"

The boy picked up a bronze coin from the jar of military funds he had brought from the fort and asked Hopkins.

"Yes, one bronze coin is one dinas."

"Is this a gold coin?"

He then pointed to a dull golden coin.

"No, that's a brass coin."

It is made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc.

It's the same material as a five-yen coin in Japan.

"Hmm. What kinds of coins are in circulation in this world?"

While finding the boy's use of "this world" odd, Hopkins answered.

"In the country of Holmea, the coins in circulation are iron, bronze, brass, silver, and gold. It's mostly the same in other countries."

"What is the value of each?"

"Iron coins are one-twentieth of a bronze coin. Four bronze coins for one brass coin. Twenty-five brass coins for one silver coin. Fifty silver coins for one gold coin."

"One gold coin is worth five thousand bronze coins, or five thousand dinas."

Surprisingly, he immediately calculated the value of the coins.

In this era, those who could do calculations were usually merchants, officials, or people born into wealthy noble or knight families.

However, from what Hopkins could see, Soma did not fit into any of these categories. He knew too little to be a merchant or official, and it was impossible for someone from a wealthy family to be with the Zoan.

"Well, that's true, but usually, one brass coin is called a Melanis, one silver coin is an Agnis, and one gold coin is a Gluconis."

"Wow. Each currency has a different name. That's complicated."

Hopkins thought he should be the one surprised.

He couldn't understand what was so surprising about such a common fact.

"What is the value of one dinas?"

"Well, if you go to a tavern in the city, a jug of wine is usually one dinas. And—"

Hopkins reached into the food box from the driver's seat and took out a large round loaf of bread.

"This bread is two dinas."

"Is the price of one loaf of bread fixed at two dinas?"

"Yes, if it weren't, everyone would be in trouble, right?"

In this era, bread, the staple food, was essential for daily life. Most rulers strictly regulated the price of bread. If the price of bread were to rise, many people would not be able to afford it and would starve. If the starving people rioted or looted for bread, it would harm the country.

In years of poor wheat harvests, it was common to reduce the amount of wheat used or to add more barley, but if this was done excessively, it would result in punishment.

Additionally, fixing the price of bread helped stabilize the value of currency.

Currency is a medium of exchange. For example, suppose there are two people, A, who wants to sell fish, and B, who wants to sell meat. If A wants meat and B wants fish, they can exchange goods directly. However, if one or both do not want what the other has, barter cannot be conducted, and trade would stagnate everywhere.

However, if there is currency, A and B can convert their goods into currency, and if they want what the other has, they can exchange the currency for fish or meat. If they do not want what the other has, they can keep the currency and buy what they want from someone else. This makes transactions much smoother than barter.

However, for this to work, both A and B must recognize the value of the currency.

Therefore, rulers set the price of one loaf of bread at two dinas to guarantee the value of the currency. For the people, the price of bread, which is directly related to their daily lives, is easy to understand and use.

"Then, why are there marks on the surface of this bread?"

"Those marks make it easier to divide the bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"One loaf of bread is for one day. So, in this world, people also eat three meals a day?"

In modern times, three meals a day is common, but in different times and places, two meals a day is not uncommon. In Europe, ancient Rome had three meals a day, but from then on until the Middle Ages, it was two meals a day. In Japan, until the mid-Edo period, it was also two meals a day.

"That comes from the seven-columned gods holding three banquets a day to bless the sun, the beginning of this world."

The Zoan girl explained to the boy with a look of joy.

"In the morning, when the sun is reborn, at noon, when it is most vigorous, and at dusk, when it dies, we pray for its rebirth and bless the sun while eating."

"I see."

Despite his apparent intelligence, he did not know things that even younger children in the area would know.

What a strange boy.

"This bread is quite hard."

"Is it? I think bread is supposed to be like this."

The Zoan girl tilted her head as the boy tapped the surface of the bread with the back of his fingers.

During the journey, the boy, who had been eating rice balls and meat prepared by the Zoan girl, seemed very interested in the bread.

The reason he had not eaten bread during the journey was that when Hopkins tried to prepare meals for the two on the first day of the trip, the Zoan girl firmly refused, saying they would prepare their own meals.

"Both of you, we can see the city."

When he told the two in the back that the city was in sight, the boy leaned out of the covered wagon, his face lighting up.

"Wow...! That's the city?"

"Yes, that's the westernmost city of Holmea, Bornis."

11/11 Partial corrections