Chapter 92

"Alright, I think I'll start making that too."

After creating a hardened brick horseshoe, one of the Valkyrie's equipment, and completing its enchantment, I decided to move on to my next task. It was about the food storage.

Until now, the village of Balca had been storing food in a very ordinary warehouse. However, I had always been concerned about food storage. With the memories of my previous life, I had always lived surrounded by abundant food all year round, taking it for granted. However, I realized after being reborn in this world that there are specific times when food can be harvested, and outside of those times, it cannot be consumed, which is a natural law. The ability to eat food regardless of the season was an abnormal situation.

I could say that since I was born in Balca, I have always been thinking about food. I had constantly evolved the magic I dreamed of in my previous life to eat food. However, even if I created the spell "Soil Improvement" to increase the harvest, it did not extend the storage period. At best, I stored food in holes dug in the ground, which was only slightly better than storing it at room temperature, and the food would become inedible after a while. Even when trying to make preserved food, there were limits to what could be done, and the results were not satisfactory.

But that is about to change. I have obtained a new method of storage.

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A new storage facility. I created it on my land. To be precise, I didn't create anything particularly special. I just built a large warehouse. However, I made the walls of the warehouse quite thick. I created a completely sealed space where no sunlight or wind could enter, with not even a single gap.

"Ice Spear"

I used magic inside the warehouse. The spell I used was the ice magic I received a name for from Carlos, the head of the Fontana family. Until then, I could only use spells to strengthen my body or those related to soil, but after receiving a name, I could use the spell "Ice Spear." I repeatedly cast "Ice Spear" inside the empty warehouse.

"Ice Spear" creates an ice spear about the size and length of an adult man's arm and launches it. The ice spears rolled around inside the warehouse. As with the battle against the Fontana army, the ice created by magic does not simply disappear after a certain period. Like the things I created with soil magic, the ice spears remain. However, naturally, the ice will melt over time. Therefore, when a certain amount of ice had accumulated, I scattered sawdust on top.

In other words, the warehouse I created was called an ice house. Typically, ice from ponds is stored in a basement called an ice house, and by covering the surface of the ice with sawdust, it can remain even during seasons when ice does not naturally exist. I decided to store the ice created with the new ice magic I could use. However, I am not the only one who can create ice. Since I received a name from Carlos, those with the Balca surname, who are related to me, can also use the ice magic "Ice Spear."

Thus, it became possible to create and store ice all year round in Balca.

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"However, Lord Ars, was this ice house really necessary? Since those with the Balca surname can create ice themselves, there seems to be no need to store it."

"What are you talking about, Gran? I prepared this ice for food storage."

The reason I went to the trouble of creating an ice house as a warehouse was for food storage from the beginning. I didn't want to create a place to store ice. I wanted to create a refrigerator.

I have never used one myself, but I heard that old refrigerators did not use electricity. There were refrigerators made of wooden frames that used ice to cool the interior. I wanted to recreate that. However, there was no need to make it for household use. I created a large warehouse and stored ice inside, preparing a space to store food in the cooled warehouse. Of course, it would also be possible to create wooden refrigerators for household use. Not everyone in the village has the Balca surname, so I will sell ice to those who cannot create it themselves.

With the introduction of this ice house-type refrigerator, foods that did not last long before can now be stored for a reasonable period. Vegetables that could only be eaten immediately after harvest, and the meat of large boars that were occasionally obtained, can now be stored, slightly improving my diet.

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