Chapter 4

Opening the door, I returned to the kitchen. I was hungry, but there was no convenient food that could be eaten in just a few minutes like in the previous world.

I looked at the shelves to see what ingredients were available. There were beans and vegetables (mostly root vegetables), and some smoked meat, which was probably pork.

When I peeked into the jars, they contained salted meat, which was also likely pork. For now, I decided to cook these by boiling them.

The pot was already on the hearth, so I transferred water from a large water jug to a smaller one and poured it into the pot, then lit the hearth. I thought I would have to kindle the fire myself and set it to the wood, but I was able to light the hearth with a simple spell.

They had said that the allocation of magic was minimal, but it seemed that this convenient aspect of daily life was included in the "minimal" category. While kindling a fire myself might have been romantic, it would be troublesome in daily life, so I was grateful for this.

I suddenly wondered, if I could start a fire with such a simple, minimal spell, why wasn't there something like a refrigerator? There were only dried vegetables and freshly picked ones, and the meat was only dried. It seemed that refrigeration technology hadn't developed here, or if it existed, it was a very expensive item that wouldn't fit in a place like this, which felt a bit isolated from civilization.

The water in the pot began to boil, so I added the sliced salted meat, vegetables, and beans. There were lentil-like beans and soybean-like beans, but I decided to use the soybean-like ones. I continued to heat them, stirring with a wooden ladle.

While watching the pot bubble, I thought about my future life.

Even if I could earn money by forging here, I needed to figure out how to obtain food, seasonings (probably just salt for preservation for now), and water.

I wasn't sure if my products would sell right away.

Considering this, I needed to think of a way to procure food before it ran out.

Today, I would confirm whether it was morning or afternoon when I woke up and how the evening looked in this house, and tomorrow I would explore the forest.

After all, I had no idea how large this forest was.

Perhaps the geographical information was "installed" in my head, but I didn't know where I was. I wanted to find the nearest village and learn where this forest was, how large it was, and what kind of place it was.

Without this information, it would be too unsettling to spend the next few decades of my "afterlife."

As a blacksmith, I would eventually have visitors—though I had no idea when—but it would be too strange to say I had been living alone in this forest all along.

If this forest was a place where people frequently entered, they would find this suddenly appearing house suspicious. If I ever went to a village, I would need to investigate that as well.

It was inevitable that I had a lot to do right after the "move."

While I was thinking about all this, the pot boiled. I took a wooden bowl from the shelf and ladled the stew into it. It didn't smell bad.

I brought a spoonful to my mouth. It was exactly as expected: the taste of boiled salted meat, root vegetables, and beans.

It wasn't bad, and it was a taste I could eat normally.

With this, I wouldn't be driven to mental exhaustion from not being able to eat. I was the type who could handle the same taste for a long time. If I got tired of it, I could think about it then.

After eating the soup, the sun hadn't set yet.

The leaves of the trees obstructed the view, but it seemed to be early afternoon, so I decided to explore a bit outside.

I took the sword and scythe from the living space and attached them to my waist. I had just noticed, but I was now dressed in a hemp shirt and pants with a leather vest, the typical "RPG villager" style.

In this outfit, I wouldn't be particularly suspicious if I suddenly encountered someone. Well, unless this was an extremely remote place.

In any case, I decided to search for a water source for about 2 to 3 hours and return if I couldn't find one. I went outside, locked the door, and stepped into the forest.