Chapter 63

Summary of the previous chapter ------------------------------------------------------

After viewing the last property introduced by Diora, it also didn't meet the conditions.

Therefore, we decided to continue staying at the inn for a while and look into purchasing land to build a house.

"Well, in that case, we need to come up with some money."

After parting ways with Diora, who had a job at the guild, we returned to the inn.

Our plan is to continue living here for a while and save money.

"Well, when it comes to raising money, the only thing we can do is take jobs at the guild. Unlike our world, we can't take out loans."

"To be precise, it's not safe. There's a risk of being scammed, and in the worst case, you might end up as a slave. There's no such thing as bankruptcy here."

Haruka's words were supplemented by Yuki. Come to think of it, Yuki also has the skill [Common Sense of Another World].

"Wait, didn't you say that slavery is prohibited?"

"What Yuki means is de facto slavery. Like a harsh form of imprisonment. They supposedly try not to let you die, but it's not as lenient as in Japan."

In a monitored state, you are forced to work, and not only do you have to pay off your debt, but a portion is also taken as management fees, making it much harder to pay off than working normally.

In Japan, if you work while in prison, you receive your wages when you are released, but the wages are deducted for food, maintenance of the prison, and guards' salaries, similar to what you might imagine.

"Yeah. No debt, absolutely."

Slavery is just too terrible. Obviously.

"I don't intend to let that happen. The dangerous part is when you get scammed, so not just Naoto, but everyone should report, communicate, and consult. Don't forget that."

"That's right. It's important to consult with a third party calmly. Scammers often try to make you anxious and lose your composure."

"There might be unique scams in this world, so be careful. Everyone, let's look out for each other."

At Yuki's words, we all nodded in agreement.

"By the way, changing the subject a bit, does Diora like dried dindles?"

"Not just dried, she's really into dindles in general."

The dindles we sold were also obtained through a bit of abuse of power. She insisted it was fine, but...

"They're expensive and seasonal, so they're useful for negotiations."

"Are dried dindles delicious?"

"Come to think of it, Natsumi and Yuki haven't tried them, have you? Want to try?"

"Is it okay?"

"I want to!"

"Sure. Just wait a moment... Here you go."

Haruka took out the dried dindles stored in a box in the corner of the room and handed one to each of them.

The two recipients looked at the dried dindles curiously.

"Are we supposed to eat these as they are?"

"Yes, just bite into them. You can cut them if you want, but it's not necessary."

Dried dindles are different from regular dried fruits because they are dried whole in their large size.

Dried fruits that are dried whole are usually only as big as apricots. Anything larger is typically sliced before drying.

Given this, the large and thick dried dindles might seem a bit unusual.

But they are delicious.

Encouraged by our gazes, the two took a bite and immediately widened their eyes in surprise.

"This, this is delicious! It's very sweet, but it also has a tangy flavor... Even the skin is delicious!"

"Yes, this is the first time I've had such a good dried fruit."

That's right.

Drying intensifies the sweetness, and the skin, which is usually discarded when fresh, becomes edible, making it a bit of a bargain.

Unfortunately, the refreshing tanginess is reduced, which is a bit of a downside for me, as I enjoy it when fresh.

"Indeed, this is... By the way, how much do they cost?"

"Well, at market price, they wouldn't be less than 1,000 rea."

"More than one gold coin!? That's expensive!"

"Come to think of it, if we sell all our stock, we could probably pay for the land."

"I'm against that! We should keep this precious sweet treat!"

"I find it hard to say, as it's not our achievement, but I also think we should keep it..."

Haruka's words were immediately opposed by Yuki, and Natsumi also expressed a negative opinion, albeit reluctantly.

"I also think we should keep it, but what about Naoto and Toya?"

"I'm okay with selling half..."

"..."

"No, I think we should keep them."

"Yeah, they're delicious!"

Seeing Yuki and Natsumi's sad faces, I quickly changed my mind, and Toya agreed.

After all, we need to earn money for the house, so there's no need to rush and make the girls sad.

"Dried fruits are also useful as provisions during expeditions, so I'm in favor of keeping them. I plan to buy other cheaper dried fruits as well."

In terms of price-to-weight ratio, other dried fruits can be bought for a fraction of the cost. Eating only dindles would be a luxury.

Even with a large quantity, if we all eat 1-2 each per day, they won't last until spring.

"But can we earn 400 gold coins in a short time?"

"Well, it seems expensive, but if you think about it as 1.5 times the cost of two chainmails, it might not seem so daunting."

Yuki's face showed surprise at Haruka's words.

"...No, thinking about it that way, I'm actually scared of wearing chainmail."

"Well, in Japanese yen, it's like a 1 million yen or more outfit (or armor)."

"Thinking about it, chainmail is quite expensive."

Toya's chainmail could buy a car.

"But if you think about it, ancient armor cost around 20-30 million yen. It's not that unreasonable."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ancient samurai had to spend as much as building a house to get their armor made."

"Wow... I guess the labor costs are high because it's all handmade. Chainmail also seems quite troublesome."

Making fine chains by hand is a daunting task.

"It's not just the labor, but the white iron used is also expensive."

Toya said this, having learned it from Gants when making a shovel.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's rust-resistant and light, right?"

"Whether it's rust-resistant or not is still unknown, but it does feel lighter than regular iron."

"It's so light, you might think it's aluminum. About half the weight of iron, I'd say. And it's 2-3 times stronger."

"Wow. That's impressive. It must be expensive, then."

"Hey, did you buy this super expensive armor without knowing all this?"

While saying this, Yuki picked up the chainmail I had left nearby. The fact that she could lift it easily with one hand showed how light it was.

"I left it to Gants, the weapon shop owner. It's better than a layman trying to make decisions without knowledge."

"True, that's one way to do it if you trust the person."

"By the way, the material costs about 10 times that of iron. It's also much harder to process. In my mind, it's like stainless steel."

"Thinking about it, if you made it by hand in Japan, it would probably cost more than 1 million yen."

Stainless steel is really hard. Just cutting a thin stainless steel wire with cheap pliers is quite a challenge.

Imagine the cost of making it into wire without machines.

"But 400 gold coins seems like a lot. If we hunt boars every day, we could save up in less than two months."

"Wow... No, it's hard to gauge the standard."

Yuki tilted her head.

We need to consider the effort and danger involved in hunting boars, and the value of currency varies depending on the reference point, making it difficult to convert.

Roughly, we usually think of 1 rea as 10 yen, but this is based on the price of bread. If we consider fruits or lodging, it doesn't quite match.

"Simply converting to Japanese yen, 400,000 rea is 4 million yen. Divided by five people, that's a monthly income of 400,000 yen. Not bad, right?"

Toya calculated it simply.

A high school graduate—no, a dropout—earning 400,000 yen a month is rare. The cost of living varies, so a simple comparison doesn't make sense, but it feels good.

"Including bonuses, that's an annual income of 4.8 million yen. Considering that taxes, social insurance, and expenses are all self-funded, it's not that high. Probably around 2.4 million yen in reality."

"Especially with the risk to our lives and no insurance or hazard pay!"

Natsumi and Yuki said this, and suddenly the dream seemed to fade. It was a bit sad.

"No, no, we can earn money in other ways too. If we're lucky, we can hunt more than two boars."

Toya countered, but Haruka, while partly agreeing, raised another concern.

"That's true, but the problem is how long we can continue hunting boars. Right now, it's a good season, and there are many and they are fat, but in winter, they will become fewer and thinner."

"In that case, our income will drop significantly."

"Are there deer? If they are overpopulated like in Japan, we could hunt them freely?"

In Japan, the deer population is at a dangerous level, and if it continues to grow, it could become a serious problem.

Culling is being done, but there are few people with hunting rifles, and even if they shoot, there's no profit. It's a tricky situation. If deer were to transfer here, we could hunt them.

"Deer in Japan increased because there were no wolves. In this world, with monsters, it's unlikely that normal animals will overpopulate."

"Instead, monsters might overpopulate!"

According to Haruka and Yuki, when animal populations increase, stronger monsters hunt them, leading to an increase in the monster population.

The increased monster population continues to hunt animals, but when it exceeds a certain number, the territory can no longer support them.

This leads to the monsters spilling out of their territory and attacking nearby settlements, causing a flood.

"Monsters act as natural predators... Not a pleasant thought."

If the population increases, it's better to have edible animals like boars or deer rather than goblins.

Some monsters are edible, but I don't want to eat goblins.

"If the boar population decreases, we might have to go for goblin magic stones. Even without psychological resistance, it's not very efficient."

You have to crack their heads for 250 rea. Considering this—

"Dindles were a bonus item for elves, right?"

Just reaching out to pick the fruit is one goblin.

Very efficient.

"Given the high reward, others might go for them too, but Toya hasn't climbed up. If I were human, it would probably be impossible."

"True. Besides, there have been accidents where adventurers mimicking this have fallen."

Aera climbed the trees more casually than I did, but they are huge, about 50 meters tall.

The wind at the top is strong.

Standing on a branch to harvest the fruit and then descending with a bag full of fruit is more dangerous than climbing up.

Without a safety rope, they probably would have fallen in the early days.

Moreover, the path to the dindle trees is not safe.

For us and adventurers with [Scout], it's not too dangerous, but for ordinary people, task boars and goblins are still risky.

"Hmm, there's a reason for the high price, after all."

"Of course. That's how the economy works."

"Earlier, Haruka mentioned 'herbs.' How profitable is that?"

"Normally, it's not very profitable, but with our [Help] and [Appraise] skills, we can make a good profit."

When we first delivered to the guild, Diora was surprised.

"Really?"

"Normally, you'd have to memorize the types of herbs and learn how to distinguish them, but with the skills, it's easy."

"In a way, it's a very convenient skill among the many that are like landmines. Even if it's not a cheat, it's a bonus skill, right?"

"Many people take [Appraise], so it might be a blessing from the evil god?"

[Help], [Appraise], and [Pierce] are a bit different from other skills, as far as we know.

Is there some meaning to it, or is it support from the evil god? We'll find out eventually, I guess.

"But among us, only Toya has [Appraise]. I have [Help]..."

Natsumi said this, glancing at Yuki.

"Right! I don't have [Appraise] or [Help]! Toya, teach me [Appraise]! It has levels