Magic Warrior Chapter 22 (Patreon)

Claire's Birthday

Two months had passed since the site survey.

Alphos-San and my father spent a few days exploring the area around the church, and they figured that it might be in the center of the forest to the south.

They then went north from the church to confirm the location, and found themselves near the village.

After reporting to the village chief, Alphos-san and the others went back to town to report the results to the Adventurers' Guild as well. The day before returning to town, the ban on alcohol was lifted, and they were having a fool's errand at home.

Mirell-san, who was not very good at drinking, was accompanied by a drunken Alphos-san, who promptly collapsed and slept almost completely on his desk.

We seem to have run out of liquor other than our cooking sake, but since my father was the only one who drank it, the damage was minimal. Dad was a little depressed the next day.

He regretted that if the dungeon had remained, many adventurers would have come to the village and new industries would have been established. Dungeons are part of the industry?

The village tavern was completed.

The harvest in Feld Village had increased greatly in the last 10 years, and the merchants had asked for a place to rest.

The bar has a few rooms, but it is also available for overnight stays. The only time it was expected to be crowded was during the peddling season, so it was apparently the villagers' policy to take turns running the place while they were at work.

This was what my father had been planning with the village chief without telling his family. They also wanted to attract a branch of the Adventurer's Guild, but in the end they couldn't do it because it was too close to the town.

If that dungeon had stayed, it might have been approved.

Harvesting of fall vegetables has also begun.

The main vegetables we are growing at home this fall are Luche Potatoes, eggplant, and rice. The Luche Potato could be called a sweet potato if it were a vegetable that I know. In this world, rice and potatoes were also grown all year round, and even in Mina's memory, potato dishes were often served at this time of the year.

The soil in this village was said to be magical, and vegetables and trees grow very fast, almost abnormally fast.

It takes about half the time to grow vegetables and trees compared to normal land, so there was no need to worry about food.

Vegetables were also the main source of income for the village. I was afraid that the land would become thin due to agriculture, but I was told that if the vegetables start to lose their growth, they should only take a break for the next season or reduce the amount of seeds sown for two seasons. The next season, the vegetables would grow without any problems.

In this world, it was important to deal with the magic of the land.

Yes, the names of vegetables and fruits, but I think the ones that were implemented in the "SeveCro" world are still understood in Japanese.

Carrera Lettuce and Pino Peppers would not have existed as ingredients.

Most of the seasonings existed, so they would not have had unique names. Conversely, wood would only have been unique in the game.

"SeveCro" also had various production skills such as blacksmithing and cooking, which could be raised freely.

Once a production skill level was raised to 100, it was treated as a specialty and could only be raised once several conditions had been met.

In many cases, there was a requirement that certain other production skills not be specialized in order to become a specialty.

There was a fair amount of information out there that this skill was compatible with that skill.

I was mainly trained in cooking and magic enchanting skills, and I did not have any woodworking skills, so I was not familiar with wood. Most people had skills in blacksmithing and leather working, which allowed them to repair equipment. Of course, I was no exception.

I noticed that I was less tired when I practiced swordsmanship, but since exploring the dungeon, I feel less tired. I can control my magic power more easily. Since I can't practice openly, I can only use recovery and strengthening magic, but I confirmed that I can use them properly.

I suspect it was the effect of the tea I drank at the Goddess of Light, Tellnet's place. Maybe it increased her stamina, or maybe her basic status has been raised?

And it was almost Claire's birthday.

Usually, Mom and Dad cook a feast for her, but since it's her birthday, it might be a good time to think of a present for her.

I wondered what Claire would like to receive.

So, I was going to stick around Claire for a day to find out what she might want.

"Big sis, are you thinking of something stupid again?"

Maybe it was because I had been watching Claire all morning, but she found out at breakfast. I shouldn't keep staring at her!

...I wondered if she thought I was the kind of older sister who was thinking of something stupid just by looking at her. Wouldn't that make your big sister cry?

In the mornings during harvest time, both Claire and I help our father.

Harvesting potatoes requires a lot of digging, so we are quite busy. Father told us that the merchants would be coming soon to stock up on vegetables. I wonder if the merchant will bring some goods for sale from the town, so let's see if he sells some accessories that could be a gift for me.

◇

Four times a year, when the merchants come to purchase vegetables, a market is held in the center of the village.

Most of the goods displayed were household goods purchased from the town, such as clothes, and seasonings other than salt, but there were also some merchants selling accessories and wooden toys. There were no books, as I heard at the church. Was it because they were expensive and heavy?

Come to think of it, I think I had hardly ever been to the market."

"You didn't seem interested in anything other than sword practice or napping, sister. That's unusual, isn't it?"

I was at the market with Claire. I had planned to come alone, but Claire wanted to go too, so we ended up coming together. I wanted to sneak in and see if there was anything I could give as a gift.

Well, I guess this would be a good way to see if I could find something that Claire would be interested in.

I told her I was going to the market and my father gave me some money.

Since I rarely visit the market, I decided to borrow more money from my father, thinking that I might find something I wanted, and that I would return the gold coins I found in the ruins after I redeemed them.

I would like to visit the town eventually.

The vegetables in Feld Village are of good taste and quality, and easy to sell. Many merchants come to Feld Village because of its proximity to the town and the high profit margins. This means that more goods are brought in, and more stalls are set up.

I guess there would be many stalls selling clothes, cloths, seasonings, and magic stones for batteries.

If there were interesting seasonings, it would be possible to buy them and cook something. Many spices could be stored for a long time, so many households buy them at stalls so that they will last until the next season. Many households buy spices at stalls so that they will last until the next season.

If spices become scarce, they would be available at the general store in the village, so there is no need to buy them.

Curry could be made in rough quantities, but it would be difficult to make sweets until you have tried several times. But it won't be a surprise if I practice, right?

"Oh, big sis, they have some accessories. They're beautiful."

We also found an accessory stall.

Since Claire had refrained from exploring with Alphos-san and the others, she might want to save money, since she only had enough money for one large gold coin.

Would it have been nice to buy something for her?

◇

"Happy birthday, Claire."

--Claire's birthday.

Pancakes have become a tradition at our house for birthdays, and this year I put whipped cream on top of the pancakes.

I just whipped cream with milk and butter, then added sugar and whisked. I was going to try it a few times, but I was surprised that I was able to make it in one shot, perhaps due to my cooking skills. It tasted not bad either.

My mom's reaction was "I didn't know you could make something like this". I guess she didn't care too much about it. Since my father was an adventurer, I think she was used to being exposed to new things in her life after marriage.

I also gave her a hair ornament I made with my engraving skills.

The whole piece was shaped like a leaf, and a dark blue gemstone, which would go well with Claire's hair, was cut into an octahedron, or point cut.

The carving and size of the hair ornament were kept to be not too luxurious so that it would not be difficult to use in daily life.

I gave it to her in a box simply wrapped with shikishi irogami (colored paper) and thin ribbons that I had bought while at the market.

"Big sis, can I open it?"

"Sure."

Claire carefully opened the box so as not to tear the wrapping paper.

In fact, I've raised the defense a little bit as practice for the grant magic. It was just a feeling, so it wouldn't be anything strange if it was discovered.

The magic enchantment required a medium, but for low-rank enchantments, gems can be used as a medium.

If you would like to use a high rank enchantment or to give multiple effects to one item, you would need an additional item for the medium, which I could not make at the moment.

"Thanks, Big Sis!"

Claire looked at the hair ornament she had taken out and smiled broadly.

She took off the string that usually holds her hair together and tried to put it on immediately. Mom had put it on Claire, telling her not to make a mess since it was a special gift. The bright copper-colored leaves and dark blue stones matched Claire's red hair better than I expected.

My father was amazed, wondering where I had learned how to make them.

Claire stroked her hair ornament and smiled happily.

--Yes, my sister was cute, after all. Can't argue with that!