Chapter 164 - What's Needed for Preparation
Saturday
"Oh dear, rain..."
It was Saturday afternoon. Mion was at her lessons, so I was completely solo.
I'd make the iron ken-nata and small shield tonight, but for seafood, I'd have to wait for the rain to stop, so I decided to make wooden crates and baskets.
"Woof."
"Whoa, Lupi. Food first."
"Woof-woof!"
It was really good that I could cook and do Pottery in the dirt floor area even when it rained.
Speaking of which, I should really make an iron pot and a stockpot soon. With those, I could make a large batch of soup, and if I portioned it out and put it in storage, I could add a side dish anytime.
Still, since I didn't have any of those now, I ate Greydeer meat stir-fried with Lexon, Kitopukusa, and other vegetables.
I really want rice, or at least bread. It would be great if there was wheat or something on the north side...
...
..
.
First, I went to the storage to start making wooden crates.
Since I was going to be sawing and hammering, Lupi stayed at home for a nap.
If the weather were nice, she'd probably go play with Sweee and the fairies... What do the fairies do when it rains?
Thinking such thoughts, I chose some of the old wallboards that weren't in bad condition...
Ah! I forgot about putting a mini chest on top of the Transfer Magic Circle on the first floor. I'll do that first.
I didn't need elaborate designs, so I prioritized practicality. Something like a chest of drawers with shelves and drawers would be enough.
I measured the length with a rope and marked it with a piece of chalk made by shaving Greydeer horn.
It didn't leave a white line like real chalk, but it was sufficient for its purpose, so it was fine.
One meter in height, width, and depth. I'd make a cube-like box... two drawers should be enough. I couldn't really think of what to put in them.
Things that seemed to need storage right now... cooking utensils? That actually made me feel like I should make a cupboard for the dirt floor area.
After making this mini chest, I'd make a cupboard next...
...
..
.
[Woodcraft Skill level has increased!]
"Oh, lucky. That makes it 8!"
My Woodcraft Skill leveled up after I finished the cupboard.
I'd made quite a lot with Woodcraft. Cups, plates, spoons, chopsticks, repairing bows, and arrows. Oh, did axe handles, doors, and windows also involve Woodcraft? And now, a mini chest and a cupboard.
It was good that I realized before assembling the mini chest, "If I assemble it here, it won't fit through the stairs to the first floor?"... even though I woke Lupi.
"Heave-ho."
I stood the cupboard up and moved it closer to the mountain cabin side.
Since I was placing it outside, I was worried about dust and such, so I added double-hinged doors only on the top. It was a good thing I had extra hinges made for windows.
The bottom part had no doors and fewer shelves. I wanted to store the stockpot I planned to make there.
"I'll put some weights at the bottom. [Stone Wall]."
I installed two stone wall bricks on the left and right of the bottom shelf.
With this, it shouldn't be blown over by the wind... hopefully.
"Woof."
"~~~♪"
"Oh, Lupi and Sweee. The rain stopped, didn't it?"
Sweee perched on my left shoulder, glancing at me repeatedly, probably hinting at Greenberries. I gave her some of my personal snacks I had in my inventory.
Both the Greenberry and Papu Tree seemed to have taken root successfully, so I felt it might be a good idea to transplant a few more saplings of each.
No, no, seafood first.
I'll save basket weaving for another rainy day and head to the coast. I need to replenish my salt too.
"Shall we go to the coast?"
"Woof!"
...
..
.
While boiling seawater to make salt, I free-dived... and finally got kelp!
[Tialp]
A large seaweed that grows at depths of around 10 meters. Material Processing: Can be dried and used as food or seasoning.
With this, I could finally make kelp broth!
"Puh-ha!"
[Diving Skill level has increased!]
Ah, right, I had acquired the Diving Skill too...
And I spotted something like shrimp again, only for them to get away. I never learn.
"I need to make a spear too..."
Lupi and Sweee were happily playing at the water's edge.
"I guess that's enough for now."
I stored the kelp and returned to salt production. I thought about whether I could just instantly dry the seawater with magic, but I rejected the idea, as it would likely consume an outrageous amount of MP.
If it were that easy, regular mages would already be doing it.
"Alright, I think I can do this much. [Drying]."
Even though the salt that appeared was still a bit moist, it became clean salt with about the same MP consumption as drying Papu Fruit. So convenient.
I opened the menu and checked the real-world time... It was just before 4 o'clock.
I probably had enough time to make one item by blacksmithing, so I needed to make a stockpot, no, a spear.
"If I'm making a spear, the shaft would be wood... but that would float, wouldn't it?"
“Brother!”
"Whoa! Ah, right. I was streaming..."
I had completely forgotten that Seth (Miki) had asked me to set the stream to club-group-only.
“What are you so surprised about, brother...?”
"Sorry, I completely forgot I was streaming. So, what happened?"
“It seems new ancient ruins were discovered this morning. The location is said to be north of a settlement in the Empire’s Anheim Territory.”
"Hmph."
I thought the Empire wouldn't be involved with ancient ruins because of the civil war, but I guess it's because things have settled down.
Ah, no, a settlement would be a place that accepted refugees, so this might be good news for the players there.
"Wait? Were the monsters that were swarming us coming from there?"
“Indeed. As expected of you, brother.”
No, no, anyone would think that. Or rather,
"Does that mean it's also a place where other raids occurred? Was it the southwest that Seth and the others were defending? Hasn't that been found?"
“That’s it. It became ambiguous after we helped the Gnomes.”
"Ah—..."
Back then, our reason for looking for fairies was ostensibly to "investigate where the swarming monsters were coming from," but it turns out that place actually existed.
"So, aren't you going to look for it?"
“No, for the southwest, Natto-dono and the guild there should be prioritized.”
"Ah, that's right. Silver Manor's main focus is the northwest, after all. Is the northwest also an ancient ruin with an ore deposit?"
I recall hearing something about the innermost door of the second floor being closed, so there's a chance it might have opened.
“Most likely. But I have a feeling there might be some problems...”
"What problems?"
“Those Winged Folk.”
"Ah, those arrogant types..."
If Mithril or something similar starts appearing deep in that area, I have a feeling things are going to get complicated.
"But you're going to check it out, right?"
“Indeed, Bell-bucho and Leona-dono are both enthusiastic about it. In any case, we must take action.”
"I see. Well, then, all I can say is, there might be a Mithril ore deposit, so lay the groundwork thoroughly."
“What did you say?!”