episode_0345

Weee_

“Meh, grasshopper. “It’s locust!”

“fire! “We have to set it on fire!”

A disaster has struck the empire.

Locust.

There was no farmer who did not know that a swarm of locusts would cause disaster.

Once they appeared, they devoured all crops to the extent that one could even use the word disaster.

The overwhelming despair they brought was fatal to the common people.

“Where on earth could there be so many swarms of locusts?!”

“I think that’s the direction to the front line… .”

“Fuck, locusts from a polluted area? “So it’s not a monster?”

Just a swarm of locusts was hopeless, but if it included monsters, there was no answer.

But unfortunately, their ominous imagination became reality.

“Mo, it’s a monster!!! “This is a monster!”

Even though I felt uncomfortable, I shouldn’t have said something ominous for no reason.

“Woah, it’s not locust!!! “It’s a monster!”

“Ugh!”

“help me!”

The bugs that I thought were a swarm of locusts turned out to be monsters.

The only way to prevent locusts was to burn the crops with fire to drive them out or kill them.

The pride of noble nobles did not allow them to use awakened people just to protect crops.

However, the bugs that were thought to be locusts did not die even when they were set on fire.

Even the only way to stop them was useless.

“Can’t I just run away?”

“no!! no way!! “At least beat me to death!!”

“Aya! it hurts! “These guys are biting!”

“Just biting you won’t kill you! Stop them at all costs until someone comes!”

It was fortunate that the locust monsters did not attack people, but that did not mean the situation was good.

The locust monster was devouring the crops like crazy.

Ordinary locusts were also a problem, but since they were monsters and did not die easily, they were destroying crops at an incredible rate.

“no!! Kill at least one more! “Kill me!”

“Oh, I won’t die. How do we kill monsters!! evil!!”

Although locust monsters do not kill people, they always punish those who attack them.

By biting into the flesh.

“I-I can’t do it anymore!! “Ugh!”

A commoner who couldn’t stand being bitten by a locust monster the size of an 8-year-old’s fist began to run away.

As one person ran away, other commoners who noticed also threw away their crops and ran away.

Only the manager stamped his feet and cursed.

“no! no!!!!”

If all of these crops were eaten by swarms of locusts, he himself would be as good as dead.

It wasn’t a mismanagement, it was something close to a natural disaster, but the nobles wouldn’t leave the person in charge to vent their anger.

The manager was unable to escape until the end and died as his entire body was torn apart by a swarm of locust monsters.

Weee_

The locust monster, which ate the crops in an instant, led a larger group than before and moved to eat the next crop.

As they ate them, they grew bigger and their population increased rapidly.

And in this unusual situation, knights were dispatched there.

They moved unusually quickly because they knew very well that if all the food was eaten by locust monsters, more than one person would die.

The locust monster, which would not attack unless attacked, gradually lost its momentum due to the dispatched knights.

Even soldiers dispatched from the military joined in.

Despite realizing the seriousness of the situation and resolving the matter as quickly as possible, by the time all the locust monsters were dead, more than half of the crops had already been devastated.

※ ※ ※

“I just did it because you told me to be prepared in case an epidemic breaks out.”

The upper warehouse is filled with grain that people say they can’t get these days.

It is said that even after filling the warehouse they had, it was not enough, so they rented a warehouse from another place and filled it with grain.

I don’t know why it was so sincere.

I just said it, but Erintina was the one who made the move.

“What does this have to do with epidemics and grains, and why did you collect them like this?”

“It doesn’t matter! “When you get sick, you have to eat well.”

“…If you say it that way, it makes sense.”

The unknown incident of the locust monster left a fatal wound on the empire.

There was no way to restore the devastated crops.

Thanks to this, the price of the grain filled in the upper warehouse began to rise like crazy.

Coincidentally, Erintina took my advice and saved up all the grain on the market to prepare for the epidemic, so it was like hitting the jackpot.

“I didn’t collect the grains to make money, right? I prepared it after listening to you. “You know.”

“know.”

It may have started with good intentions, but as things turned out like this, it would have been impossible not to reap the benefits.

The people at the top must also be very interested in the situation.

“So, I want you to decide what to use this grain for.”

“what? I?”

But Erintina made an unexpected statement.

“Are you really going to hand over that grain to me? “You know the price is doubling every day now.”

“know. Still, it’s up to you to decide. If it weren’t for what you said, I wouldn’t have bought so much grain. So, it’s up to you to decide how to use the grain.”

Erintina would probably be able to sell this for as much profit as possible.

“Do you think you could make huge profits at the top with this? “Are you seriously going to hand it over to me?”

“Even as I speak right now, I feel like I’m going crazy because it’s such a waste. But I won’t change my decision.”

It is natural for the top to take advantage.

“You can just use it however you want.”

“no! I also worried a lot. “I won’t be shaken.”

“If we get it over with before the epidemic spreads, there will be no place to use it.”

“On the other hand, if an epidemic breaks out, these grains will be desperately needed right now. “If you want to save people, you have to feed them well.”

I guess he really had a bad mind.

“I thought a lot about it because there were so many things I could do with this. If I were to ask you to write it down, you would be able to write it from here to here, right? There are more than a few people who have already heard rumors and come knocking on our top door. “I’m on my knees begging you to sell me some grain.”

Anyone without greed can understand this, but Erintina is a person who works hard to grow her top.

“Nevertheless, the decision was made. “I’ve thought of everything, so don’t say anything more.”

Even though I’ve said this, what’s the point of continuing to tell me not to do that?

“Actually, I didn’t suggest it without any benefit. I thought it was time to take care of my honor. “Our top has too little awareness.”

“It’s because it hasn’t been long since it was made.”

Although he made good money, he was no different from the worst in terms of recognition.

“If you leave this to me, I might just end up handing it out to the commoners.”

“It’s your choice, so I’ll humbly accept it.”

The image of the top giving up what could have been a huge profit for the common people will not help the top.

Nevertheless, he said he would hand it over to me.

I was grateful to Erintina because I thought it showed her trust and faith in me.

“I think it would be better for humanity if you used grain rather than buying and selling it while obviously trading with nobles. And I think that will help increase awareness at the top.”

“You look at me so amazingly. “Then, when you are disappointed, what are you going to blame?”

“I don’t blame you. “After all, it was my decision to entrust it to you.”

I felt like I should say thank you to Erintina.

“I guess I was greedy, but thank you.”

“I feel like I’ve put too much pressure on you, so I’m just saying this just in case, but you don’t have to be able to do something great with grain. “If it weren’t for you anyway, it wouldn’t have happened at all.”

Erintina was convinced that what I was doing would be helpful to humanity.

I hope so too.

“You should not expect too much. “Even if I were to use this, it would ultimately be used to prevent infectious diseases. Isn’t that what giving it away for free or using for infectious diseases is that?”

In the end, it probably won’t be of much help to the top.

“Still, I want to leave the grain to you. How much profit would you make if you sold grain to nobles? “I guess I’ll just make a lot of money and that’s it.”

“Why not become famous for selling grain and making a huge profit?”

“I don’t know! you idiot. I already decided. “Don’t keep shaking your mind.”

Erintina jumped up from her seat.

“I think I’ll change my mind if I stay here any longer, so I’ll just leave. “I will take good care of the grain, so let me know if you need it.”

“okay.”

Just like I couldn’t predict the locust monster that came out of nowhere, I can make mistakes.

This means that we may not be able to prevent an infectious disease.

‘Because it was an infectious disease whose cause was unknown in the first place.’

One thing that is suspicious is that locust monsters appeared not long after the epidemic began to spread.

‘The locust could be the start of an epidemic.’

There is no way an infectious disease could occur without a reason.

I was looking for something unusual and different from usual, and the locust monster thing happened without me even having to go looking for it.

‘If locust is the cause, it has already started. It may have become impossible to stop it from starting. Then it would be better to change the plan.’

There is no reason to foolishly hold on to something that doesn’t work.

Instead of worrying about preventing an infectious disease, a better option would be to prepare to prevent an infectious disease that has already begun.

It took a while because it started faster than I thought, but when I think about it again, it makes sense if the epidemic was latent and then exploded.

‘Erintina is pushing us this far, let’s move a little faster.’

Now that we had safely delivered the unique equipment that had to be delivered to Princess Haehwa, it was time to focus on the next task.

It was necessary to control the epidemic caused by locusts before it threatened humanity.

Even if we couldn’t stop the epidemic from starting.

‘In the first place, infectious diseases must be suppressed well in the early stages.’

There may still be things I can do.