Ch.119Wine (2)

Maxim was born in the slums of the capital city of Alzar Barony.

While the slums weren’t lawless zones like those in other territories—thanks to Alzar Barony’s thorough approach to maintaining public order—they weren’t particularly kind or warm places for the urban poor either.

Of course, with employment placement services and poverty relief programs actively run by the pantheon, it was somewhat better than other slums, but being “better than other slums” was far from meaning it was a good place to live.

Though one might not get beaten up for being an annoyance while walking down the street or openly robbed by thugs, the frequency of pickpocketing and minor misdemeanors was higher… truly a “slum” in every sense.

Since the knights eliminated all back-alley gangs for the sake of their performance records, residents didn’t suffer from tribute money or protection fees… making it a tier-1 slum by the standards of this era.

To make matters worse, Maxim’s parents died in a construction site accident, leaving him alone to survive on free meals, begging, and day labor from a young age.

And after living such a fierce, even violent life, Maxim barely managed to survive to the age considered adulthood….

‘The lord’s son is… starting a pioneer village?’

One day, while out on a delivery job, he happened to hear that the only son of Baron Alzar was recruiting people to participate in a pioneer village.

At the time, this was quite famous news that heated up the entire territory—so much so that it was the only topic of gossip in every tavern throughout the domain.

Because of this, a considerable proportion of people who met the qualifications were submitting applications, and Maxim, somewhat swept up in this trend… after some consideration, submitted his own application.

At that time, Maxim was working as a delivery man, transporting items that an average person could carry to designated locations—a type of hard labor that might be manageable when young but becomes quite difficult with age.

In other words, even though his earnings were quite good and he was on the verge of escaping the slums, ultimately, it was uncertain how long he could continue this work.

‘My own land….’

Among the benefits listed on the pioneer village application, “land allocation” was an irresistible temptation, which is why he submitted his application hoping for success despite the large number of applicants….

“You’ve been accepted.”

“…What?”

“I said you’ve been accepted. Departure is in a few days, so prepare in advance.”

To Maxim, who had inwardly killed his expectations due to the overwhelming number of applicants, the surprising news was delivered that he had been accepted into this pioneer group.

‘…Me? Why?’

Maxim questioned why he had been selected when there must have been more capable and skilled people than himself, but in fact, there was a reason that could be called a reason for his selection.

It was because of Maxim’s occupation as a delivery man.

For modern people, delivery workers might not have a particularly good social perception, but the situation for urban delivery workers in this era was slightly different.

First of all, having to navigate a city of over 10,000 people while carrying heavy loads on nothing more than a handcart was such hard labor that the income was, understandably, not comparable to day labor.

…Of course, it wasn’t at a level that could be called tremendously impressive.

Urban delivery workers were a semi-regular occupation affiliated with the Adventurers’ Guild. Some were even employed by the city administration to handle logistics transportation, functioning almost like regular employees.

Additionally, because public safety was so poor, human moral standards were quite loose, so urban delivery workers needed to have basic credit for not running away with cargo.

Therefore, Maxim was selected because he perfectly matched the condition of being a “highly credible manual laborer,” but how could he possibly know these details?

“Ha, hahahahahahaha─!!!”

From his perspective, it was nothing short of unexpected good fortune, so naturally, this man named Maxim thought a turning point had come that would completely change his life, and he laughed vigorously, but….

‘…Eh?’

Even he was shocked when he first arrived at the empty lot that was to be the settlement.

The truth of the “pioneer village” was completely different from his expectations—they had to build a village from scratch on bare land.

Moreover, they would have to live in tents on the empty lot for the time being while building warehouses and houses, and terrifying creatures constantly appeared from the surrounding wilderness… a land that was, in some sense, like hell.

Maxim finally realized that this pioneer village migration was not just an opportunity for life reversal, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Having already disposed of all his assets and quit his job before migrating, there was nothing he could do if he went back, and considering the disadvantages of desertion, there was practically no way to escape this dangerous land.

‘W-what is that….’

When Lord Alzar returned covered in blood, dragging a half-eaten ogre corpse shortly after they had migrated, Maxim, who had all his limbs intact but had never received any combat training, couldn’t muster any courage.

Of course, these complaints and disappointments gradually began to disappear as time passed and he adapted to the situation.

First, there was the improvement in meals.

During his time as a delivery man, his staple food was turnip soup made by boiling dried, twisted turnips and milk (of unknown expiration date) with rye or oats.

Occasionally, when he could afford it, he might have pickled beans, smoked herring, or slightly rotting salted meat at best.

He would nibble on a smoked herring smaller than his hand, considering it precious, and when he got meat, he would cherish it regardless of quality.

‘…Meat?’

In contrast, here, although the menu was uniform, the main dish was a quality meat soup containing freshly slaughtered wild dog, rat, rabbit, or other animal meat… even including “wheat flour.”

The soup was generously sprinkled with salt, which was quite expensive in inland regions where rock salt wasn’t available. Add to that wild vegetables like wild onions, wild fruits including berries, and even fish caught from the river.

Providing regular, filling meals of decent quality was an excellent condition for Maxim, who had relied on poor food while saving money.

Of course, if there was one flaw, it would be the lack of alcohol.

In his heart, he clearly remembered that proper food took priority over alcohol, but nevertheless, who could easily give up the magic of liquor?

Especially for Maxim, who had been desperately saving money to escape the slums, his only pleasure was cheap wine from taverns. Though it fell short of proper alcohol, it was at least affordable to drink.

Unfortunately, in this harsh world, the priority of alcohol was overshadowed by accidents occurring in the village, and thus Maxim’s craving for alcohol grew day by day.

Still, as land distribution projects continued and regular rice wine was scheduled to be supplied continuously, the man was about to find some consolation in this… right around that time.

‘…Hmm?’

That day, as usual, after returning home from preparing his farmland for autumn farming as he had learned from farming families, he suddenly noticed that the village was somewhat noisy.

Or more precisely, there was a long line stretching from one house.

While modern people might not find it strange, a line stretched out in single file was actually an unfamiliar situation for residents of a medieval fantasy world, so as Maxim looked around, he suddenly encountered a familiar face… Hans.

“Hans! What’s going on?”

“Ah, Maxim! Hurry and get in line over here!”

“…Line?”

Maxim expressed his confusion at his friend’s abrupt suggestion to get in line, and upon hearing this, Hans belatedly explained the reason for the line.

“The lord is distributing alcohol! Good quality wine!”

“…Good quality wine?”

That was the decisive factor. Maxim ran at a speed that wouldn’t be outdone by anyone and got in line, and after waiting for quite some time, he was finally able to taste the wine that the lord (or his representative) was distributing.

“Ooh, ooooh….”

The first taste was a subtle sweetness with a slight tartness spreading across the tongue, followed by a heavy weight and deep bitterness along with the unique taste of grapes stimulating the throat.

From the moment it entered the mouth until it went down the throat, it was a taste that made the drinker feel ecstatic.

Honestly, for Maxim, who had only tasted communion wine or cheap low-quality wine, the taste was so excellent that he regretted not being able to tell just how wonderful it was.

‘…Sigh. When will I be able to drink something like this again?’

Therefore, while Maxim was relieved to be able to drink such good alcohol, he inwardly lamented that he might only be able to drink it once….

But even he didn’t know.

That soon, at a direct-managed tavern operated by the territory, this wine would be sold at an unbelievably low price… one glass per person per day.

As if it were being mass-produced in a factory.