episode_0157

Although new standards for weights and measures were established through collaboration between alchemists and researchers, my daily life did not change in any way.

Of course, it wasn’t that there were no changes at all.

I don’t know if it was because it was the weights and measures that I established as the standard, but it was actively used in my city. Thanks to this, there was a difference in that the clothes I wore fit my body perfectly, allowing me to move more comfortably.

Of course, even in the city, various things were changing little by little based on accurate weights and measures. The standard for goods sold in commercial districts based on weight was unified.

For example, if there were two places selling meat, there was bound to be a difference even if they purchased the same 1kg, but now they are all the same. In the case of those who gave less and received more money, it might be heartbreaking, but that was none of my business.

Also, there were some changes in the blood collection business, which still purchases blood on a regular basis. Previously, blood was simply received in a volume the size of a standard beer glass, but now blood was purchased by specifying the exact volume.

The capacity has become slightly smaller than before, with blood being collected and purchased in approximately 200ml. Thanks to this, the amount of money spent increased slightly, but it was not a big difference. This is because the cups used for blood collection had slightly different capacities for each cup. By changing to ones with clearly matching capacities, some savings were possible in that area.

But that didn’t mean I was suffering a big loss. It was none other than the fact that the store sold new items. Since the stores were selling items that would become new standards for weights and measures, sales could not help but increase.

“Hehehehe, it sold a lot today too.”

Jiena smiled happily as she looked at the sales ledger she organized every day. This is because the store was selling items that were standards for weight, length, and volume.

Weights starting from 10g up to 10kg, rulers from 1cm to 1m, and glasses and buckets from 10ml to 10L were being sold. Of course, they were just as much metal as those sold in stores.

Since people from all over the city were coming to purchase things that became standards for weights and measures, the store’s sales were bound to be high.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Of course!”

Give up your freedom from my slavery… … . No, Jiena refused and changed her focus to rescuing her compatriots, nodding as if it was obvious.

“Hehehe, if we keep going like this, we might be able to save one of our own people soon!”

“Wow, have you already saved up that much?”

“Until now, I have saved up the incentives and salary that my boss gave me, by saving and saving!”

Seeing Jiena smiling brightly made me want to play pranks.

“Ziena, what will you do if I ask you for all the money?”

“Hi… … !”

Jiena’s complexion instantly turned pale as she appeared to be greedy for money as a joke. I could also see the long ears that had been stretched straight to the side starting to droop in real time.

“Yes, the boss said he wanted it… … … … .”

Jiena, who was so sullen, took out a few coins from her pocket and held them out with hands that anyone could tell were shaking.

I laughed lightly at Jiena’s appearance as if she wanted to give me this first, and gently rolled the palm where the coins were placed. As Jiena’s hand curled, the coin disappeared into her fist.

“It’s a joke. Do you really think I’m going to take your money?”

“But… … . I am a slave… … .”

“You are a slave, but you are also my wife.”

Jienna’s expression immediately brightened, as if she was touched by my words. The ears that were drooping also returned to their original position as if they were popping up.

Still, he must have been quite surprised, so he whined as he half-craved me into my arms. He patted my chest while saying things like, “I was surprised that it was real,” and “The prank was so cruel.”

Although Jiena had a delicate body, she was an elf, a former mercenary, and even a person who manipulated mana, so even though it was a tapping action, it was painful. I’m not a physical person.

Of course, I couldn’t show that I was in pain, so I blocked that action by lightly hugging her.

I felt the soft touch of the body and the warm body temperature, and a fresh scent as if I had entered a forest. I thought that she was a wonderful elf who made me feel good just by holding her in my arms.

“Master… … .”

“Kya!”

However, after sitting leisurely for a while with Jienna in his arms, the butler skeleton suddenly appeared. Thanks to this, Jienna was startled enough to flutter around and escape from my arms.

“Sorry, sorry… … ?”

Since my body temperature and body scent disappeared in an instant, I glanced at the butler skeleton, and it seemed like he was secretly noticing me. The blue naturalization of the eye socket repeatedly decreased and increased with a fluttering sound.

However, since the butler skeleton was not one to appear like this for no reason, he expressed his disappointment and asked why he had come.

“Ah… … . Now the magistrate has come and is looking for the owner… … . I said I had something important to tell you and that we must meet… … .”

Listening to what the butler skeleton said, it seemed like the reason he came was because of the village chief. We meet a couple of times a day, but when I see him trying to find me like this because he can’t wait, it feels like something is up.

However, when I figured out the situation inside the territory through the hive mind, nothing special happened, so I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of doubt. In the end, I decided to meet with the village chief and talk about it.

“Ask me to come to my office.”

“I understand… … .”

As soon as the butler skeleton said that he understood, he suddenly disappeared into the ground, as if he was falling, and at the same time, he got up from his seat.

“I’ll have a chat with the village chief, so take a break.”

“Yes. Please come back.”

Today was a day with Jienna, so I left Jiena’s words to go and headed to the office.

The village chief must have been looking for me at the entrance of the mansion, and was already waiting in the office. The butler skeleton had brought him a simple drink, as a steaming teacup was placed in front of him.

“Village chief. What’s going on?”

“Lord. This time, the merchants came in and were in trouble.”

It was not easy to understand that the top had come and we were in trouble.

Because they come to my territory to buy iron products at low prices that can make huge profits, the merchants rarely cause problems. By doing something that was offensive to me, I was able to completely ignore the purchase of iron products that I could make huge profits from.

At the very least, they strictly controlled the mercenaries from the top to prevent them from causing accidents.

“You’re in trouble? Did the top guys have an accident?”

“Ah, I wasn’t saying that the superiors were in trouble because they had an accident. It was said that they were in trouble because they could not obtain enough necessary supplies within the city. I was talking in a hurry so I left out an important part.”

“… … Couldn’t get enough supplies? Surely it’s not food?”

As my city grew rapidly, a lot of essential supplies had to be brought in from outside. Although we are making efforts to become self-sufficient, self-sufficiency is not yet fully possible.

So I had no choice but to ask about food, which could be said to be the most important. Winter would come soon, and it would be a very difficult situation if we couldn’t find food.

But fortunately, the village chief shook his head and said that it was not food. However, that didn’t mean things were good.

“The material that is lacking is firewood and flowers. If it continues like this… … It may be necessary to mobilize the territory’s residents to make firewood.”

“… … Not enough firewood flowers? No, how can it not be enough?”

When I heard that there was a shortage of firewood flowers, the first thing I felt was absurdity. Firewood flowers are easy to grow and grow well anywhere, so I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when I heard that I couldn’t find them.

A few firewood flowers were growing vigorously in the garden visible from the office window.

And, after feeling such absurdity, what I felt was a clear sense of crisis. Although firewood flowers are common, they are a very essential element for surviving the winter. Rather than firewood, which had to be harvested from heavy wood and dried before use, firewood flowers that could be roughly dried under the eaves of a house were much more useful for winter.

Moreover, one small flower had a similar effect to a lump of firewood the size of your forearm, so it was very difficult to survive the winter without firewood flowers.

Besides, there was another problem. Since firewood flowers are very useful, I consume them in large quantities in my blacksmith shop and blast furnace. If there was a disruption in the supply of firewood and flowers, there was bound to be a disruption in the products produced in blacksmith shops and blast furnaces.

“What on earth happened?”

” Well, the merchants said that there are people who have been purchasing firewood flowers in large quantities recently. The price of firewood and flowers has almost doubled, and merchants are having trouble securing enough firewood and flowers.”

“The price of firewood has doubled? No, what is that… … .”

I was astonished to hear that the price of firewood flowers had doubled. As it is a common firewood flower, the price has always been maintained at a constant level. When the price gets high, everyone doesn’t buy it, thinking, “I’ll just grow it and use it.” So the price has been maintained.

However, in my case, it was impossible to grow and use as much as I needed because it consumed quite a large amount. The amount consumed in the blacksmith shop and blast furnace was enormous, so the capacity was not enough to handle it.

As I was thinking about what to do with this, something suddenly occurred to me.

“… … Marquis of Kurid.”

It was a memory that a man named Marquis Kurid had contacted a certified warlock and was trying to imitate me. When the crown prince was explaining about the Marquis of Kurid, I also remembered that there was a part where he purchased firewood flowers in large quantities.

It was obvious that the unusually double increase in the price of firewood flowers was all due to the influence of Marquis Kurid. Although I’m not sure, I even thought that the price of firewood and flowers may have been doubled in order to keep me in check.

Considering that what those who invaded the blacksmith shop had figured out was that a lot of firewood was consumed, the possibility was not low.

However, whatever the cause, it was a situation that could become difficult sooner or later, so resolving this situation was a priority.