Soojiki’s note: Please vote on the poll from the previous updates(Will probably close in 2-3 days)! Am thinking of stopping this at 20 as I’ve mentioned before that this story is REALLY slow (author even admits it). Enjoy! Chapter 12 tomorrow (halfway done, but distracted myself with Cyanide and Happiness)
“Alright then guys, make some trial and errors…..Think for yourselves on how to do these attempts. I’ll be doing some work for a little bit”
It’s the troubles of food for the future, but I’m not too worried about it.
Ugh, groaning as I waved my hands to those two and left that place.
Well, in any case I’ll erect a barrier just in case their magic would cause damage to the surrounding and also add concealment so that the villagers won’t see. It’ll be fine if I leave them for a bit.
Heading to the livestock pen, I took out the carriage inside.
It’s three tatami wide and is a popular carriage size but it does not have the typical wooden wheels. Instead, there’s the sea dragon’s leather wrapped around it, almost as similar to a tire.
It’s also lowered and the driver’s seat is not the typical bench, but rather a single seated model. Its hand made by me of course.
There’s also more stability with lowering the carriage, compared to the typical ones. Thanks to the soft and flabby leathers, there’s barely any uncomfortable vibrations as it acts as a shock absorber. It’s also effective in tight turns. Well, it’s my pride of a gem!
Having the ability of carrying 5 tons and a composed body sure makes pulling this 200 kilo carriage a breeze. Yup, I’m seriously thankful for choosing such great abilities and being born in a nice place.
Leaving it in front of the place to gather nice firewood, I began piling the good conditioned and dry firewood onto the carriage.
Though there are people who can use fire magic in this rural countryside (Primarily the ladies who handle housework), there’s no one who can continuously keep the fire magic going (besides Sapull). With that in mind, firewood naturally became a fuel source.
Though it’s not like many in the rural countryside would go fetch firewood or cut trees. My village’s primary industry is in wheat and dried fishes. And there’s also tax. But that doesn’t mean all the villagers only make wheat or dried foods. There’s the bakery and the general stores. Those of us who lives in the mountains also have places to make wheat and dried food; However, the bakery and general stores are like gold. Because of that, those who lives in the mountain would often exchange firewood and charcoal for meat, vegetables, and even bread.
Of course that does not mean that it’s easy making a living and having a livelihood in the mountains. There’s clothes, agriculture tools, and cooking wares that we struggle in buying. During the years when there’s poor crops, we have to substitute for firewood and charcoals. For that, we have to enter the interior of the mountains to cut down trees. The trees are not infinite, so we can’t do as we please. There’s a proper systematic order and as much as possible, we focus on a safe place (since there are monsters and beast) to cut down trees.
That’s why there’s never a lack of side jobs to do. Well, different households do things different, from making cheese from goat’s milk and picking medicinal plants, to making bamboo baskets that you can carry on your back. I can do all as a jack of all trades.
I can do anything as a Jack of All. I can make anything I want. That’s why our house has a carriage.
But, it’s not like anyone can do just that. I also have weakness. But that’s why those living in the mountains help each other out. Of course those who do not work become ostracized but there are times when one is poor at a job. At that time, there’s other houses that can compensate for that.
Obviously there are times when I think it’s a pain to interact with the neighbors. There are times where I’ll try to toughen it out and hope they go back to their work but it becomes unbearable. I’m human, it’s not like I have a heart like Bodhisattva. But living here, cooperation is necessary. It’s not like the strong will forever be strong. There are times when it’s necessary to be weak. For that reason, trust is built. Most importantly, I’m a person that has an irregular power that can easily buy jealousy and envy from others. One wrong step and I could be labeled a monster. I don’t want to be ostracized.
And for that I gather more firewood than others and the abundant meat I obtained is shared. During important ceremonial occasions, I make it
necessary for myself to go out. However, I place a ban on myself to appear weak and use flattery. Just because I’m strong, it doesn’t make sense to flaunt my pride.
Well, though what I say may be correct, I’ll sell as much favor as possible. I want to be seen as reliable. And sometimes even silly.
Life in a rural countryside is tough, but the connection with people, compared to my previous life, makes living here 10 times more enjoyable.
While thinking of all that, the carriage is already overflowing with firewood.
“───Well, whatever”
I’ll happily share these. There’s no loss for me. Yup.
Author’s note:
Though our protagonist says this, he’s living his life very carefree.