“Hmm. Hmm. Hm~”
A hum came to Dawi unbidden.
Because at long last, he had found civilization.
According to the knights who had visited a few days ago, if he went all the way around and over that snowcapped mountain, there was a territory on the other side.
Rustle. Rustle.
Dawi was wrapping the piles of corn in Bighorn hides, using them like cloth bundles.
Thump.
After tying two bundles together with a strip of Bighorn hide, Dawi slung them over Malmari’s saddle.
In that way, four bundles connected by leather straps were placed across Malmari’s back.
Two bundles on each side. Sturdy Malmari could handle that much weight just fine.
“Malmari, sorry there’s so much baggage. I’ll let you eat something tastier instead. There should definitely be carrots or crops like that. And I’ll buy a proper axe and a dagger too, instead of this rusty axe…”
Dawi muttered as he laid out his plans.
“Considering it’s the Middle Ages, they might not have currency. I may have to barter.”
While Dawi was busy preparing to leave, the knights came back again.
“Master Mage! You’re still here, aren’t you?”
“Haha… I’m not a mage. As it happens, I was thinking of going to your territory to sell this corn…”
The senior knight looked at the bundles of corn on Malmari’s back.
In one corner, a great pile of corn still remained.
“Mm… We’ll carry some of it for you. In exchange…”
The senior knight continued carefully.
“When you arrive at the territory, might you pay your respects to the baroness first?”
“Pardon? The baroness…”
“Ah, due to circumstances, she is currently serving as acting lord. The baroness wishes to meet you.”
The senior knight was slightly worried that this “mad mage” might take offense.
“Ah! She’s the acting lord. Hmm… Understood. Let’s go.”
Of course, contrary to the knight’s worries, Dawi readily nodded.
‘If she’s a baroness… the order was king, duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, wasn’t it?’
Dawi recalled the hierarchy of nobles inwardly.
‘It’s the lowest rank, but still nobility… and it’s a place still functioning as a territory even after the zombie outbreak.’
Dawi thought he needed to make as good an impression as possible on this baroness. After all, she was the owner of land that might become the only customer for his ranch.
Dawi and the five knights each shouldered a bundle of corn and descended the mountain.
Malmari followed behind them as well, carrying four bundles of corn.
Bang!
Every time Dawi shot at the predators they encountered, the knights each nodded to themselves.
“It is indeed magic, without a doubt.”
“They all look similar, but there are subtle differences. Some make a large hole, while others make several small holes…”
“Doesn’t lightning sometimes split when it strikes? Perhaps it works on the same principle…”
The junior knights looked at the carcasses of the animals Dawi had hunted and offered their opinions to the senior knight.
“He summons something in his left hand and inserts it into the staff… Have you figured out what that is?”
“We confirmed that it disappears after some time as well. It must vanish as the mana disperses. It is definitely magic.”
“From what I saw, the lightning he fires seems to differ depending on that thing.”
“Then… that must be some kind of magical formula with physical form, and the magic manifests through the staff. Ordinary mages draw formulas directly with their staffs…”
“Could he perhaps have been a military mage? They say military mages engrave a single magic specialized for combat into their bodies as a circuit.”
“Drawing formulas with a staff is slow… so you mean he engraved a circuit for faster spell manifestation? And what is summoned in his left hand is the ‘mass of formula’ itself, materialized through that circuit.”
“Hmm… A military mage who went insane…”
“If he was a military mage, wouldn’t he have fought on the front lines during the zombie outbreak? In the early days, there was even debate over whether zombies were ‘still living people’ or not, so perhaps he suffered severe mental stress back then…”
When Dawi, who had been walking ahead of the knights whispering among themselves, turned back with a puzzled expression, they spoke as if it were nothing.
“Ahaha! We were just discussing the route for a moment. Let’s keep going!”
***
After making a wide turn around the mountain, the Snowhill territory finally came into view.
“Ooh… So that’s…!”
A small basin surrounded by mountain ranges. The Barony of Snowhill.
Dawi could not help but be moved at the sight of civilization before him.
“Is that… the sea, by any chance?”
“Yes. We are at the northernmost edge of the continent. That is the North Sea.”
“Oh…”
To think the sea would be right beyond the mountains.
Small fishing boats floated on the river connected to the sea, and a ship considerably larger than the fishing boats was docked there as well.
Noticing Dawi looking at that ship, the senior knight said,
“In the past, merchant ships used to come as well. A few precious spices and luxury goods from the south came in little by little. Mostly, they sold food to our territory. Of course, now all of that has been cut off…”
“Ah…”
To Dawi, who let out a sigh, the senior knight said something surprising.
“In fact, even just a few months ago, there was still a merchant ship coming here.”
“A few months ago… Wasn’t that after the zombie virus spread?”
“Yes. Which means there was definitely a city in the southern part of the continent that had survived intact and maintained maritime trade. But now, perhaps…”
“I see…”
The senior knight suddenly stepped into the bushes and picked some dark purple berries.
“What are these…?”
“Try them. Where you were staying, there were so many conifers that you likely didn’t have anything like this.”
Dawi tossed the berries the knight handed him into his mouth.
A tart sweetness.
Dawi was moved by the refreshing taste he had not felt in so long.
“How long has it been since I ate sugar…!”
At Dawi’s fuss, several of the knights following behind shook their heads.
The senior knight smiled and said,
“These are called bilberries. With their distinctive refreshing flavor, they used to be the only specialty product of our territory. Of course, they say there are many fruits far sweeter than this in the south… but these still sold reasonably well. Merchants came because of them, and thanks to them, we could make a living even in this barren and narrow place…”
Merchants would bring grains like wheat and rice and trade them for these bilberries.
“Now that trade has been cut off, we are in quite a difficult situation.”
Bilberries were very common in the mountains surrounding Snowhill. But small berries could not serve as a staple food.
“As you can see, every place except the private homes and the lord’s castle has been cleared into fields. However, potatoes are the only crop that properly bears fruit in this barren climate. Crops other than potatoes only grow in the small garden inside the lord’s castle. We also grew corn only in the lord’s castle garden during the summer. You said you intended to sell corn, yes? You will likely be able to receive quite a high price for it.”
As Dawi listened to the knight, he found that they had already come all the way down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, a steward had come out to greet them.
“Welcome to Snowhill. I shall escort you directly to the baroness.”
The steward seemed to be rather formal by nature, for even in the cold weather, he was neatly dressed in a suit and coat.
Dawi followed the steward toward the lord’s castle.
“A meal has been prepared for our guest. Please exchange greetings with the baroness as you dine.”
The place the steward led him to was a hall with a long dining table. At a table that could seat ten, there were only two sets of tableware.
The baroness was already seated at the head of the table.
“You have arrived. Please sit and eat first.”
“Ah… yes. It is an honor, um… Baroness…?”
After giving an awkward bow, Dawi sat down stiffly in a chair.
A short while later, the steward brought plates of food.
A Bighorn steak had been drizzled with a refreshing bilberry sauce.
On top of it was something white and mashed.
A grilled fish was also served.
“Uh… mm… Thank you for the meal.”
Dawi awkwardly cut the steak with knife and fork and put it in his mouth.
The savoriness of the meat and the freshness of the bilberries spread through his mouth.
And this aroma that removed the gaminess of the meat and spread with a pungent bite was…
‘Could it be garlic?!’
Dawi scooped up only that white mashed thing with his fork and put it in his mouth again.
‘It really is garlic! It’s garlic…!’
This garlic was one of the crops being cultivated in small quantities in the lord’s castle garden.
Moved, Dawi aimed for the fish this time.
He lifted a piece of the grilled fish with his fork and put it in his mouth…
“Hrk!”
He tasted salt.
‘That’s right! The North Sea is right in front of us…!’
Indeed. This was not a freshwater fish, but a fish from the sea.
Dawi alternated between putting the steak with its freshness and pungency and the salty fish into his mouth.
Munch, munch.
“…It seems the meal suits your tastes.”
‘Of course it does…! Ahh, salty and sweet! How long has it been since I tasted sweet-and-salty…!’
“Cough! Cough!”
Eating too quickly, Dawi choked and picked up the cup beside him to take a sip…
‘It’s sweet! It’s refreshing!’
It was wine made from bilberries.
Dawi newly realized just how beautiful the thing called “flavor” was.
After cleaning his plate and cup, Dawi greeted the baroness.
“That was the first proper food I’ve had in a very long time. Thank you.”
Dawi said that while recalling his memories of Earth.
After all, in that world, even if it was not fine wine, cheap wine and inexpensive imported beef were things he could eat whenever he wanted.
However,
‘The first proper food he’s had in a very long time?’
To the baroness, it sounded different.
In this era, a commoner’s meal was little more than hard bread. After the zombie outbreak, it had become nothing but roasted or boiled potatoes.
‘That means he clearly belonged to the upper class before… He truly was a mage.’
The baroness also concluded that Dawi was a “mad mage.”
“That is a relief to hear. By the way, I hear you are running a ranch…”
“Haha, yes. It’s still shabby, but I built a ranch by the lakeside. I intend to keep expanding it from now on.”
The baroness nodded and said,
“I see. However, are you aware that that place also belongs to the Barony of Snowhill?”
“Yes…?”
“Here, the imperial documents record the borders of the Barony of Snowhill. The nearby mountain range is included within its boundaries. So… was that ranch built with permission from the previous baron, or perhaps the baron before him?”
“Ah… that’s…”
Of course, there was no way that was the case. Dawi had fallen into another world, wandered around, and happened to find that place by chance.
“And you reside there as well, yes? In that case, you are a subject of this territory… and naturally, you have not paid any taxes either.”
Cold sweat ran down Dawi’s back.
‘Fuck…! Are they going to take my ranch?!’