Dream Life - 481 Episode XXI

Leaving the port of Abergele in the Holy Kingdom of Lukes, eighteen days passed. We have not been struck by a storm, nor have we been attacked by private looters or pirate ships, and we have continued our smooth voyage to the point where we can see the island of Gilsall.

Gilsall Island is an island about 300 km east to west and about 150 km north to south of the Wale Peninsula in the southern part of the Empire.

The central part of the island is littered with mountains of 2,000 metres, whitening at the top.

It is the kingdom of Zirsol that dominates this island. When it comes to kingdoms, the total population is only about 20,000 and to a greater extent than the Earl Territory of the Empire.

The King’s capital is the same Jill Saul as the name of the country. The population is very much the same as the population of the standard castle city of the Empire, with about 5,000 inhabitants.

The main industry is the manufacture of glass crafts, with workshops mainly in the city of Gilsall. Other cultivars of fruits and olives that take advantage of the warm climate have flourished and wines have been made.

However, the quality is not so high and is only finely exported to the Duke of Cheslock territory and elsewhere in the southern part of the Wale peninsula.

Warm climates, but due to the geology covered by volcanic ash, cereal production is low. He uses foreign currency obtained from glass crafts and imports wheat and other cereals from the Empire.

Around 3 p.m., the Luad Selby enters into a bay where the city of Gilsall is located.

Though the city feels very comfortable, it is made of a lot of white stone, and I get the impression that it is “the town of White Asia”.

“It’s a beautiful city,” Liddy whines her thoughts as she stirs her hair in the wind on the bow floor (Foxle).

“I don’t feel poor when I see it.”

“Right. It’s no wonder they call it some noble villa.”

Beatrice seemed to have the same impression.

“But the number of ships is low. There’s not a single big boat, and smaller boats look like fishing boats.”

Talk calmly about Sharon’s observations.

“But it’s a beautiful sea. I thought the ocean was beautiful so far, but this could be the prettiest.”

Mel was peering into the sea from the fringe. It is true that the Cobalt Blue sea is transparent, and the reflection of the green earth is enough to say that it is a Mediterranean resort.

Professor Kitley Erbain faces out the entrance (hatch),

It’s time to get ready to disembark.

With that word we went back to the cabin.

It’s no big deal to say I’ll pack. The biggest piece of luggage is Mr. Kitley’s research material, other than that, only small items such as clothing needed for the trip. I have many other things, but I keep them all in my storage magic (inventory).

In about an hour the ship slows down gradually and at the end of the day the boat is lowered. There are no doug boats here in Zilsall, because you have to dock on your own to the pier.

After another thirty minutes or so, the ship stopped when it heard the sound of throwing in the pickaxe.

James Sullivan, Comptroller General (Purser), showed up in the cabin.

“We have arrived in Zirsole”

Out on deck, Captain Aldas Duncan and First Class Voyager Bud Ramsey, plus the sailors with free hands, came to drop me off.

“I’ll miss you,” the captain offered his right hand. Taking that hand,

“Thank you for your help. Looking forward to seeing you again someplace.”

It’s been two months since I left Aurelia, and I feel lonely with the captains because I know my heart.

“It would be great if you stayed on the boat. From now on, you’re going to feel bad about alcohol.”

Many sailors said in Ramsey’s words, “Yes. Yes,” she agrees with a laugh. Me and Sharon used to chill beer every day, so I’m talking about it.

“Our Chamber ships will only come here after April, but if you are in a hurry, go for the town of Renecrates in the north. We’re going to Cheslock, but there should have been regular flights out about once a month.”

I go down to the pier where the sun began to lean as we talked about it. I walked into the city of Jilsall waving at the sailors.

The city of Gilsall gives the impression that it is smaller than seen from the sea.

A four-story building is normal for an imperial city, but here the two-storey was exquisite and even the royal palace was three-storey qualitative. So much so that I think Royal Castle deserves more in the village of Rasmore.

Find an inn near the harbor, but the more you stay twenty, the more you think it will be full, but there is only one inn of that size and you can see how few people come from the outside.

Enter the room, remove the gear and head to the dining room for dinner. Mr. Kitley will confirm his plans for the next day and beyond while eating.

“I have plans ahead, but I’ll check again. The first step is to gather information about the Temple of Claretore. When it came to the captain and the Comptroller, I would ask for information about people who might know about the Alliance because even the branches of the Commercial Alliance did not have information about the Temple. That would be nice.”

When we snort, we go further.

“The next step is to get around. I don’t know if I can borrow a horse, so I’m gonna have to start looking.”

With an Adventurer Guild or Mercenary Guild, you can rent a horse. But neither guild in this city made it necessary to look for horses.

“So starting tomorrow, we’re going to split up into three squads. Me and Sharon gather information about the temple. Beatrice and Mel arrange horses and gather information around town. Zach, you and Lydia are responding to a request from the Deodard Chamber of Commerce.”

A request from the Deodard Chamber of Commerce refers to the development of specialties that will be the subject of future commerce. I have the ship out on the condition that I accept this request.

Specifically, it was to explore the possibility of manufacturing new distilled liquors, and I had once considered Jin as a candidate.

“I think it’s going to take a while to gather information because we’re looking for a handover. We don’t have to find any information on the temple, but we know where it is, so I’d like to leave as soon as the other cases are cleared up, okay?”

“That’s okay. This is my investigation, but it won’t take long.”

“Really?” and Liddy makes an unexpected voice.

“A full probability study would take about a month, but I’m not willing to go that far this time”

“Why not? Usually we’ll look into this.”

“If I look into it in earnest, the other merchants might notice. I’d rather not move too much for the Deoddard Chamber of Commerce to deal with exclusively. Either that or I’m thinking about it in a way that makes it feel like a report on how to find out”

Even though there are few merchants, having branches of commercial guilds means there are Aurelia or imperial merchants. If I move flashy about booze in a place like that, they won’t even notice. Then the condition of the exclusive commerce that Verno Deodard wants could collapse.

The next morning he split into three squads to start the action.

I decided to focus on shops where I could buy booze.

There’s nothing like a shopping district, but there’s a picture of a small shop lined up, and we’ll see what we’re selling there.

Although the product lineup was small, it was lined up with a large number of fresh seafood, fruit, etc.

“Surprisingly, the food is abundant. And the quality of the wine itself is not bad.”

The wine is both red and white, both feel intense, but the new wine that has just been made is not rich. I drank the product from last year, but the condition of preservation is poor or the oxidation is progressing and it is not delicious.

This time the aim is not wine, but “gin”.

Gin uses aromatic herbs called “juniper berries” and “botanicals” when distilling. However, neither is required in large quantities, so it may be imported. That’s why I’m here to examine the wine that serves as the source of the distillery.

Girsole seems to be suitable for growing grapes, and the wine was surprisingly cheap to sell. Conversely, no beer using barley was made or sold.

When asked about purchasing wine at the store, they ask them to share the excess of what they make for their own use in the nearby villages cheaply.

“… in the villages around here, it’s about wine and olives that make it gold. I make a lot of them…”

Neither wine nor olive oil is considered for long-term preservation, it is put in a large jar, and it is a style that is weighed and sold to the jar you bring in. At about a litre, at this time of year, it seems to be about ten ales, a hundred yen. She told me that she would buy it with a handful of pieces.

“It’s cheap,” I said, the shopkeeper laughing.

“If you eat it, that’s fine. Well, I don’t have to work here to eat…”

Wheat production, the staple food, is low, but there is little risk of starvation thanks to the warm climate and abundant fishing grounds. There are also staple food crops that are ready for the soil of volcanic ash.

That’s sweet potatoes.

“I make a lot of potatoes in every village because I can do them anywhere and save them well. The downside is that it doesn’t taste very good. That’s enough to crush it and mix oil and vinegar or make it into soup ingredients…”

The feeling I saw was white skinned sweet potatoes, and from what I’ve heard, they’re not very sweet.

As a result, it appears to be seldom seen outside of Zirsole.

Other citrus varieties and herbs will be checked, but there are sufficient varieties of ingredients to make up the botanicals. Later the most important pine nuts (juniper berries), but since they are usually found in the Saeum Mountains, close to the streets of Aurelia, there is no problem without them here. It is also possible that it grows in alpine mountains in the central part of the island.

On the way home, Liddy talked to me.

“Is that all you need? And I think I’ve come up with something else.”

“Oh, that potato is going to be the key. I was going to make gin at first, but yam shochu might be quicker.”

“Imojouchu? Not like Scotch?

“That’s a different way to make a brewed liquor… well, maybe it won’t be a shochu because there’s no koji in this world…”

There is no “koji” in this world. I guess I just haven’t discovered it, but so far I’ve never seen food made with koji, and I remember it was unique to East Asia in the original world.

“Well, okay. Anyway, if you use that potato to make distilled liquor, it’ll be the only liquor here. All we have to do is leave it to the craftsmen, but it should be a unique flavoured drink.”

You can make alcohol without coriander bacteria. The point is, all you have to do is saccharify the starch and ferment the alcohol.

However, the unique aroma of shochu does not stick. I don’t like shochu, so either is fine, but in any case, it should be a completely different distillery than Scotch or Brandy.

I decided to propose two plans to the Deodard Chamber of Commerce.

One is distilled liquor made with sweet potatoes. By the way, we simply call it “potato” here, and because there is no specific name, it is given the name “zirsole potato” as a provisional name.

The concern is that I have drunk sweet potato distillery liquor, or yam shochu, but I have never drunk anything without koji, and I can’t imagine what the distillery liquor of jirsole potatoes would taste like.

The second is gin, which is the original plan.

The ingredients may be made from zilsole potatoes or the excess wine may be distilled. A good combination of herbs and citrus that become botanical is likely to produce a good gin.

If you have concerns, can you accept the unique flavor of gin? It was almost twenty years ago, but when I built it in the village, I wasn’t even repugnant to Dwarf’s Beltram. It could have failed because it was just a tightly scented thing called juniper berries and vanilla at that time, but there is a question of whether juniper berries are acceptable in the first place.

In that case, I intend to propose that route as well, because you can differentiate it from a normal brandy by scenting it as acceptable as a fruit brandy.

Our investigation was completed in the morning.

Mr. Kitley was surprised by the speed with which the situation would be reported at lunch.

“You really are the son of the alcoholic god.” I thought it would take the most time, but then I just put it together… ”

Although slightly distraught, Beatrice was convinced with a laugh, “You deserve it because it’s Zach”.

The results of Ms Kitley’s gathering of information on the Temple of Claretor were reported.

“I’ve been lucky enough to find someone with information. I hear the temple is in a place called Natalis Village. Looks like there’s a path, but I heard it’s like a beast road because few people come and go…”

After gathering information in a commercial guild, he spoke to the village of Natalis twice a year to a merchant who would go to business. The village of Natalis is about seventy kilometers east of here in Gilsall.

“Let’s just say the villagers are simple people. The cleric just said he’d never seen it. Besides, the villagers care a lot about the temple, so even though it’s for research, they may not like outsiders approaching…”

The village of Natalis is a small village with a population of about two hundred that exists to support the life of the priests.

Because of this, they say that they are all people of serious faith.

“… the good information is that the road to the village is very safe. There are no demons on this island, and bandits don’t come out where people can’t get through, so there’s no danger in camping.”

“Don’t you have a demon? Not less,” Beatrice replies on my behalf.

“It seems so. I wondered if it was true, too, but I’ve asked around a lot, and they say it’s about the guards with the weapons. The guard was only in the royal palace and the harbor.”

Following Beatrice’s words, Mel also starts talking with the look of surprise.

“Mr. Beatrice is right. Sounds like flying demons sometimes get flushed out of the Wale Peninsula, but they’ll be gone soon, too. Other than the demons in the ocean, I heard they still rarely come up to land. I asked him if there were any dangerous creatures, but he said there were only snakes and sasoris with poison. I also heard there are few bandits…”

“Is there something like a junction where demons can’t get in?,” Mr. Kitley nodded, “I think you might be.

“If so, this is paradise. Because I don’t have a hard time eating, and I have little danger for my life.”

“I don’t think so,” said Sharon in Liddy’s words, shaking his neck sideways.

“I wonder why? Even if there’s a disaster, it’s like a storm.”

“Yes, that’s true… when I talk to a young merchant, you all say the same thing”

“What are you talking about?

“You said“ prison ”here. As long as we’re here, we have no dreams, no hopes… so there are people crossing the empire.”

I don’t have a hard time living, but I guess it’s painful for young people who dream about the future because they don’t have industry. I feel like young people were less visible, and I guess it’s because of the exodus of young people, even though conditions are so good that they don’t grow in population.

“It’s a different story, but it’s about the horse. I’ve only been looking into it for half a day, but it looks pretty hard to get”

Report the morning results with a look like Beatrice chewed up a bitter bug.

“Sure, they say there’s less demand for horses, but there’s about a carriage. Then I think there’s a horse.”

“They have towing horses, but they don’t have many horses to ride. First, they say there are few people here who can ride horses…”

Beatrice’s story says there are carriages to carry produce from nearby villages, but few travelers travel by ride. It seems that only the royal family and their escorts ride horses, and there is no demand for horses for horseback riding.

“If your hands are free, I’d like to ask for your help. If we don’t split up and look, it’s going to be tough to get all six heads together.”

That’s how me and Liddy got to join the horse hunt.