Mew, I'm tired of being in the desert all the time.

Yes, I know. But we'll be arriving at an oasis soon.

Is it a famous oasis?

'The name is famous. You can see from the journey so far, it's very far away and there are very few people in the royal capital who have been there. It's an oasis that mediates trade between the oasis groups around the capital that are believed to be under the rule of the Baat Kingdom and the independent lords who ignore the Baat Kingdom, although it's in the territory of the Baat Kingdom.

The kingdom of Baat is trading with an oasis that refuses to come under its control.

It's a mature decision. It's a mature decision, because the independent lords wouldn't pay a vassal's respects to the kingdom unless they had some advantage. The kingdom can't just suddenly defeat them for being rude, and they don't have the luxury of time to do so.

The desert is a solid line of defense...

'Yes, but because of that, there is very little interaction between the various oases, and there are many things missing. Because many of us spend our lives in the small space of the oasis, many of us like imported goods. But since they are imported goods, the price is also quite high. There are many who want to get rich and become traders.

You start with a small ship and work your way up to a big merchant.

Of course, a lot of people die and the shipwreck rate is high, so it's a high-risk, high-reward job. We also have to fight sand beasts, so it's a job like being a hunter.




　We had been sailing in the desert for more than two weeks, and when that happens, I still miss the oasis.
　When I mentioned this to Miu Miu, she told me that we would soon reach a famous oasis.
　It's called Shipland, an oasis that is literally famous for its poultices... just kidding, it's an oasis with a staging area where trading ships gather.
　It's the land of ships, which is why so many ships gather there.

Is it under the control of the Kingdom of Bart?

''In case you're wondering, the lord over there is a 'viscount'.

However, he doesn't like the intrusion of the Kingdom. You're practically an independent lord. A lord of a small kingdom.

　So Shipland mediates the trade between the Burt Kingdom and the lords of the Oasis who are loyal to the Burt Kingdom and the lords of the Oasis who do not want to be subjects of the Burt Kingdom?
　In a sense, it must be treated like a neutral country.

"Shipland is acting as a go-between to prevent both sides from getting into trouble.

''Taro-dono is very quick to talk. After all, the Kingdom of Baat has no ability for foreign expeditions, so it can't have many oasis masters on its side. However, some of the kingdom's nobles are making a fuss about not trading with those who haven't even the courtesy of their subjects.

　However, if you do that, you won't be able to get many goods lined up in King's Landing.
　So that's why the lord is going through Shipland, the Viscount of the Kingdom of Bart, in case you're wondering.

''The Lord of Shipland is in a delicious position, isn't he?

You're a bit of a transit authority, aren't you?

I heard you were famous for your wings in the King's Landing.

　Just because it was a trade transit point, Shipland was far more financially prosperous than the rest of the oasis.
　Because it attracted many trading sand drifters, there were many shipyards that built and repaired ships, and many people would come to work there.
　Large traders attract seafarers, so many people aspire to this.　
　Seafarers can earn more money than other jobs because of the danger involved.
　In addition, because there are so many large ships' crews, it's a safer way to make money than buying a small ship and starting a merchant on your own.

　Do you take the safe route and make money as a sailor?
　It's risky, but you can become a merchant yourself to make more money.
　Some people become seafarers to earn money before they go out on their own, so they are responsible for their own life, no matter what they choose and how it ends up.

After all, it's not so easy with a small ship.

They say they're both small boats, but they're essentially the escape boats of a larger ship, so they're small boats.

　So I guess I should buy a proper boat to continue my journey?

Since there are three of us, I think a regular small boat will do.

'We've turned them into catamarans, do you think these two small ships will sell?

As for the ship itself, it's a second-hand item, so I don't think it's worth much. It's just that the magic power and the wood that holds the two ships together sells for a decent price.　They'll sell for a pretty good price, but new ships cost a hell of a lot of money.

　Most of this world is a desert, so there are very few forests.
　The production of wood is extremely low and very precious, and most of the wood is imported from abroad.

''I can sell the two magic powers and the wood, and then I can sell something else and buy a new ship.

　A used boat is one way to go, but we may have a long journey ahead of us.
　A new one is more secure.

The funds will be for items purchased through 'online shopping'.

'Mister Tullow, wouldn't sugar be good for you?'

　It's a high quality product and should sell well.　
　Especially white sugar.

'I'd like that,'

'Maybe if we sell a few hundred kilos we can get a pretty good ship. Oh, but.....

　It's suspicious that you claim to have brought hundreds of kilos of sugar on board this ship.
　It would be dangerous if they asked me where the sugar came from and my 'interdimensional warehouse' and 'online shopping' were known.

'What do we do?　Lord Taro.

'Well...'

Mr. Taro!　It's a sand beast attack!

　While I was trying to figure out how to handle the large amount of sugar that I purchased from "online shopping" without being suspicious, Miu suddenly sensed the presence of multiple sand beasts.
　At the same time, the magic detector on board the ship also emitted a loud alarm sound to alert them of the approaching sand beasts.
　This magic detector was also made by Miu herself, who said it was for the safety of the ship's journey.

　It is relatively easy to make.
　However, that was Miu's subjective view, although Larabell and I couldn't make it.

''Taro-san, we're not the target of the sand beast,''

So you think he's being attacked by someone else?

There it is!

　Ahead, where Miu pointed, dozens of sandworms were attacking a small trading ship.
　Upon closer inspection, unfortunately, there were no survivors on board.
　They must have been eaten by the sandworms, as there was still blood on the deck.
　Their next target was a hull made of wood.
　Sandworms would chew up even the hardest wood and put it in their mouths, taking their time to digest it.

'Mr. Tallow?'

'Mew, in a case like this, who owns the dead merchant's ship and cargo?

That's who got it.

Doesn't the family have anything to say about it?

'I might say it, but I don't see why I should say it...'

　Ships and shipowners are often lost in uninhabited deserts or attacked by sand beasts, so in many cases, we don't know where they died first.
　They don't come back for a long time, so they are presumed dead, but there is no proof of their death.

Sailors spend a lot of time carrying cargo in the desert, so they rarely return home. Many of them don't want to go back home, so many of the bereaved families don't care about their safety. When you have a family, it's natural for your wife and children to be concerned about your safety.

　But it is impossible for a wife and child of a dead shipowner to recover a body, belongings, cargo, or wreckage of a ship, and few hunters would accept such a request.
　Even if a ship happened to be passing by the scene of a distress and succeeded in retrieving the wreckage, the family would still have to pay a huge reward for taking it back.

　This is because the sailor had risked his life to recover the bodies and cargo.
　They would also risk being attacked by sand beasts themselves, so they would usually just ignore the wreckage of the ship when they found it.
　Rarely, there are those who try to recover the ship's magical power, wreckage and cargo, but there are also apparently many who are attacked by lurking sand beasts and end up in double distress.

Searching for a ship in distress is very dangerous, so the remains belong to the person who took the risk. The idea is that the family members who can't recover their own belongings have no rights. There are some people who scavenge a ship in distress, win a bet and get a lot of money, but many people die, and there are few cases of people deliberately searching for the ship, and many of them find it by accident. There are many cases of people risking their lives to find a ship that has been lost, but there is nothing to show for it.

　So even the bereaved family can't ask for the return of what they have risked their lives to recover?
　Rarely do hunters and other shipowners move in on a ship that they think is in distress, and most of the time, if they happen to be passing through there, they find a ship in distress, so they take the risk to search for it.
　When I did, I was lucky enough to find an expensive shipload.
　The magic power and hull weren't that broken, so it sold for a high price.

　It seems to be something like that.

''Then I guess we can take it.

Yeah. It's no problem.

Then let's go!

Lady Lalabelle, you're really into this.

It's been a long boat ride and I've been bored.

　The crew was already wiped out.......apparently the ship's owner was the only crew member.......the swarm of sandworms that had attacked the small ship was quickly wiped out by Larabell's sword fire and Mew's magic.
　I hadn't fought them in a long time, but only two of them ended up spearing the sandworms down.
　Whether they were there or not, the outcome of the battle wouldn't be that different.

　The sandworms we defeated disappeared and were converted into Eidolks, but the body of the ship's owner, who had been eaten by the sandworms, did not emerge.
　What was inside the sandworm's body also seemed to disappear.

　Let's consider ourselves lucky that we don't have to look at the human bodies that were devoured by the sandworms and are still in the process of being digested.

'Taro-san, your magic power is safe. The ship's cargo........is also safe. That's a lot of salt.

Salt....

　Salt was cheaper than sugar because there were places in the desert where rock salt could be found, but it wasn't cheap because some oases couldn't even get rock salt.
　People couldn't survive without salt, and furthermore, in the desert, they sweat a lot, so the inhabitants of this world wanted salt in large quantities.
　With such a large quantity of salt, they could sell it for a pretty good price.

''Small-scale traders would get their hands on salt first, wouldn't they?

It's a small margin, but it's a solid sell.

　Smaller ship owners are more averse to inventory.
　This is because there is nothing more wasteful than not being able to handle all the cargo you carry at your destination and loading it up at the next destination.
　Many shipowners carry the wrong cargoes and end up being bought out by the merchants at the oasis they arrive at, and debutante shipowners often carry a safety pie of salt.

'Was this shipowner a novice?'

'No, not really. Lord Taro, I have a 'magic box'.

'Magic box?　Ah!　I've heard of it!

　Larabelle found what looked like a treasure chest at the end of the ship's hold and told me about it.
　She seemed to realize immediately what it was.
　The magic box was a box that was big enough for a human to hold and lift, and could hold about a hut's worth of stuff in it.

　It is convenient because even a small ship can carry a lot of cargo, but it is very expensive because it is difficult to make.
　There are only five people in the world who have special skills in the "Interdimensional Warehouse" and so on, so Major Sander had told me in small talk that this was how it was developed a long time ago.

''Mew can make a magic box?''

'It's impossible. It's hard to make. That would normally cost about 100 million dollars a piece.

It's so expensive...

But it's cheaper than the big ships.

　Do you build a large ship that can carry a lot of cargo and hire a lot of sailors to carry it?
　Or do you put a magic box on a small ship and carry a lot of cargo?
　It's a difficult choice, because there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

''Large ships can carry a lot of sailors, so they're effective in preventing sand beasts. The sand beasts are also less likely to attack a large ship.

　Not absolutely, but he can certainly feel safer than on a small ship.

'But I've been attacked by sandworms on larger ships...'

The captain and his men deliberately rammed the sandworm's nest at the behest of that brother.

　No matter how much the sand beasts avoid large ships, if they enter a large number of habitats and nests, it's only natural that they will be attacked.
　There are many sand beasts on the side, and they are also very bullish and will attack ships.

A map has been drawn up based on previous navigational experience of dangerous areas for even large ships to pass through, and it is sold by the Sandcastle Seamen's Association.

　Does an organization of sailors carrying cargo in the desert sell maps showing the danger zone?
　I'll have to buy one when I enter Shipland.

'So, what's in this magic box, I wonder?

Let's get it open.

　When Larabelle opened the lid of the magic box, there were several large, fine burlap bags inside.

''What's inside...''

　I had to open the bag to find out, so I ripped open the burlap bag and found a blackish lump or powder inside.

'What's this?'

'It's sugar. That's quite a lot of money. A magic box, and a body that can afford to stock up on sugar. I'm guessing he's a mid-level shipowner who made his money on the regular route.

　It's not easy being a new independent ship owner anyway.
　A sand drift boat is very expensive, even for a small one, so you can't buy one for immediate money first.
　They have to either borrow money from someone or get a loan from the Sand Drift Seamen's Association, which sells maps, with the assurance that they have been working on the boat for some time.
　The risk of distress is so great that the families of the shipowners who took out the loan are not liable for the death of the shipowners, but the interest rate on the loan is ridiculously high instead.

　They continue to carry cargo with little or no rest to pay off the loan.
　If they want to increase their margins on a small boat, a magic box is essential, but they can't buy it with a loan.
　No matter how hard they try, it will take more than a decade to pay off the loan, but once that's done, they'll apparently make money when they can carry cargo on the regular route and earn a steady income.

　The owner of the small ship in distress seemed to be one of those people.

"I just finished paying off the loan...

　I'm single and have never taken out a mortgage as I inherited my parents' house, but I feel a little sad when I think of the owner of the ship, who was probably not much older than me.

'Didn't we sail here because it was safe to do so?

'Mr. Tallow, sand beasts are living things, and sometimes they can move.

　What was previously a safe passage can suddenly turn into a nest of sand beasts, and vice versa.
　You also have the misfortune of encountering a herd of sand beasts that happen to be wandering around.

'The maps are updated frequently. That's why they're pretty expensive.

　The Sandworm Seafarers' Association is always trying to collect information on shipping routes for the safety of owners and crews, but there are times when there is a time lag.

In this case, they must have just happened to encounter a school of sandworms and were attacked. This kind of thing happens sometimes," he said. If you're the owner of a large ship or a strong hunter, it's not a problem.

　So not all of them are strong shipowners.
　The majority of hunters are limited to taking down sand-sized lizards, so sandworms would be a threat to the majority of small shipowners.

'I guess there's no point in thinking about it too much. Let's pull out.　

"Taro-dono, I'm grateful for the existence of the magic box. You can load it up with the sugar you bought from the Internet shopping. That way, they won't get suspicious.

I see. Good idea.

　As a result, I ended up taking someone else's magic box, but this is also the destiny of those who live in the desert.
　Besides, the living are more important than the dead.

　I don't live in Japan today where I can say pretty things.
　I will be grateful for it.

Mr. Taro, the ship still has magic power. The hull of the ship has a lot of wood that can be used. We're almost to Shipland, do you want me to tow it away?

No, it's not safe to tow her. We'll handle this one elsewhere.

　If we continue to tow this small ship as it is, the family of the owner of this small ship might make a scene.
　Rules are rules, so I don't think they'll take the ship or its cargo away from us, but it's not a good idea for the residents of Shipland to be suspicious of the scenario of us bringing in sugar in a magic box.

'I'm a dead man, so I'd better tread carefully. Do you think I'm being too cautious?

No, I don't think so. My brother is a powerless king who was suddenly made king. The fact that he struggles to increase his own power is evident from his treatment of Lord Taro. People like that are reckless.

'Nevertheless, Shipland is practically another country. Some of the ship's families have come out and some of them are noble hands when the Sandstream Sailors Association is involved, but the rest of us don't need to be that vigilant.

　This means that broken small ships should only be hidden.
　The magic boxes were difficult to identify because they were all made the same, and they wouldn't be found out at first if they were used as they were.

'We'll sell the salt and sugar from this ship's cargo elsewhere as well.

　I put away the half-broken small ship and its cargo of salt and sugar in the 'Interdimensional Warehouse', and then packed the large bags of sugar that I bought from 'online shopping' into the magic box that I got.
　There is no doubt that the amount of storage space is about the size of a shed, and I was able to load about five hundred bags into it.

They were able to load up about 500 bags. We can sell it at a good price.

'It's not too expensive, though. Only a very rich man can use refined sugar. Even a load of brown sugar is very expensive.

　It seems that the owner of a small ship had a good price to pay, after all.
　They could stock up on expensive sugar.

The work is done. Well, let's get going.

Yes.

Come to Shipland.

　We were given a load and a boat from a ship that had been attacked by a sand beast, and we started the boat again.
　Then, after about half a day, we saw a large oasis.

'That's Shipland, isn't it?'

It's a really big town.

It's a town that hasn't been inhabited in a while.

　We had arrived in a town that had been inhabited for a long time.