...She's just plain strong, right?

'Yes. I guess I wasn't that strong when I was that age.

''Even those of us who didn't have a place in the royal castle or the mansion didn't start killing sand beasts outside the royal city until we were twelve years old.

There's an age limit for hunters. I didn't know that now I've never heard of it.

Yes, there is. I'm sure there are many problems with sending a child to fight a sand beast. The reason why Mr. Taro didn't explain to you in the capital is because he thought it was common knowledge that he didn't need to say anything about such things.

What about Frau?

It may be misleading to say this, but in a rural oasis there are many cases where this is not the case.... To put it bluntly, they have a low level of public morality... they think that even if they run out of babies, they can just have them again...

'Then you'd be greatly mistaken if the royalty and nobility of the Kingdom of Bart had any common sense, though.

'Master Lalabelle, that's the end of the line for you.




　We left Little Water Village, but on the way to our destination, Old Town, we decided to see what the Frau was capable of.
　We were curious to see how good he was, since we had heard he was killing sand beasts every day, so we were curious to see how good he was.
　If she was overwhelmed, I thought there was another way, but she was firing her bow in rapid succession, taking down the sand great lizard at a slaughter level.
　'How could a Frau who's only twelve years old?' I thought to myself, but according to Mew, the reality is that as much as a local oasis, even children can mobilize if they can kill sand beasts.
　The sand beasts would quickly increase at a level that was physically strange, given the nutritional conditions of the desert.
　If all the oases are taken over by sand beasts, most of the humans living in this world will either dry up or starve to death, so I think that's part of the reason why they can't be pretty in the shorthanded rural oasis.
　There are more people who are unable to defeat sand beasts even as adults, but those adults are also necessary to maintain the oasis, so we can't wear them out by defeating sand beasts that we can't.
　As a result, in the countryside, where manpower is scarce, those who can defeat the sand beasts are mobilized even if they are underage.
　For that, the treatment of Frau, who was working hard for Little Water Village, was terrible, but........
　Come to think of it, so did Larabell and Mew.
　Could it be that in this world, there is such a thing as abnormally bad treatment of non-beautiful women?

Frau, that's enough.

I understand.

　To Frau, who had killed the sand giant lizard enough to use up all the arrows she had in just a short amount of time, he told her to stop killing it today.

''It's easier to collect the arrows.''

'The sand beast's corpse will be gone, you know. I won't have to pull out the arrows that stuck in them.

　Frau was surprised that the sand beasts he had defeated would disappear.
　This is because all the materials of the corpse and the divine coins that drop will be converted into Eidoluks, but it wouldn't be a problem since they would pay Frau a salary with the Druk divine coins that she has for a while.

　The penalty fee that I told Little Water Village was a big lie, so I properly signed an employment contract with her.
　I've also given her a payment for her expenses, plus she's made me a party member, so I can browse the 'online shopping'.
　I told her that if there was something she wanted, she could purchase it within the amount of money she had, and she immediately bought a hunting bow, arrows, and a tool for care.
　I was surprised that you can buy a bow online, but when I thought about it, it's not so strange if it's for competition or hunting.
　Frau had purchased an American-made composite longbow made of aluminum alloy and carbon, and an arrow.

　Today was also the day to show them off.

'It's light and sturdy, and it's a nice bow and arrow.

A common bow and arrow, I suppose.

　In this world, there are weapons made of special materials or treated as masterpieces with special effects.
　For example, Lalabelle's sword falls under this category, but no matter how much modern science and technology is used, it is still no match for a one-off, legendary weapon.
　However, the quality and power are far better than the bows and arrows sold in ordinary weapon shops, so Frau, who used to use handmade bows and arrows, is very satisfied with the bows and arrows purchased from 'online shopping'.

''It's also good that I don't have to go through the hassle of collecting and processing the materials.

　It's because when you defeat them, they convert to Eidolk on their own.
　Stripping off usable materials from the sand beasts that you defeat and bringing them back to the oasis is a big burden for the hunter.
　If the materials were stripped off in a bad way, the purchase price would be lower, and if the meat and other materials were left in the hot sun for a long time, it would rot.
　Turning materials into money efficiently was difficult, so my 'Interdimensional Warehouse' and the ability for the sand beasts to be converted into electronic money on their own was very convenient.
　However, the electronic money can't be converted back to normal Druk God coins, so the only way I can use it is to shop for things through 'online shopping'.

''We'll just have to wait and see today. Frau is a good enough force, so I guess we'd better hurry up and aim for Old Town the rest of the day.

　From what I've heard, it's because it's more efficient to earn money in the dungeons of Old Town than fighting sand beasts in the desert.
　Looking at my current balance, it's also not a problem if I don't have to push myself.
　I don't have that many divine coins, but I've set aside enough to pay Frau a set salary for a few years, and at worst, I can buy sugar through 'online shopping' and sell it in town and easily obtain divine coins, so it's not a problem.

　If he wants to, it's no problem to pay his wages as an Eidolc payment.

'Frau also bought books, didn't she?

'Yes. The books in Master Tallow's world are interesting.

　In addition to bows and arrows, Frau had purchased books from 'online shopping'.
　Cookbooks and books are written in Japanese, so there are "Hiragana", "Katakana" and "Kanji" drills for learning Japanese.
　He also bought some picture books.
　I don't know how it works, but the inhabitants of this world and I can talk normally, but even Miu Miu is one of the most difficult Japanese characters to understand.
　To me, though, the characters in this world look like worms swatting at them, which is still very difficult to understand.
　I've been studying them as I go, but my memory may be getting worse over forty, and I feel that my memory is worse than it was when I was younger.

'Is Frau going to learn the language of your country, Taro?

Yes, you can learn how to cook by looking at the pictures in the book. You can learn how to make a dish just by looking at the pictures in the book, but it's better to learn how to make it by writing as well. This is also for Taro-sama's sake.

　Frau answers Miu's question with a smile.
　She seems to think I'm the one who owes her a debt of gratitude for rescuing me from that horrible hometown, and no matter how much she says she doesn't need it, she still calls me 'sama'.
　Because she lived alone, she's good at cooking and such, and I was surprised when she looked at a cookbook and suddenly made an authentic curry.
　Lalabelle and Miu are, after all, the daughters of royalty and aristocracy, so in this area they are completely defeated by Frau, who is younger than them.
　Even in the oasis where I first met the two of them, the only thing they did when it came to cooking was boil or grill sand scorpions' legs.
　When I left it to Frau, she took the liberty of studying the cookbook and served me a delicious meal every day, and soon the cooking became her responsibility.

'I'll make a meal for you when we get back to the ship,'

Frau, you don't have to work so hard.

I'll make it easy for you today.

　They say it's easy, but Frau's cooking skills were quite good.
　In terms of talent, he was probably better than me.
　My cooking is something that an old man living alone had no choice but to do, although I could make it normally, but that was about the best I could do.
　Frau seemed to have a talent for cooking, and she was much more adept at it than I was, even though I was supposed to have been cooking for a long time.
　Lalabelle and Miu, who have been learning to cook a little bit lately... unfortunately, I don't need to compare them.　

'It's curry today,'

It's nice, Curry.

It's a good one.

It's really fast.

Actually, I made some of it beforehand.

　Back on the ship, in just a few moments, Frau served us curry and rice.
　Salads, soups, etc. are also served, and well balanced nutrition is also considered.
　If this continues, I may end up leaving all the cooking to Frau.

　I can't help but wonder if it's okay to force her, the youngest, to bear that much of a burden, but once she's had a proper meal.
　I might have to think about the three of us taking down the sand beast alone and letting Frau do all the cooking and housework.

''This Callau would be handy.

　Most of the ingredients for the dishes came from 'online shopping', but Frau didn't waste any money and was good at getting by.
　Larabelle and Miu, after all, were born into royalty and nobility, so they would occasionally buy crazy things, but it wasn't a problem because they were shopping within a set range and it was a bit funny from my point of view.

'Taro-sama, are you planning to defeat the dungeon's sand beast in Old Town?'

I think it's a good idea.

　There are many dungeons in Old Town, and I've heard that you can still find new dungeons there.
　The number of sand beasts that spring up there is also diverse, and since the amount of divine coins that are dropped and the materials that are sold are high, many hunters seem to gather there, aiming to catch a thousand dollars.

　It is said to be in the territory of the Bart Kingdom, but the reality is that it is an independent city-state where large merchants and ex-hunters who made their fortunes through great success perform autonomy as council members.

''My brother, of course, wants to control Old Town as well,''

How?

　The same goes for the rest of the country, even though they don't have a complete grasp of the territory they profess to be in, since there are oases and cities scattered throughout the desert-filled land.
　In order for the Baat Kingdom to annex Old Town, it would have to attack it.
　Old Town has plenty of finances, and if they wanted to, they could form a strong defensive army with hunter volunteers.
　The Burt Kingdom Army, which has been struggling to make an expedition through the desert, should be cruelly defeated.
　It's also very ironic that the desert has prevented a war of aggression from occurring because of the desert.

''It's one thing to aim for that and another to actually be able to do it. I'm sure my brother understands that.

I see.

　As the king of the Burt Kingdom, is it necessary for him to say big things to gain the support of the nobles and territorial residents from time to time?

''Even if the Baat Kingdom was able to prepare an army large enough to attack Old Town, that's difficult to do at this point in time, but it's a certainty that we'll die of lack of supplies. After all, it's difficult to procure water and food locally on the way. But if you reduce the number of troops, the numerous powerful hunters in Old Town will kill you all. The dream will end in a dream.

I know,

　Because the desert makes it virtually impossible to march on, buying water and food along the way.
　We will never reach the amount we need.
　Looting is out of the question.
　If they destroyed the oasis on the march, they would find themselves isolated in distant enemy territory.

''Therefore, we can continue to live a normal life in the dungeons of Old Town, defeating sand beasts and raising our levels.

'Right. We're newlyweds, and we'll do some sightseeing in Old Town.

'Well, honeymoon.... sounds good...'

　Miu Miu seems to be imagining something with a joyful expression on her face.
　I've heard that there is a honeymoon in this world as well, but it's basically only for royalty and the rich.
　This is because it is full of deserts, so the travel expenses are unusually high.
　Naturally the travel period was longer, and only those who could make a living even if they took a long break could go on a trip.

I didn't think I could go on a honeymoon. I said to my brother, 'What kind of man would go on a honeymoon with you? "My brother said to me, 'No man would ever go on a honeymoon with you, because it's practically a death trip, an island exile.

....

　The king continues to speak ill of his own sister, doesn't he?
　She is the main fighter against sand beasts, and she is wary and jealous of her sister, who has an amazing fighting ability... let's assume that's the reason.

''Larabell-sama, Miu-sama and Taro-sama were newlyweds, weren't they? I admire them too.

　While looking at our wedding outfit photos displayed in the room, Frau had an envious look on her face.
　It seems that women, after all, adore to be in their wedding dresses.

''I'm going to try my best to get married in the future too.

　Our ship continued to sail smoothly, and a few days later we arrived safely in Old Town.