While Yaegar was out, the kids caught up with Hiru’s adventures and vice-versa. What they had been up to since last seeing each other. Hiru did most of the talking, as he had lived through a lot already. Hearing stories about fighting monsters made Kino really jealous. Eventually, the topic shifted to Velion, who turned his head as he heard his name.

Kino asked Velion to show off a few moves with his cool blue spear. Velion obliged. He got up, twirled his spear with both hands, then rotated it rapidly like the time he was deflecting silk spider webs, and finished it off with a jump and lunge. He let out a deep breath, a bit of sweat trickling down his brow that he wiped off.

Kino’s eyes beamed. Soon, he was like a moth to a flame.

At first, Velion found it flattering having someone look up to him. But after a while, he started to get on Velion’s nerves with all his questions. From wanting to know why he didn’t become a Royal Knight, to asking how strong he was and if he could take the village chief who was also super strong.

“Kino, was it?” Jiger said. “I need to borrow this one for a bit. Why don’t you kids play outside?”

Alina had told them no earlier, since it was starting to get a little dangerous around the village. But their faces lit up after his approval. They hurried off to play tag before Alina could notice. Krita was already getting along very well with Alderine and Stella.

Velion sighed in relief. “Thanks, old man. Saved me from a million questions.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“By the way, is a five-year-old really in charge of this village?”

“You know the Royal Family’s weird antics when it comes to strong talents. They’ll put her on a pedestal here to get noticed by a bigshot. Wring her through the academy, and ship her off to the war.”

That made sense to Velion. He wasn’t going to question much. He was here to keep his sister away from Shirule. And the only way to do that was to work and mind his own business.

A few minutes later, Yaegar returned with a few supplies, saying there was more at Higard’s place. After a few more trips, everything was laid out on the floor.

“Alright,” Jiger said. “Let’s draw up an architectural design and map of the new house. Got any parchment and ink?”

Yaegar stared at him blankly. Were items that expensive just something people had lying around where he was from? He shook his head with a wry smile.

Jiger couldn’t believe it. Not even ink and parchment? These people really had nothing. He sighed. “Mr. Yaegar, just to double check. This quota limits anything that isn’t food or drink from being sold. That right?”

Yaegar nodded.

“I’ll be taking a stroll around the village.”

Jiger wanted to see the state of the marketplace for himself. If it was true, no one was buying or selling anything other than food, the village was doomed.

The twenty other huts around Yaegar’s were flimsy on construction, just like his. Jiger shook his head with pity. But he wasn’t here to remodel the whole village. He walked along the cobblestone streets, turning corners and waving to a few villagers who didn’t wave back. He had heard from Yaegar that around this time of the year there would be a summer auction. People would be working tirelessly for weeks, making goods from scratch to sell. Jiger surmised that there should be a lot of materials moving hands from supplier to vendor to customer. And yet, as he passed by small wooden buildings and homes, unkempt and depressed people sitting outside in the hot sun littered the streets.

“What’s with you?” Jiger asked a dazed man sitting outside a small restaurant.

“They said if I keep away bad customers I’ll get some food by the end of the day. I call it working security,” he said with a dry chuckle.

There wasn’t a drop of alcohol in his breath yet he reeked. But at least, he was doing his job. No one bad was coming in. Well, no one was coming in. Were there at least customers inside?

Jiger went to enter.

The man looked him up and down for a moment and nodded. “Go ahead. You look like you have money.”

Inside, the tables were empty. The only two people were waitresses, bored with nothing to do. Their faces lit up when a customer walked through the door.

“Welcome! Please take any seat you’d like! Don’t be shy—”

Jiger waved a hand. “Not here to eat.”

A grumpy ogre-ish man walked out from the kitchen. The walls were paper thin and he’d heard the noise. “Well, what do you want then?”

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The restaurant was clean and the waitresses were friendly. Jiger could tell a lot of care was put into the table arrangements, and the center had a lovely tall plant to liven up the atmosphere.

“Why is no one here? Is the food that bad?” Jiger asked bluntly.

“You picking a fight, old man?” The manager turned red-faced. “I’ll have you know we were filled to capacity every day. Before that damn quota was put up. If you’re not here to eat, then—”

“And that man sitting outside? If you have people like him stinking up the place, no one will want to come in.”

The manager sighed and took a seat at one of the empty tables. Jiger had struck a nerve. “Told him not to sit right outside. Anyway, I… I needed some kind of security, y’know. Lots of folks turning to stealing. Had a gang of teenagers try to rob the place just a few days ago. You understand, right? You look like a man of business yourself.”

“I’m just visiting this village. Though it pains me to see things like this,” he said, pulling out a few coins and dumping them on the table. “Know what? I’m in the mood to try something new. Get me your most expensive meal.”

The manager cracked a tiny smile. “You got it. Thanks, old timer.”

He snapped his fingers to the waitresses. A customer was a customer, and they needed to show him the best service.

The manager told him that boar meat dishes used to be their specialty. But now buying boar meat was impossible, since it all had to be exported to Shirule. There was wolf meat. It was stringy and had a taste you had to get used to, but also off the menu now. The farmers had chickens and cows, but not enough to use them for meat. The manager laughed and said the only people still doing well in the village were the farmers. They were making a killing off eggs and milk since prices had gone up.

Thanks to a connection of his, the manager was still able to offer chicken on his menu—but only to those with deeper pockets.

The waitress nervously brought out a tin platter to the cranky old man.

“Thank you for waiting.”

She lifted the cover, revealing a plate of roasted chicken drumsticks with a side of salad consisting of tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots. The portions were small, but Jiger wasn’t all that hungry. Sitting down to eat was an excuse to gather more information. He nibbled on bits of the chicken. It was surprisingly tasty for village food. He figured the manager wasn’t lying about this place being full before.

Jiger asked if there were any places open left to buy goods for a construction project. The manager shrugged.

“I stay in my little corner. I don’t want to know who’s doing what. Not with Shirule breathing down our necks soon.”

Jiger paid four copper for the meal—up from one copper pre-quota. Despite the increase, he marveled at how cheap eating was compared to Shirule, which would run five copper at a restaurant of lower quality. Of course, for a villager, four copper was outrageous. The manager would be lucky to get a single customer.

“Four copper for this banquet. Not bad,” he said, chewing out loud.

“You’d be the first to think so,” the manager said, wiping a table. “I can’t go any lower than this, since food prices are up, or I make nothing. I pay a hefty rent on this place.”

Jiger left a tip for good service. The manager wasn’t well-connected. Any more conversation would be a waste of time.

Next, he visited the main marketplace. The only stalls left open were food stalls, and the lines were very short. Some vendors got so fed up with people complaining about the prices or trying to get discounts, they put a sign in big red letters stating the price and “NO HAGGLING”.

There was a mix of people sleeping on the streets, lying against the buildings, or just looking around, wishing they could afford something.

Jiger went up to a small stall that sold corn on the cobs with various condiments.

The gray-haired man perked up at seeing a refined-looking, older gentleman. “Finally, a customer. What’ll you have, sir?”

“Just ate, sorry.”

The man’s shoulders slumped. “Figures.”

“I won’t buy corn, but I could buy information,” he said, flashing a handful of copper coins. Jiger leaned in and whispered in the man’s ear. “Know any people still selling things like bricks or lumber? And metal nails? We’re doing a renovation project.”

The corn vendor shook his head. “People are too spooked to open shop after the announcement. They say if the envoy catches you selling anything but food, you can forget every doing business again. No one’s taking chances. Word gets around about any place still open to buy things, you know.”

Jiger sighed. “Thanks. Here.”

He handed the vendor two copper coins.

“This is too much. This can get you four cobs.”

“In that case, give me the four. The kids will eat them.”

The vendor pulled out corn, stabbed a pointy stick through the middle, and drizzled it in a special light brown sauce—a mix of a few cheap spices and water.

With food on his hands, he started walking back to the hut.

Jiger fully believed Yaegar’s account of things now. The village was in total disarray. He had closed up shop so he could focus on training Hiru to become a full-fledged Herbalist. And to get him stronger so he could eventually hunt Rank A monsters and get the ingredients for the Elixir of Youth potion. All that would be possible with the love and support of his family. Now, Hiru wouldn’t want to learn. Hell, with how much the boy liked to sneak around, he might get overconfident and run away to fight, and end up trampled under a boar.

“This quota’s getting in the way of my plans,” he grumbled. The house could wait. He and Velion could sleep in the living room, or outside if needed.

The quota was his number one priority.

When he returned, the kids were still off somewhere. Velion was sitting down alone, lost in thought. Jiger had to lie down. He had walked for over an hour—something he felt no one should have to do at his age.

“I’m going to be feeling that tomorrow. Uh, Miss Alina.”

“Yes, Mr. Jiger?” she called from the other room.

“I brought some food for the kiddos. We’re missing one so have them compete for the last one.”

She chuckled. “Thank you for going out of your way.”

“Not a problem.”

Jiger groaned and got back up. There was something he still needed to do.

* * *

“The administration building? I could take you there,” Yaegar offered.

Jiger released the knot tying down the horse outside and took the cart to the administration building. In every village, there was usually a person who would return rented equipment or needed something delivered for a fee.

After a bit of asking around inside the building, Jiger gave instructions to the man to take the rented horse and merchant cart to a stable in Shirule at a certain address. And to hurry—every day was costing him an arm and a leg.

“Three silvers.”

Jiger tried his best to hide a smile. A 24-hour horse ride and half a week’s walk back cost the same as a ring from a jeweler’s stall. That young man had just saved him from hell.

Well, that was one less thing to worry about.

On the way back, Jiger explained the new plan.

“We’ll be focusing on the quota. Your son, and my other student should be able to take care of it pretty quickly. After that, we can use some of the profits to pay for the materials, too. Where do we find the boars?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been on an expedition. Only ever encountered a straddler chasing prey. I know someone from one of the hunting groups who we could hire as a guide. There’s no rule against that.”

“Tomorrow we'll go with you to get the guide. Then, the first hunt begins.”