Shakedown Mission (2): Bottled Goods Hit the Market

Ultimately, we didn't encounter the Second Knight Order on the way there.

Upon arriving at Ocle Fort, the one nearest the Three Goddesses' Spring, we immediately asked the garrison commander overseeing the fort for a report.

The bandits had apparently been making quite a spectacle of themselves, and by the time Roa Company arrived, their hideout had already been roughly pinpointed. Everything was in place; all that remained was to wipe them out.

The only reason they had been allowed to remain at large this long was that the area lay on the border with the Lifrea Holy Kingdom. Even though we were allied nations, moving troops near the border required a certain degree of restraint from both sides.

"Still, this is an easier mission than I expected. A thousand wasn't necessary after all, was it...?" Ryuzel said, rolling his neck.

"Yeah. It would be enough to take along only half of the soldiers we brought who aren't suited for riding. Roa, let Ryuzel start his leave a little early," Frein said.

In fact, Rays-sama had told us that once the extermination mission was over, we could spend several days on leave at the Three Goddesses' Spring. Apparently, it was a reward for the fact that only we had worked with the Western Army during the previous exercise. The area around the Three Goddesses' Spring was famous as a tourist destination, so we decided to enjoy ourselves there before returning.

Incidentally, the bandits had appeared on a highway right along the border, a little way from the tourist area. Their targets were imports from the Southern Continent being brought in from Gadeland.

Apparently, bandits often cropped up near this border. They seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that neither nation would immediately send soldiers so close to the border.

Were villains simply alike in what they thought of, or had bandits who escaped capture found it profitable and come back? Either way, they were a nuisance.

"I'm not going to take leave early, but we'll relax at the fort. Roa, is that all right?"

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Though it was called Roa Company, I was the least experienced among us. I was grateful to rely on the two of them when they said, "We'll ask for your judgment when we feel it's necessary, so leave the finer details to us." What a relief.

"Even if it's a simple mission, the sooner it's done, the better for the people. We'll set out immediately. Roa, give us authorization."

"Understood. I authorize Frein's unit to deploy. Good luck."

"Leave it to me!" Frein clapped his hands together to psych himself up, then left the operations room ahead of us.

"What should we do, those of us staying behind?"

"I don't think there'll be a problem, but we'd better prepare for deployment and stand by in case of an emergency."

"Right. Since we're here, why don't we try cooking with some of the bottled food?"

"That might not be a bad idea."

The fort's garrison commander joined our conversation: "Is that the bottled food I've heard about? If you don't mind, might I sample some as well?"

Bottled goods had been officially unveiled with great fanfare about half a month earlier.

Initially, they were meant for the country's military and to serve as winter preserves for ordinary people. After that, some would be sold as exports to the Southern Continent. However, as far as the Southern Continent was concerned, the arrangement was based on licensing, with future technology transfers taken into account.

For about the first year, only the products would be supplied. Then, once inferior versions began to circulate, Ludeck would dispatch personnel to teach the proper production method. For the next ten years, Ludeck would receive licensing fees. The person who thought it up was, of course, the eccentric Drew.

For the time being, no technology would be provided to the Northern Continent, due to concerns that it might be used for military purposes.

Initially, trial trade was planned with two countries in the Southern Continent that had particularly close ties with Ludeck, but another country was added to the list.

That country was Fezaris, Luluria's homeland.

When we contacted them about importing tar and included a letter from Luluria, the minister immediately crossed the sea to visit us.

The timing happened to coincide with the announcement of the bottled goods, which piqued the Fezaris minister's interest. "I'll definitely secure permission from the king, so please provide our country with the technology as well. In return, we'll offer you a better price on tar." After enthusiastically announcing Fezaris's participation, the minister left.

Like Luluria, people from that country were remarkably business-minded.

Fezaris was apparently a small country even by the standards of the Southern Continent. That may have had something to do with it, but we had no complaints if it meant cheaper tar and profits from providing the technology.

"The sooner the production system is in place, the greater the profits will be, so that minister really has foresight," Drew said, unusually impressed.

At any rate, bottled goods had made it to the market.

Public interest was still low, but merchants and military personnel were already eyeing bottled goods as a means of transporting food that would keep for a long time.

When winter came, people would take more notice. Being able to eat fresh vegetables during a season when vegetables could not be grown would be a major advantage.

"So this is the bottled food...? And you'll collect the jars after use?"

The garrison commander examined the jar Ryuzel had handed over, peering down into it from above and holding it up to the light from below.

We had made the jars returnable. They were more labor-intensive to make than ordinary bottles, so we would collect them and reuse any that were still serviceable.

Drew had also solved the problem of transporting bottled goods during a march with ease. "When bottles break during transport, isn't it basically because they bump against each other? Then why not put each one in its own bag and hang it from a horse's back? And if you're carrying a large quantity in wooden crates, pack the gaps tightly with cloth instead of wood shavings so the bottles can't move around. I think that would make a big difference, don't you?"

When he put it that way, it seemed obvious—why hadn't I thought of it? But using wood shavings as cushioning in wooden crates was standard practice, and embarrassingly, I hadn't thought of it at all. Preconceptions were frightening.

This time, we traveled with four jars hanging from each horse's back. We had even devised ways to hang them so the horses would be bothered as little as possible. The main people behind those efforts were Ryuzel and Frein. As expected of horse lovers. Thus, this march had also served as a trial run for transporting bottled goods on horseback.

In the end, four jars per horse could be transported without any trouble. Six would probably have been fine as well. We had put some on Arrow too, and Arrow had shown no sign of minding them on the way. Once we reached the battlefield, we could simply unload them and stack them together.

We spent the day practicing dishes with bottled food while placating the garrison commander's impatience to sample it. Frein's unit returned before sunset. The mission had been completed without incident.

That night, alone in the room assigned to me, I went over the things that had caught my attention during the march.

Maybe—just maybe—the First wasn't the only knight order to betray us.