Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Lynn made up his mind and hastily went out to post a notice.

He wanted to gather all the housewives to turn these meats and grains into portable food before Hill remembered the matter of sausages.

If a local of Toril were to travel a long distance, then seeking a Strange Objects Mage to make Nutrition Beads would be most suitable, after all, a large bag could ensure a year's worth of survival needs.

But after interacting with the Teraxil Elves, Lynn understood that to sell food to them, it was best to regard food with the same level of importance as Hill, they didn't care about the price, focusing more on the flavor.

Agleya City is, after all, by the sea, and ever since Goddess Agleya purified the ocean, it has been possible to catch fish along the coast.

Hill was very generous in this regard and didn't believe that fishing on the shores of his territory required paying taxes to him, so fishing became a common activity among the less affluent populace.

Lynn had seen more than one Teraxil Elf bet on such a hodgepodge stew, the one who could eat it without vomiting would win, taking all the bets.

However, the end result was often everyone losing and huddling together to throw up.

Although Lynn also found that concoction disgusting, he definitely couldn't suffer so painfully, and the crumble cakes commonly eaten by the common folks in the Northern Continent were curiously tasted by the Teraxil Elves only to be thrown directly into the sea to feed the fish.

It could only be said that the homeland of these Teraxil Elves must have more abundant food.

Thus in the vast Agleya City, only three restaurants could stand their ground, two run by Elves and only one by Humans who moved from Baldur's Gate.

They all had several famous signature dishes, though because the raw materials were quite expensive, the prices were high, and there weren't many locals who could afford them.

But the constant stream of Teraxil Elves was enough to make those three restaurants earn a fortune.

Born a tavern owner, Lynn knew very well that the housewives in the North might not have many other skills, but they would definitely be able to make fruitcakes and cookies garnished with dried fruits and nuts.

As for bread, Lynn gave up on having Humans make it and instead recruited some Elf Ladies, hoping they could help make Elven Bread.

Lynn was clear that even the finest white bread would definitely not be palatable for these Teraxil Elves.

He had dined with Hill and was very aware of this; those delicate white breads were too dry for Hill, who could only eat them soaked in cheese soup.

The only bread Hill could eat directly was Elven Bread.

He thought these Teraxil Elves were likely the same.

After all, Hill never thought he was picky; he had always believed it was just the lack of variety in the food here in Toril.

Lynn estimated that Hill didn't even know that the sausages he made himself were not affordable for everyone in the North.

After all, this was someone who settled every meal with Gold Coins.

With these few items, the majority of the stocked white flour should be used up, Lynn sighed, the grain was going to hit the market soon again.

Although he didn't know why Hill never refused to buy grain when, upon asking, Hill had made it clear there was no need to stockpile grain.

But as a subordinate, even if he didn't understand, the only thing Lynn could do was take care of the aftermath.

So now came the most troublesome problem, Lynn wracked his brain trying to figure out how to process all that meat as quickly as possible.

If he had to smoke and roast the meat himself, he might as well make sausages for Hill.

If Hill knew Lynn's thoughts, he would certainly feel wronged. Who accustomed to eating leavened bread would be willing to eat old bread again?

He truly hadn't gone without suffering himself; during those toughest four years inside the castle, Hill survived by eating cheese and potato soup with white bread. The food of the Saral Nobles used to be mainly meat, and no matter how much spice was used, there was always a gamey taste.

The only commotion he ever caused in the castle was the foolish act of having Boen make this soup, which not only made the soup become a family dish for the Earl but also got Boen into trouble. The steward deliberately stirred up dissatisfaction among the servants with Boen to ensure that the recipe of the soup would only be taught to his family.

The only benefit was that he could have the chef make it any day he wanted. Hill never missed an opportunity, always ordering a large portion along with a lot of roasted meat. He would, of course, take advantage of the situation to let the unfortunate Boen eat something good as well.

That was the last time Hill made a mistake.

Sincere then, he never communicated with anyone in the castle again.

Although past experiences always turned into life lessons, Hill had no desire to reminisce. Those past events made him never mistreat himself.

The present Hill had made his way to the top-floor garden of the Floating Castle, where he went to communicate with an oak tree radiating a strange glow: he had promised the Little Flower Fairy that once it was safe, he would notify them to move back.

Vila returned very quickly.

Almost as soon as Hill connected with Shady Home, she burst out, dressed in a way that was, well… encumbered. She carried over a dozen little bags on her back.

"Vila?" Hill promptly helped the Little Flower Fairy who was barely able to fly and couldn't help asking, "Where did you get all these things from?"

The Little Flower Fairies had no intention of moving away from Hill's place and had only brought a bit of provisions to the other side, which was actually just carrying honey jars refined by Hill.

"Because I exchanged jars to store honey with some friends from Shady Home," Vila said earnestly. "All this honey is for Hill, so could we have new jars?

Unfortunately, there weren't many who weave over there; I only managed to exchange for about a dozen cloths.

It's okay, though, Hill doesn't need so much cloth as long as we have honey!"

Hill fell silent.

The Little Fairies' logic was very simple: once there had been a trade, unless you formally told them the trade was over, they would continue to trade in the same way as before.

Hill knew the limit of how much honey the Little Fairies could produce, so he didn't plan on ending this exchange; he really liked eating honey!

But if it included Shady Home's... Hill hesitated a bit.

"Vila..." Hill spoke with difficulty, "My need for honey isn't that great."

"But doesn't Hill love to eat it?" Vila, having unloaded her luggage, was gently stretching her body, she was so tired!

Upon hearing Hill's words, she stopped her movements, widened her eyes, and said, "I remember once hearing you tell List that you should never serve honey to guests because you don't have enough for yourself!

And moreover, List didn't allow the Puppet to use honey to make your food every day!"

Hill didn't know what to say.

That was just his nature kicking in; he didn't want to share the honey he loved with anyone!

It wasn't that he truly didn't have enough.

And List just thought... it was too much to eat honey products for every meal.

The honey made by the Little Fairies wasn't just ordinarily sweet; it had already reached the level of Strange Objects.

He thought Hill should restrain himself in this regard, but Vila overheard it.

After some thought, Hill told the truth, "Vila, making these jars is a bit troublesome for me. If you trade too much at once, I will be too tired.

I like eating honey; it is an indulgence.

But I can't abandon my normal life for these honeys!"

Vila looked at Hill in surprise, "Oh my! Do you have some misunderstanding about the Little Fairies?

We have a lot of honey to trade with you because, besides making honey, there's really nothing else to do in the Ice Mountain!

And even if we work really hard, we only have two months' worth of time.

So, after coming here and seeing so many precious magic flowers, we couldn't help but brew so much!"

Normal Little Fairies, who would waste their time doing so much work!

It goes without saying for the residents of Shady Home; their flowers bloom all year round, and there are many lazy ones who don't even bother making their own food, just pick a flower to nibble on is enough.

Aside from some beauty-loving Little Fairies, they don't even weave Fairy Cloth anymore! They just use Silver Tree Leaves for clothes.

That I could exchange for these is already all of Shady Home's inventory!"

Hill felt a little bewildered; his judgment of the Little Fairies seemed to have been a bit off, "I heard that the hierarchy in the Joyous Court is strict, and I thought the Little Fairies would be very industrious."

Vila began to laugh, "Hill, strict hierarchy just means that the Inner Court, where the Queen resides, doesn't allow ordinary Little Fairies to enter; it's a place where recognized Nobles can roam freely.

After all, that's where the Deities are, and they can choose what kind of Followers they want by their side.

No one really interferes with the rest.

Humans always judge other races by their own thoughts; you shouldn't listen to these strange rumors."

Hill now understood.

The reason Shady Home had so many rules was that the Gods of Fairies chose to take all the Little Fairies willing to leave Toril with them into the Divine Kingdom.

But the abode of the All Gods still had to be separated from ordinary Little Fairies.

And Shady Home's Outer Court still had some Dimensional Gates connected to the interior of the Toril Great Forest; sometimes, some errant Humans would wander in.

The legends he heard were all summed up by these Humans based on their imaginations.

Hill nodded, "The honey jars are in the cabinet near the garden side window of my study; Vila can go get them herself.

I've given you access; anything there, as long as you like it, you can take it to trade."

Especially some of the Silk Kerchiefs he'd just bought from those Magic Ships from the Shoulong Kingdom. They were made from silk spun by a kind of Magic Silkworm found there; although a bit pricey, they were truly beautiful, shimmering with flowing light.

Hill thought the Little Flower Fairies might like to make clothes out of Silk Kerchiefs.

After Vila went inside, she indeed let out a joyous exclamation of surprise and quickly rushed out to summon her companions, who were also carrying loads of small packages, to hurry over and look.

Hill quickly floated out a small table. Fortunately, he was quick to react, as the Little Flower Fairies' first response was to dump the bags on him.

Listening to the commotion over there, Hill, on his way in suddenly stopped: Why was there a male Little Flower Fairy squeezed in there?

No, are there male Little Fairies?