Chapter 86

“Malfight?”

Penny peeked into the room of Head of the Gallery.

But there was no one in the bed.

“Are you here?”

She opened the storage room and searched every corner, but there was not even a trace of the Head of the Gallery.

It had already been three days since the Head of the Gallery disappeared.

She skillfully took out a ramen and side dish from the kitchen shelf and set the table.

Just in case, she prepared two servings, including for the Head of the Gallery, but still, he did not return.

While she was picking at the ramen, she suddenly flopped down on the table, pouting her lips, and murmured.

“I’m lonely…”

The ramen was surprisingly delicious.

The Head of the Gallery’s bunker was overflowing with such food, and there were also heaps of Fairy Tale Books.

But this sense of emptiness inside her was something she couldn’t simply fill.

Penny’s expression lingered with lethargy.

*

The food problem in Another World was somewhat being resolved.

Thanks to the massive supply of cheap ramen, baguettes, and bottled water in the Marketplace.

– Ramen is nice, it’s a soup that warms my soul.

ㄴ But it’s a bit lacking for war supplies…

ㄴ When did I sit around boiling water? Time’s of the essence here!

However, there was still a shortage for supplies in the Great Magician war.

In the midst of a time-starved war, there was no luxury to boil ramen.

That’s when hardtack came to mind.

With overwhelming cost-effectiveness and bulk, it was said to be perfect for combat rations.

It was truly the feed for humans.

“Is this what the Head of the Gallery sent?”

“Yeah. They said it would greatly help in the upcoming battle…”

Inside the Kilgroth conference hall.

In the center of a table where commander-level dwarves gathered, hardtack was placed.

The dwarves looked into the bag with curiosity.

“Were they called hardtack?”

“Looks like a piece of wood, that’s impressive.”

Each dwarf picked up the hardtack and inspected it.

The hardtack was quite a decent snack.

If you melted sugar and roasted it over a fire, it was great as a dessert, and it was also tasty to just bite into.

However, what the Head of the Gallery purchased was bulk 10kg of barley hardtack to save costs.

For modern-day people, it was a burden, a hardtack focused more on quantity and price than on taste.

“Well, you won’t know until you try it.”

“When has the Head of the Gallery ever delivered unreliable items?”

The dwarves used their rough, large hands to grab a dozen pieces and stuffed them into their mouths.

Then, with the crispy texture, the rich barley flavor and nuttiness filled their mouths.

At that moment, the dwarves’ eyes widened.

“Oh, oh?!”

“Hmm, hmmm. Not bad at all. No, it’s delicious!”

It was hardtack focused on quantity and price.

But if that was what the medieval residents of Another World, who had been starving daily, found taste in, their evaluation would change.

It’s savory and tasty.

Without any mold or spoiling, it was filled only with proper products, giving a sense of reliability.

Staleness? When I think about the time I had to boil tree bark to eat, it hardly registered. Most importantly…

– Thud!

“Your Majesty?”

“Um, no, it’s nothing…”

The Dwarf King Taldain, seated at the head, lifted a large wooden beer mug.

Yeah, this was the perfect accompaniment to the best food that naturally made one think of beer.

“Let’s have a drink. This flavor calls for beer.”

The king permitted it.

Soon, beer mugs began to occupy the conference desk, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Thanks to that, the formalities were somewhat set aside, leading to bolder evaluations.

“What do you all think?”

“I’m amazed at the price as well as the flavor. How can this be 25 mana pills?”

25 mana pills were easy for even dwarves with limited income to purchase.

But getting a sack of hardtack weighing 10kg for just 25 mana pills was unbelievable.

“I think it has great value not just as combat rations, but also as food.”

It had excellent preservation.

Although labeled for months, in reality, it could last for years.

And most importantly…

“What’s this?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Your Majesty, look at this.”

In between munching on beer and hardtack, a dwarf noble stepped forward.

In his hand were white crystals.

Although they appeared pretty at first glance, the size was unexpectedly large.

“I believe they call this star candy.”

“Star candy?”

Just the name sounded mysterious.

Dwarves who were interested in crafts were flocking to check out the star candy.

“Is it possible to naturally harvest such a thing?”

“It seems to be artificially made. From what I’ve tasted, it was sugar.”

“This is sugar?”

“How marvelous. How could they craft such a small, delicate shape?”

Sugar was not an easily attainable ingredient.

Even relatively well-off dwarves would dissolve honey or sugar in water to make drinks.

In the midst of that, the appearance of star candy was undeniably a luxurious noble dessert.

“Wait, it wasn’t in my portion?”

“It seems to appear randomly. Only in a few of the hardtack bags…”

“Give me some right now!”

“Y-Yes.”

As the dwarves opened the hardtack bags, they found star candy in about one out of ten bags.

Taldain took it and popped it into his mouth.

“Ohhh!”

“How does it taste?”

“The texture and flavor, it’s not sticky but refreshingly good!”

In the medieval times when sugar was scarce, there weren’t many ways to recharge.

But hiding such a dessert in meals, probability-wise, this meant they could eat hardtack without getting tired of it.

“What do you think?”

At that moment, Taldain looked at one of the dwarves sitting close to him.

The dwarf who was closest to the Head of the Gallery, Taldru, without formality.

Taldru stroked his beard, contemplating, then finally looked up and said.

“It’s the perfect food for dwarves.”

“Indeed, you think so as well.”

It goes well with alcohol.

It is also ideal as combat rations.

Occasionally, the high-quality dessert called star candy is included, making it faultless as a sugar supplement.

And it was cheap, but the problem arose when this would be released in the Marketplace.

“If this hits the Marketplace, the quantity will be limited, making it hard to purchase.”

“Exactly. We’ll have to compete every time.”

“Even if we succeed in buying in bulk, the term stockpiling will bring about discord.”

Taldain’s expression hardened.

Hardtack and star candy, wasn’t this the food that the Head of the Gallery had made for the dwarves?

Moreover, considering the nature of the Marketplace, there would surely be days when hardtack wouldn’t be available.

“If it’s this cheap, one might think it might have been a hassle during production…”

“It must have been created through magic.”

Desserts made directly by the Great Magician.

Taldain felt gratitude towards the Head of the Gallery once again.

To provide for the dwarves on the eve of war, to produce hardtack with no profit whatsoever.

Of course, the Head of the Gallery was just purchasing in bulk from the shop.

But dwarves, unaware of this, thought differently.

“The magicians have no interest in the food of the common folk. Especially a Great Magician…”

“Surely, it wasn’t developed or created for profit.”

“It was surely created out of care solely for the dwarves.”

The Head of the Gallery had been someone who had helped in retaking the dwarves’ homeland.

Even though species was unknown, the reason the Head of the Gallery could be called the only brother of the dwarves.

Of course, he just bought it en masse with a click from the shop…

Taldain made a decision.

“We cannot purchase the hardtack developed by the Head of the Gallery at such a cheap price simply because of brotherhood.”

At Taldain’s voice, the dwarves ceased eating and drinking, focusing intently.

Moreover, after reclaiming the kingdom, they were now generating enough profit.

“If we’ve received help, we should show at least a fraction of our sincerity. Otherwise, what’s the difference with those shameless elves?”

“Exactly!”

“At the very least, we must show our duty as dwarves!”

Only the elves who had remained silent were insulted, but no dwarf cared.

Even the dwarves felt the hardtack was excessively cheap.

Thus, Taldain’s decision was clear.

“The hardtack will be exclusively for dwarves.”

And Taldain rose from his seat to conclude the meeting with his last words.

“Have the Head of the Gallery write a contract and make contact.”

*

Do you know of the Head of the Gallery kidnapped by the Deputy of the Gallery?

Regrettably, that was me.

I tried to think of an escape route during my free time, but it was harder than I thought.

It was thanks to “I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire,” who never left my side.

“Why? Do you need something?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Saying there were many rooms in the castle.

Over three hundred, and then some more.

But “I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire” spent all the time in the room I happened to pick.

When I casually glanced, he noticed like a ghost and tilted his head to meet my gaze.

‘This is awkward.’

I have a demon left back home!

But I felt that wouldn’t lead to good results, so I kept quiet.

So today too, I was leisurely having my blood drawn and lying on the bed.

Taldru: “Head of the Gallery, can you be reached now?”

A message came through from Taldru, the gallum among dwarves from my meager network.

Head of the Gallery*: “O.o What’s up?”

Taldru: “About the hardtack food you sent this time, I would like to discuss something.”

“Hardtack? Oh right. I did send that.”

Inside and outside the Dwarf Kingdom, threats from monsters were intensifying.

Hardtack was merely temporary, after all.

I pondered whether I should give them guns if things got serious, but suddenly, why was he talking about hardtack?

Taldru: “We, the dwarves, wish to monopolize the hardtack for a few years.”

Head of the Gallery*: “What?!”

“No, that’s a bit much?”

There was a boring abundance of food if one scoured the Marketplace.

But monopolizing food like hardtack during a shortage was rather…

At that moment, as if Taldru anticipated it, he skillfully continued the chat.

Taldru: “In exchange, we would purchase the monopoly rights for three million mana pills.”

Head of the Gallery*: “?”

Taldru: “And additionally, we will pay three times the current selling price for every transaction!”

Head of the Gallery*: “Wait, why?”

“If you buy it at a low price, isn’t that a benefit for the dwarves?”

I quite didn’t understand why they were suddenly offering me mana pills.

Taldru: “We do not forget the labors of our brother. This is merely a part of the gratitude. Please accept.”

“Labor?”

I accidentally glanced at the shop window.

My only labor consisted of searching “hardtack” in the search box and clicking purchase!

Taldru: “If the price is insufficient, I’ll pay even more down the line. Please do help us.”

The dwarves were suddenly trying to bribe me with mana pills.