"Is this ......?"

"Oh, this?　This is a dish we have recently started making in Toka village. It is made by kneading flour, rolling it into a thin ball and stretching it. ......"

"What?"

According to Licia's explanation, it seems to be made by stretching each strand individually. If you look closely, you can see that the thicknesses are slightly uneven, like handmade udon noodles cut by amateurs. That's fine, though.

"...... is a shame."

The sauce on the udon noodles is not suitable for the dish.

The sauce is like a light sweet-and-sour sauce. Jin thought that some people might like this kind of taste, but it is not for everyone. At least, not to Jin's taste.

The taste is not inedible, but it is unbalanced. I think it would be better if it was poured over yakisoba noodles instead of pasta.

"...... spices, huh?"

Pepper is also found in this world, but it comes from the south, just like on earth. It is also difficult to grow from seed. It is usually grown from cuttings.

Although Jin does not know how to cultivate pepper, it is said that it is possible to grow pepper in Penglai Island because of its subtropical climate, and it was recently obtained via the fifth column (Quinta) and cultivation has begun.

Jin thought as he ate his pasta that if an alternative spice to pepper could be found, it might become a specialty of Toka Village.

After lunch, Jin immediately started looking for hot spring water. Licia and Saki, who are from a humble background, were able to easily keep up with Jin's pace.

Erza, too, has been living with Jin for a long time and has learned his pace, so she has no difficulty in adjusting to his pace.

However, it was a little tough for Berthe, who is a born lady, and although Jin told her not to push herself too hard, she said she would be fine and kept up with him.

"<>"

There were fewer hot water veins in Toka Village, where there were no volcanoes nearby, than in Kaina Village. However, after a careful search, we found one that seemed to have a reasonably large amount of hot water.

"Ah, there was one that looked good.

"Really?　Really?

Licia was delighted when she heard the result.

"By the way, I found a vein of copper near here: ......"

"Copper?　Is it easy to mine?"

There are several kinds of copper ores, but the one buried here seems to be a brass ore. It is an important copper ore.

"I think it's easy because it's near the surface. You should try mining it when you can afford it."

"Thank you!"

The tax system in the Kingdom of Klein is that the people pay taxes to their lords, who in turn pay taxes to the state. The amount of taxes paid by the lords to the state was determined by the number of their subjects and the tax rate, so an increase in the income of the territory meant that the subjects' lives would become richer.

A new copper mine would increase the income of Toka village. Although not a specialty, it would give Lycia a goal for the time being.

For now, however, it was the hot springs.

"Well, then, shall we have it built here?

Braak, the chief of Toka Village, decided on the location. It was near a small river.

Lysia had invited him to build the hot spring. A few other young people and children were watching with interest to see what Jin was going to do.

"Elsa, this is also an application of earth magic.

Jin explains as he performs the magic.

"<>".

Using the magic for digging holes, Jin digs a pool of hot water, a bathtub, a drainage ditch, and a settling pond of waste water.

Erza was interested in this different work from her usual craftwork, and learned the procedure with great interest.

However, she is unaware that Jin is the only one who can dig a hole dozens of meters deep at once, no matter how much he activates the device in contact.

Jin proceeds with the work at his own pace.

Following the procedure he followed in the village of Kaina, a hot spring was quickly built.

However, the hot spring here is a simple spring. The water is clear and colorless, with no sulfur smell. The temperature is about 50 degrees Celsius, and there is no need to cool it down by mixing it with water. The temperature is about 50 degrees Celsius, and there is no need to cool it down by mixing it with water.

All you have to do is to hang a hut over it.

"Yes, we'll take care of that!　We'll take care of it! We'll pay you a day's wages.

Toka Village Chief Braak was frozen in shock when he saw Jin's skill for the first time. Licia calls out to him again.

"Chief-san!"

"...... Yes, yes!　Oh, so you want me to put a roof over this place and surround it?"

"Yes, sir. Let the villagers use it. I'll leave it to you to decide how to do it.

Licia, too, was not going to interfere with the details from the start. It was her own idea to pay a daily allowance from the reserve fund to revitalize the village.

"All right. Let's get to work right away.

"Thank you, Mr. Jin!

Licia bowed to Jin when she returned to the lord's house.

"So, how can I thank you, Mr. Jin?

"No, you can ask him about that at ......."

"No, I would like to have an honest relationship with Mr. Jin.

Jin could not say anything careless when he was told so straightforwardly. He pulls out his knowledge from when he worked for the company.

(Assuming that the hourly wage is about 5,000 yen since he is a technician, 200 yen for 4 hours. (Assuming he is an engineer and makes about 5,000 yen per hour, 200 yen per hour for 4 hours. (Assuming that he is an engineer and makes about 5,000 yen per hour, 20000 yen for 4 hours. The travel time is 20,000 yen for a 10-hour round trip. The travel allowance is 10,000 yen, or about 5,000 yen. (That's about 5,000 yen, or about 5,000 tall.)

"Okay, 5,000 Tall."

"What?"

Licia could not believe her ears. Hiring an ordinary freelance mage (magecraftsman or healer) would cost no less than 10,000 Tall per day. Jin, a magecraftsman, would probably demand at least 50,000 Tol.

But Jin seemed to take Licia's reaction the opposite way,

"Oh, ...... was a bit expensive, wasn't it?"

He said something like "Oh, is a little expensive, isn't it? Neither Elsa nor Bertsch could say anything about this, since they did not know the market price since they did not do such financial transactions by themselves.

"No, no, on the contrary!　I thought it would be so cheap. ......"

"Oh, ...... Licia, so it's a friend's price. ......"

Jin quickly faked it. But Licia was more pleased than Jin expected to hear those words.

"Oh, I see!　...... my friend!　Thank you very much!

Erza looked at Licia and Jin alternately and let out a small sigh.

They would stay the night in Toka village.

There was still some time before nightfall, so Jin took Reiko for a walk around the village.

"Hey, don't dawdle, newcomer!

"You're such a klutz!"

Jin looked in the direction of the voice and saw a military camp.

A soldier, who looked like a boy of about 16 or 7, was being poked by a senior soldier.

He was being poked by a senior soldier, who said to him, "Hey, come on, bring it in!

Carrying five packages of luggage, the boy soldier was walking unsteadily behind the older soldier.

He was almost to the barracks when one of the soldiers in front of him kicked a log in front of him.

The boy, who could not see his feet because of his baggage, was knocked off his feet and fell down. Naturally, the baggage he was carrying was scattered.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. ......"

"Oh, you dropped your luggage. You made a mess.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"You're not eating tonight."

With these cold words, the soldiers in front of us picked up their luggage, wiped the mud from their luggage with one of the wrappings lying around, and went into the barracks.

"...... That's terrible."

It seems that wherever you go, there is always bullying of juniors by seniors. Jin could no longer stand to watch and went to the boy soldier.

"Are you all right?

Seeing the boy who seemed to have hit his knee when he fell down and was unable to stand up,

"<>"

He used a healing spell. Jin could do only up to the beginner level, but it seemed to be effective enough.

"Oh, thank you very much. I feel better.

The boy stood up, thanked Jin, and picked up his luggage.

"Oh, wait a minute."

Jin looked at the four people's mud-caked luggage and told the boy to wait a moment.

"<>"

This is an engineering magic to remove dirt. Looking at the cleaned luggage, the boy bows his head again.

"Oh, thank you very much!　My name, no, my name is Fred. I became a soldier this year!

"Fred. I'm Jin.

You must be Jin-dono. Are you from this village?

No, I live in the village of Kaina, north of here.

What?　What? Kaina village?　...... Jin ......, could it be that you are Jin Nido-dono?

"Yes, I am. ......

Fred, who must have heard a lot about Jin Nido since he was going to be posted to the neighboring village of Toka, was so dismayed that he almost dropped the luggage he was carrying.

"I beg your pardon!

Fred dexterously bowed with his luggage in his hands and rushed into the barracks.

Jin was still concerned about the boy Fred even after he returned to the Lycian lord's house.

Whenever a new member is added to a group that is already established and settled, trouble tends to occur until the new member gets accustomed to the group.

Jin thinks that this is especially true for a group of soldiers, who are likely to be under a lot of stress.

Even in the orphanage where Jin worked, it takes time for new children to be accepted. Of course, there are individual differences, some children come early and some come late.

Jin was the oldest in the orphanage,...... so he has seen and cared for many such newcomer children.

Such an ingrained habit of Jin's must be what makes him care about Fred.

"Jin-dono, what's wrong?

At dinner, when Gloria called out to Jin, he told her and Licia what he had seen that evening.

"Hmm, today, half of the garrison has been replaced...something like that. ......"

Gloria, who used to be an instructor, looked as if she were biting a bitter bug when she heard the story.

"I'll give her a heads up."

Licia agreed.