How to Use the Lord's Future Diary

Chapter 171

Henil Territory was the only territory in this region that bordered the sea.The wagons coming up from Henil were the trade convoy the residents looked forward to the most.

After all, nothing was as instinctive and honest as appetite.

Salt, natural seasonings, all kinds of seaweed, and even dried or frozen fish.

These days, cheese produced in Henil had become incredibly popular as well.

To the point that people had even tried making cheese with the milk of the Three-Horned Mountain Goat.

The Alchemy Workshop had actually attempted cheese production before.

However, the result was only an inferior product compared to Henil's cheese.

It wasn't just the ingredients—their expertise simply couldn't compare.

I heard they were cursed out endlessly for turning precious goat's milk into garbage.

I was also one of the people waiting for Henil's wagons.

The dried squid and octopus sent by the Lord of Henil made for excellent snacks.

Yuria often scolded me, asking why I ate things like that, but that was only because she didn't understand how delicious they were.

-So that's why you sent the Mouse Tribe there?

'Well, half and half. They also desperately needed more workers.'

Henil could obtain many valuable goods, but its productivity wasn't particularly high.

It was always short on manpower, and the Lord of Henil constantly lamented that fact.

It was understandable.

Humans had been separated from the sea for nearly half a century.

Ever since massive sea monsters began appearing, maritime routes had effectively been cut off.

No matter how tyrannical the sea monsters were, they couldn't compare to the greatness of humans, and now the sea was overflowing with schools of fish.

As long as there was enough manpower, countless kinds of seafood could be harvested.

'The Mouse Tribe's labor must have been a tremendous help.'

That was why I had included Henil in the Mouse Tribe's pseudo-nomadic experience program.

The Mouse Tribe still found settled life awkward, and they were the type who could suddenly wander off at any time.

I thought some degree of rotation was necessary to satisfy their desire to roam.

If they were going to travel anyway, it was better if everyone benefited.

The Mouse Tribe could travel safely, while Henil could make up for its labor shortage.

It was a win-win situation.

-Lord, thank you so much. This time, you can truly look forward to it.

When I sent the Mouse Tribe to Henil, the Lord of Henil had been absolutely delighted.

Whether they were Beastmen or not, accepting workers first and asking questions later really suited the people of this region.

Thanks to the increased workforce, they had been able to send an additional trade convoy, and I had heard the wagons were packed to the brim.

On top of that, they said they'd included something special this time.

That made me even more excited.

Henil had never disappointed me.

'But those wagons from Henil were delayed.'

If it had been somewhere else, maybe.

But the route from Henil to Johnson Territory was the safest one in the region.

Unlike the Monster Mountains, which only became dangerous during winter, the monsters in the plains actually became calmer during the season.

The Dog Tribe's Hounds also patrolled the area constantly.

If the schedule had suddenly been delayed under those conditions, something major might have happened.

Considering how important Henil was, I couldn't help but worry.

'At least the convoy itself is unharmed.'

I looked over the group that had arrived at the castle.

The dozens of wagons were being heavily escorted by the Dog Tribe.

The Mouse Tribe workers accompanying them also didn't seem to have any injuries.

They looked so normal that I let out a sigh of relief.

'Still... there are a lot more of them than expected.'

More than a hundred members of the Mouse Tribe had accompanied the convoy.

Anyone could tell that was excessive for a merchant convoy like this.

Still, whatever.

Having extra workers wasn't exactly a problem.

"Then we'll be going..."

The Mouse Tribe members who had arrived at the castle quickly headed inside.

Their pace was incredibly fast, as though they had urgent business.

The only reason they could be in such a hurry was...

-They're going to see the little Bear Tribe children.

'That must be it. I was wondering why so many Mouse Tribe members came along...'

After Rudick's son, Beian, had been born as a member of the Bear Tribe, the Mouse Tribe had officially decided to settle in Johnson Territory.

For people who absolutely adored the Bear Tribe, the revival of the Bear Tribe wasn't something they could simply overlook.

However, Beian was now living at the Northern Fortress.

Normally, there should have been complaints.

Instead, the Mouse Tribe remained perfectly content in the territory.

'To think our great Lady Bestia would go that far...'

Beian wasn't the only Bear Tribe child born in the territory.

More than ten Bear Tribe babies had been born during this winter alone.

At first, the residents had wondered what was going on.

These days, however, everyone simply accepted it.

Bear Tribe children were only being born among natives of Johnson Territory, and people here weren't exactly the meticulous type.

If it had been another Beastman race, they might have suspected something strange.

But if it was the Bear Tribe, nobody questioned it.

Besides, seeing Beastman children around town wasn't anything unusual anymore.

No matter what happened, as long as the child was theirs, they didn't seem to care.

The only people overjoyed by the surge in Bear Tribe births were the Mouse Tribe.

-At this point, wouldn't sending them outside actually be a trap card?

'Hmm, maybe. But they're the Mouse Tribe. They're a wandering people. Being apart only makes them more attached.'

Didn't people always say weekend couples cherished each other more than ordinary married couples?

Even now, the moment they arrived, they rushed straight toward the Bear Tribe children.

Maybe this policy had its own meaning after all.

Something like work-life balance?

Since both the Ape Tribe and Henil desperately needed the Mouse Tribe's labor, I planned to continue the rotation system for the foreseeable future.

"Anyway, what exactly did the Lord of Henil send that's got everyone so... Huh? This is..."

I slowly inspected the wagons.

They were loaded with everything we needed.

It was immediately obvious how much thought the Lord of Henil had put into this shipment.

However, what caught my eye most was a wagon completely filled with Metal Slime containers.

It was the first time Metal Slimes had ever been delivered from Henil.

"Wow, this is milk!"

The Metal Slime containers were filled to the brim with milk.

The Dairy Beasts that coexisted with Henil Territory were mysterious magical beasts that produced enormous quantities of milk regardless of whether they were male or female.

They produced so much that the excess was used to make cheese.

However, unpasteurized milk spoiled extremely quickly.

Receiving fresh milk from Henil had never been realistically possible.

'But with Metal Slimes, they can sterilize it to some extent. Of course, it's probably a little different from the milk I know.'

The territory was currently experiencing a baby boom, and there were children everywhere.

A steady supply of milk would help them grow up healthy.

Honestly, even the mountain goat milk produced here was incredibly popular.

There wasn't nearly enough to go around.

Now that Henil had a much larger workforce, and plenty of Dog Tribe escorts were available for merchant convoys, it looked like we'd be able to receive milk regularly.

Maybe once every week or two?

If I asked the Dog Tribe nicely, that seemed possible.

Even that alone would be a tremendous help.

"H-Haha... Excuse us for a moment..."

The Mouse Tribe members who had been heading toward the castle suddenly ran back and grabbed several containers of milk.

Then they sprinted toward the castle again.

It seemed they'd been so excited to see the adorable Bear Tribe children that they'd forgotten all about the milk.

Could it be...

Was this milk actually a new product developed because they wanted to feed the Bear Tribe children?

If it was the Mouse Tribe...

That sounded completely believable.

-They definitely prepared the milk for the Bear Tribe children.

'I thought so. They're remarkably consistent.'

The Mouse Tribe only took a few milk containers anyway.

Far more milk had been prepared for the children of the territory.

So even if they indulged themselves a little, it wasn't something worth criticizing.

Progress always began with desire.

Thanks to that, the territory's children would finally get to enjoy milk as well.

"Wait, this isn't just milk."

At first, I thought every Slime container held milk.

But further inside were different containers.

The tightly packed mass of fish meat looked strangely familiar.

It almost resembled an enormous can of tuna sealed inside a transparent container.

'Wait... could that be Flying Fish?'

-It looks like it. The flesh has been packed in as tightly as possible.

Henil's specialty—the giant Flying Fish.

Even larger than tuna, these enormous fish frequently attacked the coast of Henil.

There were so many of them that after filling the frozen warehouses, the rest were simply discarded.

The Lord of Henil had always regretted that.

Saying it was such a waste to throw away something so valuable.

'But if this is turned into canned food...'

-It could be stored for a very long time.

'Hah... the Mouse Tribe really...'

Flying Fish contained so much meat that they were perfectly suited for canning.

True to the Mouse Tribe's habit of storing every kind of food in Slime containers, they'd apparently canned these as well.

As expected from the undisputed masters of canned food, the result looked incredibly convincing.

No wonder they had built up so much anticipation.

They had truly prepared something extraordinary.

'If that's the case... we can finally let our Beastman friends taste fish.'

The Beastmen were practically mountain villagers.

Being able to introduce them to fish...

That was an event I was genuinely looking forward to.

The Cat Tribe especially might completely lose their minds.

After all, cats and fish went hand in hand.

'We really need mass production as soon as possible.'

Henil had once again lived up to my expectations.

The moment the wagons from Henil arrived, every last bit of cargo was sold out.

The popularity was unbelievable.

As if they had been waiting for this very moment, residents swarmed in from every direction.

They threw down every Rabbit Coin they had saved and bought up all the goods from Henil.

Fish, milk, salt, seasonings, seaweed, and everything else.

Nothing remained.

-They're incredibly popular. The male in charge of the money had a terrible time.

'Seriously. We need to recruit more people into the Treasury.'

The Treasury staff suffered terribly trying to manage the flood of residents.

Since the currency system hadn't fully taken root yet, Treasury employees had to collect the Rabbit Coins and distribute the goods themselves.

The Treasurer, in particular, looked like he was on the verge of collapsing.

I should probably send our poor Treasurer some dried squid.

-That hideous thing? I think it would only horrify him.

I firmly believed that delicious and nutritious dried squid would be welcomed even by the Treasurer.

"So, you said you had something to report?"

"Yes, my Lord."

By the time we'd finished distributing most of the goods...

The representative of the Dog Tribe who had escorted this convoy came to see me.

He said he had something to report, and I also had something I wanted to ask, so I received him personally.

I needed to know why the convoy had arrived later than scheduled.

To be honest, I wasn't that worried anymore.

I'd been anxious while waiting.

But the convoy had arrived safely, and nobody had been injured.

I expected something simple, like their departure had been delayed because they had too much cargo.

Instead—

"We encountered Gnolls during the escort."

"...Gnolls? There were Gnolls in this region?"

The answer was far more serious than I had expected.

They had encountered Gnolls during the journey.

"They were wandering north of Henil Territory. There were seven of them."

"That's far too few."

Only seven Gnolls had been spotted near Henil Territory.

For creatures that normally traveled in groups numbering in the hundreds, that was an absurdly small number.

Even stragglers usually numbered in the dozens.

"However..."

"Yes? Did something seem strange?"

"Yes. The way they lingered around Henil Territory felt less like stragglers and more like a reconnaissance unit. We hunted down every last one of them, even those that tried to flee, but..."

"A reconnaissance unit?"

The Gnolls had organized a scouting party?

That was far more alarming than several hundred Gnolls launching a direct assault on Henil Territory.