Reset Life – Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Re.Extra: Spring Has Come (1)

March 16th, 375th year of the Imperial Calendar.

The Dakard Barony is located in the northernmost part of the Empire.

It is a place where salt is mainly produced using the cold seawater of the North Sea, and the salt here is sold at a very high price.

It is common sense that the equation ‘Salt of Dakard Barony = Small Gold (小金)’ holds true.

The Barony is extremely small compared to Narvilt or Orknesia, which are located to the east and west, but its economic power built up through salt sales ranks 10th in the Empire.

Even the salt fields of Dakard Barony become so quiet in winter that loafing is adopted as the standard work procedure. This is because the amount of seawater evaporation decreases ridiculously compared to the amount of sunlight, which suddenly increases in winter.

Of course, people in these regions learn four or five common and traditional ways to survive the winter.

Salt workers who worked in the salt fields stop working when the new year begins and naturally grab fishing rods, carving knives, hunting traps, and their wives’ hands.

Of course, there are those who say that their bodies will rust if they don’t work.

Salt workers, for whom work itself has become both a livelihood and a hobby, leisurely dry seawater to make salt, which is ‘Winter Flower’, for delivery to the Imperial Family.

“The flowers bloomed halfway this year.”

“It snowed a lot. There were many cloudy days.”

“Hmm, this is a problem. The delivery date is not far away. There are people in the Imperial Family who say that they are happy even if they eat boiled potatoes for three meals a day as long as they have our salt.”

“They will suffer from nutritional imbalance.”

“Eh. They’ll fill it up with snacks.”

Aselsot Dorn, the saltworks manager who manages all the salt fields in Dakard Barony, also known as ‘King Salt’, looked at the person who handles all the affairs of the territory while Baron Dakard is away.

The ash-gray hair is vibrant despite its color.

The color, pulsating with the vitality of a young age, looks silvery from afar. The white skin blends well with it, making it look like a silver statue at first glance.

Deep light settles in the eyes on the oval-shaped, slender jaw. The appearance that would have exuded a healthy cuteness in her girlhood has now become a perfect lady, adding freshness.

Despite her intellectual appearance, the playful expression she sometimes shows has not changed at all since she was a little lady.

Sermaila Hind, the daughter of Baron Dakard Hind, adjusted her glasses while looking at the Winter Flower production report.

“A 20% decrease in production rate compared to last year…… It’s fatal. Last year, the flowers bloomed well enough that we were able to deliver a satisfactory amount, but this year, my father won’t be able to go to the capital with his back straight, will he? Sigh, what can we do. Salt is not a craft. How much do you think the final production will be?”

“That’s the figure including everything.”

“Oh my. It can’t be helped. How much ‘Silk’ is left now?”

“We have about 3 tons in stock.”

“Fill it up with about 1 ton at half price.”

Silk is an abbreviation for ‘Illusion Silk’, one of the salt brands, and is a high-quality salt mainly sold to high-ranking nobles. It is a little inferior to Winter Snow, but it is sold at a price that commoners can only dream of.

Aselsot made a troubled expression.

Currently, the acting Baron is Sermaila Hind, and Baron Dakard left after entrusting her with full authority. Naturally, she has all the discretionary power, but the measures were too drastic.

“At half price, we can’t even meet the production cost. Please reconsider.”

“It’s cheaper than the storage cost. Inquire about selling the remaining 2 tons to Orknesia. They should be running out of salt by now. Hand it over at 80% of the regular price. Anyway, once spring passes and summer comes, more fresh salt will come in. Salt tastes better when aged, but it’s difficult to store. We don’t have the resources to build a large storage warehouse right now. So sell it.”

“Even so, the sales revenue has not yet exceeded the break-even point compared to the cost of building additional salt fields. On top of that, even Orknesia…… buying 2 tons of salt in bulk……”

“It’s possible. Tell Dor to contact the Herduke Duke’s mansion in the capital. To Arisein Pen Herduke. ‘Illusion Silk. 2 tons. Buy it!’ This will be enough.”

“Excuse me?”

Aselsot twitched his lips and made a bewildered expression.

He knows that the young lady he serves is close to the second son of the Herduke family. But are they close enough to respond to such an absurd message?

He wanted Sermaila to answer. But she was looking through other documents and looked up at him.

“Anything else?”

“No. I’ll do as you say, Miss.”

“Yes, good. Good work.”

Aselsot left the office, suppressing the urge to let out a huge sigh.

He thought about visiting Dor, the mage, and having a drink for the first time in a while, lamenting his situation of being swayed by a virgin who is not even half his age. Rum for the drink, and salt-cured sausage for the snack.

His back seemed to be filled with the melancholy of middle age.

Sermaila Hind, unaware of Aselsot’s feelings, forgot about the salt. And she continued the final confirmation work, looking at the territory reorganization plan and budget plan that will begin in the spring.

About 30 minutes passed like that, and she took off her glasses.

“Whew, I’m tired.”

It doesn’t matter what the lady does in the eyes of others. She stretched and yawned widely, rubbing her eyes. A slight fatigue settles on the clear, shining golden eyes.

She got up from her seat and lightly stretched her body. A simple shirt and jacket with leather pants. It wasn’t appropriate attire for work, but she found it comfortable.

Compared to two years ago, her height has grown by about 10 centimeters. And her weight also increased in preparation for growth.

Unlike ordinary women who worry about weight gain, she liked the very desirable weight gain. That’s because most of the nutrients decided on their destination as her chest.

“Heung Heung. Now I’m confident that I won’t lose.”

She smiled with satisfaction at the symbol of femininity that lightly swayed with every movement, captivating the eyes of men at once. It’s unknown to whom she is confident she won’t lose.

A slender but vibrant and toned body. A body that cannot be achieved without regular full-body exercise.

Her figure has grown splendidly, to the point where it’s hard to believe that the girl from two years ago has become the woman she is now. Those who see her after a long time will probably be lost in her transformation.

After stretching her body, she sat down on her desk and rummaged through the documents. And she took out a black envelope sealed with red wax.

“Now, what is it this time……”

She hummed a tune as she tore off the wax and opened the envelope.

Inside was a card that was exactly the size of the envelope. A short phrase was written on the black and white printed picture.

<Be careful with fire first. Let’s look at the extinguished fire again.>

If anyone saw it, they would say it was a New Year’s card from the Imperial Fire Department.

She briefly glanced at the front and back and then threw the envelope and letter into the fireplace without hesitation.

Whoosh!

The flames swallowed the letter and envelope. And as if it had indigestion, it turned blue.

The blue flame flickered its tongue a few times towards the air and then spewed out flames.

The harsh sound of flags flapping in the strong wind was heard, and the blue flame spewed out blue flames, drawing letters in the air. It was neither the Imperial language nor the ancient language.

It was a character whose existence was doubtful.

But Sermaila Hind read it slowly. It was a very natural appearance, and it seemed that no reference dictionary was needed.

She was reading the letters with a relaxed smile when she suddenly frowned at one passage.

“What? What does this mean?”

She brought her face closer to the flame.

The blue light frosted on her white face, turning it into a leaden color like a seriously ill patient. She rolled her golden eyes and read the letters diligently.

Soon, she opened her mouth. She was surprised.

“Oh my god……”

A bewildered word escaped her lips. What is she seeing that makes her so surprised?

Sermaila Hind covered her mouth with her hand.

“Oh my god……!”

She seemed unable to speak anything other than exclamations.

If someone had been next to her, they would have wanted to hit her.

While Sermaila Hind was surprised, an amazing coincidence was happening in a city in Narvilt, western Empire.

“Oh my god.”

Her red hair was like a flame burning in the sunlight.

The white priest’s robe, which seemed completely out of place at first glance, strangely suited her well.

Benamijan, who had lost some baby fat compared to two years ago, had the knack of expressing all her feelings briefly.

Next to her was a young man whose presence alone was astonishing.

The young man, with a majestic height of 2.3 meters and a massive, muscular physique to match, had surprisingly innocent eyes.

“Um…… Sister, are you okay?”

He had a worried expression on his face. Of course, that was from his perspective.

Thanks to the scar on his forehead that looked like tree roots, he had a harsh expression that would make a demon fresh from hell wonder if there was a human to tempt moderately without worry.

He was trying to look worried, but in the eyes of others, it was perfect for looking threatening, intimidating, and angry.

Moreover, no matter how innocent his eyes were, in order to realize that, one would have to first suppress the fear of looking down from a dizzying height.

Of course, Benamijan was not afraid of the young man. She naturally handed him the letter she was reading.

“Look at this.”

When Jounin Yuse received the letter, it became a note.

He read the letter, scratched his head with fingers as thick as bananas, and let out a sigh like a gust of wind.

“Hmm, we’ve been had.”

“For two years.”

“I underestimated the opponent.”

“Right.”

Benamijan sighed softly. And she fell into thought in a praying posture.

Jounin guessed that she wouldn’t move right away because they had been together for a long time.

He sat there and placed his windmill-like greatsword on his lap. And he rummaged through his pockets and took out a whetstone, oil, and a dry cloth to start cleaning the sword.

The sword could be called a greatsword, but if other greatswords saw it, they would probably fall into self-reflection and self-criticism.

So, the overall shape was close to a greatsword.

Anyway, ordinary humans don’t use a steel greatsword with a length of 1.8 meters, a width of 30 centimeters, a maximum thickness of 7 centimeters, and a weight of 200 kilograms. No, they can’t use it.

However, if you are 50 centimeters taller than the sword, weigh 250 kilograms, and have the monstrous strength to break a large oak tree with a headbutt, you should be able to wield it more than enough.

Jounin Yuse meticulously cleaned the greatsword while Benamijan was thinking. He was sitting and bending his waist, but his sitting height was almost the same as Benamijan’s standing height.

The surface of the greatsword was not visible at first glance, but upon closer inspection, numerous letters and pictures were drawn on it.

Those with discerning eyes would know that it was Lynin’s holy inscription for great monsters and the exorcism inscription for great demons.

And they would also know that the one who can possess such a weapon is a Shrine Knight.

However, since the shape is rough for something made in the temple, even those with discerning eyes would tilt their heads first. Because it would be a siege weapon at that level.

Jounin sharpened the blade with a whetstone, applied oil, and then wiped the sword with a dry cloth. It was a weapon he had been using for nearly a year, so he had a certain affection for it.

One is lost in thought, and the other is cleaning a weapon.

They seem to be immersed in their own worlds, not paying attention to each other. However, they have lived like this for two years and have been getting along well without any complaints.

Jounin turned the sword over and wiped the other side, and when he took out a bag of walnuts and crushed them effortlessly as a pastime, it was then.

Crack!

“Let’s go.”

Benamijan spoke as the sound of walnuts cracking echoed. Jounin naturally extended his hand, and she took the broken walnuts as if it were natural and chewed on the kernels.

Jounin smiled. To ordinary people, it would look like a ferocious beast growling and radiating killing intent.

“Where to?”

“Where we need to go.”

She answered simply and then made a face as if she was wondering how to get the kernels out of the perfectly cut half walnut.

Jounin reached out and grabbed the walnut with his thumb and index finger, lightly applying pressure. Then, the walnut shell cracked like a peanut shell.

He said.

“As always, the destination is set, right?”

“Yes.”

Benamijan nodded, chewing on the walnuts. She didn’t tell him the destination, but Jounin didn’t bother to press her because he knew her personality. They would arrive at the destination when the time came.

He stood up.

It was just that action, but it was enough to give the impression of a hill rising. Of course, Benamijan didn’t care and focused only on the walnuts.

Jounin patted his buttocks with a force that could burst a coconut and lifted his sword to his back.

The scabbard was simple, with only leather wrapping the blade, an iron tip holding the end, and a clasp to hang the handle.

Having done the motion countless times, Jounin naturally fitted the enormous greatsword into the scabbard.

He said to Benamijan.

“Let’s go.”

“……”

Benamijan stared blankly at her palm, ignoring Jounin’s words.

Jounin tilted his head, and when she looked up and stared at him, he realized what she wanted.

He held out the bag of walnuts.

“Want more?”

“Yes.”

Jounin crushed the walnut shells with a bewildered expression and handed them to Benamijan.

She looked happy.

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• Quitting Your Waifus Cold Turkey: Can You ACTUALLY Choose Adulting Over 2D?
• Isekai’d: From Hero to Zero (and Back to Reality, Kinda)
• My Brain on UFC: Why I’m Convinced I Could Totally Take on Adesanya (I’m Lying, Don’t Tell Dana)
• The “I’m So Deep in This Light Novel I’m Living It” Blues: When Your Waifu Gets NTR’d and You’re Not Even Mad (But Kind of Are)
• When You Realize You’re Too Old for Anime: A Midlife Crisis in 2D