Chapter 306
Chapter 306 – I Need One More. (2)
Ghislaine was full of confidence, but Claude asked with a tone of suspicion.
“Combat food?”
“Yeah, let’s start by creating a Combat Food Factory. I’ll let you know what’s needed.”
“Is it yet another technique only the Lord knows?”
“Exactly. It’s something that doesn’t exist in the world yet.”
“Hmmm…”
When improving wheat, it was similar to developing cosmetics. Back then, it felt like nonsense, and I opposed it vigorously, but eventually, it succeeded, didn’t it?
Now, I had no intention of opposing, but one point still puzzled me.
If they made combat food, it would streamline the army’s food supply and boost morale, greatly enhancing combat effectiveness. So why only now?
“Why didn’t you make it before? It would have been better to prepare ahead of time.”
Ghislaine nodded vigorously, as if it were an excellent question, and began to explain.
“First, it seemed everyone was too busy and struggling.”
“Pff… Lies.”
“Second, until now, we didn’t need to expand throughout the kingdom.”
“Hmmm…”
“Third, it was tough to make until we captured Desmond.”
“Why?”
“Because it requires a lot of materials. There are limits on how much you can acquire through transactions, and depending on the situation, securing supplies can become difficult.”
Only then did Claude nod as if he understood.
If a war broke out, depending on how the merchants moved, items that were previously easy to find might become scarce. This was akin to Count Cabaldy tightly controlling the iron ore supply flowing into the North.
If the merchants were under the influence of the Duke faction, they might not provide what Ghislaine needed.
“But what materials are needed that we have to capture Desmond first?”
“A lot. We need wheat, barley, corn, beans, millet, sorghum, oats, red beans, turnips, cabbage… and various fruits and herbs, as well as meats. It requires more materials than you’d think.”
“…Oh.”
It indeed required a lot. And in this barren North, those capable of producing such items were only Desmond and Raybold.
Most other territories were made up of wasteland and mountains, making it hard to cultivate various crops. Even where farming was viable, they had to focus entirely on wheat cultivation.
However, Desmond had plenty of good land, allowing for the cultivation of various crops and raising livestock.
Of course, wheat and livestock were the primary focus.
Other crops had seen a sharp decline due to the drought recently, but the environment was still capable of cultivation.
“What exactly are you planning to make that requires so many materials?”
“If I tell you, the explanation will take a while. You’ll figure it out once you see it.”
“Hmmm…”
Claude nodded, still skeptical. It felt suspicious, but hadn’t the Lord always had unconventional ventures? As always, we could see how it turns out in the end.
“Anyway, understand this: we will also use runestones to increase the production of the crops needed for making combat food. Let’s prepare accordingly.”
“Umm… I think it will require more funds than expected. Sure, it’s a factory for making combat food, but it seems there will be too many items to manage.”
Money is always the issue. If only there was enough money, a variety of things could be done. But do we really need to spend an enormous amount on merely producing combat food?
While I understand the importance of supply, it feels excessive to spend so much on food. Isn’t the preservation food we have already sufficient?
However, Ghislaine firmly interjected.
“I always say this: how much money it takes doesn’t matter. Money is just a means; it can’t be the goal. What’s important is combat power. Prioritizing gathering all the resources of the territory to increase combat power is the most important.”
“Yes, I see…”
Claude replied with a drained voice. After all, everything Ghislaine had done so far was for developing and strengthening the territory, and all of it was fundamentally about increasing combat power.
He was a man whose head was filled only with ideas for fighting.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what this new combat food would be. Would it surprise us again?
Unlike before, a bit of expectation began to brew in Claude and his retainers’ hearts.
“Alright, let’s get to work.”
Ghislaine handed the design she had envisioned to Galbarik.
As always, it was a rough concept note with only basic functions written down. Galbarik looked at the design and nodded enthusiastically.
“This one seems easy. I can whip it up in no time.”
Most of it involved somehow putting things in, drying, grinding, and crushing. If he couldn’t make this quickly, he wouldn’t deserve to be a dwarf.
For drying, they would receive a little help from the wizards. Although drying could be done without magic, it seemed they were using a bit of magic to shorten the time.
“Great, I’ll get it done quickly for you.”
Galbarik and the dwarves moved right away. They had a lot of other tasks in facility construction, so it was better to finish this quickly.
The People of Penris were accustomed to quickly making things. Shortly after starting the work, the factory for combat food prototypes was soon completed.
Galbarik proudly exclaimed.
“How’s that! This is quick work for us now! Check if the Lord’s idea is correct!”
Ghislaine examined the installations within the factory carefully, nodding with a serious expression.
‘I can’t tell just by looking.’
Honestly, how would a guy who only knows fighting understand the intricate structure of the equipment? I only knew the basic concepts and what ingredients were essential.
The reason I knew that much was simple—these were necessary for waging war against the kingdom, so I had familiarized myself with the big picture.
There was no need to know the details; others would handle that.
‘If only Claude were here.’
Not the odd fraud Claude of the present but the previous Claude who had experienced various hardships and lost a limb or two in his previous life.
Unlike Ghislaine, who had only roughly grasped the concept, Claude had thoroughly learned everything in detail.
But without that Claude now, I had to maximize the information I possessed to implement this.
Thus, I needed dwarves with excellent engineering knowledge and skills.
“Hmm, I’ll need to see the results first. It seems like everything I considered is included.”
Ghislaine casually brushed off the subject and immediately recruited laborers to start producing the prototype.
Due to the drought decreasing the yield and Harold sweeping away most of the war supplies, they were still short on materials for large-scale production.
Coung. Coung. Coung.
Chiiiii!
The facilities made by the wizards and dwarves began to operate.
The laborers were busy carrying out the tasks Ghislaine assigned to them, even not fully understanding what they were making.
They brought in plenty of materials, repeating the processes of drying, pounding, and grinding.
“What is the Lord making?”
“It looks like they’re all edible ingredients.”
“Is he making food for nobles?”
No one could figure it out. The outcome was a very finely ground, yellowish powder.
One laborer, who tasted it slightly, tilted his head.
“It’s not bad, right? It seems kind of nutty and sweet…”
“Is it a seasoning? Seems like it would work if you boil it in stew.”
“Why make something like this? There are plenty of other tasty sauces.”
While the laborers speculated while working, none could come up with a definitive answer.
Regardless, Ghislaine looked at the result with great satisfaction.
“Good, it’s similar, right?”
It definitely resembled what I’d seen in my past life. The flavor was slightly different, but ultimately, flavor wasn’t the crucial thing.
Ghislaine grabbed a water jug, poured in a spoonful or two of the powder, and shook it vigorously.
Soon the water within the jug turned the same yellowish color as the powder. While anyone else might feel uneasy about the appearance, Ghislaine drank it without hesitation.
Glug, glug, glug.
“Ah!”
After downing it in one go, Ghislaine clenched his fist. He was a master who could detect even the slightest changes in his body.
Upon drinking the prototype, a slight warmth spread through him. A sensation an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice.
“Done. It’s a success. It’s similar to what I had before. Now I need to conduct experiments.”
It was made exactly as I had envisioned. But it would require at least a month of human trials to be certain.
Ghislaine immediately called for Claude.
“What is it? I’m incredibly busy!”
“I’ve finally completed it.”
“New combat food?”
“Yeah, it’s time for experiments. Let’s recruit some volunteers.”
As Ghislaine showed off the prototype, Claude asked with a blank expression.
“Uh… that powder is combat food?”
“Yep.”
“You expect me to fill my belly with powder?”
“Yep. You mix it with water and drink it. Look here.”
Ghislaine grabbed a small water jug, added the powder, and shook it.
Claude watched and asked again.
“What are you doing?”
“You mix it enough to make a shaking sound like this!”
‘Seriously, this shaking sound comes naturally.’
Still, Claude exercised patience, knowing the explanation wasn’t over yet.
After sufficiently mixing, Ghislaine drank the powder water again and stated.
“Just mix it well and drink it.”
“That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“How much should one eat?”
“Just one serving a day will keep you alive. Of course, for more strength, you should eat two or three times. If you take enough of this, you could survive for a month.”
“Hmm…”
Claude wore a smile from ear to ear. Hearing such ridiculous claims after a while was both amusing and absurd.
“Lord?”
“What?”
“A person can survive for a few days just drinking water.”
“That’s true.”
“And if they eat a bit of biscuit powder and jerky powder, they could last longer.”
“That’s also true.”
“But eating like that, you’d just be hanging on for dear life; you wouldn’t be able to fight. You’d be dead with just one hit!”
“No, no. This is different. It fully replenishes nutrients. That means it gives you vitality.”
Ghislaine was full of confidence. This was something he and his subordinates had consumed many times in his past life. Just a few jars would let them maintain combat capability for at least over a month.
Of course, there’d be some hunger to contend with, but there wouldn’t be significant issues with mobility.
‘This is a huge help in maintaining combat power.’
During the Age of Turmoil, how to supply resources to dangerous operational areas was a major issue.
When knights became isolated in areas surrounded by dangerous foes, resupplying became almost impossible. While using hot air balloons and magic to send supplies was an option, there were times when even that couldn’t be done.
Thus, continuing research on long-term preserved food was vital. Existing preservation foods had weight and volume limitations on the quantities that could be maintained.
Development was challenging. It had to be something that was easy to make, didn’t require high-end materials, had a long shelf life, and could also maintain stamina.
To satisfy all those conditions, scholars and wizards of high repute across the continent developed this powder through countless experiments.
As long as you could find some water, you could eat it, and even without water, you could put a bit in your mouth and let it dissolve.
The greatest advantage was that just consuming this was sufficient for nutritional supply and continuously provided vitality.
Since this preservation food was developed, humanity’s operational range expanded. It was one of the reasons humanity could survive during the Age of Turmoil in Ghislaine’s past life.
Having been sufficiently validated in his previous life, and having tasted it himself, Ghislaine was confident in its effects. But to Claude, who lived trapped in the common sense of this era, it didn’t seem credible.
“Lord, while it’s good that you included various things, do you think a few spoonfuls will fill you up? It’s better than not eating, sure. But you’ll hardly last a few days! People will just collapse!”
In this era, it was common sense that to gain strength, one must eat well.
Being hungry naturally meant you couldn’t exert strength. You could only hang on for dear life.
This was especially a field Claude felt most confident in.
‘You have no idea how much I’ve lived like a homeless person!’
Claude had lived like a beggar due to gambling debts. He’d eaten scraps and shared thrown-out rations over days.
Eating like that left him dizzy and struggling to get up. He was always hungry, weak, and utterly frustrated.
What he ate back then was at least more than one or two spoonfuls of that powder.
So, Claude simply couldn’t believe what Ghislaine was saying.
Sure, the knights had mana, so they might last a bit longer than him, but surviving over a month on just that was utterly out of the question. They’d be likely to die of starvation or, if they didn’t, would definitely be bedridden.
With years of experience being homeless, that was common sense for Claude. Moreover, it was common sense for everyone.
‘Wait a minute, you intend to conduct an experiment? That means the effects haven’t been validated yet?’
As Claude’s thoughts raced while he opposed the idea, Ghislaine firmly stated.
“If you drink this twice a day, you can move normally. Your stamina might decrease a bit, but not to the extent you’re imagining.”
“Ah, but I say that’s a no-go. Have you ever experienced homelessness, my lord?”
“I have. I’ve probably spent more days homeless than not.”
“Again, again, here we go. As soon as you open your mouth, you spew lies automatically.”
He knew full well that the lord had lived like a rogue as a noble family scion; how could he have ever experienced homelessness?
If he ever did, it was just a brief adventure gone awry!
“I know you’ve made many strange things until now. But this is really different. I know how it feels to starve. There’s absolutely no way to fight after just eating that. A week, at best, would be the limit! Are you seriously going to spend that much money making something like this? On fields, runestones, facilities…. Ugh, it’s appalling. The thought of wasting time and money.”
“Which is exactly why we’re proposing the experiment!”
Claude sneered.
“Oh, is it even worth trying? Let’s not waste time on something foolhardy, honestly! You know, it’s fortunate that everything weird you’ve made so far has succeeded, but if you fail even once, your credibility will be down the drain. If you fail this time, no one will believe a word you say.”
He just needed to try out the experiment, yet he kept provoking and resisting.
Ghislaine understood what kind of person Claude was. She could clearly see Claude conjuring shallow thoughts.
With a sly smile, Ghislaine proposed.
“How about we make a bet for the first time in a while?”
Claude’s eyes lit up with a smile. But contrary to Ghislaine’s expectations, Claude didn’t immediately speak up.
He was planning to make a significant deal this time.
