Chapter 101. Food Has a Price [BONUS]

Carlos checked the Garrison Gatehouse Blueprint again after the cucumber bed was finished.

The blueprint was still useful. The Iron Fang Gate Fittings sitting in his inventory proved that. But after the Training Yard, the Shield Militia Barrack and the new cucumber frames, his remaining wood and stone did not look good anymore.

He could keep the materials for later and wait for more resources to come naturally.

Or he could use the one thing Ironroot had that other territories always seemed to need.

Carlos walked to the kitchen where Mira was standing by the fire with the new Hearthkeeper.

They were preparing the evening meal while two covered pots sat near the wall. The smell made Carlos’s stomach hurt a little because he had only eaten one wrapped meal since morning.

Mira looked at him. "Do not tell me you came here to eat food before dinner again."

"Please, I don’t eat between meals that much."

"You did it three times."

Carlos decided not to argue because she was probably right.

"I need to know how much cooked food we can trade without making everyone eat less."

Mira stopped moving the spoon. The Hearthkeeper looked at her too.

"Insufficient resources again?" Mira asked with genuine concern on her face.

"Yes, we lack wood and stone. The Gatehouse needs more than we have, and I do not want to pull apart the territory just to build it quickly."

Mira thought for a moment. She did not answer immediately, which Carlos had learned meant she was counting food in her head.

"We can trade some," she said. "Not every day, and not enough that the Farmers or soldiers get smaller portions. But I can prepare a small batch from what we have now."

"How small?"

"Six meals. Maybe eight if I use the vegetables that need to be cooked first."

Carlos nodded. "Six is enough. Keep the other two here."

Mira looked slightly surprised. "You are not going to take everything?"

"No. Food is worth more than that. We have a surplus, but that does not mean we throw it away."

Her expression changed a little. She did not say anything for a second, then turned back to the pots.

"Alright" she said. "I will make six proper meals, then. I will make sure its the best kind too"

Carlos left the kitchen and opened his private messages. Cosmic answered before Carlos even wrote the second message.

--

[Cosmic Merchant] - first give me status update, you fucker. We haven’t talked in a while.

[Carlos Goldwin] - I am alive. I know you are alive too. This is urgent so listen, I need you to handle a trade request.

--

Cosmic sent a laughing face before replying again.

--

[Cosmic Merchant] - Finally. What are we selling?

[Carlos Goldwin] - Six cooked meals. Mira decides what goes in them. I need wood and stone. Do not accept copper unless it is stupidly good.

[Cosmic Merchant] - You are trusting me with food now? I am honored.

[Carlos Goldwin] - You handled the last selling. Just do it properly.

[Cosmic Merchant] - I always do things properly. You just never notice because you are busy getting attacked.

--

Carlos almost replied, but Cosmic had already opened the trade requests.

The first offer came back less than a minute later.

--

[Trade Offer]

[Cooked Meals x4]

[For Wood x12]

--

Carlos stared at it but Cosmic rejected it before he could type anything. Carlos smiled.

--

[Cosmic Merchant] - This guy thinks food grows in the ground cooked already.

--

The second offer was not much better. Three meals for twenty stone. Cosmic rejected that one too.

Carlos sat outside the Lord’s Hut and watched the Training Yard while he waited. Kaia had the two Shield Militia stepping forward and back with their shields raised. They were not making a lot of noise now, just trying to follow the Drill Manual properly.

After a few more minutes, another offer appeared.

--

[Trade Offer]

[Cooked Meals x3]

[For Wood x50]

[For Stone x80]

--

Carlos looked at it for a while.

The offer was too good. But Cosmic was the one doing the selling and he trusted him.

--

[Cosmic Merchant] - This one is good. I had a talk with this lord too, they have people but no kitchen and some of their troops got wiped wiped out in a raid. They need meals now, not later.

[Carlos Goldwin] - Take it.

--

The system completed the trade. The wood and stone appeared in Carlos’s inventory a second later.

It was not enough for every building Ironroot wanted. But it was a start, and Mira had only used half of the meals she was willing to trade.

Carlos was about to tell Cosmic to leave the other three meals for later when a new private message appeared.

This one was not a trade offer.

--

[Unknown Lord] - Are you the Lord selling cooked food through Cosmic Merchant?

--

Carlos looked at the name for a moment, then replied carefully. If this man was hiding his name, it almost felt shady to begin with.

--

[Carlos Goldwin] - I have cooked food, the good kind too.

--

The answer came almost instantly.

--

[Unknown Lord] - I have three high-grade troops.

[Unknown Lord] - I fed them Advanced Cooked Meals from Hellbound rewards after every hard fight. At first, it was enough. Now it barely keeps them going.

[Unknown Lord] - I do not have anything to cook my own stuff, I am a great cook by the way. If your territory can produce Ultra-high-quality meals, I will pay well.

--

Carlos read the message again. Three high-grade troops was something he had not heard for a while.

That was not something most Lords could keep alive with ordinary grain and boiled vegetables. Even Carlos could understand that much.

He went back to the kitchen and showed the message to Mira.

She read it once. Then she read it again more slowly.

"Ultra-high-quality food," she said.

"Can you make it?"

Mira looked toward the pots behind her. "Not with what we are making now. Maybe not with what we have at all. But if I had better ingredients, more time and a reason to try different things..."

She stopped speaking and Carlos waited.

"I can try," Mira said. "I will not promise that I can make food for three high-grade troops tomorrow. But I can try."

Carlos nodded. "Then we tell him that. No lies, no promise before we know what it takes."

Mira looked back at the message one more time. The normal cheerful look on her face had changed into something more serious.

For the first time since Carlos met her, she was looking at a meal as if it was a challenge.

Carlos sent the Unknown Lord a short reply.

--

[Carlos Goldwin] - I cannot promise Ultra-high-quality food yet. My cook will attempt it if we can secure the right ingredients. I will contact you when we know more.

--

The answer came back before the panel closed.

--

[Unknown Lord] - Good. I can bring ingredients. Just do not take too long. My troops are showing urgency and I am desperate enough to show this weakness to you.

--

Carlos looked at Mira. Ironroot had found a buyer who did not need food just to survive.

He needed it to keep something powerful alive but would they really be able to make this food?.