Save the Starving Frontier! The “Buyer” of the Reversed Chastity World - 26

Chapter 26: Let’s Eat Preserved Food!

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Thanks to being able to hunt magical beasts, I was now able to investigate “magic rampage.”

It seemed that Etna and the others didn’t know the details about it. So I asked Aisha and Commander Sharon about it.

“In the end, what exactly is this ‘magic rampage’? What happened?”

“Rampage? It was more like an explosion. A wave of magic came, so people just said it must have been caused by magic power. The blast wind collapsed buildings in the city and caused damage.”

An explosion, huh. Must have been a blast like a bomb going off. Indeed, most of the structural damage had been on the west side. That was probably why they concluded the epicenter was somewhere in the mountains.

“There was also damage to crops. As you know, everything in this world contains magic. When exposed to excessive magic, substances become brittle, and small lifeforms can die. It’s like being hit with a barrage of offensive spells.”

I see. So it was like a large-scale destructive spell. If it was an explosion of excess energy, that kind of damage made sense.

“What about casualties among people?”

“Not to the point where people died from the blast. But they must have taken damage. In the noble district, many collapsed and couldn’t stand or move for a while.”

Putting together what Commander Sharon said, it seemed like a tidal wave of magic  had swept through. Because of that, while people were unable to move, the crops were destroyed.

Before they could help their companions or townsfolk, hunger struck and their stamina declined. With no food stockpiled—or very little—they didn’t even have the strength to hunt, and famine took hold. If the townsfolk had already collapsed first from damage, then there was no way to recover.

If it had been a typhoon or something, they could have gone hunting afterward and secured meat to survive. But if even the townsfolk and adventurers with stamina all collapsed at the same time, then there was no way out. Starvation was inevitable.

“Do you not know the cause?”

“No. There was no one who could go investigate. Judging by the direction of the epicenter, I think it was the mountains.”

I asked if the forest might have been the source, and Commander Sharon explained.

“If it had been the forest, which is flatland, then the damage to buildings would have been limited to the western city wall and the noble district. But since it reached all the way east, we concluded it was an explosion from high ground. That’s why the mountains are the prime candidate.”

“Ah, I see.”

True. If the blast jumped over the city walls and damaged the interior, the epicenter had to be high up.

On Earth, some missiles detonated midair before impact. But this world didn’t have such strategic weapons. If anything, it would be magic. And with magic, spells were launched directly at walls or targets, not fired upward into the sky. Which meant, regardless, the explosion happened at high elevation. So yes, the mountains were the first suspect.

“Once the city is restored, will you go investigate?”

“As the knight order, we intend to. Even now, it’s possible that a powerful magical beast capable of releasing that kind of magic lives in the mountains. If so, it must be defeated.”

A magical beast. So they weren’t considering it a natural phenomenon. Well, that made sense. Without some sort of cause, such a disaster wouldn’t happen.

If it were truly a natural disaster without a cause, this world would already be ruined. At the very least, like with typhoons and earthquakes, there would be citywide measures and countermeasures in place.

“When that time comes, I’d like you to provide rations from the rear, Kaito.”

“Leave it to me. I don’t know if I can go along with you, but as for food, I can supply as much as you need.”

They said the Logistic Unit would come to collect it. What? Ah, the transport unit. The logistics division that carried food and supplies. So this country had experts in military operations. There was no need for me to stick my nose into the front lines. With no combat ability, I’d only get in the way.

“How many days will the march take? I’ll need to plan the rations accordingly.”

“Between ten and twenty days. Just reaching the mountains takes time, and so does exploring them, and returning as well. We’ll need rations for that duration.”

So, preserved food then. The strongest preserved food for humanity was “bread,” but bakery bread contained additives, so it didn’t last very long. Some just dried out and became tough but still edible. But in humid forest regions, it would rot during the march.

“Then let’s have you try canned goods, cup noodles, and dried noodles.”

Cans could be eaten cold or heated with fire magic. Cup noodles and dried noodles could be eaten if they boiled water with water magic. If hot water was available, retort-pack foods would also work. So I provided canned goods, ramen, and pasta.

“Cans can be eaten even cold. Try them out and see how the flavor is.”

I offered canned mackerel in water, miso mackerel, yakitori, simmered pacific saury, tuna, as well as corn and green peas. If they wanted condiments, whole tomatoes could be eaten with bread.

“…These are all delicious. Do all the dark-colored canned goods use fermented seasonings? The smell is a little peculiar, but the sweet and spicy flavor is delicious. I’ve never had preserved food like this before.”

“Then next is cup noodles. They’ll give you carbs and salt. Since they lack protein, I’ll throw in some jerky too.”

We boiled water on a stove and prepared cup noodles and retort-pack dishes. Seafood cup noodles were probably the best, but tonkotsu and curry would also be good. The retort packs included curry, hayashi rice, beef stew, and beef bowls—quite a variety. Altogether it was quite a lot, so Etna, Pirika, and Aisha joined in the tasting.

“This is great! Salty, but I can’t stop eating it! The texture going down is smooth!”

“Damn, delicious! This spicy one smells so weird, but it makes me hungrier and hungrier!”

“This one is stewed meat, right? It doesn’t just melt—it’s soaked with flavor, completely different from what we know. The taste is rich and mellow, and I can’t stop dipping bread in it!”

Everyone ate hungrily, chomping away. Well, that was fine. But since these were preserved foods, it was a problem if they were too delicious. They might eat them all before even setting out on the march.

“Would something a little more plain be better? Like cookies or chocolate?”

Baked sweets such as cookies and chocolate were also useful preserved foods. Baked goods were relatives of the strongest preserved food, bread, and chocolate didn’t spoil easily while packing enough calories to keep someone alive even if stranded in snowy mountains.

I had them try some, and Commander Sharon trembled.

“…This is preserved food? Not a noble’s luxury item? It’s more delicious than the sweets served in noble manors.”

So much for “plain.” Well, sugar itself was precious in this world. Sugar also had preservative qualities, making it easy to carry, but apparently the downside was that it tasted too good.

In the end, preserved foods just needed to have their moisture removed. Pickling in vinegar or salt worked just as well. For just ten or twenty days, even the luxury ham I had distributed earlier would keep easily.

“Preserved food… No, I won’t say more. As long as it keeps, that’s what matters. Flavor is secondary. It’s ironic, but if the ration quantities are fixed from the start, no one should complain.”

I think they will.

I could already easily imagine voices demanding more. The meats and other base ingredients in this world were tastier, but when it came to sweets and seasonings, the Internet Market had the clear advantage.

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