Save the Starving Frontier! The “Buyer” of the Reversed Chastity World - 7

Chapter 7: Let’s Have a Campfire

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The morning after I had been drained dry, I followed behind the glossy, shining Etna as she led me toward the main street.

Seriously go on a little easier on me.

When we arrived at the main street, a crowd had gathered. There were even more people than yesterday. It was probably because yesterday’s food distribution had become a hot topic. Or maybe people from other districts had heard the rumors and come here.

Well, whatever. Let’s just start handing food out.

“Pile the rubble over here. We’ll keep putting more out.”

With thuds and clatters, the rubble people had brought in was stacked up high. It was a welcome gesture. Apparently because they had just picked it up from around the area, no one claimed ownership of it.

They stacked it up as if to say, “Just use it already.” That spirit made me happy.

“For now, let’s put out bread and drinks first.”

“Hey! Morning, Kaito!”

Aisha arrived a little late to act as a guard. That was a relief. She was supporting an older woman at her side. Since she had said she wanted to feed her family, maybe this woman was Aisha’s mother.

“Yeah, it’s my mother. I wanted to feed her directly. Thanks to yesterday’s food, she recovered enough to stand, so I brought her along. That’s okay, right?”

“I don’t think that’s really a guard’s job, but as long as you can protect me, it’s fine. Go eat as much as you like.”

I bought a folding chair so her mother could rest. Since we’d be in each other’s care from now on, I had no reason to refuse.

Aisha stood to the side, helping manage the line. There were still people in line who looked gaunt. They were probably ones who hadn’t received food yet.

“Etna. Can you go over there and hand out just bread and drinks to the people in urgent need? It looks like we should split the line.”

“Got it. There are plenty who should eat first.”

I ordered about fifty thousand yen worth of bakery bread and carried the boxes to a separate area. I bought an extra drink dispenser and filled it with sports drink. I also opened about five cases of bottled sports drinks so they could bring it home if they wanted.

“If you haven’t eaten anything yet, or if you just want something—bread at least—come over here. No need to fight over it, we’ll keep putting food out, so don’t rush! Eat whatever you like! You can take it home too!”

When I said that, about half the crowd split off. Now we had Etna’s line and my line, with Aisha stationed in the middle to organize both.

“Over here we’re taking orders for whatever you want to eat! Wheat, meat, vegetables! Strong flavors, light flavors! Just tell me your preference! We’ve got plenty, so don’t rush!”

Once everything was prepared, the lines began moving slowly. While managing the crowd, Aisha reassured the townspeople.

“You can line up as many times as you want. You can eat until you’re full.”

“Nii-chan, we’re outta bread! Give us the next batch!”

“Alright. Sorry, you’ll have to wait a bit for cooked dishes.”

I bought another hundred thousand yen worth of bread. Aisha carried the six cardboard boxes that came out.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. What do you want to eat?”

“Yesterday’s gyoza, please! As many as possible!”

Alright, I gave her five boxes—about twenty servings. The woman beamed with delight and opened a box right there to start eating.

Making people eat straight on the ground didn’t seem like a good idea. For now, I decided to provide a large picnic sheet. I asked people who had finished eating to spread it out and put stones on the corners.

Since it meant they didn’t have to eat directly on the dirt, the sheet was a hit. Some wanted to take it home. Their houses were probably wrecked to the point they needed the sheet to cover the ground. I bought a stack of blue tarps with ropes attached and told them they were free to take them. The tarps were a hit among the people too.

People requested gyoza, ramen, hamburgers, okonomiyaki—those who knew about them ordered all sorts of things. Plenty also said they just wanted meat, so I brought out another menu item, a party barrel from Massachusetts Fried Chicken. 

Fried chicken had lots of bones, but the townsfolk seemed used to bone-in meat. Well, of course. Meat neatly deboned and vacuum-packed was a modern cultural thing after all.

I even put out gift-pack hams, handing out thick, hefty cuts. When I explained they were boneless, people tore off the outer netting and bit straight into them.

“This is amazing! The saltiness is perfect, this is great!”

It seemed like they liked it. Soon others were asking for ham too. Girls who had filled their bellies with bread from the other line joined in, and it turned into a ham festival.

I handed out gift assortments, and they split them up or saved them to take home. Since I kept producing more, no one had any complaints.

Well, they are high-quality hams, after all.

“Kaito… Be sure to give me some later too, alright?”

“I’ll give you however many sets you want. Take as much as you like.”

Since I also provided gas stoves and frying pans, some people started cutting up ham with plastic knives and grilling it right on the leisure sheet. It had completely turned into a camping party.

Others broke down cardboard boxes to use for campfires. When people asked for skewers, I brought out barbecue skewers. Since those could be used as weapons, Aisha was on guard, but other women stepped in to keep watch too, and it turned into a peaceful campfire gathering.

Since paper burned out too quickly, I tossed out big bags of binchōtan charcoal. I also gave them firewood, so they’d be able to get flames going. For lighting the fire—well, they had magic for that.

If they could make a campfire, I figured potatoes would be good too. So I handed out both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. We just needed to wrap them in aluminum foil, roast them and they could be eaten just like that.

“What’s this potato? Never seen it before.”

Etna tilted her head to the side. 

So there’s no potatoes in this world?

When I asked, apparently the tubers here were more like taro. Basically the satoimo variant.

“This is delicious! Can we plant these?”

“If you prepare them wrong they turn poisonous, so not yet. I’ll make sure they’re introduced carefully later.”

Aisha also liked the jacket potatoes. When I handed out salt and butter, the townsfolk cried with joy. Well, of course. Potatoes with butter and salt couldn’t go wrong after all. 

The main seasonings in this land seemed to be salt, butter, and herbs. In Europe, butter was as essential and widely used as soy sauce in Japan. So the familiar flavor probably gave them comfort.

Even though it was daytime, some people started singing around the campfires. It had turned into a full-on festival.

I could buy alcohol, but if people  became drunk, it might ruin the peace here. So instead, I brought cola and cider. The townsfolk consumed them in gusto. With drinks sweeter than ale in hand, the people ate and drank happily.

“It’s been so long since I could eat until I was stuffed!”

Yeah, I bet. They’d endured the collapse of the city and a food shortage. They had survived a literal disaster.

Eat, drink, and celebrate as much as you want, but no fighting, alright?

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