When the business with the peddler had settled down, the village chief had a bag of charcoal brought out.
The peddler called himself Heinz.
The salt, needles and thread he carried on his back had already begun to be handed over to the villagers. Heinz opened the charcoal bag while checking what was being offered in their place.
"I can take this much back with me."
He picked up one of the black lumps and checked how it broke.
"However, just because we increase this amount doesn't mean I can bring in more grain."
"I heard that earlier too."
The village chief answered.
"That's why I'm asking what's lacking."
"My back."
Heinz answered immediately.
Easy to understand.
"Today I have to carry quite a lot just to get here. Salt and needles are fine, but grain is heavy. If I increase the amount I bring with me, I won't be able to carry much on the way back."
I looked at Heinz's pack.
Even though it had become lighter from what he'd sold, it was still large enough to be a load for one person.
Now that I was a Juvenile Dragon, I could surely move heavier things than that.
However, taking on the transport of his business every time was a different matter.
"Can't you use a packhorse?"
one of the villagers asked.
"It can be used as far as the bottom of the mountain."
"Only that far?"
"I've never brought one up here."
Heinz pointed with his chin at the road leading to the village.
"I can get through. I'm not saying a packhorse couldn't get through either. But there are some places I wouldn't want to pass with a load."
“Where?”
"It's faster to look than to explain in words."
Heinz put the charcoal back into the bag.
"I'll show you on my way down."
The village chief looked at Dario.
“Go and have a look.”
"Yeah."
"The decision to widen it comes after that."
By saying that first, it seemed he hadn't forgotten being attacked by bandits.
Dario nodded as well.
"If the road gets better, it'll be easier for bandits to walk too."
"That's the thing."
I stood up as well.
Heinz looked at me.
"Val's coming too?"
I nodded.
"…Well, if you're the protector of the village, you ought to look at the road as well."
He wasn't as frightened as yesterday.
People get used to things quickly.
No — he wasn't coming any closer, so maybe he was still being careful.
We left the village.
Dario, Heinz and one man from the village.
And me.
We walked at the pace of Heinz, who was carrying a load on his back.
There were no problems at first.
The road was narrow, but there were places where people could pass each other. There were trees to the left and right, and one side was simply a slope.
"Not here."
Heinz said.
"It's a little further on."
The village hid behind the trees.
Eventually, the road passed by a large rock.
The other side was a steep slope.
"Here's the first one."
Heinz stopped.
It was certainly narrow.
It was no problem for a single person, but if a horse walked through with packs sticking out at its sides, it would either hit the rock or lean too far towards the slope.
"Are you going to break the rock?"
A village man asked.
"That's impossible."
Dario looked at the rock.
I looked at it too.
It was quite large.
It didn't look like it would move just from being pushed with my front legs.
"Cut the road back a little towards the mountain side."
Heinz pointed to the front of the rock.
"If we widen this area, I think one packhorse could get through."
"What about a cart?"
"I never mentioned carts."
It was an immediate answer.
"If you're going to let carts through, you'd have to rebuild the road itself."
I see.
There was no need to make the path passable for everything from the start.
What was needed now was enough width to bring in more grain.
We walked further.
The second problem was a low branch.
I could pass under it.
Dario and the others had to duck a little.
"Even if you tell a horse to lower its head, they don't like this sort of place."
Heinz tapped the branch.
"We can just cut this off."
“That’s easy.”
"If everything were easy, I'd have come by packhorse from the beginning."
After that, I understood what he meant.
Part of the road was muddy.
A small amount of water flowed down the slope, softening the soil.
When I stepped on it, my front legs sank a little.
"It'd be trouble if a loaded horse got stuck here."
Heinz walked along the edge.
"Even I don't like it when the rain keeps on."
"Could we let the water escape to the side?"
A village man looked at the slope.
"Perhaps. However, if we just dig at random and cut into the road itself, it'll have the opposite effect."
This time, the work didn't seem as fine as the waterway on the mountainside.
Still, I knew it was better not to start digging with my claws without being asked.
While walking, Dario looked around many times.
He wasn't just looking at the road.
“What’s wrong?”
Heinz asked.
"If we widen this area, it'll be easier to come out of the forest onto the road."
"What's that about?"
"Bandits came."
Heinz’s expression changed.
"Recently?"
"Just the other day."
"Say that first."
"I just did."
"I wanted to hear it before I came!"
"You came and you're still alive, so it's fine."
"It is not fine."
The two of them argued.
I looked to the left and right of the road.
It was true that cutting this area wide open would improve the view, but it would also make it easier to walk.
There was no need to create a road where many people could run side by side just to carry cargo to the village.
"One packhorse is enough."
Dario confirmed.
"That's what I said."
"Then we won't widen it enough for people to walk abreast."
"No need for more than that."
"We won't straighten every bend either."
"As long as a horse can get through."
That was the end of the discussion.
Only the areas that were too narrow would be widened.
Branches removed only as needed.
Water let out of the muddy stretches.
No cutting down large numbers of trees to improve visibility too much.
Rather than rebuilding the road, they modified it so a packhorse could get through without difficulty.
By the time we returned to the village, several places to fix had been decided.
Heinz went back to the charcoal bag and checked the contents again.
"If the road works, next time I'll see if I can bring a packhorse."
"What about grain?"
The village chief asked.
"I'll ask about that too. However, if the price is high, the amount will be less."
“I know.”
"Also, this."
Heinz tapped the charcoal bag.
"If you want to increase the amount next time, don't suddenly burn twice or three times as much."
The man from the refugees who was helping with the charcoal burning looked up.
"It won't sell?"
"The charcoal itself will get used, but there's a limit to how much I can take back and sell at once."
Heinz took one out of the bag.
"For now, we'll increase it a little from before. If that's enough, we'll think about the next step. If you cut too many trees in the mountains and it doesn't sell, you'll be in trouble."
The village chief nodded.
“That’s fine.”
It seemed this wasn't a story where someone got rich all at once.
Rather than making a large amount of charcoal because grain was needed, increase the amount while checking how much could actually be sold.
The road was the same.
Enough for a packhorse to get through, with no need to widen it to a width even carts could pass.
Rather than changing everything at once, change little by little where it was needed.
"If there's anything else you think I could take back, show it to me next time."
Heinz said.
"Before you go gathering a mountain of something without asking. I don't want a pile of things that can't be sold."
One of the villagers smiled wryly.
"That's harsh."
"It's business."
Heinz answered plainly.
"We have to eat too."
There was no sarcasm in the way he said it.
This man hadn't come up the mountain to save the village either.
He carried goods because it made a profit.
On the other hand, as long as it made a profit, he would come back.
That might last longer than good intentions.
Heinz put the charcoal the village provided into his emptied pack.
He couldn't take everything.
Only as much as he could carry on his back.
"I'll take this much with me. I'll tell you the price next time."
"You won't decide it here today?"
"If I set it on my own, I might end up out of pocket later."
I still didn't know where or with whom he did his business.
However, it seemed the price wasn't decided by Heinz's whim alone.
"You're very careful."
Dario said.
"A peddler who isn't careful doesn't stay in business in the mountains."
I see.
Heinz finished packing his things and stood up.
"Right, I'll be off."
"Already?"
Dario asked.
"I want to get to the bottom while it's still light."
Heinz answered and headed towards the exit of the village.
I saw him off from outside the fence as well.
Heinz stopped on the way.
"Val."
My name was called.
I turned my head.
"Next time I bring a packhorse, don't eat it."
I feel like I was told something similar the other day.
I let out a sigh and nodded.
"That sigh — you're making fun of me, aren't you?"
"He probably is."
Dario said.
"Don't you say it either."
There was a little laughter.
Heinz swung his pack up and set off down the road.
After his back was no longer visible, Dario picked up a thin branch lying at the side of the road.
“Let’s start with the rock.”
"Are we doing it today?"
A village man asked.
"Today I'll just mark it. We can bring the tools tomorrow."
Saying that, he stood the branch up in the ground near the entrance of the path.
"Don't widen it too much."
The village chief called out from behind.
“I know.”
"It's fine as long as cargo can pass through. There's no need to make it easier for bandits to run about."
Dario raised one hand without looking back.
I looked at that path.
Until recently, when someone approached from outside the village, the first thing I considered was whether they were an enemy.
The person who went down there today was a merchant carrying charcoal on his back.
The next time he came up the same road, he might have grain loaded on a packhorse instead of on his back.
However, that didn't mean the road would be thrown open to everyone.
Letting the necessary goods through to the village, while not making it easy for danger to pass.
It seemed I had to think about more than just keeping an eye on the forest.
The thin branch that Dario had set up swayed in the wind at the edge of the road.
It was the first mark showing the place to be repaired tomorrow.
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