The Efficiency of Survival

The heroine of a romance fantasy novel, Ailiya, is surrounded by many helpers. Even when she was holed up in her laboratory, it was no different. One of those people was her own older brother, the young Duke of Wintervalt.

"I really hate you, Brother."

"Is that all you came to say after such a long time?"

"Because it can't be said enough. I'm telling you in advance that I'm not asking this as a younger sister."

Akael Wintervalt, the young Duke. Kael, for short. Even though he held the title of young Duke, it was an empty name; he possessed no proper territory. His family had been of Northern royalty about a hundred years ago before being annexed by the Empire. As if the Empire would let a region that resisted so fiercely until the very end continue to govern itself. The entire family was scattered, forcibly relocated to the Imperial capital. All that remained was a ducal title tossed to them by the Empire, and for a family that had lost its foundation in an instant, the only ways to survive were commerce or magitech.

'Grandfather and Brother were both quite good at that sort of thing, though.'

Still, the root was gone all the same. Despite that, the stifling traditions unique to the North remained in abundance, and they had kept her, a girl, from even setting foot in magic since she was young. There was a perfectly valid reason for hating her brother. Of course, she was currently crushing the Academy with her skills, but that only made her dislike him even more.

Thud.

Ailiya dropped a bundle of documents onto Kael's desk. Kael asked without even glancing at them.

"If the person in front of me isn't my sister, then whose request should I be listening to?"

"As Ailiya, the magitech engineer of the Academy. As the person who holds numerous patents that still serve as the lifeline for your trading house, I'm going to ask you for one of two things."

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"Then I suppose I should step forward as the head of the trading house to negotiate."

"No. Isn't that obvious? Are you the type of person to listen to your sister's requests?"

"Obviously not."

"So, one of the two."

Ailiya crossed her arms and proposed two options. Her tone was an awkward mix of formal and casual speech. "Use the trading house's money to publish this thesis while I go somewhere in a hurry. Or, take a 15-day carriage ride to explore the wilderness. Choose one."

Kael decided immediately, without changing a single expression on his face.

"Where is the destination?"

Clearly the latter. It was an answer so fast it was absurd. She had expected him to agonize over it a little, but he chose the second one right away. Ailiya glared at Kael.

"You stopped me from studying magic so much. You're the only one who graduated from the Academy, so is publishing at a conference really that unpleasant?"

"Did you even have any intention of riding a carriage? I know you can't last even a minute in a carriage because of motion sickness. If I had chosen to publish, it sounds like you were planning to force me onto that carriage anyway."

"Answer my question first."

Kael responded with cold eyes as well. Seeing her bring a thesis out of the blue, she must have written an incredibly groundbreaking theory, but then the publication itself would be a chore. "I don't want to publish under your name. The Academy is just waiting to devour that annoying girl, so the professors wouldn't just let it slide."

"What did you say?"

"Stop with the meaningless talk, and tell me why you brought up the carriage story, which is out of character for you."

"I'm looking for a mage named Rii. He seems to have gone down to a region that takes a long time to reach even by carriage, so if I don't leave immediately, it'll be too late."

Kael fell into thought. He had suspected as much, but she was looking for a mage who had run away. He knew his sister worked her assistants to the bone, but he hadn't realized it was to this extent. If she was going as far as the wilderness to drag him back, he must certainly be a guy with immense talent. It wasn't that he wasn't interested from the perspective of running a trading house, but...

'Poor guy.'

So, at first, he intended to send his sister away with a reasonable excuse. "Is that mage worth that much? Finding a mage who has hidden away in the deep mountains is not a job for one or two people. You'll have to hire people to search, and that's all cost coming out of the trading house's wallet."

Searching costs more than you'd think. It's not very efficient to readily chase down an assistant who has run away.

"I don't intend to deny that he has value, as he seems to be someone you've recognized, but... isn't mages going missing a common occurrence? Both you and I are like that. They're people who hide away at the drop of a hat."

And couldn't she just wait quietly? Once a mage, always a mage. "It's not something you can quit so easily, so if you wait, they'll all return."

At that, Ailiya shook her head firmly. And this time, she said two facts in succession.

"Let me tell you one thing: this thesis isn't mine. It was written by the mage named Rii."

"What?"

"And two."

Apart from hating herself, her sister seemed quite desperate. And the moment he heard Ailiya's following words.

"If I don't find that person right away, he might die."

"......!"

Kael's cold eyes wavered. Seeing a mage who had taken his own life wasn't the first time he had experienced it.

Splash!

"Caught one! One more!"

The fish hanging from the end of the fishing rod thrashed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as if resentful before landing squarely in the bucket.

The surroundings were a lake left alone in the deep mountains. The terrain was rugged, and a landslide had occurred, making it inaccessible for a while, but things were different now. I was able to enter safely with Miroa's support, and I was currently going all-in on fishing here.

Splash!

Literally going all-in until I was exhausted and collapsed. From the moment I made the decision, all the fish in this neighborhood met the same fate. They were scheduled to have a gathering in my refrigerator.

'I'll wipe them out to the last seed.'

Splash!

... A few days had passed since I arrived in the Solanium basin. Since I arrived late in the afternoon on the first day, I finished by weeding and organizing the mansion. I had been in a carriage for over 15 days, so my stamina was at rock bottom, and it was a miracle I had accomplished even this much. On the second day, I removed the burnout debuff by visiting the hot springs and built up favor with the residents by solving the village's problems. I even dealt with slimes. The hunting EXP I gained then was very sweet. While I was at it, I planted a bunch of parsnip seeds.

Now, a few more days had passed since then. Unlike the very hectic second day, the work I'd been doing so far was quite monotonous.

'Because the content hasn't unlocked yet.'

It takes 4 days for the first crops I planted to grow. I have no money to get new seeds. Since there's content that hasn't unlocked yet, there's not much to do in the early stages.

'It's the same flow as the original healing game.'

So, the task that can extract the most efficiency in the remaining time is fishing. Only fishing remains. I go to the lakeside, cast the line, and enjoy the thrill of the bite when it comes.

Splash!

One more added with this. For reference, the fishing rod was received as a gift by Miroa.

- One of the residents of the territory gave it as a gift, saying that since you came down to the countryside to clear your head, it would be helpful when you visit the lake later.

That was what she said when she first brought it. It seemed they expected me to fish leisurely and heal. But no way. As soon as I received the fishing rod, I entered a hardcore, livelihood-style fishing mode. I don't eat, I don't rest, I don't sleep until late, I only fish. The expression of Miroa, who is standing behind me right now, has also changed quite a bit from then. What should I call it? It's a feeling similar to the gaze of a mother whose heart is breaking over a son addicted to games on a TV show.

"I shouldn't have brought the gift."

"Ah. Why."

There are fish in there! I can't stop fishing, you see?

"Watching you all this time, you have been sitting in that position all day ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long. Doesn't your back hurt?"

"I trained at the Academy, so I'm fine."

My profession is a mage, and I'm an expert at sitting still. If my back were going to hurt this much, my spine would have been shattered long ago. Even so, Miroa is secretly worried. It was about time to hear her nagging, so I quickly changed the subject.

"But what about the oak trees? Did you collect a lot?"

Meanwhile, I had instructed Miroa to do some logging. After letting out a small sigh, she gathered herself and continued her briefing.

"I have put the felled timber in the warehouse. I have stored it tilted appropriately so that the tree sap that flows out is collected in a bucket. As for the acorns I secured, I planted them in a row behind the mansion, but since there was no proper way to mark the location, I stuck wooden sticks in them. Will that do?"

"That's enough."

Just hearing it made me feel satisfied on its own.

"You've done a perfect job."

"Thank you."

From EXP collection to task performance and follow-up procedures, it's very perfect. There's no need to risk my life to collect a bunch of wood already, and I needed gathering EXP more than that. Thanks to Miroa being very capable, I've successfully achieved my goals for now.

While Miroa was going to the mountain behind, the work content for that side also appeared on the status window, and for some reason, it was all perfect logging. She seems to be very good at using an axe, too. Thanks to that, I've collected all the timber, tree sap, and gathering EXP I'll need for the time being.

"But I wonder why you are collecting so many trees in the spring. If you explain that part, I will follow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your orders more delicately."

"Well. I have a place to use them later."

I gave a vague answer. "As I said before, keep it a secret from the villagers."

"Understood."

And the logging work is proceeding in secret. Since they suffered because of the landslide, they wouldn't look kindly on me cutting down trees. Just about then, I got another bite on the fishing rod.

"Got it!"

Afterward, I skillfully pulled the fishing rod and succeeded in catching another one.

Splash!

It was a fish with particularly good strength, thrashing on the dirt floor for a long time. I tried to subdue it, but it wasn't easy this time.

"Damn it."

Does it want to live that badly? But I'm desperate, too. I want to catch a bunch of fish, earn money, invest it, and earn even more money. How long had I been wrestling with it?

"Master. Just a moment."

Miroa stepped up from the side. She just looked down at the fish with indifferent eyes and let out a bit of killing intent. Thud... With just her spirit, the fish fainted.

I placed the secured fish in the refrigerator, a product of magitech. A question here. Isn't this magic too useful to have been created by those romance fantasy characters? They say it's an item made to gift cool fruit to a fiancé even in midsummer. There are a few useful spells like this that were created by accident, like a blind mouse finding a grain of corn. It was an item that worked fine, perhaps because the grandfather who provided the mansion had taken care of it. Thanks to that, even freshwater fish that spoil quickly can be preserved for quite a long time.

'Let's see. How much gold was a bass again?'

I stared into the refrigerator, which didn't have much in it yet, and fell into thought for a while. Naturally, I even checked my future plans. After checking the plan for a while, Miroa asked first.

"What are you thinking about so much again?"

"Hm?"

"Lately, I have more questions. As your maid, I want to know a little more about what you are thinking."

"Just. It's nothing."

After checking the plan like that, it turned out this was the right way after all.

"I'm going to sell all of that to the shop and pass it on to the village."

I plan to sell all the secured food to the shop.

"Then what about your meals? Are you not going to eat?"

"I'll just starve a little."

It's not like I'm starving completely. Since there's the crazy hard rock-bread distributed in the village, I won't die if I soak it well in water. The plan is simple and clear. First, I'll take maximum efficiency. Even if I have to endure the immediate suffering.