Kotori hadn't eaten for three days.
It might be odd because the villagers had just finished a harvest. But in fact, it was quite normal.
The wheat they farmed was great.
Really great.
Frustratingly great,
It was the reason why Kotori hadn't eaten in three days.
The wheat was magic!
[Magic wheat!] Kotori internally screamed when she realized what she had cultivated.
The magic wheat was extremely nutritious. So nutritious that eating a loaf of bread made from wheat would be enough to sustain a small girl like Kotori for three days! It was also very tasty, and the wheat would naturally make a loaf of very white and fluffy bread, unlike the rough and coarse whole grain bread that the people of this world ate.
[Those damn spirits are too dedicated!] She started thinking while eating another loaf the delicious bread of course eating too much would be unhealthy but for Kotori who had the [Gourmet] skill, she could eat as much as she wanted with no problem.
There was still a problem. None of the wheat that had been cultivated could be sent to the kingdom as taxes. It would be too troublesome if the kingdom realized that they were able to cultivate such a valuable ingredient. But Kotori still had to manage the taxes of the region. If she didn't send any goods in as taxes she would be investigated. She had the villagers give her their crops in return for promising that she would triple the amount of wheat she gave them back. The villagers now trusted Kotori so they happily gave her a large portion of their crops and accepted the deal.
Kotori was now sitting with several thousand bushels of magic wheat.
She had to sell it off. Her best options would likely be the large port city of Flare which was to the west of the village. Thankfully, it was quite close so she wouldn't have to transport the wheat herself and only must commission a few carriages to carry it once the wheat was actually sold.
She quickly told her party of her plans and they agree to take a week to go to the city. Despite being a hunted criminal Amelie would still be coming because Kotori didn't feel comfortable going anywhere without. If she hid her ears it would be fine. Amelie looked very similar to any girl within the kingdom on account of human heritage and the search for Kotori had died down.
From what she could tell based on her travels to the village, the women who saw them in the dungeon hadn't reported their existence which was odd.
[Wasn't that lady a bishop of the kingdom] Kotori thought. If she worked for the kingdom there shouldn't be a reason why she would avoid reporting her existence.
Kotori tried to avoid the thought. The idea that there were people in the kingdom who could be sympathetic to her was too confusing to try and parse. There was no reason to be sympathetic.
Regardless they quickly prepared and brought a few small sacks of flour to show off to foreign merchants.
Kotori had hoped that by selling to foreign merchants she would avoid the kingdom recognizing that she had gotten ahold of magic wheat. Ideally, she would find someone who rarely visited the kingdom and discretely sell the magic wheat to them.
** ** **
The City of Flare was about a three days travel from the village. Kotori and Co took the main roads with Amelie in the Hikari carriage.
The city itself was the one port city in the entire country of Faramouth. Since the entire kingdom was enclosed by mountains it was the one part of the shore that was accessible by flat land and thus was an important lifeline of the kingdom.
It allowed the kingdom to trade with other countries like the desert kingdom of Eris and the southern war states.
Kotori was pleasantly surprised to find out the city had no walls. And that they could just walk it. There was a steady stream of carriages and people entering the city so Kotori and her party blended right in.
Kotori absorbed Hikari and had Amelie wear a large hat that would cover her ears. It looked like a larger beret.
They had arrived at around midday and the city was lively, even more lively than the capital city, and although it did have nearly as many people as the capital the city itself felt like it had much more vitality than other cities Kotori had been too.
There were many temporary storefronts set up to sell goods. Merchants who had simply set up mats and laid out their goods. The slightly more affluent would have stalls or tables instead.
There was also a large variety of food hawkers selling, all sorts of goods. The smell of many foreign spices permeated the air giving a mouthwatering scent that whets the appetite.
Kotori bought a meat skewer from one of the hawkers. It seemed to be some sort of land that had a pungent spice added to it. There was a slight acidic taste to overcome the gaminess and greasiness of the lamb.
Kotori thought it was a shame that they had to finish their business in the city so quickly because otherwise she would've like to spend several days in the city roaming and exploring.