Although I am now a prince, but in order to survive...BL

Chapter 23

Unlike last time, this place, despite its theatrical scenery, was not kind. As soon as Jay set foot, the hidden traps worked. Arrows began to fly out of the ground, some stinking smoke went, causing dizziness. Beetles of unknown type appeared, loving to bite.- What good friends you have. How interesting they are able to greet. The wind spirit, watching Jay not very skillfully trying to avoid traps, sneered.- I've seen such friends in a coffin! Will you help me? At least create a shield from the wind of some kind. – Jay gritted his teeth, pulled out two arrows that hit his flesh and, holding his nose, followed on.- Firstly, the traps are not magical. You can handle them perfectly well yourself. – The spirit created a wind around him so that he would not allow the smoke to approach him, silently rejoicing in himself over the misfortunes that had befallen Jay. Having completely forgotten what he wanted to say next.- And secondly? – But Jay didn't forget.- And? Well, yes, secondly... No magic shield can be created in such a small space.- I wouldn't say it's small. I'm free to move around here. But I get what you mean. So there's nothing you can do to help? The wind Spirit remained silent, thereby giving an affirmative answer to Jay's question. "What kind of useless creature? At least once in my life I showed kindness, but no. As always, you have to do everything yourself. Ugh!!" To which he got angry in response and was immediately bitten by a bug that appeared from nowhere. "Is it poisonous?" – He asked the spirit when he did not recognize his appearance.- Let me see. – The wind spirit flew down. "There's poison in them, but it's useless to humans. Unless, of course, several bugs bite you at once. But where did they come from here? Usually this species lives in the east.- I stole it from some seller. The one we are going to, believe me, is capable of this.- Do you think someone will sell them? To get to them, you need to pass the guard. And only a very good magician can do that. And even then, if he passes the guard, then something more interesting awaits him there than these bugs. Unless... - The wind spirit began to look around carefully. Finally noticing something, he said with a tremor in his voice. – Get out of here, now! Let's run! – Turning in the opposite direction, the spirit flew with all his strength.- There is no one here except these bugs. What kind of coward are you? – Jay looked at the fleeing spirit and, shaking his head, continued to crush the bugs. It would seem that no obstacles could prevent a meeting with his enemy. He was serious about meeting today and deciding everything with him today.- Ha! – there was a suspicious sigh from behind, and then, Jay felt someone's stinking breath spread along his neck.- Wind spirit! What a joke! Didn't I warn you about this? – Jay turned around and, seeing not at all who he thought of, turned pale and threw the torch out of his hands. Then he ran in the direction where the spirit had flown. – Wait for me... I'm with you. – Soon catching up with their partner, the two of them, without making a single stop, reached the wagon. And only there they decided to take a breath."Which one of us is a coward now?"- Haa... It was a ghost. Any normal person would be afraid here. He didn't follow us? – Trying to catch his breath, Jay began to look around.- Usually they are tied to a certain place. Although I'm not sure here. I haven't met anyone from the witch clan for a long time. – The spirit was lying on the cart and was looking for a crack where he could hide.- What kind of witch clan is it and how is it connected with it? – Making sure that no one followed them, Jay sat down on the edge of the cart.And although he didn't look so afraid anymore, he still continued to tremble inside. It was a ghost, after all! To believe only...! In this quiet and peaceful world! It seems that today he has a new phobia, in addition to very dark places, he is very afraid of these creatures that do not have any body mass at all. And creepy, transparent ones that have a very bad breath.- Why are you quiet? Tell me. – Jay trembled when he remembered the creature's face and demanded the spirit to speak. There was no way to keep the silence right now.- I'll tell you, but first answer, are you really that scared? – The spirit found a place to hide and soon climbed there, mockingly inquired."Aren't you?" – Jay frowned and decided to switch hands.– No. - seeing how the boy was looking at him, the wind spirit decided to clarify. "I wasn't afraid of him at all, but of the witch behind him. Do you know how they like to eat spirits? Yes, if she had noticed me, she definitely would not have let go, and by the morning I might have been made into a stew. Brr... I hate witches!- As far as I know, we were going to the boy. He's definitely not a girl."Are you sure about that?" Only a witch can summon ghosts. And the same witches never have a boy."Do you doubt me?" Do you think I'm so stupid that I can't tell if it's a girl or a guy? – If a look could be incinerated, Jay would do it right now with the spirit.- How do I know, I draw conclusions from what I have seen and accumulated over a lifetime of experience. But on the other hand, this situation is quite strange. The east is too far from here. How could a witch be here? They live strictly as a clan and never leave it.- Is that what you're asking me? So I don't know. Jay shrugged. At the moment, he understood less even of the same spirit what was happening around him.Initially, he thought that someone from the royal family was involved in everything here. But now that it has become clear that perhaps the leader of the vagabonds is not so simple... the only thing he knows for sure is that worse times may come in the future.- Unpleasant, very unpleasant. Jay said after some thought.- What doesn't suit you? We escaped from a ghost. Don't tell me you wanted to fight him."That's not what I'm talking about. It's just... it looks like I'm going to have to sit down for books. – The Spirit, hearing this, laughed loudly, to which Jay did not react in any way.After all, he knew from the very beginning that this would happen. After all, how could the spirit understand him when he never went to school and did not sit for hours at boring textbooks? And although it's worth admitting in this world, books weren't so boring-it was still a boring theory. Not the practice his soul craved. After all, he can't leave to see a lot with his own eyes. Here, again, money is needed so that there is something to pay for the night, buy food and buy the same camping things. It's only a real madman who wants to go naked and barefoot to see the world. Well, or someone who wants to temper his character. After all, there are a lot of wild animals, bloodthirsty bandits, a nobleman with his cockroaches in his head. Sometimes the same fists against them can do little to help.- Finished laughing? If so, then don't disturb my sleep. – Jay soon calmed down the wind spirit and, freeing himself a place to sleep on the cart, went to sleep. There was still a lot of work to do in the morning, I needed strength.Of course, in the fresh air, and under the buzzing of various beetles, sleep was not so good. But at least when Jay woke up to the sun shining in his face, the lack of sleep was not so clearly felt. Anyway, he didn't want to sleep at every turn. And this is a big plus.First of all, Jay continued his sales of dishes. And although most people, as usual, bought purely out of curiosity. But compared to the evening trade, the morning trade went with a bang. It took only two hours to completely free the entire cart.- No matter what the world is, people always take food on the road. No, I'm still a genius that I installed my diner here. – Jay happily counted the money received from sales and proudly turned his nose up when he had a net profit of as much as thirty percent. He still managed to recapture his loss. He really is a genius. Just one in a million like that.In such a good mood, Jay headed to the market. And apparently today was clearly his day, as the person he had been waiting for finally appeared.- Good afternoon, do you make things according to drawings? – Jay immediately approached the blacksmith."Which one?" The bearded man finished laying out the swords and knives on the table, and still without looking at Jay, began to take out the last item from the bag, an iron arrowhead. He silently handed him a drawing that he always carried with him when leaving the house and patiently waited for the verdict.After some time, after carefully examining the drawing and more or less understanding what it is, the blacksmith asked the following.– It will be quite difficult, but I can. Ore, which would you prefer? Some are of low quality, some are of high quality."Tall," Jay answered without thinking. After all, despite living in the modern world, he knew something about iron ore.Here it is worth saying thanks to one computer game, which he was fond of for a while and learned a lot of little things. For example, the fact that low-quality ore is a by-product left after the base of the ore is dug out in the mine. There is all sorts of dust or damaged fragments that, it would seem, cannot be used anywhere. The items made from it were mostly bought by the poor. Since they were considered to be for free. And nothing that has not served for a long time. In any case, they had enough while they were accumulating money for a better subject. And due to the fact that Jay needs to make a complete heating system, this could not be considered at all. And what if everything melts after a week of work? After all, but hot water, there should always be pipes to drive away, warming the earth. Yes, it is very important for the valves to always turn, thereby regulating the temperature inside the building. Even if Jay's heating system runs on wood or coal, everything must be provided.- It will take about two months, plus you will need a deposit of thirty percent of the principal amount. – Here Jay did not immediately give an answer. He had to think about whether it would be possible to find another blacksmith who would make the heating system faster.Anyway, two months was too long. By winter, he wanted to have time to build several greenhouses, at least four (yes, he had big plans). But this way ... you will get only two, the maximum to do. And that's not so much. If you consider that he needs one to also allow the avocado to overwinter. Then he had only one greenhouse left in free use. And is it possible to walk around with this? There wasn't much to plant for sale there at all.- What is the price? – But before making a final decision, Jay decided to find out how much it would hit his wallet. And when the blacksmith announced the amount, he almost wanted to spit out his lungs.How much did he say?! Yes, it's all his money, except that the amount is still incomplete. If you don't add the next earnings to them. And he still considered himself a genius? He is an insignificant, pitiful beggar man! He's not a damn genius!!!- Okay, I agree. – In the end, Jay agreed and, after making a deposit, arranged a meeting in two weeks to check on how the work was going and ran away from the blacksmith at the first opportunity before he changed his mind. But he could do that at any moment. After all, spending money on something that hasn't happened yet... it's the deadliest blow. – At least go and dig the ore yourself. Such prices... - Jay could hardly stand it and went to see what he could buy with the money he got from the wind spirit. And the same amount that remained from today's profit went into the piggy bank. After all, but now for the final reckoning with the blacksmith, he almost had to collect a coin.Having purchased some of the dishes for the next sale of dishes and construction tools, Jay did not forget about the seeds. If we talk about the latter, then we can say they got him cheap. The man who sold them turned out to be a traveling merchant. His main goods were different types of fabrics. But in order not to lose his profit, he did not disdain to put it on the halts for free from different types of people on the road. Actually, from this trifle, Jay was interested in two things.First, clay pots. He had been looking for them for a couple of months, but it seemed that the era of "clay" in this world had long passed. It was difficult to find anything made of it. If Jay was a potter, he solved this problem on his own a long time ago. But it just so happened that even if he had a lot of knowledge, he didn't know everything in the world. There were things that were simply inaccessible to him. And here, rather, because of the environment where he grew up.His family was engaged in agriculture, traveling and cooking. Even if there were small scientists among them, they all went into this profession in order to facilitate their own work on earth. After all, those who are forced to go out into the field every day know very well how sometimes the fertility of the land, and even the weather can appear on the result of planting. And if we talk about the same modernity, new diseases of various kinds appear every day, which not only reduce the amount of harvest, but may well destroy it. And there are also harmful insects, sometimes it is difficult to get rid of some. And let people, those who have money, can very easily solve this problem by hiring a bunch of specialists or buying equipment. What about the people who live in poor areas, forced to rely on the only piece of land they have to survive?The problem of poverty has always existed, and it was much more difficult to solve it than to make life easier for the poor. Jay's family understood this very well, so they were busy developing not only to increase the survival rate of plants where there were few trace elements in the soil, but also to make their yield two or even three times higher. To say that Jay, in his too young years, took part in this case, perhaps, is superfluous. But it should be clear from this that Jay's horizons weren't that big. And although he, living his second life, seems to be relying only on himself is quite capable of achieving success ... but in fact, alas, this is not so. To gain status and power, he needed other people with their knowledge and experience of life.Therefore, when he finally saw the clay pots he needed, paying for them, he did not forget to ask the merchant where he got them from. The man was not a fool and immediately realized that he was interested in their delivery. But since this kind of business did not really attract him, besides, for one client to try ... it was too cheap for him. He explained that he had purchased it in the village of Goncharov, explaining its location.Jay, when he heard how far away she was from here, was upset. It's a month's journey! It is absolutely unthinkable to spend so much time on the road, especially when the cold is in a hurry to come. But I took note of it, I couldn't do without clay pots any more in the future. After all, with the help of them it was possible to save on many ingredients in cooking. There is one brine for impregnating meat, you can use it ten or even more times.In total, he took more seeds, which he had no idea about at all. They were packed in thick paper, and to be honest, the merchant himself did not know what was there. But Jay was not confused by this fact. After all, but with his biography... he was quite sure that he knew a bunch of dishes where this or that product could be used. Therefore, with special joy, I took all three bags at a low price and hurried out of the city with a cart loaded completely with goods.And then, as soon as they were in a deserted place, the wind spirit activated its magic and brought them home by evening. Where Jay, as soon as his feet touched the ground, went to bed without delay. Not even knowing that someone was missing again.