Songstress of Schwarzwald: The Secret of Zoe, the Exiled Music Mage Chapter 63 : This Might Take All Winter!

I’m making the rounds, felling trees along the edge of the Great Forest.

The people from the nearby villages and towns are hard at work logging, too, so I’ve started venturing a little deeper into the woods. I also make a point of collecting all the leftover roots from the trees they’ve cut down.

After I fell a tree, I trim its branches and stack the logs. I could dry them with magic, but the lumber turns out better if you let it season naturally for a while.

I’ve even made a proper clearing just beyond the cabin’s ward by felling all the trees there.

“It’s so nice with the light streaming in!”

It’s much prettier with dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves here and there than it is in the gloomy, overgrown parts of the forest.

The only downside to making a clearing is that it’s beco sothing of a monster magnet.

Just today, while I was busy chopping down trees, a whole herd of Big Elks showed up. Venison is super great for stews, but I really don’t need an entire herd of it.

With a few quick Air Cutters, I sliced their necks clean off. Then I tied their legs with rope to let them bleed out properly.

Oh, that reminds , I gotta go back to the guild to get my rope!

I could try to braid my own out of straw, but the ones I make tend to snap easily.

“Honestly, can’t you even braid a proper rope?” That’s what Selina said to … but I bet she can’t do it either.

“You could strengthen it by mixing in so thread from a spider monster!” she’d suggested.

Ugh, she knows perfectly well I’m not a fan of bugs!

I just ignored her and bought rope instead.

Anyway, now I have all this venison! It won’t go bad in my Storage, but the problem is we’ll get sick of eating venison and nothing else.

Selina, in particular, is firmly in the Pyrebird camp.

I’ll sell it to Maggie’s food shop! I could probably sell so to the general store in Lang Village, too.

I make quick work of butchering the Big Elks and head back to the cabin for a bit.

Selina has developed quite the refined palate lately, so if I’m serving venison, she’ll probably want it stewed in wine.

We’re out of wine, though, which ans I have to go to Carlton anyway.

Sitting at the table, I start wrapping chunks of venison for the food shop in Lulu leaves. They grow all over the Great Forest, even in winter.

I wonder if I could sell these, too?

I decide on five large chunks for Maggie’s shop and a smaller piece as a little gift for the old apothecary.

I’ll take the hides to the general store in Lang Village! And if I give them a small piece of at as a thank-you, maybe they’ll give a better price for the pelts.

I put half of our share away in the pantry. Storing at in my Storage keeps it from spoiling, but it doesn’t let it age.

Since it’s winter, it’ll be fine on the pantry shelf. Once we finish this batch, I’ll move the next load from Storage into the pantry.

“Can’t you adjust the ti inside your Storage?” Selina asks from where she’s watching , a hint of mockery in her voice.

“That wasn’t in any of the textbooks,” I retort. And she certainly never taught .

“You can use it to age at, you know. If you get good enough, you can even fernt wine! Why don’t you grow so grapes next year and try making so?”

I feel like I’m straying further and further from being a proper witch.

“We can just buy wine!”

I am not taking on another project!

Besides, I’m only ten, so I can’t drink wine anyway.

You gotta be fifteen to be considered an adult here and drink openly. Though I’ve definitely seen kids who look younger than fifteen drinking ale in the tavern next to the Adventurers’ Guild.

The rules for ale are pretty relaxed since the alcohol content is so low.

“But if you could make wine, you’d also have wine vinegar and all sorts of other delicious seasonings,” Selina tempts .

Ugh, she knows my weakness.

In my past life, I’d job-changed from a carefree elentary-schooler with idol dreams to a proper young lady aiming for a music conservatory.

My family must’ve been rich, because my mories are full of traveling around and eating the most amazing food.

I especially rember taking lessons with a master overseas and indulging in an endless feast of gourt dishes. Sure, the lessons were grueling, but oh, how I envy that life!

One of my parents’ hobbies was visiting wine cellars!

In that world, you couldn’t drink at fifteen, either. But I got completely hooked on a seasoning called balsamic vinegar. It sounded so delicious!

And in a mont of weakness, I’d asked Selina, a forr noble, if she knew about it.

“I think they sell balsamic vinegar in the Royal Capital?” Selina had tilted her head. “Luxury items like that aren’t sold in regular shops, I’m afraid.”

Agh… Maybe planting grapes next year wouldn’t be so bad. I bet the juice would be delicious, too.

In any case, to buy a used wagon and a horse, I need a lot more lumber.

This might just take all winter!