Claire was a businesswoman. She was already thinking of hauling back higher ranked creatures as soon as she stabilized her trade in this world. But she didn’t want to sound so eager, lest she would be cheated.
"So," she began, trying to sound casual, "what’s the difference between the creatures I have been buying and the higher ranked ones? Fifth, fourth, third.... all the way up?"
Vidar’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Ah, you ask the right question. The difference is not merely taste or size...it is what they give. Each rank of creature in water or land carries a unique property, valued differently by nobles, knights, and mages."
He lifted a finger, as if lecturing in a grand hall instead of a carriage. "Sixth rank edible creatures are basically undesirable. They provide no energy to mages, no strength to knights and don’t smell enticing. Their taste is considered coarse." He tilted his head curiously. "I cannot understand why you keep trading it for precious food."
Claire couldn’t tell him the truth and suddenly share the value of sixth rank creatures to her. So, she smiled deceptively. "I have a friend trying to farm them."
Vidar raised a brow. "Farm them? Who farms what the sea gives unconditionally?"
She looked out of the carriage window and sighed. "A mage with too much money and so much land."
Paddy barked twice and growled. Vidar and Claire looked out of the window. Vidar’s mount was now running beside the carriage. That was what drew Paddy’s attention.
"Well....if it benefits the people in the sixth-tier cities, I am all for it. I support your friend." Vidar laughed gesturing at Paddy. "Your mount is always trying to threaten others. It is small in size, but big in spirit."
Claire laughed in response. "Yeah, that’s our Paddy. Big in spirit." She patted the dog’s head slowly.
"So, first rank creatures," Vidar said, his voice reverent, "are divine. Their flesh is said to taste like food meant for the gods. One bite can make a man weep with joy. There is only so much to go around, and it cannot be found outside a first-tier city. Nobles hoard them, not only for flavor but for vanity--many claim it makes their skin glow like the sun. Some even say it tightens the skin."
Claire snorted. "So basically, magical botox."
Vidar blinked, unfamiliar with the word, but smiled anyway. "If it means tight skin with no wrinkles, then yes." He continued on directly, "second rank creatures are prized for strength. Knights eat them before battle. A single bite can double a man’s stamina. Some say it makes the fearless, though I suspect that is just the ale they drink alongside it. Food cannot give you courage or take away fear."
Claire nodded. "I agree. I am also summing second rank creatures up as protein shakes with claws."
Paddy sneezed, which Claire interpreted as agreement.
"Third rank creatures," Vidar said, "are for guts. They cleanse the body and make digestion smoother. A man who eats them regularly rarely suffers from certain illnesses. Physicians call it medicinal food and prescribe them like medicine."
Claire tilted her head. "So... magical probiotics. Yogurt with teeth and feet."
Vidar did not understand, but he just got the feeling that it was funny and he chuckled. "You have strange comparisons, Miss Claire."
She shrugged in response.
"Fourth rank creatures," he went on, "are for the mind. They sharpen memory, awaken creativity. Scholars and poets fight over them like enemy knights on a battlefield. One poet ate a fourth rank eel once and wrote three hundred verses in a single night."
Claire grinned. "So....coffee. Slimy, scaly, coffee. Or could be brain boosters."
Vidar raised a hand. "Lastly, fifth rank creatures," his tone grew serious. "They are rare and contain energy that only mages can absorb. Eating them is useless for ordinary folk, but for us, it is power itself."
Claire’s eyes widened. "So... cheat codes."
The mage frowned, puzzled. "Cheat....codes?"
"Never mind," Claire said quickly, suppressing a laugh. "Where can I buy these amazing sea creatures?"
Vidar laughed outright this time, shaking his head. "Miss Claire, I am afraid that you will be disappointed. Sixth rank creatures are abundant and considered pests. They breed near the Abyssal Sea where magic runs wild. To the empire, they are a nuisance. The higher ranked creatures do not breed easily; it is why nobles hoard them. Why the poor cannot afford to eat them."
Claire leaned forward. "Noted. I will stick to sixth rank creatures for now." At the end of the day, she would still earn heavily from them. The fact that they bred easily was a benefit for her. As for other things, she would have to consider them later.
The carriage slowed. Through the carriage window, Claire saw a lake shimmering under the sun. Its surface rippled with faint currents. Men trudged along its banks and through the reeds, carrying baskets loaded with smooth white eggs. Claire leaned closer, frowning. Instead of storing them, the men dumped the eggs into a roaring incinerator. Flames licked high, smoke curling into the sky.
"I thought the people in Driswen were starving. What are those men doing?" She asked.
Vidar’s tone was matter of fact. "Destroying them. Those eggs belong to the loud beaked birds. They multiply too quickly, devouring crops, fouling the water. If unchecked, they would overrun the city."
He pointed across the water. Claire followed his finger and froze. A group of creatures waddled along the shore, feathers glossy, beaks broad and unmistakable. Their familiar quacking made her heart beat a little faster. These creatures came in all colors, but there was no mistaking what they were.
Her jaw dropped. "Those...are ducks."
Vidar inclined his head. "That must be what they call them where you come from. Here, they are pests. Dangerous in swarms. I have seen them poke eyes out of men in fights."
But Claire did not see pests--she saw profit. Ducks meant meat, eggs, feathers.
A man dumped another basket of duck eggs into the incinerator.
Claire’s pulse hammered. "Stop!" she cried, shoving open the carriage door. Paddy barked furiously, leaping after her as she sprinted toward the men. "Don’t burn them! You are throwing away my money!"