I'm in a third rate cliche and boring novel, aren't I?
The Lyrians who sell food for high prices are basically making a windfall of money. But, the problem is that it's extremely risky.
Seven out of ten times, they're found by a level two monster and eaten brutally while they're traversing the dangerous forest called Erlin.
They can escape from the level two monster though, if they are traveling through the forest as a group, and they can be heartless enough to throw their companions to the level two monster before escaping.
But, if they're luck is extremely bad, and even the gods themselves wants them dead, then they can encounter a level three monster.
Encountering these is the same thing as dying. You won't escape. More like you can't. You might as well just give up and not waste your energy running.
Encountering level three monsters is extremely rare as they do not come out onto the roads or paths that people use to travel frequently.