Read Novel Full Vol 22 Chapter 7
Vol 22 Chapter 7
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Chapter 7 – A Happy Problem
We spent the night in a castle in the Mermaid Kingdom, and the next morning, I asked Camille-san about the special products of Beastman City. As expected, we didn’t come up with any ideas that we could start right away, but we did come up with some ideas that we could probably implement in the future, such as millet, tomatoes, and poultry. After that, we went to the market for sightseeing, and Camille-san inspected the market with great seriousness. While I had just thought of tempura when I saw the seafood.
The seafood I bought was to be delivered alive to the castle later, so I lightened my load and headed to the next tourist spot. But I had a new problem to deal with.
There were monkfish for sale at the market, and I bought them on a whim. Three of them, in fact.
Monkfish are delicious, but I don’t know how to cook them. So I decided to keep one whole and use it as a gift for the God of Gastronomy-sama and to have the castle cooks clean the other two.
What should I do with them? Monkfish hot pot is a given, but I’ve also heard of monkfish tempura. In my mind, monkfish is more associated with fried food than tempura.
The monkfish I bought was quite large, so it wouldn’t be a problem if I made both dishes by separating the meat, but I feel like making fried food would detract from the main theme of tempura, so I don’t really want to do that.
But I do want to eat fried monkfish.
I also wonder what to do with the fish liver… There are different ways to enjoy it, so it’s a difficult choice.
It’s a difficult but happy problem, but since it’s a problem, it’s also a problem that I can’t concentrate on sightseeing. I’m always worrying.
Next, the mermaid soldiers took us to a place where mermaids gather.
This was the result of Camille-san’s wish to see the daily life of mermaids and how they enjoy themselves.
We arrived at the Mermaid Square.
Since mermaids are mainly interested in swimming, the ground of the plaza is relatively simple, but there are several facilities that you wouldn’t find in an ordinary ground-level plaza, so it’s quite interesting.
First, there are the clay pipes.
Large clay pipes, like the ones you’d see piled up in the empty lots of old-timey anime, are piled up all over the plaza. [T/n: Like in Doraemon?]
Young mermaids play happily in the holes, but it seems that they are not really playthings, and you can also see adult mermaids lying in the pipes and chatting.
The pipes also seem to be used as benches. It certainly seems like the pipes would be more comfortable for mermaids, but it feels like the nature of fish is being brought to the fore, and I can’t help but feel a certain way about it.
There are also a few floating stalls that are not as densely packed as in the market.
Perhaps the floating stalls play the role of the mobile food stalls that appear in parks and the like.
“Wataru-san, there doesn’t seem to be anything of particular interest here, so why don’t we split up and go our separate ways?”
After checking the situation in the square, Camille-san suggests that we go our separate ways. She seems to want to be able to move around freely.
Even if we split up, Ines and Felicia will be with me, and the soldiers will also be with me.
“If we split up just to be safe, that’s fine. Marina and the others should stay with Camille-san.”
Since it’s not a dangerous place, I accepted the suggestion, and we decided to split up.
“Ines, Felicia, Rimu, and Pent, is there any place you’re interested in?”
“Kyukyu.”
As I asked, Pent began to lead us, squeaking happily. The destination was a stack of three clay pipes.
Pent seemed very interested in the clay pipes.
When we arrived at the clay pipes, Pent slipped into the top pipe and looked at us. It looked like he was smiling smugly.
Or rather, he looked more like a moray eel than a sea serpent.
Perhaps inspired by Pent, Rimu also wiggled his tiny tail and slid into the pipe.
But Pent’s gaze never left me.
No doubt he wanted me to join him in the pipe.
It was a little embarrassing, but since Pent had invited me, I decided to join him.
Ines and Felicia looked at me, saying, “What? You’re going in?” as I entered the pipe.
Ah, the subtle darkness is a bit relaxing.
It’s like the feeling you get when you make a secret base in a closet when you’re a kid. It’s a feeling that makes you a little excited and nervous, and once you get used to it, it will probably go away, but the feeling of relief will probably continue.
“Ines and Felicia, you should come in as well.”
“Huh?”
Ines sounds like she doesn’t want to, and Felicia looks worried. I know how they feel, but we’re all in this together, so we’ll share the shame together.
Well, it seems to be a normal thing for mermaids, so it’s not really a shame.
“Ah, it’s so relaxing.”
“Yes, it feels like playing in a hollow tree in the forest.”
They didn’t look like they liked it, but maybe their childish curiosity was piqued, and Ines and Felicia seemed to enjoy it as well.
It’s also a bit funny that Ines and Felicia are lying on their backs, and I’m lying face down.
Since we’re underwater, there’s no strain on the body, and it feels really easy to talk.
I’m starting to think it would be nice to just relax and wait for Camille-san and the others to finish their sightseeing.
We relaxed, but Rimu seemed to get bored, so he started swimming around the square, so we decided to continue our sightseeing.
Camille-san was looking at the shops, so we decided to go somewhere else.
Huh? There are some mermaid kids gathered over there, but what are they doing?
As we approached to take a closer look, we saw that there were a lot of pretty little fish gathered around the children.
There is some kind of powder coming out of the children’s hands, and it seems that they are attracting the little fish with bait. It’s like feeding the pigeons in the park.
The children don’t make a fuss, but their faces look very happy and cute.
As I watched them smiling, one of the children began to move slowly, scattering the bait.
The other children seem to have stopped scattering the bait.
Then, as if directing the school of small fish, the children move toward a fine-mesh basket…or rather, cage.
The child scattering the bait and guiding the school throws the bait he is holding into the basket. A school of small fish follows the food into the basket, and one of the children mercilessly closes the lid of the basket.
“Yay, we have more snacks!” “This fish is pretty tasty, isn’t it?” “I like it!”
The mermaid children begin to make a fuss.
It seems they weren’t just playing with the fish; they were working hard to secure their own snacks.
The law of the jungle. It’s the natural order of things, but it’s a little sad to see such a harsh side of life among the children.
…Let’s look at another place.
…I think that’s it… The life of the mermaids today is full of vitality and peace, but there are many times when you can see glimpses of the harshness of reality.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Wataru-san.”
While I was lost in thought about the harshness of reality, Camille-san, who had been acting separately, returned.
It seems that she had a fulfilling inspection, and her smile seems to be shining.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yes, I got some interesting information.”
“Information?”
“Yes. I was told where to find the places where the shells that hold the pearls grow in clusters. I can’t get them myself, but they’re good enough to trade.”
Pearls. They certainly seem like they’d be worth money, but I think the Aquamarine Kingdom also deals in pearls, so there’s competition. Or maybe Camille-san doesn’t need to be so specific about the Aquamarine Kingdom.
It’s possible to do good business in Southern City and Cagliari.
If she were to wholesale pearls to Southern City and Cagliari and then buy some kind of product there, she might be able to establish a large economic zone.
I wonder if the Mermaid Kingdom would sneak in there. Well, I’m also curious about the fish I bought, so I think it’s time to go back to the castle.
＊＊＊
“How would you like the fish to be prepared?”
“Oh, please prepare it with the back cut open.”
When I returned and checked the fish that had been delivered, I asked the castle cook to prepare the monkfish, but I also asked him to prepare the other fish.
I thought they would cut them more beautifully than I could, so I got greedy and started being impertinent.
“Hey, you’re using a different knife. Is it a special knife?”
The question was asked by Claretta-san, who has a keen nose for things related to cooking and followed me without saying anything.
“It’s unusual, isn’t it? Isn’t it made of metal?”
It has a strange sheen, and even though it’s beautiful and white, it doesn’t feel right like a knife. I had made a knife recently, so why didn’t I notice it until I was told?
“Yes, it’s difficult to work with metal in the sea, so this knife is made from the shell of a magical shellfish… a monster shellfish.”
A shellfish, and a monster shellfish at that, so the shell must be really tough.
“Can you use it on land? How sharp is it?”
“It seems that it was used for business on land in the past, so I think you can use it. As for sharpness, the skill of the whetstone sharpener is important. If it’s made by a good sharpener, it will have great sharpness”.
I wonder why… even though I’ve just made something amazing like an orichalcum knife, I really want the shellfish knife.
“Can I buy one too?”
Claretta-san got hooked on the knives, too. They’re so cool, you want to have one.
I want to show the shellfish knife to the God of Gastronomy-sama along with the orichalcum knife, offer up the monkfish, and be praised endlessly.
“Do you want to buy one? They’re unique, so there aren’t many, but we sell them. Shall I call the seller to the castle?”
“Oh, no, I’d like to go to the store. Could you tell me where it is? Is that alright with you, Claretta?”
I’m grateful that they’re bringing the goods to me, but I feel bad and can’t relax, so if possible, I’d prefer to visit the shop in person.
“Yes, of course. Shall we go now?”
“…No, we just got back today, let’s do it tomorrow.”
I haven’t had the monkfish prepared yet, so it would be a problem to go now.
“…Yes, it’s too sudden today.”
Claretta-san, who looks a little disappointed, is cute.
I feel like this visit to the Mermaid Kingdom has been a fulfilling visit in a different way.
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