Published at 27th of March 2023 9:23 am

Chapter 308: Souvenir Time

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

「So, what kind of souvenirs did you bring this time?」

After we drink the fruit juice and as soon as we calm down enough, Torr asked with a look filled with expectation.

His gaze was mainly focused on the huge wooden box and bag, he appears to be genuinely looking forward to what was going to come out of them.

The same goes for Asmo beside him, it’s as though he’s trying to see through the inside of the wooden box and bag.

I guess, the main highlight of this time’s souvenirs is the dried fish. However, the others souvenir will be overshadowed if I show that first so let’s start with something with the lowest value.

「Okay, okay, then this is the first one」

I take out a small wooden box from the bag, and open it so that Torr and Asmo can see what’s inside.

There were pretty seashells and magic core fragments inside.

「What’s this? Seashells?」

「That’s right. They are seashells gathered from the sea. Their rainbow color is pretty, aren’t they?」

「Haaー, they sure shine and sparkle. So these are seashells from the sea, huh?」

Torr picks up the seashell and stares at them looking interested.

Koryatt village also has small shellfish, but they can’t be eaten. They smell of mud and small, and can’t be used as food.

It would be a fresh experience for them to be able to see large and pretty shells since there are almost no big shells like the ones from the sea.

Truthfully, I think this alone is the best present to give others after you went to the sea.

As I think of such a thing, Asmo asks me.

「……hey, Al. What’s the content of the shells?」

「There’s none」

I thought he will ask that since it’s Asmo we’re talking about. He still cares about the content even though there is such a beautiful seashell in front of him like this.

Do you have no interest in pretty things, even if a little?

「What’s this transparent thing then?」

「Ahh, that’s magic stone fragments. This is what happens when magic stones are washed away into the sea and got eroded」

「Heeー, so it’s like that. This kind of thing will be going to make women happy」

「Well, you can decorate your room with these or just give it to someone else, I don’t care」

Women will be pleased with these kinds of pretty things after all. I think the two of them won’t have the hobby of staring at such a thing so it’d be fine if they just use it to make some deals with the women in the village.

「Hmー, I’ll decorate my room with this then. It’s the precious souvenir I got from you after all」

「It’s a valuable thing since there are none of these in Koryatt village」

They’re saying nice things surprisingly, aren’t they? As someone who prepares the souvenirs, I will also be happy if you say something like that. I mean, I just gathered them from the beach casually.

I’m glad it’s the magic core fragments that were prepared and processed by Kuina, right?

「Now then, next will be the foodstuffs you’ve all been waiting for」

「「Ooh!」」

It got a little awkward so I said that to collect myself together to change the topic from seashells and magic core fragments to food.

As the two of them are looking at me with gazes of expectation, I take out two jars from the bag.

「Right, try opening these. They are both different foods」

Expecting to see their reaction, I urge them to open the jars on purpose.

「I’m gonna open this one, Asmo you open that one!」

「Okay!」

Immediately after that, the two of them opened the jars together with genuine-looking expressions.

At that moment, a fishy smell peculiar to fish and an intense smell of salt come out from the closed jars.

「Ugyaaaaa! What is this!」

「Uuh, the smell is so strong!」

Surprised as they smelled the dried fish and small crabs from up close, Torr and Asmo move away from the jars.

「Hey, this smells so intense. Oi Asmo, open the window!」

「But, the cold air will escape if I do that!」

They want to ventilate the room since the smell of the dried fish is so intense, but then the cold air will escape from the room and the heat will enter if they open the window.

From Torr and Asmo’s perspective, both options would be nothing but hell, isn’t it?

「That’s right! Oi, Al. What the heck is this! Is this really food!?」

「Ahaha, they are preserved food made by processing fish and small crabs you know. The smell is intense but they are usually delicious. I can ventilate the room with magic and make it cooler so just try it first」

When I said that while laughing at them, the two of them fearfully approaches the jars.

Torr was scared of the smell and won’t pick it up, but Asmo has a strong passion for food so it seems that his curiosity won over him. He put his hand on the jar and grabbed a small crab.

The small crab Asmo took has gone through the color of bright red in every way, as it has become brown, perhaps because it is soaked in things like salt, sauce, and sunlight. And there is also a strong crab smell drifting.

「O, oi, are you going to eat that?」

While Torr watch him with a worried face, Asmo put the small crab into his mouth in one go.

Every time Asmo chews on it, satisfying crunchy and grating sounds like when you break shells to pieces can be heard.

「……ah, it’s good! This has a richer flavor compared to the crabs found in Koryatt village’s river, the more I chew on this, the more the taste oozes out!」

「That’s cause it’s dried. So the taste is concentrated」

「And the texture is also satisfying. You should also try it too Torr, don’t be scared」

「Wh, who’s the scared one!」

I guess he was provoked by Asmo - who showed him how he confidently eats it - that Torr decides to also reach out for a small crab in the jar, and then he throws it into his mouth.

「It is indeed tasty! Setting aside the smell and impression I got when I look into the jar, the taste is really exquisite」

Ahaha, I understand him a bit he got a little scared after seeing the small crabs crammed together and covering everything inside the jar.

You’re going to scream a bit if you don’t know that the content is small crabs when you look into it.

「So, the other one is fish from the sea?」

「Un. It contains various fish from the sea like, horse mackerel or chub mackerel」

「Horse mackerel? Chub mackerel?」

Torr tilted his head to the side when I listed two types of fish inside the jar.

「It’s the name of the sea fish」

「Heeー, I don’t understand it at all but, it doesn’t matter what kind of fish they are if it’s from the sea」

I’m sure there are several more fish inside, but for Torr and Asmo - who don’t really understand sea fish -, they won’t understand it even if I talk about them in detail.

Anyway, they would just be happy if they tastes different from river fish.

And perhaps it’s due to the confidence they got after trying the tasty small crabs that Torr and Asmo confidently take the dried fish without being scared.

「Uooohhh! What the heck is this? They’re flat?」

Ahaha, dried fish is basically fish being cut open after all, so the impact of seeing them so suddenly will be great.

「It will be hard to eat them all, so you can try tasting them after cutting them into small pieces」

「O, ou, right」

Of course, there is a small one inside there, but the ones those two picked up are the big ones. So it’s fine to cut some parts into small pieces and eat them.

As Torr and Asmo pull the edge of the dried fish, it comes off as if it peels from the fish.

Their color is tinged with brown due to being soaked in things like sunlight and salt. Just seeing them alone already reminds me of the rich taste of fish.

Torr and Asmo slowly put the peeled-off meat into their mouth.

「Ahh, this one is also delish! So this is the taste of sea fish!」

「It has a strong taste different from the usual grilled river fish we have」

As soon as they eat the dried fish, Torr and Asmo’s eyes open wide and they let out voices of admiration.

Seeing the two of them eating the fish deliciously makes me also want to eat them a bit.

「……hey, give me a bite」

「Ah, this guy! You have a lot of these in your own house, didn’t you!」

「But I want to eat them now even if I have them back home! Else this will be your last souvenir!」

「Wait, can’t be helped then!」

When I threaten him like that, Torr gives me a dried fish with a reluctant expression on his face. Incidentally, Asmo will keep on holding his food rather than giving it to others even if he dies.

Un, I’m not expecting any scrap of food from you Asmo, so don’t worry about it.

So Torr’s dried fish is horse mackerel?

I tear off a small piece of horse mackerel-dried fish with my hand and continue to bring it to my mouth.

As soon as it enters my mouth, a rich smell of the sea pierces through my mouth, and when I chew on it, the concentrated umami of the horse mackerel seeps out.

「Delicious. The pure umami taste is much better compared to eating the fish being grilled normally」

Kuh, it would be even better if I could drink Kagura sake in one gulp after the salty taste remains in my mouth. Fresh seafood dishes and Kagura’s sake have excellent compatibility after all.

Dang it, I only store liquor and snacks in my subspace. It’s still a faraway dream for me from being able to confidently drink liquor after a meal.

「So, Al. What’s inside the last box!」

As I’m eating the dried horse mackerel, Torr hit the wooden box as if he couldn’t wait anymore.

Asmo touches and sniffs the wooden box and mutters something like 「It’s cold things I guess.....」 with a serious expression on his face.

「Okay. Let’s open the last highlight of the souvenir this time」

After saying that, I open the lid of the wooden box.

There were the ices I made with Ice magic inside. And a lot of frozen fish inside the box.

「Uuoooohhh! It’s the real sea fish this time!」

「There are a lot of them!」

Torr and Asmo’s eyes are sparkling bright as they look into the box.

Small fish are frozen with Ice magic as is, while largish fish are frozen after their head and internal organs are processed. They are frozen in a temperature that can be called a minus degree (Celcius), and since they are stored inside the subspace, their degree of freshness is also still perfect.

「Oi oi, this makes the dried fish you gave us before like a fake one isn’t it」

「Err, I know what you mean, but it’s different from the one before since it was flat」

Well, it’s obvious which one among them has a fish-like appearance.

As I look at Toor with a smile on my face, Asmo asks me with a serious look.

「……this, how do you eat them?」

「You can grill the small fish with just salt if you don’t mind their bones that much, the internal organs of the medium-sized fish had been processed and removed so you can insert a knife from their stomach and only grill their body, stuff vegetables into their stomach as is, or stew them with oil-based sauce」

「I see. Understood」

「Eh? But I completely have no idea what Al is saying though?」

While Asmo usually cooks, it looks like Torr - who doesn’t cook at all - really couldn’t imagine my explanation.

「Just ask your neighbor, Asmo for the details」

I don’t feel like cooking that much today. It’s troublesome to teach them attentively for each step.

It would be faster to ask his neighbor, Asmo.

「Oi Asmo, tell me about it」

「If you get down on your knees, and say ‘Asmo-sama, please teach this stupid guy how to cook’ I will teach you then」

「Stop kidding around you fatty! Who’s going to say something like that to you!」

「Hahaha, you’ll be in a fix even if you have fish but don’t know how to cook, you know? I think Myula-san will be angry at you, saying ‘Why didn’t you ask him properly’ or soー」

「Gugugugu, it’s cowardly of you to quote my kaachan」

Although he knows a little bit about the trick in river fish, he’s sure to be nervous dealing with foodstuff for the first time. From Myula-san’s perspective - the one in charge of cooking -, she’d probably get mad at him if he didn’t ask him properly.

「I’m sorry. Excuse me, I’m a little thirsty so I will get some wate――ahh, it’s cool but why is it smelly!? What is this smell!?」

As we are having such a conversation, Myula-san opened the window at just the right time. And along with that, the smell of dried fish and frozen fish has left the room, while Myula-san is surprised and steps back.

「Ahー, come to think of it, we still hadn’t ventilated the room」

「We got used to the smell and stopped minding it」

「Yeah, me too」

「It’s not ‘get used to it’. Quickly open the windows and change the air inside! Else the smell will permeate the room!」

As we are sitting there without a care in the world about the smell, Myula-san entered the living room through the window while covering her mouth with a towel, then she continues to open the windows inside.

「But kaachan, it’s hot. We’ll do it properly later, so leave us alone」

「Then it will be too late if you do it later!」

Torr complains so, but Myula-san doesn’t bother with him and opens the windows directly.

The cold air drifting inside the room escapes outside, and in exchange, the air that was filled with hot air enters the room.

「Really, just what is this smell?」

「It’s the dried fish Al brought」

「Kyaa!? Wait a minute, what is that?」

When Torr grabbed the dried fish from the jar and showed it to her, Myula-san lets out a small scream in response.

Since dried fish has the body of the fish spread out wide open, it will look grotesque at a glance.

Setting us who had already become familiar with the flavor aside, for Myula-san - who saw it for the first time - the shock might be too great.

Knowing Myula-san’s surprise at the dried fish, Torr approaches Myula-san with a mischievous smile on his face.

「Hehehe, this is sea fish y’know. This is also the first time you saw it right, kaachan? Here, take a look at this!」

「Hey, stop it! Don’t come closer with that! It makes me sick!」

「Hahahaha, kaachan will be scared as long as I have this!」

I know his feeling of wanting to do so, but do it in moderation all right.

After that, of course, Torr got scolded by Myula-san, and it seems that Ema-oneesama also scolds him since there is the remaining smell of dried fish inside the room. But, it appears that the dried fish was well received by them.

here

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