"So, is it okay if I take this?"
"Buhi!"
What I received from the baby was a dragon eggshell. According to Namitarou, baby dragons eat the shell of the egg they were born in right away, but apparently there are rare cases—like this Behemoth baby—where they don't want to eat it.
"I don't know what I could use it for, but I'll gratefully accept it."
I couldn't think of any particular use for it, but since it was an ancient dragon's eggshell, it would undoubtedly fetch an outrageous price... That's when it hit me—I'd completely forgotten what happened to Solomon's eggshell. But knowing Solomon, he probably ate every last bit of it.
"Well then, I'm borrowing the Dimension Bag. Come on, Bon, say goodbye—gyaaaah!"
"Biiii!"
When Namitarou tried to have the baby say goodbye by placing a pectoral fin on its head, the baby apparently didn't want to be touched by Namitarou, whom it disliked, and clamped down hard on the fin.
"A-Ah... Nami-chan's, Nami-chan's beautiful fin is chipped... Oh well, no big deal. It'll grow back soon enough."
While tossing off something so carefree, Namitarou stuffed the baby into the Dimension Bag and climbed into the carriage driven by Kurif. They were going to be taken by carriage to a nearby river from the Royal Capital. I'd prepared food for the journey myself, but since they didn't know how much the baby would eat, Namitarou was eager to procure as much as possible locally.
"Well then, see ya! Come on, Bon, you too."
"Biiii~!"
Following Namitarou, the baby also let out what it called a goodbye—the same ear-splitting ultrasonic screech. Thanks to that, Jeanne, Amur, and the others who had gathered at the entrance to see them off—along with Maria and the rest who had stuck around since they were already there—were all clutching their ears in agony. Well, the one suffering the most was Namitarou, followed by Kurif... but the creatures hit hardest were the two horses pulling the carriage. They were sturdy beasts, but the baby's ultrasonic wave knocked them out cold on their feet. Fortunately, they fainted before they could panic and thrash about, so the horses weren't hurt and nothing in the surroundings was damaged. It was a good thing the Golem had rushed to support them on my orders right away. But regardless, the fact remained that we no longer had horses to pull the carriage. So,
"It can't be helped. In that case, I'll take them on Raiden."
That's what we ended up deciding. I probably should have done this from the start, but there was a chance the baby would get fussy again if I took them, which was exactly why I'd asked Kurif in the first place.
"I'm sorry about this, especially since I had already agreed to take them on."
Kurif seemed unsteady from the ultrasonic wave's aftereffects and lamented being unable to drive the carriage.
The baby, overjoyed to learn it could stay together with us a little longer, started emitting even more ultrasonic waves, but Namitarou shoved it deep into the bag and clamped its mouth shut, so the damage wasn't nearly as bad as before.
"Well then, I'm heading out for a bit. Slarin, Shiromaru, Solomon—how about we go for a walk while we're at it?"
As soon as I said that, the three climbed into the carriage one after another. Amour and Jeanne tried to follow, but the baby—locked inside the bag—forced its head out and postured threateningly, so they gave up. Instead,
"Tama-chan, you want to come along? Merry and Allie too? Juu-bei and Hiro as well?"
For once, Tama-chan and the others wanted to go outside. I figured why not and was about to take them along, but Juu-bei's family couldn't fit into the carriage, so they'd have to travel in the Dimension Bag.
"From here, you can swim all the way to the sea! Well then, see ya later!"
"Byeee!"
As soon as Namitarou finished its greeting, it dove into the water and swam downstream.
"Every single time Namitarou shows up, it gets noisy. All right then, first things first—let's collect the fish."
After Namitarou and the others left, the baby's final ultrasonic wave had caused fish to float to the surface all across the river.
"Solomon, you keep watch from the sky. Shiromaru, use your nose and legs to guard Juu-bei's family. Slarin, you're with me for the fish collection."
I gave each of them their orders and sent Juu-bei's family, along with Merry and Allie, outside. As long as Juu-bei was around, there was no way any Monsters or wild animals near the Royal Capital could get the better of them, but honestly, those were less scary than adventurers. From an outsider's perspective, what they'd be looking at was the finest prize walking right by. Just to be safe, I had Juu-bei's family wear collars so it'd be clear they had owners, but when faced with such an extraordinary catch as a White-furred wild ox, some people would be too excited to notice. And if someone was particularly unsavory, they might spot the collars, ignore them entirely, and attack anyway—claiming they thought the beasts were invasive species or that they hadn't noticed.
"I'll have Shiromaru and the others stay on guard, and I'll keep my eye out too, but don't wander too far. If you sense anything strange, call out immediately and run to where I am or to Juu-bei's side. Got it?"
I told Tama-chan, Merry, and Allie, and whether they actually understood or not, all three of them cried back in response. Then they charged straight into the tall grass. I was still a bit worried, so I sent out a few Golems to beef up the security a notch.
"All right, Juu-bei, I'm counting on you too. But don't overdo the vigilance—getting stressed out from being too on edge defeats the purpose, so just keep it balanced."
"Brum!"
Juu-bei answered with a powerful "Leave it to me!" kind of tone, so I headed off to collect the fish.
"Looks like some of them recovered and got away. Slarin, ignore the ones that look muddy and gross—we'll start by catching the ones that look tasty!"
With that, I activated Flight and hovered in midair, while Slarin settled atop a large boulder nearby.
"This one looks like a relative of the trout. Is this a sweetfish? I'll let the crucian carp go, but the koi… I'll keep those."
I used magic to fill the inside of the Dimension Bag with water and began placing the fish inside.
"That takes care of the catfish. Next… oh! An eel—got it! Slarin, if you see any of these long, skinny ones, prioritize catching those."
When I called out to Slarin, it was forming a circle with its tentacles. Slarin was extending its tentacles from atop a rock to catch fish at the water's surface. Seeing Slarin like that, I couldn't help but see a certain archaeologist superimposed over it.
After catching all the impressive-looking fish, Slarin and I went through them again to identify each species, sorting them into those that needed the mud purged and those that didn't. The fish requiring mud removal went into the Dimension Bag filled with water, while the others were lightly rinsed, wrung out, and placed into the Magic Bag.
"That should do it. Now I can just keep watch on the surroundings and relax... Hm?"
With the fishing taken care of, I was thinking about climbing onto the carriage roof to check on Tamachan and the others when I heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from the distance. Shiromaru had noticed before I did and was already on alert, so even if we were attacked, we could mount a defense — but it was also possible whoever it was just happened to be passing nearby. I decided to use Appraisal to determine their identity. And then—
"Someone we know... or something like that? Well, better stay cautious just in case. Juubei, bring everyone over here!"
"Bumooh!"
Though it was unlikely, there was always a chance something might cause Juubei and the others to draw their swords on someone, so as a precaution, I instructed them to get inside the Dimension Bag. And then—
"You there, what are you doing— My apologies!"
"Right away,
I'll go get the
Captain!"
The knight who had been about to
interrogate me in a forceful tone
quickly went to fetch the person in charge upon realizing who I was. And when that person arrived a short while later...
"Primera, it's been a while."
"Yes, it has. By the way, Tenma, what were you doing in a place like this?"
"Well, I operate mainly around the Royal Capital and Seigen, so shouldn't that normally be my line?"
I wasn't trying to hide anything or play dumb, but it was far stranger for Primera — a member of the Gunjou City knights — to be leading her subordinates all the way out here near the Royal Capital than for an adventurer like me to be found in the grasslands nearby.
"Well, yes, that's true, but... I am a knight, you know, so there is such a thing as a duty of confidentiality..."
"Fair point. I was just seeing Namitarou off, and while I was at it, I let Juubei and the others stretch their legs."
Since there was no risk of Primera and the others causing harm, I let Juubei and the others out. However, Juubei and Hiro positioned themselves between Primera's knights and the others, as if guarding Tama-chan and the others, who had bounded out of the bag to play.
"Umm... We are on a mission heading to the Royal Capital, so we will take our leave here."
After a brief exchange, Primera gave a wry smile at Juubei and Hiro, then gradually backed away, keeping her distance. She rode off toward the Royal Capital on a path that kept as much distance as possible from Tama-chan and the group.
"See? Like I said, Primera and the others have gone. You all can relax now."
Once Primera and her group were out of sight, Juubei and the others finally let down their guard. Looking at Tama-chan and the others, they began grazing on the grass.
"Why don't we walk around the area and see if we can find anything interesting?"
With that casual thought, I started to wander around the vicinity when...
"Seriously, there's absolutely nothing here!"
I had expected it, but I couldn't find a single thing.
"Well, I guess once we caught the fish, there was nothing else left to gain."
Deciding to call it a day, I prepared to head back to the mansion. But then...
"Mary and Tama-chan have way too much energy."
The two of them tried to avoid going back, running all over the place, which ended up taking quite a bit of time. In the end, Mary was snagged by Slarin's tentacles, and Tama-chan was scolded by Juubei and Hiro before being put back into the bag. Incidentally, Allie came right over when I called. While the other two were running around, Allie had been sound asleep inside the bag, but Mary, in a fit of spite after being caught, had headbutted her to wake her up.
"You're finally back. You took so long I was worried something had happened."
When I returned to the mansion, Lady Maria and the others had already gone. Grandpa, who claimed he was worried, was relaxing in the dining hall.
"Oh, by the way, I ran into Primera on the grassland. She didn't tell me the details due to confidentiality obligations, but it seems she and the knights came to the Royal Capital on a mission."
"Oh... If that's the case, the Duke or Albert might be coming along with them soon. By the way, what have you been up to, Tenma?"
I was in the kitchen washing some smaller fish I had taken out when Grandpa peered in with great interest.
"Just before saying goodbye to Namitarou and the others, the baby let out another ultrasound blast. The fish fainted from it and floated to the surface, so I had an easy, bountiful catch. I thought I could preserve them with the Magic Bag to solve the freshness issue, but I wanted to try doing something extra with them."
I was about to start the prep work for that now, but even after explaining, Grandpa didn't seem inclined to help. Instead, he grabbed a few of the washed fish and began preparing to grill them as a snack to go with his drinks.
"Smells so good..."
"Right? Oh! Tenma, when did you get back?"
The female group (excluding Chris) who had apparently gone out were already reacting to the smell of Grandpa's grilled fish the moment they entered the dining hall. Jeanne had noticed me right away, but Amour had—
Grandpa
—walked right up close to him before she noticed me, alerted by Jeanne's voice.
"Lord Tenma, what are you making?"
"Is there anything we can help with?"
Aura and Lady Reni, who had come in a bit later, approached to offer help with my work, but... unlike Lady Reni, who was watching what I was doing, Aura was clearly—
grilled fish
—distracted by the other thing entirely.
When Jeanne and Amour noticed that Aura and Lady Reni were trying to help, they asked whether there wasn't any work for them to do as well, but there were no urgent tasks left, so I had them grill some fish for dinner instead. While I was explaining Jeanne and the others' assignments, Aura and Lady Reni had finished washing their hands and were waiting with aprons already on.
"Aura, take the scales, guts, and gills off these smaller fish, then soak them in this brine. Lady Reni, could you fillet this trout into three pieces for me?"
After giving Aura her orders and making the request to Lady Reni, both of them nodded and got started. That said, when Aura heard what each of them would be doing, she said, "Won't my job be the only one that stinks?" but when I muttered, "I wonder what Aina would say if she heard I gave the toughest job to Lady Reni," she quickly deflected with, "Well then, let's get to it with a smile!" Incidentally, the reason I didn't assign Lady Reni's task to Jeanne was simply the difference in their skill at filleting fish.
"I need to make the smoking marinade before Lady Reni finishes."
Since this was my first time making smoked fish, I decided to keep the marinade (sommelier sauce) simple, skipping herbs and other additives.
"Rice vinegar, water, salt, sugar... and maybe some pepper. That should do it."
Even if it turned out badly, at least it wouldn't be so inedibly awful that no one could eat it.
"Lady Reni, I'm done over here, so I'll come help with the small fish now."
Before the marinade had time to cool, Lady Reni finished filleting the trout and moved over to help Aura. Lady Reni's skill was just as impressive with the small fish, and the pile of unprocessed fish shrank in no time. And then—
"That should be everything."
In the end, Lady Reni, who had joined in midway, ended up processing more than half of the pile of small fish. I jumped in to help after chilling the marinade with magic and soaking the sliced trout, but I couldn't even get through a fifth of the pile.
"For the dried fish, just soak them in saltwater for a while and let them dry, and they'll be done. As for the smoked ones, if everything goes smoothly, they should be ready by the day after tomorrow. Jeanne, Amour, bring me the grilled fish."
I had the two of them bring me the grilled fish, and I stored
every last bit of it
in the Magic Bag. However, there were a few pieces Grandpa refused to part with for his personal snacking, so I agreed to forgo dried and smoked fish as his substitute. Well, the very next moment, he handed over every piece of grilled fish except what he was currently eating, so I retracted my statement.
"That takes care of tonight's dinner dishes. As long as we have rice, miso soup, and pickles, we should be good."
One person could handle the rest easily enough, so I told everyone to go do what they wanted... but—
"Tenma, can we eat soon?"
"Surely not yet... So, Tenma-sama, about another hour?"
"No, I don't think even an hour would cut it."
"Right. Dried fish was originally made for preservation purposes, so they need to dry out quite a bit before they're ready."
Nobody seemed willing to leave the dining hall, perhaps because they were curious about the dried fish drying on the racks. Grandpa was the same—I could clearly see him perking up his ears when Amour asked whether they were ready to eat.
"I'm not sure how good they'll taste, but how about I use magic to dry out at least enough for tonight's dinner?"
Losing to the combined gazes of Amour and Aura (and Grandpa), I decided to try making dried fish with wind and fire magic.
"Using fire magic inside the mansion is too risky—let's head out to the yard, shall we?"
Just to be safe, I suggested making the dried fish out in the yard, and we left the dining hall. But by the time we reached the yard, it wasn't just the four of us plus Grandpa anymore—Slarin, Shiromaru, and Solomon had joined as well. And perhaps because Slarin and the others were there, Tama showed up, and because Tama was there, Jubei and Hiro came along to check things out, and maybe because everyone else had left, Mary arrived dragging a sleepy-looking Allie along. And then—
"Gufh! *Cough, cough...*"
Mary greeted Aura by headbutting her in the stomach.
"Mary, Tama, I'm about to make dried fish, so try not to kick up any dust."
"T-Tenma...sama...are you...worrying about...me...?"
Aura was saying something, but since that was nothing out of the ordinary, I decided to ignore her. More important than that was making sure Mary and Tama didn't ruin the dried fish.
"I think this will work. Let me take out some rocks and a base to block the wind, and for the drying net... I don't have one, so I'll stretch a casting net over the base instead... There, that should do it."
Once the base was ready, I sprinkled water around the area to wash away the dust and started using wind and fire magic.
"I hope this works out."
Thinking about the effort involved, natural drying would be better, but I decided to treat today as practice from my training and experiments. Using wind and fire magic to blow warm air... you could call it "warm wind magic," but it turned out to be surprisingly difficult. If the wind was too strong, it wouldn't warm up, and worse, the dried fish would blow away. Conversely, if the fire was too strong, it would end up steaming the fish, and the dried fish wouldn't come out right. And if I got the balance wrong, instead of "warm wind," it could easily become just "strong wind," or "hot wind," and in the worst case, a "flamethrower."
"Maybe I should teach this training method to Amy and Tida next time."
As long as it didn't turn into an actual flamethrower, it would just be either a strong wind or a hot wind, so it might actually be a pretty good practice exercise.
When I mentioned this to Grandpa, he agreed, so I decided to call the two of them over sometime soon.
"Even so, Tenma, you're quite skilled. Keeping up a wind of just the right temperature while carrying on a conversation... I couldn't do that. Well, not that I couldn't, but normally people can't maintain their concentration like that."
About an hour after I started producing the warm wind, Grandpa made that observation.
"Once you get used to it, it's really just a matter of keeping up the same thing. Feeling-wise, it's kind of like going for a run while chatting?"
For a complex course it would be difficult, but plenty of people can run along the same route while having a conversation.
"When you put it that way, it does sound doable. In fact, I might have more trouble doing it alone with full concentration."
"Even so, some people absolutely can't do it. Even if Aura were a master of magic, she'd definitely space out at some point."
"That's right. With Aura, she'd probably get distracted by the chatter and either stop the magic, or blow the dried fish away, or scorch the entire field."
"Grrrr... I want to deny that, but I can't."
Battered by the barbs from Amour and Jeanne, Aura looked frustrated but had to admit it herself. Certainly, when considering the three of them, Aura seemed the least suited for this.
"I think it's about ready, don't you?"
Once the laughter died down a bit, I stopped the magic and checked on the dried fish. They looked fine, so I took one and grilled it on the spot with fire magic for a taste test. The flavor was perfectly good too.
"I think this is about right."
I passed the sample around to everyone, and the fish was gone in an instant. The leftover bones were fought over by Shiromaru and Solomon; Shiromaru got the head, and Solomon got everything else.
"Slarin, here's a small one for you."
When I gave a small piece of dried fish to Slarin, who had missed out, Shiromaru and Solomon lined up behind him hoping to get some too, but I held them back since there was a limited amount for us to eat.
"It's not bad."
"Compared to the souvenir we got from the southern regions, the flavor is a bit milder, maybe?"
"Could be a different type of fish?"
"Considering the ingredients and method, I think it's quite good, but compared to what's popular in the south, the taste is a step down."
Amour and the others were a bit reserved, but Ren gave her honest evaluation. Well, for our own consumption, there was no problem, and no one objected to serving it for tonight's dinner.
"Hmm? Looks like we have a visitor."
I was about to put the dried fish away and head back inside when the Golem by the gate started moving, so I knew someone had arrived. For reference, the Golem lets acquaintances pass right through, so this at least told me it was someone it had identified as a stranger.
"I'll go see."
Aura went to handle it, and quickly returned without making the guest wait.
"Lord Tenma, it's a letter from the Duke Sanga's house. They said they'd like a reply as soon as possible if possible, so I've asked the butler to wait a moment."
"Got it."
I took the letter and read its contents. It said, 'I'd like to visit soon, so let me know a convenient day.' Usually he doesn't worry about such things, so I wondered if something had happened, but for now I told the butler to come the day after tomorrow in the afternoon.
"Nothing like this has happened before... perhaps some problem has arisen? By the way, why the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, and not tomorrow?"
Grandpa seemed curious about the fact that Duke Sanga had gone out of his way to send a letter via his butler, but his tone suggested it might just be how things were. He seemed more interested in the date I'd chosen, so...
"No, tomorrow would be too sudden, and more importantly, I have to make the smoked fish tomorrow," I said.
Grandpa looked at me with an exasperated expression, but in the end he said, "That's important too, I suppose," and smiled.