Chapter 112

The inn introduced by the commercial guild was located near the sea. It was a brick-built inn, a small building with only private rooms.

We quickly rented two rooms and decided to have lunch since it was a good time.

The inn had a dining room on the first floor, but they didn’t serve lunch, so the innkeeper kindly told us the location of the market.

“It seems like food stalls are gathered in the central square, so let’s eat there.”

“I’m looking forward to the seaside food stalls!”

I had planned to get seafood from the market, but we decided to check out the food stalls instead.

If we’re cooking ourselves, I wanted to enjoy fresh ingredients. At this time of day, with the sun high in the sky, I didn’t expect much from the fish in the market.

“If we’re going to have seafood, we should get fresh sashimi, right?”

“Meow!”

Ketsue, who had tried sushi and seafood bowls from convenience stores, nodded seriously.

The freshest sashimi options were limited, and the seafood bowls mostly had salmon with boiled shrimp. Sushi mainly consisted of inari (rice-stuffed tofu pouches) and salad rolls, with dishes like seared sashimi, negitoro (chopped tuna with green onion), and tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette).

Although there was some dissatisfaction, I still enjoyed the seafood after not having it for a while.

Especially, the memory of the seasonal seafood bowl that was limited-time sold was strongly etched in my mind.

“It was so good, the salmon…”

“Meow, meow…”

Ketsue agreed with a dreamy expression.

It seemed that Ketsue’s unique gift, [Summon Magic Online Shopping], was linked to Japan’s seasons, allowing him to buy items from seasonal fairs. The seafood bowl was one of these limited-time items, and when I tried to buy it again later, I noticed it was no longer listed, which crushed me.

“But if it’s linked to the seasons, that means we can have a fancy seafood roll during the Setsubun season! I’ll have to check frequently.”

By the way, when I shared this speculation with my cousins, they were all delighted.

The two boys were looking forward to limited-time hot snacks like fried chicken and cup noodles, while Natsuki , the only girl, was eagerly anticipating limited-edition sweets developed in collaboration with patisseries.

Natsuki  also seemed to be eyeing Valentine’s Day fair and Christmas cakes.

“I don’t care about the chocolate, but Christmas cakes are definitely interesting. Rei, the golden dragon, would be thrilled, and Shella would probably faint.”

“I’d faint for a feast…”

Shella, nodding and purring, sparkled with excitement.

I was a little scared to suddenly give her a luxurious cake, so I thought it would be better to gradually get her used to it with baked goods and convenience store sweets.

“Oh! There’s a food stall, Tohma ! It smells so good!”

“Right. There seem to be many different kinds, so let’s buy lots and share them.”

In the square we aimed for, there were stump benches where we could sit and eat the lunch we bought from the stalls.

The food stalls had wooden roofed counters, and many of the vendors were cooking with tools resembling small charcoal grills.

Some stalls used magical stoves, and one of them was selling a hearty soup.

The elderly vendor, with a strong build and noticeable old scars, appeared to be using a magical stove dropped from a dungeon.

(He must have retired from adventuring after getting the magic stove. Selling seafood soup in a seaside town for his second life doesn’t sound bad.)

It was the kind of relaxed life I admired. All he needed to do was prepare the ingredients properly and then simmer them slowly. A soup stall could be a good idea.

If he changed the ingredients and flavors daily, there would be no risk of getting bored. If he also sold bread along with the soup, it would make a great lunch.

(Once my cousins finish their “hero” journey and safely return to Japan, if I ever get tired of exploring this world…)

Running a soup stall with daily changing recipes could be a nice retirement. Well, I heard that high elves live a long time.

With [Summon Magic Online Shopping], I could get seasonings and soup stock, and I could catch my own meat and seafood. Vegetables could be grown in a garden with high elf magic and the fairy cat, Cait Sith’s, abilities.

(If I made curry soup like the ones in otherworldly stories, it would probably sell like crazy…)

While I was lost in such daydreams, Shella, impatient, rushed ahead to the stalls.

I had been imagining Shella working at a food stall in a cute apron, so I hurriedly followed her.

Shella’s first stop was a stall selling grilled fish. The skewers with salt on them smelled delicious.

The fish being grilled on the small charcoal grill looked similar to Hatahata (a kind of fish).

“Wow…! These fish are bigger than river fish!”

“They look tasty. Can we get three of them?”

“Sure, thanks!”

We took the skewers and started walking around the food stall area. It wasn’t very proper, but if we dropped something, stray cats and dogs would quickly take care of it.

I was concerned that salt might not be good for the stray dogs and cats, but I secretly appraised them and was surprised to see that the stray cats had the [Poison Resistance] skill, which impressed me with the resilience of otherworld animals.

Now, how did the grilled fish from the sea taste?

I took a bite of the skewer and chewed. The flavor was similar to Hatahata—light and subtle, but since they used a lot of salt, it tasted quite good. Ketsue also seemed satisfied as he chewed happily.

The girl who had been eagerly anticipating seafood for a while was—

“It’s so good! It’s not fishy at all, and the meat is so fluffy and filling! It’s the best!”

She was devouring the grilled fish.

Apparently, the river fish she had eaten before had been too fishy and thin. She seemed to really enjoy the slightly sweet-tasting fish and quickly finished it.

“I want another one…”

“I get how you feel, but let’s try some other things too. The stall over there is selling fish fillets.”

“Fish that smells sour…?”

“I think they’re adding lemon to the grilled fish. It’ll be refreshing and tasty! Also, I want to try the seafood soup from that stall. It’s a bit expensive, but they’re using spices, and there’s a line, so it should be good…”

“Let’s eat!”

With a huff, Shella nodded and rushed toward the stalls. I followed with a wry smile.

After observing for a bit, I saw that most of the fish dishes at the stalls were simply seasoned with salt.

Since this was a seaside town, the freshness of the fish was so good that the salt alone was enough to make them delicious.

(This means sashimi would taste even better, right?)

I decided that I would definitely wake up early tomorrow to visit the seafood market.