The soup from the food stall, which had a long line of customers, was quite delicious.
The flavor was a simple saltiness, but since it was made by tossing in a large amount of fish scraps, it seemed to have a rich, flavorful broth.
It might be a dish similar to ushiojiru—a seafood soup made by fishermen.
The spice used was dried chili peppers, which seemed to enhance the flavor and gave the soup a lingering heat.
“It’s delicious, but my mouth is tingling…”
“Ah… If you’re not used to it, it can be painful. Don’t force yourself to eat it, alright?”
“I’m fine! The variety of fish in it makes the soup really interesting.”
“They use fish scraps for the broth, but there’s also proper, edible fish meat in it, so it’s quite satisfying.”
I wonder if it’s possible to get fish scraps like that at the seafood market.
The soup from the stall was great, but I’d still prefer to savor a broth made with miso.
“I liked the grilled skewers the most!”
“Alright, then let’s come back again. It’s close to the inn, and if we visit a few times during our stay, we might be able to try everything on the menu.”
“That sounds fun too, but if possible, I’d rather eat something cooked by you, Tohma .”
“Meow!”
“Oh, what’s up? Tired of the stalls already?”
“No, it’s just that… if you can make meat dishes that good, I bet your fish dishes would taste even better!”
With a bright smile, Shira declared this while the cat, Ketsue, sitting on her shoulder, nodded in agreement.
Fish is delicious, but since it’s mainly seasoned with salt, it seems my cooking, which uses a variety of seasonings and techniques, comes out on top.
I can’t help but admire how much Shira has grown. When we first met, she only cared about filling her stomach, but now she’s aiming for quality.
Wanting to eat delicious food is a perfectly natural human desire.
“Alright then. If we can gather some fish at the sea we’re heading to, I’ll make a fish dish.”
I pulled out the request form I had stuffed in my pocket and showed it to Shira and Ketsue.
It was a standing request from the Adventurer’s Guild via the commercial guild branch office in Olivert.
“A request to collect edible shellfish and catch fish from the rocky shores, huh? Understood. I’ve never seen a shellfish before, but I can shoot fish with my bow, so no problem!”
Technically, the request was to capture fish.
But since she seemed so enthusiastic about this first sea-related job, I decided not to dampen her spirits.
“Well, we can just eat any fish she catches ourselves…”
Heading for the rocky shores the commercial guild receptionist had told us about, the two of us leisurely set off.
Walking on the soft, crunchy white sand, they pressed their feet into it with each step.
The peculiar sensation of their feet sinking into the sand seemed novel to Shira, who nervously tested the ground with every step.
Whenever the sand let out a squeak-like sound, she would panic, jumping back as if she’d stepped on some living creature.
“That sound comes from the sand rubbing together. It’s not a living thing. Ketsue, stop digging in the sand! There’s nothing there!”
“Meow!”
Despite the reprimand, Ketsue kept digging furiously at the spot Shira had just stepped on, and, as luck would have it, a small crab scuttled out.
“Meow?”
“You’re thinking, ‘See? There was something!’ but that was just a coincidence!”
“Is this a shellfish?”
“Ah, don’t touch that…”
“Ouch! It bit me!”
Shira yelped as the tiny crab pinched her finger, flailing her hand in surprise. The crab tumbled into the sea and was carried away by the waves.
“That was a crab.”
“A crab? Could it be related to the delicious crab sticks?”
Shira’s eyes widened as she recalled eating convenience store salads purchased with summoning magic during lazy days. Her intensity was… a bit terrifying.
“Well, crab sticks are technically made from fish paste, so they’re not actual crab. But real crab meat is incredibly delicious. Hopefully, we can find some big edible ones.”
“So the crab we just saw… its meat is incredibly tasty?”
“Not the small ones. Only the big ones. But I doubt we’ll find any in a place like this…”
Following the map attached to the request form, they arrived at a rocky area where various-sized rocks jutted out from the sea, leading like stepping stones to a small rocky island about ten meters away.
This area was said to be home to oysters and abalone.
Since the terrain was treacherous, Shira would stay on the sandy beach to provide support.
As expected of the cat fairy Ketsue, often referred to as the king of cats, he quickly made his way to the rocky island with ease.
Looking down between the gaps in the rocks, Tohma could see shadows of fish of various sizes. There seemed to be plenty of potential catches.
“The scenery’s nice. It’d be fun to fish here leisurely, but…”
Unfortunately, this was a guild request, so they had to take their work seriously.
With no one else around, Tohma decided to use his skills without hesitation.
“Do we have tools for catching fish…?”
Sadly, the convenience store’s offerings fell short. Unsurprisingly, large furniture stores were no help either.
In the end, they turned to the trusty 100-yen shop to gather supplies.
“First, we’ll need a few buckets for the harvest. Oh, look, a fishing rod. Hmm? They’ve got a surprisingly good selection here. Can’t underestimate the 100-yen shop…”
While some items looked more like toys, there was a wide variety of gear, including setups for casting fishing lines.
Even a thousand-yen fishing rod looked decent. They also had storage boxes for fishing gear, fishing lines, sinkers, and hooks for various types of fish.
“Alright, let’s grab this thousand-yen rod and a net for catching fish. No harpoons for sale, huh…”
He also added a shelling knife to his cart, along with a small rake and shovel that seemed useful for digging up shellfish.
The rich coastal waters might allow for clam digging near the shore.
If needed, he could use a dropped short spear from a dungeon as a makeshift harpoon.
(Good thing I didn’t exchange that iron spear from the lower floors for points…)
If the spear had been a named or magical weapon, it might have been too destructive, causing the fish to explode on impact.
Weapons with excessive power were too dangerous to use near settlements.
“There’s a chance Sahagin might attack during the gathering, so keep watch, Shira.”
“Understood! I’ll shoot them down as soon as I see them!”
“Alright. While you’re at it, if you’re bored, you can use this to dig… I mean, search for shellfish with this tool.”
“Clam digging…! I’d love to try that!”
Using the [Presence Detection] skill to scan the sandy beach, Tohma confirmed a large number of shellfish were present.
After digging in the wet sand for a while with the small rake, he uncovered the first clam.
“See? This is a clam. It’s a type of shellfish.”
“This is a clam…! It looks like a rock, but it’s alive?”
“Yep, and it’s edible. It makes a great broth for soups or tastes amazing grilled with butter.”
“I’ll fill a whole bucket!”
Shira’s eyes lit up with determination.
Her enthusiasm was great, but he reminded her not to neglect keeping watch.
Tohma set up a folding chair for her to rest on, gave her a straw hat for protection from the sun, and placed a cooler with bottled drinks nearby.
“Alright, I’m heading to the rocky island.”
“Take care! Stay safe!”
“Got it.”
With a wave, he nimbly leapt from rock to rock. While the jagged surfaces made terrible footing, his enhanced high-elf physical abilities handled it with ease.
Sensing his target, he stopped and peered into the water.
“Oh, there they are. Pretty big, too. This looks promising.”
Clinging to the rocks and camouflaged, he spotted oysters. Seeing one of his favorite foods again made his throat involuntarily tighten with anticipation.
