The adventurer activities in the coastal town are going well.
The sahuagin are numerous, but they’re not particularly strong, so with Shella’s bow, we can easily hunt them.
We can’t eat their meat, but the water attribute magic stones can be sold for a decent price.
As alchemy materials, their gills can also be sold.
I heard that grinding them into powder is used for making expensive ointments.
The magic stones and gills harvested from a single sahuagin are worth one silver coin in total.
By spending about four hours each day fishing and digging for shells on the rocky shore, we can make money just by defeating the sahuagin that attack us.
“Today’s count of sahuagin is thirty-two,” Shella said.
“That’s thirty-two silver coins earned. If we split it, we’ll each get sixteen silver coins!”
Shella smiled happily.
I can easily understand why she’d be so happy. After all, the amount of money earned with just a little labor is significant.
One silver coin is about 10,000 yen in Japanese currency.
For just a day’s—well, a few hours—work, earning 160,000 yen is too good to pass up.
“It’s strange that there are so few adventurers taking up sahuagin hunting, even though it’s such a lucrative request,” I said.
“According to Serin, the adventurers in this town are mostly low-ranking, so hunting sahuagin is apparently tough for them,” Shella whispered to me.
Serin works for the Commercial Guild and is the receptionist. She was the one who told me on our first day that there was a branch of the Adventurers’ Guild here, and she’s been very kind to us since, especially since we deliver water magic stones every day.
I always thought she was unusually friendly, but now I understand why.
In this coastal town, where fresh water is in high demand, water magic stones are a must-have. Since buying them from elsewhere would involve high taxes and transport costs, we, who diligently hunt sahuagin every day, must be valuable customers to the guild.
“So, that’s why no one else goes near the rocky shore,” I mused.
I remembered seeing young adventurers digging for shells on the sandy beach from time to time, but they never went near the rocky shore.
“They say it’s safer and more reliable to work in the orchards, so the town’s adventurers mostly head there,” Shella explained.
“Yeah, only monsters like the dire boar and deer would go after orchards… I guess that’s easier,” I replied.
“I heard they set traps to hunt. The boars that eat the fruit in the orchards get really fat and are super delicious!” Shella said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Yeah, I can imagine…” I said.
Shella’s aquamarine-colored eyes sparkled with anticipation. She blushed slightly and murmured, wondering what the meat must taste like.
(So she must be getting tired of fish by now.)
Shella, who was originally a true meat lover, had gotten hooked on the novelty and taste of seafood. But after days of eating fish, it seemed like she was starting to tire of it.
Still, with fish on the menu every day lately, it’s no surprise that even a foodie like her would crave meat dishes.
In that case…
“Hey, Shella. How about we leave the inn?”
Her response was a confused look, tilting her head in curiosity.
“Leave the inn… Are you saying we’re leaving this town already?”
“No, I just got tired of staying at the inn.”
“Tired…?”
“Yeah, I got tired of it. The inn was clean enough, but it wasn’t that comfortable.”
“I guess that’s true…”
Shella, who had stayed with me in my tiny house a few times, looked at me with a troubled expression. It’s understandable. Once you’re used to living in a spacious, clean, and convenient house, staying in an inn in this world feels tough.
“First off, the toilet is the worst. No bath either, and that’s a real problem. It’s still warm now, so bathing with water isn’t too bad, but in the winter, it would be a nightmare.”
“But Tohma , you can use the purification magic, Clean,” Shella pointed out.
“True, but the bath is different. Right, Ketsue?”
“Unya!”
“Even Ketsue agrees…”
“You said you liked the bath, Shella.”
“Ugh… Well, taking a bath in warm water is a luxury I rarely get to enjoy.”
With our earnings, we could easily afford to stay in an inn, but unfortunately, inns in this other world offer rooms that have nothing to do with comfort.
“So, I was thinking… maybe we should leave the inn tonight and set up ‘home’ by the seaside.”
I smiled softly as I made this suggestion.
◆◇◆
“It’s a nice view.”
“Yes! It’s really beautiful. It feels like we’re the only ones here, monopolizing the sea…”
Sitting down on the sandy beach, we fully enjoyed the ocean view.
It was just before sunset, the magical hour.
For a brief moment, the sky shifted from golden to a deep purplish-red, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
On the way back from the guild, I managed to convince Shella to leave the inn.
We then headed straight back to the coastal area where we usually carry out our requests.
In that quiet, secluded spot, it wouldn’t be a problem to set up my beloved tiny house.
I made sure to set it up away from the shoreline, on the edge of the sandy beach.
I also confirmed with Serin at the Commercial Guild, so there’s no need to worry.
Camping on the beach doesn’t require any special permission, and I was given the green light to use the space freely.
Of course, no fees are involved. It’s wonderful.
I eagerly took out the Tiny House from my [Item Box], and since it has protective barriers and recognition-blocking effects, it would be impossible for anyone except a high-level person to “find” it.
It’s much safer than staying at an inn in town.
“If we’re going to cook, I’d rather do it at home with pride, instead of sneaking around in the inn’s backyard,” I said.
That argument worked best in convincing Shella.
“Does that mean we can enjoy fried foods tonight!?” she asked excitedly.
“Yeah, you can look forward to it,” I replied.
“Yay!” Shella cheered.
Since Shella had never had the courage to fry foods in the inn’s backyard, she had been deprived of her favorite fried dishes like fries and cutlets.
Now that she knew she could finally enjoy a meat dish, especially her favorite fried foods, she quickly packed up and negotiated with the innkeeper.
I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered how she happily got a refund for the unused days and wore a big grin on her face.
(She’s surprisingly reliable when it comes to things like this.)
Anyway, after enjoying the seaside sunset, I needed to satisfy the growling stomachs of everyone.
I called Shella and Ketsue over and returned to the Tiny House, which looked just like a cute wooden cabin.
“Alright. Let’s get started on the fried food,” I said.
The main dish was Shella’s requested boar cutlet, but since I had a lot of fresh seafood on hand, I planned to try making seafood fries too.
“Fried white fish, pickled horse mackerel sounds good. I can’t leave out fried squid and shrimp, but what I’m most excited about is the fried oysters!” I said.
Once I fried them up, I’d send some to the others.
Three days ago, I had sent fresh seafood sashimi to my cousins through the [Item Box], and they were absolutely delighted.
(Speaking of which, I received a message saying I got a magic-tool-based ‘house’ after defeating the final boss of an advanced dungeon…)
I was surprised to learn about that drop item.
I still don’t understand dungeons.
(Well, I was pretty shocked when I dropped a toilet house.)
At that time, I was more delighted than shocked, so I didn’t think much of it.
“I see the wish list for large furniture, kitchen supplies, and groceries has arrived through the Magic Bag exchange…”
This wasn’t just for camping gear; it seemed like they were seriously planning to make the base home comfortable.
I could understand that feeling all too well.
“Yeah, ‘home’ is definitely better than staying at an inn…”
As soon as we returned to the Tiny House, Shella rushed to take a bath, and Ketsue was lying on his favorite sofa bed, curled up in a belly-up position.
I had to resist the urge to bury my face in his fluffy belly fur, and instead focused on making the fried food.
