Published: August 2, 2025
The Next Morning
“Ugh?”
I woke up to a noise, and it was still far from sunrise.
Maybe because the lake was nearby... enduring the harsh cold, I quickly got myself ready and stepped out of the room.
The sound was coming from the kitchen area ahead.
“Good morning.”
“Oh! Good morning.”
“Did I wake you up?”
In the kitchen, Mei-san and my mother were cooking by the fire in the stove and the faint light of a small candle.
“I was allowed to rest early yesterday, so I got a good rest. If you don’t mind, I’d like to help prepare breakfast.”
“Oh my. I wish our foolish sons would learn from you.”
“Well then, since it’s a good opportunity... do you know where the well is? If you do, could you draw some water and fill this jar?”
The jar Mei-san showed me was tall and deep, about my height.
I knew where the well was, and this much water...
“In that case, ‘Water.’”
“Ryoma-kun, you can use magic?”
“Yes. Come to think of it, we only exchanged names yesterday... Here, how about this?”
“That’s plenty. Next, could you crush this and this into paste?”
The tools handed to me were a mortar and pestle. And what I had to crush was—
“Wasabi?”
It looked exactly like wasabi, but it was yellow in color.
“Wasabi? In Ryoma-kun’s hometown, do you call ‘Horace’ that? Yesterday you called ‘water spiders’ crabs too.”
Horace... hearing that, I recalled some herbal knowledge.
It’s a medicinal herb that grows in clean, shallow rivers or muddy areas, known for its distinctive spiciness.
It has strong antibacterial effects and is also used as an anthelmintic.
Not exactly the same, but...
“I think it’s probably a very similar plant. How much do you want it crushed?”
“Please crush it until there’s no shape left. It’s used to add to the soup.”
“Got it.”
I realized that the spiciness in yesterday’s soup came from this as I got to work.
I removed the leaves, rinsed the roots quickly with water, cut them into small pieces, and put them into the mortar.
After pressing and mashing several times, I continued grinding.
Though I was doing it as instructed, looking again, it was quite a lot.
But this pungent, unique aroma...
“By the way, is there a dish around here where people eat this raw with fish?”
“Some people do eat that way, but there are parasites that can cause stomach problems. Especially this season, it’s better not to.”
That was disappointing, but I should follow the locals’ advice.
Besides, if it’s cooked or processed, there’s no worry about parasites. So I’ll enjoy those during my stay.
That reminded me—I hadn’t given the souvenirs I was supposed to hand over yesterday.
“Souvenirs? For us?”
“Yes. Excuse me.”
I went back to my room once and used the dimension home. Inside, now larger than a gymnasium, I headed to the living space of the clever chickens who recently joined us.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
One noticed me and crowed loudly, then a black chick popped out from the huddled flock.
“Good morning, Brother! You’re up early today!”
“Good morning, Kohaku. It’s earlier than usual, but can you prepare today’s batch?”
“Already done, so no problem.”
Kohaku, the boss of this flock and the only advanced species, approached rubbing her hands mischievously. Several baskets lined with cloth were arranged, two of which were piled high with eggs.
“Alright then, I’ll take them today too. After inspection, I’ll prepare today’s food.”
“Okay! I’ll wait in front of the food box as always.”
With Kohaku’s warm see-off, who had lost all the high-handedness she showed at first meeting, I gently carried the basket of eggs to the slimes’ living space. The eggs were washed by the big cleaner slime that had merged and grown large, while I checked for any broken ones.
Even though several baskets with cloth liners were prepared, only two were used and piled high. It showed how careless clever chickens were with their eggs. Of course, this only applied to infertile eggs used as decoys that wouldn’t hatch chicks, but their handling was rough.