Published: August 15, 2025
Today, two episodes are updated simultaneously.
This story is the first episode.
One by one, the children who had grown tired of the noise and the adults who had passed out from drinking returned home, and the festival came to an end late at night. The village chief and I came to the beach to see off the lord of the territory and his entourage.
“The seeing off ends here. Today was enjoyable. Thank you.”
“Likewise, the villagers were pleased as well.”
“I see.”
The lord of the territory showed a smile. But at that moment, he stumbled slightly.
“Oh, it seems I drank a bit too much today... Ryoma-kun.”
“Yes?”
“Before boarding the ship, I want to sober up a little. Would you mind keeping me company?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Village chief?”
“I’ll take my leave here. At this age, the cold night breeze is quite harsh.”
“I understand, sorry. Pigoo, it won’t take long for him to sober up. Could you and the others start preparing the ship?”
“Understood.”
The village chief returned to the village, and Pigoo and the three others who accompanied him went off to prepare the ship.
Then, only the lord of the territory and I were left on the beach.
With only the sounds of the wind and waves, the lord took a deep breath.
“…Phew… This night breeze is pleasant. Oh, Ryoma-kun, aren’t you cold? I, as you can see, have some extra fat, so this temperature is just right for me.”
“I’m fine. If it gets too cold, I can always use barrier magic.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Patting his belly, he laughed cheerfully.
“As I said earlier, today was truly enjoyable. And thank you for the delicious dishes.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I was so absorbed in eating that I forgot to discuss the reward for the cooking commission. Is there anything you want?”
“Now that you mention it... but I believe the recipe matter was already announced widely within the territory. The reward should already be decided, right?”
“That’s for the ash-dried, poisonous, and unpalatable fish—the three types whose cooking methods were not known. That’s all part of the same deal. The same goes for the dumplings. Considering all this new knowledge that could become a new industry, receiving a reward for just one recipe isn’t right. If other nobles found out, they’d laugh at you, asking if you can’t offer a proper evaluation and reward.
To be honest, starting something new always costs money. Of course, I don’t mind paying in cash, but you don’t seem to be fixated on money, so if you can accept something else as compensation, that would be better for me too.”
Indeed. Earlier, Mr. Reinhardt and Mr. Pioro also said that technology is treasure.
But the lord of the territory sure is frank.
“What I want... If I think about it now... Ah, it would be to ensure thorough notification of the cooking methods and precautions for the poisonous fish you mentioned earlier.”
This time, thanks to my massive mana-based appraisal magic and the double-check by the poison slime, the preparations and offerings were safely done, but—
“After all, the fact that they are poisonous is true.”
“The villagers should be well aware of the poison. Even children would have been sternly warned by their parents. It might be difficult for them to suddenly accept it.”
That makes sense.
Perhaps because of the festival atmosphere, some villagers did try the fish… Among the three poisonous types, the most popular was the eel-like fish. It even smelled like grilled eel. According to Niki-kun, “In times of severe fishing shortages when there’s hardly anything to eat, people endure the bad taste and eat it,” so resistance was low.
The second most popular was the rockfish-like one, while the dish made from the fugu-like fish, which has the strongest poison, was mostly just watched from a distance and ranked last.
Just as people outside of Fatma Territory don’t eat okta (octopus) or mizugumo (crab), it’s common sense here not to eat eel, rockfish, or fugu. Especially among the elderly, this tendency was strong.