Chapter 429: Survey Trip turned Food Trip
I parted ways with the strange sword master and resumed my stroll.
『Master, Master! 』
I turned to the source of the voice ー it was the seabird spirit.
We’re in the southern alley leading to the areas that were still uninhabited. Rows of empty houses stood in this zone.
『Any recent voices? 』
The seabird spirit posed at an angle, with a wing on his chin.
『Yes, yes. 』
The ‘voice’ that we’re talking about is the secret communication of Lady Rosa and Roza’s gang.
Auro and the others had been investigating this case little by little, and I learned from them that Lady Rosa hails from a noble family of a fallen kingdom. She might even be Roza’s relative.
『*Press*. 』
(( From the Sea Rose to the White Rose. The sack’s seizure was thwarted; no response from the sack. Two sighs from our side. ))
Seabird-kun pressed the feathers on his stout chest, and the voice of a woman resounded.
It doesn’t seem to be a code, more like they just replaced the words. Sea Rose must be Lady Rosa, White Rose must be Roza, but what’s with ‘sack’? Why sack? As for the ‘two sighs’, they must be referring to the allied countries and their number and location?
『Thanks. I don’t understand some of it, but maybe it’ll make sense once we gather enough information? Please continue watching over them. 」
I gave him some mana and alcohol as thanks. I’m pretty sure he drank a lot during the banquet. Spirits don’t have a balanced diet and the foods they can eat mostly lack in variety.
『Thanks, Master! 』
Seabird-kun happily guzzled the alcohol.
Lady Rosa’s goal was to get more funds by pirating and gather allies ー and also sacks, for some reason.
『The water on this island tastes delicious, really nice. 』
Seabird-kun wiped his mouth with a wing after downing three mugs in a row.
『Alright, I’m going now to deliver this voice message. See yah! 』
With a powerful flap of his wings, Seabird-kun took off.
Seabird-kun, are you drunk driving? Ah, not driving, drunk flying? I wonder if he’s a bit out of it, his movements were a bit jerky and fidgety. I watched Seabird-kun fly away, his wings flapping vigorously.
「Ah」
A gigantic shadow flew over the horizon.
It was a dragon. I can’t tell what color it was from this distance, but it was huge enough that I could instantly tell what it was. I also want to go to the dragons’ land, but I’m still not brave enough to traverse that gloomy, creepy, scary jungle.
Where did Dinosso meet his dragon-type spirit, I wonder?
Spirits tend to take on the form of the flower, object, or even the essence they were born from, or whatever was nearby when they came into existence. So, if you go to a dragon’s lair, you’ll probably find dragon-shaped spirits there, I guess.
The jungle’s ambience feels like it repulses humans, or should I say it feels distant from humanity, but I need to get used to its vibe. It’s just that I’m scared that if I let my guard down, I might become part of the jungle itself, get my thoughts dulled, and end up being pulled into the spirit world.
I tore my eyes off the sky after the dragon faded from view. I went back to the city to resume leisurely strolling around. I already had enough of the alleys and buildings for today, so I went to check how the market is at noon time. The thought of the jungle made me want to be where the people are.
I waved at the tax collector stationed in front of the entrance then made my way into the market. Stalls offering convenient, easy-to-eat foods were more crowded since it’s lunchtime, naturally. Many folks swarmed in that particular corner.
I went past several shops, like one with differently-sized baskets all lined-up, a shop handling imported textiles, a shoe store, a silverware store ー in the food area, stalls selling dried fruits, biscuits – is that ham? There’s one with a pig foot hanging from the ceiling.
The upscale stores of this world usually display their goods with the leg or foot still attached to show what kind of meat it is, like if it is pork or chicken. It’s quite a bold way of emphasizing that it’s genuine animal meat. Still, you won’t find chilled glass displays like those in Japan.
I continued wandering around while thinking how normal it is to see blocks of meat being sold here. Back when I was thrown to that deserted island, my diet had been mainly fish and crabs and it was only in Canum that I first experienced how to butcher meat. It had been quite an intense experience.
I’m okay with monsters like horned rabbits, but your regular boars are… well… If you hang them up, ticks and mites fall off and depending on the specimen, there’d be a host of parasites. At first, I thought monster meat was yuck, but now I’ve been successfully converted to a die-hand fan of it.
Traces of black spirits remain in monster meat, so you either have them removed, or the person who ate the meat must regularly get themselves purified at the temple.
Well, if I say that those traces bother me, then might as well say that I should be more concerned about naming black spirits, I guess.
By the way, there’s a seafood shop in the village downtown and peddlers also roam around early in the morning. The residents who want to buy seafood would stop the peddler and buy what they want right there and then. Staff from the inns and restaurants would go directly to the shop, but if they already pre-ordered seafood, it will be delivered to them as soon as it comes in.
I also entered the snack area while wondering if there’s something new.
「What’s this? 」
「It’s a tomato variety that is bred on the island! It’s not poisonous, and even tastes great! 」
Ah, I already know that.
The most popular shop has a huge crowd in front of it ー they’re selling tomatoes. They have a dish with bread topped with tomatoes and a soft tofu-like on top of that. Is that olive oil drizzled on it?
「What is that white thing on top? 」
「Cheese that had been made this morning at Nalluahdid, it’s popular nowadays! 」
「Please give me one. 」
Uncle said it’s cheese. It’s probably made by adding a bit of alcohol in the milk then solidified.
Hmm, I don’t think a single snack is enough. I mingled with the crowd and made my way to another stall.
Oh? That looks delicious.
「One, please. 」
「Yes yes yo! 」
The seller stuffed slices of simmered meat into a halved piece of bread, then he topped it off with the other half, turning it into a meat sandwich.
Both sandwiches were wrapped in folded paper, but they looked like they might fall apart anytime, so let’s just eat them outside.
I left the market, carrying one in each hand. Something this small doesn’t get taxed, so I simply walked past the tax collector on my way out. Besides, some of the folks even eat theirs right away.
There still aren’t that many veggies around. Thoughts about what sort of food are offered at the market swirled in my mind as I munch on my sandwiches. There are more residents and shops now, but it still feels kinda empty.
As for this tomato and cheese sandwich, it’d probably taste a lot better if they rubbed some garlic on the bread. And I wish they had some basil too. Okay, let’s whip one later and give it a taste.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.