Chapter 475: Mostly Glossing Over It with Food and Alcohol
I asked Hauron to tell me about some cool spots around Halum. Feels like I missed out by just going there on a whim and coming back without exploring.
Apparently, this particular sea has places where rocks are constantly smashing into each other, and there are also spots where spirits sing ー are they something like sirens? Ahh, but then, unicorns exist here, so why not.
Then again, even my place has ships and tourists flocking to the northern side of the island because of those musical stones I casually left there. Guess people here are suckers for entertainment. Particularly the sailors, they seem to be a cheerful bunch of folks.
「Oh, so going through the sea routes properly allows you to experience such rare places, huh…」
「Hey, don’t treat them as rare, Folks can only go through the sea route because of the sheer cliffs, okay. 」
「Traveling by ship seems like such a hassle.」.
「I can’t help but feel nervous and think that there might be more to it, a deeper meaning if you will, when you avert your gaze! 」
Chris — guided by instincts… no, by the spirits — closing in on the truth!
Not gonna lie, I was just thinking of something Hauron would definitely veto, so please don’t expose me like that.
「Here, please have some beer and fried goodies. 」
「Hey, did you just change the subject? And obviously at that! 」
「No, you’re overthinking things. 」
I took the karaage out from【Storage】– it looks like chicken, but it’s actually stingfish.
「What sort of fried food is this? Lizard? 」
Chris peered at the plate that I took out.
「It’s stingfish, a fish with white flesh. 」
「…Saltwater fish, huh? 」
Props to you, Grand Sage, you know it well.
「Yup, they floated to the surface when the pufferfishes exploded, so I picked them up while at it. 」
「…What do you mean? 」
I might’ve sounded gibberish to Chris and the others, so let’s explain it to him.
「You know that Halum Strait that Hauron mentioned earlier? There are mammals there called ‘dolphins’ and they’re shaped like these fishes, and they ー 」
「Mammals? 」
Hauron interrupted. Eh, how do they classify creatures in this world? Are they not mammals? 【Language】-san, do your best!
「Erm, the vertebrate animals that feed their young with milk ー 」
「We know what mammals are. So, dolphins, aren’t they fishes? 」
Oopsie, so that’s what it is.
「Dolphins and whales are mammals ーuh, probably. 」
I just remembered that it’s something I hadn’t confirmed in this world, so I added ‘probably’. After all, spirits exist and they even have unicorns. At this point, I can’t even say that Snow Leopard’s friend Horsey is also a mammal.
「Jean, what a huge gap between the things you know and the things you don’t! You can even casually explain things that even the Grand Sage doesn’t know! 」
And we have Chris, who honestly believes everything I say as if it’s the truth and nothing but the truth.
「Ah, no, I’m not confident about what I’m saying now. 」
「No, it’s fine, come to think of it, those things do seem too odd to be fishes. I’ll check them out later. 」
And there’s Hauron, who wants to confirm everything with his own two eyes.
「Anyway, let’s set that aside. So, as I was saying, the dolphins ーdolphin monsters fired exploding fish monsters called pufferfish at me. I managed to throw them back to the dolphins before they exploded. When the pufferfish go boom in the water, these fishes floated up. Here, try it while it’s hot. 」
I seasoned it with salt and garnished with lemon. Mmm, it’ll probably go well with ponzu too, huh?
「Hold on, let me sort out what you’re saying first. 」
Hauron pressed his fingers to his temple while holding the other hand to stop me.
「Sorry, I’m bad at explaining stuff, but the food’s gonna get cold if we wait too long. 」
I tried telling them that the dolphins threw them at me, but it’s more like they’re nudging the pufferfish with the tips of their noses. Hmm, how should I phrase it so that they’ll get it?
「It’s not really about your explanation…But you’re right, this really looks scrumptious. 」
Hauron was about to heave another sigh.
【Appraisal】-san recommended karaage for stingfish. The smaller ones are cleaned then deep-fried whole with the head and bones still attached.
It’s crispy, crunchy perfection. The main bones and spine were a bit annoying since they’re left in the mouth, but folks in this world love that extra crunch, so I still prepared it this way.
The crispy coating, the crackle of the tiny bones, and the light, flaky white meat—it all comes together beautifully.
「Oh my goodness, this tastes heavenly. What an elegant flavor. 」
「This light, smooth oil ー is it from the fish? My mouth’s on fire, but that’s where the taste of beer shines! 」
Beer here is usually served at room temperature, but thanks to years of watching Japanese beer commercials, I’m a firm believer that beer should be ice-cold. I served them chilled ones, of course.
I’ve been serving cold stuff from time to time, so nobody questioned it anymore. I made a refrigerator, or should I say a make-shift cooler box using Chilly Plate EX. Bring on the hot season!
「Oh, have this too. 」
It’s a mound of thinly shaved ice served in a bowl. If it gets good reviews, I might offer it to Ash.
For the record, I made a super-freezing plate — beyond just “chilled,” it’s practically rock-solid — and tried to make ice cream. Long story short, I spilled the mixture. What you see here is what I scraped off the plate with a spatula after it spread out thin and froze solid.
It melts quickly because it’s so thin, but the taste isn’t bad! It’s strawberry ice cream! And no, I’m not testing it on anyone before giving it to Ash just because it’s a fail!
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.