Chapter 214 - Various Things Brewed
"It's a waste of time going back and forth between the Mountain Cabin and the port, so Shou-kun has a house here too."
Mion explained the situation while conversing with the comments section. Down the slope from the cliff, our target was the former tavern. It was already registered as my residence, so I guess it was like a vacation home?
"Of the three buildings you can see, it's the smallest one closest. It used to have a tavern interior, but there's a loft in the backyard, and that's where I'm staying."
[Runade] "Thought he built another one haha"
[Seiki] "Tavern? Was there alcohol?"
[Molto] "Wonder if there's any vintage whiskey left…"
[Shazuna] "Shou-kun's underage, so no~"
etc. etc…
"Oh, yeah. I took a sip of Grapeful Wine, and it was incredibly sour…"
That word 'unpalatable' truly fit it perfectly. Just remembering it made my mouth pucker.
[Matchru] "There was leftover wine!?"
[Otton] "It tastes weird when underage people drink it, right? haha"
[Shakeena] "Alcohol is for adults, okay~ (^◇^;)"
[Shundi] "You made the wine yourself?"
etc. etc…
Ah, right. Normally, even if you make wine from Grapeful, it takes time. Does the Magic Brewer skip all that? Or is it a game time reduction thing?
"Um, there's no light, so I'll rely on the Light Spirit. Lights!"
At my words, a small point of light floated up from the Light Spirit Stone on my pendant. I pushed open the front door, illuminating the completely unorganized interior.
"Still haven't really organized it."
The Crude Stone Kiln on the right front was cleaned properly after each use, but the back right, where I'd piled up unused chairs and tables, was pure chaos. My fishing rods were set up with tackle already prepared, and spare tackle was scattered all around them.
"The back first?"
"Yeah. Behind this counter connects to the backyard…"
I walked behind the counter, around to the backyard. What I saw was the loft I slept in, and a large barrel underneath it.
"The loft is Shou-kun and Lupi-chan's room."
Mion explained the loft, but the barrel underneath was clearly out of place. The viewers' discussion immediately shifted to the barrel and wine, but apparently, even for normal production, it still took about a week…
"Um, regarding wine-making… it's faster if you just see this."
What I showed, of course, was the Appraisal result of the Magic Brewer.
[Nattai] "Huh?"
[Hajikirii] "Haaa?"
[Yusen] "Fah!?"
[Rossan] "Whoa! haha"
etc. etc…
Comments were coming in at an incredible pace… Should I wait for them to calm down? No, maybe it's better to just show them that. I took out a small barrel containing Glycine Fruit, opened its lid, and showed the contents.
"And so, Glycine Fruit."
[Akumon] "Soy sauce!"
[Shakeena] "Soy sauce coming!?"
[Kusho] "This is truly a revolution!"
[Daytron] "
etc. etc…
I moved the large barrel aside and placed the small barrel containing Glycine Fruit. I activated the Magic Brewer, and…
"You can't make soy sauce, right?"
"Yeah. Well, I know what's missing, though."
Just like yesterday, I tapped the 'Missing' section to display it. When I showed the problematic 'Haku Fruit', everyone, probably imagining rice, immediately shifted their conversation to rice and rice plants.
"Is it rice, after all?"
"Probably. I guess I'll have to look for rice plants for that."
[Hien] "Rice, huh…"
[Master Chef] "Feels like a Japanese game."
[Nelson] "Never seen rice plants either. So it's called Haku."
[Marcy] "Wheat is Kohaku, but can't it be substituted?"
etc. etc…
Discussions about rice and rice plants were flying around in the comments, but it seemed no one had found them yet. Listening to Mion conversing with the comments, I left the backyard to prepare for today's main event: fishing.
"Today is a relaxed fishing session, so feel free to ask other questions."
"Indeed."
If I caught fish, I planned to quickly cook them for a food terror. If that didn't work out at all, it would be Roasted Greydeer with Lycos (tomato) sauce.
Carrying two fishing rods, I slowly walked towards the pier.
"Shou-kun, the big buildings next door."
"Oh, right. These two seem to be Storage, but they're empty."
Since there was nothing in them anyway, I had left the Storage doors open when I came before. I briefly peeked into each and showed them empty on stream.
"Wonder why there are such Storage facilities here…"
"Mysterious, isn't it?"
[Koji] "Theory: It was a relay point for islands around here."
[Polpol] "Like a hub port, isn't it?"
[Kedaman] "Theory: This island was the HUB."
[Frite] "Maybe it was a port just for transshipment."
etc. etc…
"Hub?"
At Mion's question, explanations flooded the comments section. In essence, it seemed that things gathered from surrounding islands were brought to this island and then sent out again.
"I see. But if that's the case, I'd expect a few more houses or something."
[Yunosuke] "Surprisingly close to the next island, maybe?"
[Sack] "When you started on the Uninhabited Island, weren't there other islands around?"
[Kokuri] "Want to hear about choosing this island! (゜▽゜)"
[Myhobby] "Maybe it was a place where small boats gathered."
etc. etc…
Other islands around… there were. However, I thought if there were people with similar ideas nearby, it would be awkward to meet, so I had chosen an island that couldn't be selected as a starting point.
"Come to think of it, I haven't heard much about why Shou-kun chose this island as a starting point."
"Oh, really? Well, I'll explain that while fishing."
I had already reached the end of the pier while talking, so I started preparing to fish.
"Wafu…"
"You two can take a nap."
Lupi, curled up at my feet, let out a small yawn and closed her eyes. Sweee lay spread out, leaning against Lupi. The wind was calm today, so she probably wouldn't be blown away.
For bait, I ended up using the Runelathis (spiral shells) I'd caught earlier in the day, boiled and chopped into pieces. The innards served as chum.
The Harris (leader line) made from Ranziboa fur seemed reasonably strong. It should probably be fine for a 30cm horse mackerel.
I put the bait on a hook made from Bicobit bone and gently lowered it into the sea.
"Alright, first, character creation was quick…"