Chapter 517 - 460. Everything Tastes Delicious on the Beach
After seeing Mion and the others off, I also entered the sea and joined True's group. It seemed they had been exploring beneath the passage that leads to the Ancient Ruins.
I hadn't noticed when walking above, but this area was like a pier with the floor resting on thick stone pillars.
"Kyuu~♪"
"How is it? Did you find anything?"
"Kyukyu!"
What True showed me with a proud "This!" was... a green turban shell?
I appraised it:
[Tokiwagai]
A beautiful green spiral shell inhabiting tropical to subtropical waters. Its flesh is edible and delicious when grilled. Its shell can also be used for ornaments.
It seems to be delicious when grilled. If it's a sazae-like shell, soy sauce would be good, but since we don't have soy sauce, maybe Krupesauce (fish sauce).
The shell also has a green glittery appearance that looks like it could be used for ornaments. I'd like to make accessories for the Selkies who are staying behind.
"We'll have to catch a lot for the ones waiting back home."
"Kyuu~♪"
I might be able to level up my [Diving Skill] too, so I'll give it a good try.
I dove into the water, following True and the others.
Many small fish swam around the pillars supporting the passage, and it was interesting to see them scatter when we approached.
While I could only dive slowly, True and the others dove with incredible speed, catching Tokiwagai with their tridents.
Oh? Is that...
When I surfaced to take a breath, I told True and the others.
"Just now, there was a squid around there, a long, slender one with red patterns on a white background. I think it'll probably be delicious."
"Kyu!" ""Kyukyuu~!""
"Ohh, amazing..."
Before I could warn them to be careful about the ink, True and the others dove down with incredible speed. They're faster diving than swimming on the surface, it seems.
Unable to catch up, I slowly dove closer so as not to get in their way... and ah, it spat ink and tried to escape... True's trident had firmly pierced the white squid.
"Kyuu~♪"
"Ohh, incredible, incredible!"
A squid over 40 cm long. I thought it was a spear squid or swordtip squid, but then:
[Lance Squid]
A squid inhabiting temperate to subtropical waters. Large ones can grow up to nearly 50 cm. Its flesh is edible and delicious.
Right, right.
Simple stir-fry, I guess? Fried as squid tempura, or dried overnight and grilled with salt would also be delicious!
"Let's catch a few more and then come up for a break. Today's snack will be this and Tokiwagai."
"""Kyuu~♪"""
...
...
...
"Mion. Are you free right now?"
"Ah, yes. I was just about to return."
"Okay. Then I'll wait."
We caught three large Lance Squids and plenty of Tokiwagai, so it was snack time.
While Mion and the others returned, I quickly processed the ingredients.
For the Lance Squid, I could have used a knife, but it was too much hassle, so I just used [Dismantling]. The guts were gone, leaving the body and legs, what's called 'geso.'
I dismantled the Tokiwagai too, since it was tedious. It became flesh and shell, and the guts were gone from this one too. Well, Mion and Seth probably don't like guts anyway, so that's fine.
I brought out some stone blocks and made a makeshift stove.
"Woof!"
Lupi, who can patiently wait when I'm cooking, is so smart and cute.
Just then, Mion and the others returned, following her.
"I'm back."
"Welcome back. Thanks, Shal and Pan."
I thanked the two carrying Armra saplings.
I had been so focused on the Lance Squid and Tokiwagai that I hadn't noticed, but with the ones they just brought, we now had five saplings.
"Um, what are those?"
Mion, in turn, seemed curious about our spoils (?),
"Squid and sazae, I guess. This is what they looked like before dismantling."
"Oh, those are big squids."
"Yeah, they're big for squid. But [Appraisal] says they're delicious."
Speaking of which, can dogs and cats eat squid? Is that superstition about cats eating squid and their waists giving out true? I heard it's fine if it's thoroughly cooked.
Well, fairies and phantom beasts supposedly don't eat things that are bad for them, so I'll just give them dried sardines then.
"Shou-kun. Are you free right now?"
"Oh, Azure-san. I'm fine. Are you coming here?"
It was just past 10 o'clock.
Bell and the others should be done with their live show, and if there are no problems, they should be coming to visit...
"Yeah. The two of them are coming with me now, so just wait a bit~"
Azure-san's conversation seemed to have been clearly heard by Mion, who was now explaining it to True and the others.
Sweee and the others had met Bell and Seth before, but this would be True's first time.
"Alright, I'll stir-fry the squid first. Is that okay?"
"Yes. Squid and octopus are both fine."
She ate them last time too, when I treated her to sushi.
Ah, but she didn't seem to like shellfish. Tsubaki-san ate those, though; she seems to like delicacies...
"Well, for today, it's just a snack, so we'll do something more substantial next time."
"Yes."
I heated a frying pan with sesame oil and stir-fried the bite-sized Lance Squid.
A pleasant aroma was already wafting, and for a Chinese-style dish, I added a light drizzle of Osterasauce.
With a sizzling sound, an even more appetizing aroma filled the air...
"Oh no. This is definitely going to be delicious..."
Not just me, but Mion, True, Shal, Pan, and Lupi all had their eyes glued to the frying pan.
As for Sweee... yeah, she's fine with Armra Fruit.
"Alright! Uh..."
"Ah, yes."
"Thanks."
Moved to the wooden plate Mion provided, the Chinese-style stir-fried Lance Squid was complete.
She had even prepared forks, so,
"Alright, True, please go ahead."
"Kyu?"
"I heard that for things like this, the one who caught or harvested it goes first."
Usually, we all say 'itadakimasu' together, but I thought we'd do something different for a change.
We all watched as True brought it to his mouth...
"Kyukyuu~♪"
True's eyes sparkled as he said it was delicious.
Seeing that, everyone else looked impatient, so,
"Alright, let's eat!"