Chapter 582 - Episode 519: The Excursion Isn't Over Until You're Home
\"Food!\"
The White Dragon Princess-sama came running and pounced on Mion.
Behind her, El-san walked leisurely. Was that a Forebit dangling from the spear she carried?
\"Here. Sorry for always troubling you.\"
\"No, no, it's fine.\"
The barbecue preparations were already complete, using Stone Wall Blocks and wire mesh.
Mion was introducing the White Dragon Princess-sama and El-san to True and Gaju, so we could start grilling right away.
\"First up, this guy, I guess.\"
It was a huge shrimp, almost 50cm long, caught by True and his companions.
They called it a Roshero Lobster, and it was supposedly delicious... but it looked exactly like a Japanese spiny lobster. The intense orange color was probably because it was a game.
I sliced it in half, slathered it with Ecryu Butter, and placed it on the wire mesh...
\"Whoa, this is insane...\"
\"It looks delicious...\"
It wasn't just Mion and me muttering; the White Dragon Princess-sama and El-san were staring intently, swallowing hard.
The expectant gazes from True and Gaju were intense.
\"Oops, gotta grill the others too.\"
Next were the shrimp I'd repeatedly failed to catch, called Parpimp. I'd confirmed they were edible, so I arranged them around the Roshero Lobster.
Then I lined up some Chromnaria, followed by the eviscerated fish, one by one.
\"Wafun.\"
\"Alright, alright.\"
I butchered the Forebit El-san had given us, seasoning it lightly with salt and pepper.
Oh, the Parpimp, perhaps because they were small, were already nicely grilled...
\"They're done!\"
\"Ah, yes.\"
I served them on wooden plates, first to True and Gaju who had caught them, then to our guests, the White Dragon Princess-sama and El-san.
I had to make sure not to eat too much since the main event, the Roshero Lobster, was coming... Though the White Dragon Princess-sama would be perfectly fine no matter what.
\"Lupi prefers this one, don't you?\"
\"Wafun.\"
So, the Forebit went to Lupi.
Once Mion and I had ours as well,
\"Alright, let's eat!\"
\"I-itadakimasu.\"
\"Itadakimasu~!\"
...
...
...
After happily chatting and eating our fill, it was almost three in the afternoon.
We still had a bit of time, so what should we do?
\"Ju?\"
\"Hmm? Over there, we've planted the Armra Trees we received before.\"
Gaju seemed curious about the eastern side.
Since we had time, maybe we could go see the river.
\"Want to go check it out after we're done cleaning up?\"
\"Waf!\" \"Juu~!\" \"Kyuu~!\"
\"Ah, I'll take care of the cleanup.\"
\"I'll help too.\"
Mion and El-san offered to clean up, so I figured I could leave it to them.
The White Dragon Princess-sama was full and napping in the shade, so it wasn't like she could join us anyway.
\"Alright, I'll be right back.\"
\"Yes. Have a good trip.\"
And so, we headed to the southeastern part of the island.
Along the way, I mentioned that there were Bicobits and Saloon Lizards around. It should be fine with our current party, but still.
\"Juju?\"
\"Yeah, this area is a bit like Gaju's island.\"
The southeastern part of the island was semi-tropical.
It felt like plants from southern islands could grow here.
\"Kyuu~?\"
\"There aren't many delicious fruits around here, I guess. Oh, and these Papu Fruits are astringent raw, so don't eat them.\"
Chatting like that, we moved to the spot where we'd planted the Armra Trees.
All the saplings lined up were growing nicely. That was to be expected, though, since Mion and Sweee were checking on them.
\"Juu~♪\" \"Kyuu~♪\"
Gaju and True's group looked happy, surrounding the saplings.
Apparently, they become mature trees in about three months in the game, so they'd probably bear fruit around October.
We continued to wander around to the area of the cave where the Goblins used to be.
At first, I talked about living here and what I did before meeting True and the others... but for some reason, they got really excited, exclaiming \"Amazing! Amazing!\"
\"Waf.\"
\"Yeah. Let's go see the river too.\"
Shal and the others were now checking on the Basket Traps.
I hoped we'd caught enough for souvenirs for Gaju and True's group... but how much, I wondered?
\"The river is down this way.\"
\"Juju.\"
As we trudged down to the riverbed, Gaju and his companions immediately started looking for river fish.
They seem to be catching their own, so I'll check the basket traps over here.
\"Kyu?\"
\"Fish might be in here, you see.\"
\"Wafun.\"
I pulled up the Basket Trap by its rope.
The weight made me relieved; it felt like there were already four or five fish inside.
\"See? There are fish in there, right?\"
\"Kyuu~!\" \"Kyuu~!\" \"Kyuu~!\"
True and his group got excited again, exclaiming \"Amazing! Amazing!\"
They had been surprised by Gaju's net fishing on the Southern Island too, but it was nice that they were genuinely surprised by such primitive methods.
\"Kyukyu?\"
\"Ah, we might have to make a slightly different kind of basket for the ocean.\"
There were also Basket Traps designed to sink to the seabed, weren't there?
We should be able to catch crabs with those. Maybe octopuses or moray eels too?
\"Shou-kun. Can you hear me?\"
\"Ah, yeah. What's up?\"
\"Althena-chan has woken up, so perhaps we should return to the port soon?\"
\"Roger. I'll hurry.\"
We had to go back to the Selkie Village, send Gaju and his companions to the Southern Island, and then return to the mansion from there.
\"Gaju~! Time to head back~!\"
\"Juu~!\" \"Juju~!\" \"Juju~!\"
Oh, wow, they caught a lot of Flower Trout...
...
...
...
\"I wanna ride~!\"
The White Dragon Princess-sama and El-san were supposed to walk back normally, but it seemed she wanted to ride the Small Magic Boat.
\"Uh...\"
\"Could you indulge her? I shall fly and follow.\"
\"Ah, that's right.\"
I had thought two more would be over capacity, but El-san could fly.
I left the White Dragon Princess-sama to Mion and had Gaju and True's group board.
\"Okay?\"
\"Yes.\" \"Okay~\"
\"Waf!\" \"Ju!\" \"Kyu!\"
At their cries, El-san nodded deeply before spreading her wings.
With one powerful flap, she soared high into the sky.
\"Oh...\"
\"That's amazing!\"
Even without flapping, she was floating, which definitely set her apart from birds.
El-san, looking up at us, pointed the way with her spear.
\"Alright, setting sail~!\"
\"Waf~\"