104: Seawater? Is it tasty?

January 13, 2021 - 9 minutes read - 1707 words

“Oh, have we made it to Esprit?” Al

We spent four days in the shaking carriage from Kicca, but we had finally arrived at the port city of Esprit in the Ardonia Kingdom. Most of the buildings are painted white and spread out from the harbor. I can see both large and small sailing ships in the port, most of which were loading or unloading cargo.

“Oi, hop to it! Make sure to unload it properly, you won’t leave until it’s right!” Captain

“Hey!” Sailors

Strong tanned sailors move around with lively voices. Like Kicca, it was lively because of the many items and people flowing through, but a different kind of lively from Kicca.

I can hear the sound of waves mixed in between the hustle and bustle of the populace. It’s a sea, the first sea I’ve seen in this world. I haven’t had the chance to see one since I reincarnated, so it’s a fresh experience.

It seems natural that I haven’t seen it since Koriat Village is surrounded by mountains. How many years has it been since I’ve seen this kind of place?

I’ve heard that many ordinary villagers go their entire life without seeing the sea. Even I saw it during my previous life, I’ll still make sure to enjoy it now. When I take a deep breath, I can smell the salt aroma carried by the wind from the sea.

“Since Alfred is from Koriat Village, is this your first time to see a sea?” Mark

“Yeah, there’s no sea in Koriat Village.” Al

When we made it to the harbor and looked at the sea, Irving and Mark walked over with barrels and buckets. The other members of the party look to be organizing our cargo. I wonder if these two came to fetch seawater?

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s amazing, it’s all water.” Al

Well, I’ve seen this before plenty of times. Since I haven’t seen it in this life, I’ll pretend that this is the first time. To be honest, it is the first time I’ve seen it in this life.

When I answered that way, Irving and Mark smile mischievously. I bet they’re planning something.

“Did you know? Seawater is very delicious, isn’t it?” Mark

“Oh, it’s as clear as river water, so it’s easy to drink. You should try it!” Irving

These guys are trying to trick me since I might not know about the salt in seawater. I can sense the evil hidden under the smiles. Is that their plan here?

“Oh, really? Then, let’s drink some.” Al

“Oh! We’ll scoop you some, just wait!” Mark

Two people raise their thumbs and walk over to the sea, they aren’t acting guilty. In fact, they’re wearing the biggest smiles I’ve seen.

Irving and Mark then sink the barrels to get some seawater. Once they’re full, they bring them back. Irving dumps out a leather water skin and fills it with seawater from the barrel.

Do they think I’m going to drink that much? If it’s in a water skin, ignorant people would take a large gulp…

“Hey! Take a big swig!” Irving

If I actually took one, I’d be sick from an overdose of salt.

“Yes, thanks” Al

I take the water skin Irving presented, he’s wearing a 100% evil smile. I wonder if they’re laughing internally, but I don’t want to let them off that easy.

“Does Irving always have a big drink when you’re around the sea?” Al

“Oh, yeah! That’s why we’re drawing a barrel of seawater. Naturally” Irving

I pretended to take him at his word.

“That’s nice. Then I’ll drink.” Al

I tilt the water skin and pour seawater into my mouth. I can see Irving and Mark about to start laughing once I spit out the water. A normal person would spit it out now, but I don’t need to. I activated my Spatial Magic inside my mouth to drain away the salty seawater so I don’t have to drink the water. No matter how much seawater is poured in, I’ll be fine. To really sell it, I’ll act like the water is actually delicious.

“… what?” Irving & Mark

Did you think I would spit out the seawater when I realized it was salty? Irving and Mark are stunned, they’re looking at each other with wide eyes. I then gesture as if I’m wiping away seawater from my mouth.

“Oh, that’s delicious! It’s so clear and seems made for my throat!” Al

“… Oh?” Mark & Irving

The two people are giving a confused reply with mystified faces. They turn to each other and whisper to each other.

“What’s going on? Didn’t we draw seawater? Saltwater? Why is he fine?” Mark

“I don’t know! I don’t get how it’s possible! Is Alfred’s tongue broken?” Irving

How impolite, my tongue it normal. While the two of them are secretly talking, I take take the water skin over to a barrel to fill it up.

“Hey, Irving and Mark. Take a drink, it’s delicious, right?” Al

When I offered the drink to them with an innocent smile, they look disgusted.

“Well, no, not right now? I’m not thirsty. Mark, didn’t you say you were thirsty?” Irving

“Ahh! What are you saying?” Mark

“It’s delicious water, so you can drink it even when you’re not thirsty. You want to drink it, right?” Al

After this, their curiosity overwhelmed their trepidation, water spouted out of their mouths after they realized it was normal saltwater.

The two who attempted to get me to drink seawater were scolded by Alisha and forced to work. Alisha and Ilya were worried I had actually drank the seawater, but I told them I had erased it by magic. I showed off disappearing magic earlier on the journey. They seemed a bit unconvinced.

Next steps involve ordering cargo, securing accommodation, handling business matters, etc., so Rumba and I are useless. We’re currently looking forward to having a seafood barbecue at noon. It seems it’s a specialty of this town.

Triela said that he was preparing a surprise for me? I wonder what in the world it is…

It seems Ilya will accompany us as a guide to make sure we show up at the correct place on time. It seems we’ll have an entertaining time.

“Is your body really fine?” Ilya

“I’m perfectly fine. I didn’t actually drink it.” Al

It seems she still thinks I drank the water, and is worried I’ll fall over sick later. My kidneys aren’t magical, if I really drank that much seawater, I’d be sick from dehydration.

“Is that so? Please let me know immediately if you feel sick.” Ilya

She’s still anxious, and is reluctant to let me run around.

“I’m looking forward to the seafood barbecue!” Rumba isn’t looking worried.

“That’s right! I’m looking forward to the freshly caught seafood.” Al

“That’s right. Since all the seafood is freshly caught, it’s really delicious!” Ilya says with a wide smile.

You can’t really eat seafood in Koriat Village. I wonder if it’s even possible to carry fresh-frozen fish all the way there? We just get fish from the river. I’ll get saltwater fish and shellfish for the first time in seven years, I feel like drooling just thinking about it. Grilled seafood would be delicious…

We walk down the paved cobblestone road, full of expectations.

It’s not as crowded as Kicca, so it doesn’t matter if we walk side by side. For the time being, I’m a child and an escort target, so I’m being sandwiched by Rumba and Ilya. We’re lined up like a family, but the three of us are so dissimilar, so nobody would think that.

The edges of the road are lined with fish caught this morning. There’s a fish with black spots on a silver skin. The stomach looks fatty and plump, it looks to be around 80 centimeters in size. Maybe about the size of red sea bream? I haven’t seen such a large fish before in this world.

“That’s a Ginjo. As you can guess from the bulging belly, it’s very delicious from the fat belly.” Ilya

When I was looking at the fish, Ilya bent down and explained it. When she bends down, her chest seems to expand to a ridiculous size. It’s hard to see her face from this angle.

Well, I’d rather be a fish with a bloated belly than a bulging chest. Next to the Ginjo, there’s a fish with blue and yellow stripes on the back. The fins look so sharp that you could cut yourself on them. It has sharp eyes with a large, sharp chin. It’s like a fish that has a glittering knife growing out of it.

“The fish next to is is a swordfish. The fins are like blades, so please don’t touch them and get cut.” Ilya

Should I be worried about it? Should I say something like ‘Is it another sword-bearing creature again? I’m scared! There’s so many dangerous creatures in the Ardonia Kingdom!’

“Does this jump up from the surface of the water?” Al

“Yes, it’s a fish that like to swim near the surface of the water. It’s aggressive, but doesn’t usually attack humans. Though when there’s a horde of them, it can get dangerous.” Ilya

What should I do? After that explanation, I want to go home even though all I have to do is cross the sea to make it to Kagura.

“What if a horde of swordfish attacks our ship?” Al

“Alisha and I will drive them away with magic! We’ve done it before, so it’ll be fine!” Ilya answers with a smile.

Does this swordfish use the cutter to plunge into other fish? What happens to non-fish that are attacked? When I think about it, it’s not a monster, just a fish. What kind of monsters exist that are like fish? I’m worried to encounter them…

I think I understand why Nord was worried about me sailing the seas without Rumba.

“Haha, that chin reminds me of Gates.” Rumba

Rumba isn’t fazed by Ilya’s explanation. He’s picking it up by the fins and laughing.

The chin does have a resemblance to Gates, I wonder what he’s up to now?