Chapter 1-20 : Ending The Day With Delicious Grilled Fish
Ruka and I continued exploring the forest, hunting down spider monsters and collecting silk materials from silkworms until the sun was about to set.
「Ruka, it’s getting dark. Let’s go back to town.」(Alice)
「But I still want to hunt more spiders.」(Ruka)
「You promised we would go back when it gets dark. You should log out and get some rest in the real world. We can continue tomorrow.」(Alice)
「Alright, Mom…」(Ruka)
「I’m not your mom.」(Alice)
By the way, while we were exploring the forest, we talked about a lot of things and I learned that she was a college student like me.
The reason why she was so sleepy was that she was doing all-nighters to finish her assignments in one go so that she could play NWO all day today. She said she had been playing for three days straight In-game-time, or almost 24 hours in the real world.
I also asked her about her grades in college and she said most of her grades were S or A. Seems like she is an honor student in her college.
Ugh… For a student with average grades, I would be lying if I said I didn’t envy her…
While we were exploring, she sometimes stopped to cut down trees. She told me she had learned【Lumbering】,【Woodworking】, and【Tool Mastery】skills, and she said that she cut down trees to make arrows using those skills.
She spent a few of her precious Skill Points to learn them, but in exchange, she no longer had to take the trouble to go to a weapon shop every time she ran out of arrows.
When we returned to Hafen, I saw a food stall by the main street. Hunting with Ruka in the forest was so fun that I forgot my main goal of coming to this town: eating fish.
「Ruka, I want to eat some fish before logging out. You wanna come with me?」(Alice)
「Ah, you said you came here to eat fish. Of course, I’m coming with you.」(Ruka)
「Great. I smell an appetizing aroma from that stall. Seems like they sell grilled fish.」(Alice)
When I pointed my index finger at the stall, the man behind the stall noticed us and shouted out to us.
「Young ladies over there, how about some grilled Hafen fish~? It’s delicious!」(stall vendor)
「Hafen fish, he says? I wonder what kind of fish that is.」(Ruka)
「I don’t know. Let’s find out.」(Alice)
We walked toward the stall as if we were lured by the curiosity.
Seeing us approaching, the energetic man behind the stall welcomed us.
「Welcome beautiful ladies! I hope you’re enjoying the town!」(stall vendor)
「ー!!」(Ruka)
「Hm?」(Alice)
Seeing the stall vendor welcoming us energetically with a big smile on his face, Ruka suddenly hid behind me.
Seems like she is shy, especially toward this type of person.
「Oya? What’s wrong, young lady?」(stall vendor)
「Uhh…」(Ruka)
「Don’t mind her. She’s just a bit shy. And, yes, we’d love some grilled fish. Are they fresh?」(Alice)
「You bet! I only have the freshest Hafen fish in this town! Only 30G for one serving!」(stall vendor)
Hafen fish, huh? It’s the name of the fish, right? It’s the same as this town’s name.
It seems to be local fish, but… I’m curious…
「Grilled Hafen fish, two servings, please.」(Alice)
「Right away~! Please have a seat!」(stall vendor)
Ruka and I sat at the small wooden table in front of the stall while waiting for our dish.
About five minutes later, the man came to us with two plates of freshly grilled fish.
「It’s hot, so please be careful! Enjoy~!」(stall vendor)
「Thank you.」(Alice)
After showing us a big smile, the vendor returned to his stall.
「Hey, Alice. Is this…」(Ruka)
「Hm? …Ah.」(Alice)
I looked at my plate and saw familiar fish.
「I thought I would get something extraordinary, but… Don’t you think it looks a lot like sweetfish?」(Ruka)
「It does… But, it may taste different. Anyway, let’s eat! Itadakimasu~」(Alice)
「Itadakimasu.」(Ruka)
We clapped our hands once and started eating.
Ruka held the skewer carefully with both hands, took a small bite of the fish, and chewed it like a squirrel.
Ahh~ She looks so cute!
I still can’t believe she’s older than me…
I also grabbed the skewer and started eating my fish.
「Umm… It tastes like sweetfish…」(Alice)
「…Yup.」(Ruka)
Not only does it look like a sweetfish, but it also tastes like one.
Howeverー
「Butー Mmmm~!! It’s so good!」(Alice)
「Agreed!」(Ruka)
It was crispy outside and juicy inside. The innards were a bit bitter just like typical sweetfish, but they were edible.
It was just as good as the grilled sweetfish I had in the restaurant in my neighborhood. However, this one is more superior, because… I won’t get fat no matter how much I eat it!
「Phew… It was really good.」(Alice)
「Yeah. Now I understand why you came all the way from Erst Town just to eat fish.」(Ruka)
「Right~? But… I wonder why it’s called Hafen fish when it’s obviously sweetfish.」(Alice)
「Maybe they call sweetfish that way in this world?」(Ruka)
「Possibly…」(Alice)
I was curious, so I raised my hand and asked the vendor.
「Oji-san, may I ask you a question?」(Alice)
「What’s wrong? Do you not like it?」(stall vendor)
「No, no. It was delicious. I’m just wondering why it’s called Hafen fish.」(Alice)
「Hahaha! Isn’t it obvious? It’s called Hafen fish because it can only be found in Hafen!」(stall vendor)
「Is that so?」(Alice)
I thought sweetfish could be found anywhere.
Does that mean that any kind of fish that’s caught in Hafen will be called Hafen fish?
His explanation just gave me more questions…
While I was wondering, I noticed a woman holding a sandal approaching the vendor from behind.
「What the hell are you talking about!? I told you to stop lying!」(woman)
She then slapped the man’s head with the sandal.
「Ouch! This is the fifth time you’ve hit me with your filthy sandal today!」(stall vendor)
「It’s your fault for telling Outworlders weird lies!」(woman)
「It’s just a joke! It’s a Hafen joke, don’t you get that!?」(stall vendor)
「Joke my foot! If I didn’t come, these ladies would have believed it!」(woman)
Uhh… What in the world is going on here? Are they a married couple?
There’s a saying, “Even the dog doesn’t want to interfere in a couple’s fight”.
Can’t you guys do it somewhere else, please…?
「You should tell them the truth!」(woman)
「But!」(stall vendor)
「No buts! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for trying to make money by deceiving these cute young ladies!?」(woman)
「Alright, alright! Aa-ahh… There goes my extra money…」(stall vendor)
「Umm… Excuse me. What is this all about?」(Alice)
「Ah, forgive us, young lady. Hurry up! You tell her!」(woman)
「Hahh… Guess I have no choice… Well, I lied to you. There’s no such thing as Hafen fish… This fish is called sweetfish.」(stall vendor)
I knew it! It IS sweetfish after all!
It looks like a sweetfish, it tastes like a sweetfish, and it’s called a sweetfish!
「Why did you tell such lies?」(Alice)
「Well, I thought I could make more Outworlders come to my stall and sell them my fish at a higher price if I use that name.」(stall vendor)
So he was trying to lure us into his stall using that name.
Well, he successfully did it. That name did make me curious.
「You must apologize to these ladies or you will taste my sandal for the sixth time today!」(woman)
「Hiiiiiyy! ーI… I’m sorry…」(stall vendor)
Being glared at by his wife, the vendor bowed to us and apologized.
「Hahh…」(Alice)
I couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
The fact that he lied to me irritated me a little, but unlike me, Ruka turned to the vendor and talked to him.
「Oji-san.」(Ruka)
「Y, Yes…?」(stall vendor)
「It was delicious. Thank you for the food.」(Ruka)
「Eh…? You’re not… angry…?」(stall vendor)
「Angry?」(Ruka)
「Because I lied to you…」(stall vendor)
「The fish was delicious, so we didn’t mind. Right, Alice?」(Ruka)
She turned to me and smiled.
We’ve only known each other for a short time, but I know that she’s a kind-hearted girl.
I was a bit annoyed, but that feeling disappeared completely when I saw her smile.
「Well, you heard her. I forgive you, but I still don’t understand why you were lying.」(Alice)
「It’s because… I don’t get many customers lately, so…」(stall vendor)
「Is that so? That’s weird. I think your grilled sweetfish was excellent. The way it was grilled, the amount of salt, the crispiness, and the juiciness were perfect. It was as goodー no, it was better than the grilled sweetfish I had in the best restaurant in my homeland.」(Alice)
「Re, Really!?」(stall vendor)
「Of course. I never lie about food.」(Alice)
「Thank you, young lady! Your words mean a lot to me!」(stall vendor)
「See? There are customers who understand. You should be more confident and stop lying.」(woman)
「Yeah, you’re right, my dear…」(stall vendor)
Seems like we’re having a happy ending here.
I couldn’t hold back my smile.
「So, how much should we pay?」(Alice)
「I said 30G for each serving, but you can pay me 20G each.」(stall vendor)
「Are you sure?」(Alice)
「Yes. Consider it as a nuisance discount for lying to you.」(stall vendor)
「Hmm… No, we don’t need such discount. Right, Ruka?」(Alice)
「Yup.」(Ruka)
Ruka and I materialized the money and handed it to the man.
The man looked confused for a second, but then he bowed deeply to us.
「Thank you! Thank you, young ladies!」(stall vendor)
「You’re welcome. Let’s go, Ruka.」(Alice)
「Un.」(Ruka)
After paying, we turned around and headed toward the center of the town.
The stall vendor and his wife were bowing while seeing us off.
「Well, Ruka, I’m gonna log out now. You should log out too and get some sleep.」(Alice)
「I hear you, Mom~」(Ruka)
「Told you I’m not your Mom…」(Alice)
「Fufu!」(Ruka)
「Let’s continue hunting tomorrow.」(Alice)
「Un. See you tomorrow, Alice.」(Ruka)
「See you, Ruka.」(Alice)
We smiled at each other and pushed the ‘logout’ button at the same time.
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