Chapter 3-22 : I Want Fish-nya! (part 1)
「Mmm~ Somehow food tastes better when I eat with you guys.」(Kako)
The next morning after we had dinner with the Balvin family last night, Nyat, Thea, and I were enjoying our breakfast in our room in the inn.
I had been eating my meals in the inn’s dining hall, but Thea and Nyat couldn’t eat with me since servants can’t eat with their masters at the same table, so I asked an inn staff member to bring the food to my room.
No one can see us here, so I can eat with them no problem.
「The seafood in this city is the freshest in this entire country-nya! I wish I could eat fish this fresh in our home-nya. Say, Thea, can our chef do something about it-nya?」(Nyat)
「We have indeed one of the best chefs in our domain, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do about freshness no matter how good you are at cooking.」(Thea)
「Too bad-nya.」(Nyat)
「Can’t we keep the freshness with magic?」(Kako)
「In this era, the best people can do is to freeze the fish with ice magic before distributing it all over the country. Even so, it can’t keep the original freshness of the fish. Moreover, long-distance distribution that takes months can reduce the fish quality.」(Thea)
I’ve heard about this method before. It seems that merchants have to hire someone who can use ice magic to transport food over long distances.
「Other than that…」(Thea)
「There’s another method?」(Kako)
「It costs a lot of money, but I heard that some wealthy merchants use special magic bags with a perfect preservation function.」(Thea)
「Is it any different from regular magic bags?」(Kako)
「Yes. Food will spoil over time inside a regular magic bag, but if you put your food in this special bag, it won’t spoil no matter how long you store it.」(Thea)
「What? Does that mean time stops inside those bags?」(Kako)
「Actually, no one knows how those bags work since they’re ancient relics, but it seems so.」(Thea)
「How fascinating! Can you use them to preserve potions too?」(Kako)
「Of course. Anything you store in those bags will last forever.」(Thea)
That’s so cool! It’s like the storage system in a video game!
I can use them to store potions that don’t last long, like Lost Potions.
As a merchant, I really want one of those!
The problem is how much do they cost?
「They must be quite expensive, aren’t they?」(Kako)
I bet they’re ten times more expensive than regular magic bags.
「Yes. Not all wealthy people can have those rare magic bags. If I’m not mistaken, they have a thousand times the price of regular magic bags on the market.」(Thea)
「Ho, hold on… What did you just say…?」(Kako)
「I said they’re a thousand times more expensive than regular magic bags.」(Thea)
「Th… A THOUSAND TIMES!?」(Kako)
Unbelievable! A regular magic bag already costs a fortune, and these onesー not ten times, but are a thousand times more expensive!?
That’s insane!
「I heard that some nobles use them to store precious items-nya, like important documents, jewels, magic items, weapons, and potions so that they can keep them safe for generations-nya.」(Nyat)
While I was still shocked by how costly those bags were, Nyat added some information.
Thinking about it that way, I wonder if there are nobles who have Lost Potions and store them in those magic bags.
「Say, Thea, do you think Father has that magic bag?」(Kako)
「I have no idea, and I don’t think the other servants know either. Since it’s extremely valuable, I think in a noble house, only the head of the family and a selected few family members know it.」(Thea)
「I see.」(Kako)
Now I’m curious. I wonder if Father would tell me.
Well, probably not, since I’m just an adopted child.
Man… I really wish I had that special magic bag…
◆◆◆
「Hmm… What should I do today…?」(Kako)
After finishing my breakfast, I relaxed on my chair while looking at the sea through the window.
There’s still time for Roberto-sama to finish cleaning up his own mess and make peace with the mermaids. Until then, I think I’ll wait and stay in this city.
I still have to do some research on goods to sell when I get back to the east, but all this conflict with the mermaids, the sea pollution, and dinner with the Balvins kinda exhausted me mentally, so I want to take it easy today.
「Kako, if you don’t have a plan today, there’s something I want to ask-nya.」(Nyat)
「Hm?」(Kako)
It’s unusual for Nyat to request something from me.
He bent down and whispered in my ear, probably because he didn’t want Thea, who was preparing tea in the corner, to hear him.
「I want you to buy various kinds of fish-nya.」(Nyat)
「Fish? If it’s for souvenirs, we can buy them on the day we go home.」(Kako)
「No, no. I want you to use your ability-nya.」(Nyat)
「My ability? Ahh, I see.」(Kako)
It’s Nyat we’re talking about. I quickly understood his intention.
He wants me to buy all sorts of fish and use my Synthesis ability on them. By repeating the process, we’ll get ourselves the highest quality of fish. In other wordsー
「You want to eat the highest quality fish from this region, right?」(Kako)
「That’s nyaight! This city has the best fish-nya, and I’m curious what the best of the best tastes like-nya!」(Nyat)
I knew it. Now I’m curious too.
I never thought of it at all. As expected from our giant cat.
「Also, I want you to cook it for me-nya.」(Nyat)
「You want my cooking?」(Kako)
「Yeah. You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you-nya?」(Nyat)
「Of course, I still remember.」(Kako)
Nyat will be my bodyguard, and in exchange, I will cook him delicious meals.
Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since the last time I cooked something for him.
If I’m going to cook, then I should check not only the fish but also the seasonings. I don’t really know much about seasonings in this region, but I will definitely need salt and pepper.
I wish I could find miso and soy sauce in this world. I really miss Japanese-style dishes…
Well, if I’m lucky, I might find seasonings similar to miso and soy sauce here.
「Alright. I’ll make the best fish dish for you.」(Kako)
「Nyayy~! Kako, I love you-nya!」(Nyat)
「Thea, we’re going to the market today.」(Kako)
「Understood.」(Thea)
Now that we had decided the plan for the day, we left our room after having a quick tea break.
However, before we could even leave the inn, I noticed a familiar person waving his hand at the entrance.
「Good morning, Lady Kako.」(Raykard)
「Raykard-sama?」(Kako)
Ugh, I didn’t expect to see him again this soon.
What is he doing here?
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