Chapter 197: An Unexpected Find (1/2)

“Whoops!” [Ryouma]

I dodged the large mouth of an approaching mud salamander by a hair’s breadth and then struck its head.

I didn’t even have the time to confirm its death before several more mud salamanders came and attacked me.

I drew a single stroke with a sweep of my rod, and then slipped through the cleared path.

I need to go forward as fast as I can!

In my hand was a single rod. On my head was a lone dark slime. I ran while striking down one mud salamander after another. Before long, I reached the frontmost part of the defensive line.

Like this the metal and iron slimes won’t get caught in the attack!

“I’ll leave it to you!” [Ryouma]

The dark slime on my head reacted to my thoughts.

The sun had already risen up high from the east, so it was very bright, but in a flash, everything suddenly went dark. That was none other than the proof that the dark slime had unleashed its attack.

The area-of-effect attack magic, Dark Mist.

A spell that summoned a darkness that would spread out like a mist and wrap itself around its targets. This dark mist would sap living creatures of their stamina and greatly weaken them. Eventually, it would take away even their lives.

The movements of the mud salamanders on the beach began to dull.

I don’t know if salamanders have knees, but the way they’re moving gives the impression that they can’t put any strength into them.

Moreover, even those still in the water have also been affected, as can be seen by the large number of corpses floating on the water.

After ten seconds the mud salamanders that were making their way toward the processing plant were stopped.

“Guys, please take care of those!” [Ryouma]

“Leave it to us!!!!” [Adventurers and Fishermen]

The fishermen and adventurers that weren’t doing anything went and retrieved the corpses of the mud salamanders that had gotten past the slime defensive line.

…Looks like using the slimes for defense was a success. But as effective as they are, there’s one problem. Unlike humans they can’t carry the mud salamanders once they’ve defeated them, so we have to get someone else to recover those corpses.

Unlike yesterday, the corpses that have been abandoned quickly piled up into a mountain. Because of that the mud salamanders mistook these piles of corpses for some kind of obstruction and started going another way.

Fortunately, the members of the Wharf of Shikumu worked with me to deal with it, so we didn’t end up with any casualties. It’s good that we were prepared.

“Hurry up and get rid of those corpses!　There’s only a few of them left, so just hang on a little more!” [Leader]

“Yeah!!!!” [Adventurers and Fishermen]

As the adventurers and fishermen responded to the leader, I myself took a corpse nearby and ran.

One hour later, the fishing and mud salamander subjugation for the day finally ended.

“Good work out there!” [Ryouma]

“Good job out there~” [Sein]

“Thank you for your work.” [Kai]

After cleaning up, it was time for lunch.

I spoke to the members of the Wharf of Shikumu while we headed for the processing plant.

Along the way, we happened into a familiar face.

“Oh!　Little Niki!” [Man 1]

“So it was true that you’d be working here as punishment.” [Man 2]

“Work hard now~” [Man 3]

“I know!” [Niki]

I heard Niki-kun talking with the men that entered ahead of us.

Looks like the adults are having a blast teasing him.

“Thank you for your work.” [Ryouma]

“Ah!　Slime onii-chan! Are you having lunch?　Take a seat. I’ll bring you food right away.” [NIki]

“Thank you. You sure are working hard.” [Ryouma]

“Ha ha. You’re the only one who’d say that, though.” [Niki]

Niki-kun made a face that looked like he was fed up working here, but that quickly turned into a smile.

I guess that’s just how he communicates.

That’s good. As I thought that to myself, I looked for a place to seat and waited with the Wharf of Shikumu.

Now then, I wonder what today’s lunch will be.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” [Niki]

“Thank—!?” [Ryouma]

I was about to say thanks, but when I saw the contents of our lunch, I was shocked.

Although the grains were a little round, this was undoubtedly ‘white rice’.

And the ingredient added to the daily mustard soup was clearly ‘tofu’.

With the grilled fish and the small bowl of pickles, this is clearly a Japanese breakfast!

“Something wrong?” [Niki]

“This is rice, isn’t it?　Isn’t it supposed to be really expensive since it’s an imported good?” [Ryouma]

“Really?　It appears in the village from time to time, but is it really that expensive,　Onii-chans?” [Niki]

Looks like Niki-kun really didn’t know. The one to answer in his place was Shin-san.

“Foreign rice is indeed expensive, but this is rice grown from these lands with the help of the specialist that the feudal lord called. So it’s not that expensive.” [Shin]

“That being said, it was only a few years ago that we were able to get our hands on them. You could say it’s still a little luxurious. Maybe it’ll become normal food in Niki’s generation~” [Sein]

“What are you talking like an old man for, Sein?” [Kei]

“What was that!?” [Sein]

Kei-san’s remark stupefied Sein-san. Is he worried about that? He’s still so young, though…

But that aside…

“So that’s how you guys were able to get rice.” [Ryouma]

I’ve heard of the feudal lord of this Fatma Territory before, but I didn’t know he did something like that.

“We’ve only been able to eat rice recently… Sorry, I still have work to do. I’ll chat with you guys later!” [Niki]

“Ah, yeah. Do your best!　…Alright. Itadakimasu.” [Ryouma]

First, I took a mouthful of rice… It’s like red rice. Is the reason it’s sticky like glutinous rice because of the difference in variety? It tastes good. I drank some soup too, and as expected, that tofu-looking thing was indeed tofu. This sure brings back memories.

“You look happy.” [Kai]

“It’s been awhile since I was able to eat something like this… Can I buy this somewhere?” [Ryouma]

“In that case, why don’t you get Niki to show you the way later?” [Kai]

“His grandma is the one who makes the tofu here, after all.” [Kei]

Oh? That’s good news.

“I did promise to talk to him later, so I guess I’ll ask then.” [Ryouma]

“Sounds good. Oh, by the way.” [Kai]

?　Kai-san suddenly seemed to remember something and his face became serious.

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