Chapter 83

――And so, on the morning of the third day, we began the development plan for the Berserk village.

On this day, we started our actions by dividing roughly into four groups.

The first group was the agricultural team led by Uga.

The vegetables planted in the fields had grown even more overnight, and all of them had reached a harvestable quantity.

Their task for today was to harvest the vegetables.

The main members were Uga, the rabbit beastman Muu, Reire, Mawr and Meala, Fressa, and Orchidea, with a few other Berserks.

The second group was the hot spring team led by Gari.

We planned to have Gari and his team build a large bath using the hot spring that Delphi had excavated yesterday.

Gari, whose construction skills had grown to the point where he no longer needed my advice, was leading the team, working with the experienced Beowulf staff who had participated in the capital's branch.

"Why do I have to...?"

And, as promised, we also had to build a small hot spring for the animals.

I asked Delphi to take care of that.

‘Ponpoko!’

‘Kyunkyun!’

‘Puu!’

‘Please do your best, Poko!’

Delphi worked on the hot spring while receiving encouragement from the wild animals.

Well, to Delphi, their voices only sounded like animal noises.

The third group was the village construction team.

Actually, this group had been working on the hot spring yesterday, so most of the work was already done.

A few Beowulfs took over the work and were building several houses where the huts had been.

Now, the last group.

The fourth group was the fishing team.

A few male Berserks, including Bushi, went to the sea with Iksa.

They were to go out on a boat and actually do some fishing.

After dividing into these groups, everyone worked for a few hours.

By midday—

“We’re back!”

Bushi and the others returned to the village.

They walked, but the carts pulled by Entia and Kuro were loaded with a large amount of seafood.

“Amazing! Did you catch all of this!?”

“I thought my skills might have gotten rusty, but they didn’t.”

“Yeah, once you’re out at sea, your body naturally remembers.”

While the Berserks laughed heartily, I looked at the mountain of harvest.

No, this is truly impressive.

Fish, shellfish, shrimp, octopus—there was an abundance of fresh seafood.

Hey! Is that uni!?

“Wow, it’s a treasure trove of premium ingredients!”

“Tonight will be a feast. You’ve always been generous to us, so let us fill your bellies with the bounty of our land.”

“Idiot, you’re going to sell some of this, right? You can’t eat it all.”

Yes, by catching fresh fish and selling them like at Tsukiji, this could be an excellent source of income.

But that’s not all—

“Hey, are there any local dishes that use seafood in this area?”

“Dishes?”

If it’s famous enough to be a tourist attraction, there must be some dishes that make use of it.

Yes, I want a variety of dishes.

Not just boiled or grilled, but steamed or salt-baked.

The Berserks tilted their heads and thought about my question.

“Dishes... the Vizer salmon is in season now. It’s fatty, so it’s delicious when grilled.”

“Yeah, and fish roe is a delicacy too.”

“Salmon! Sounds good!”

With salmon, I could use "aluminum foil" to make foil-wrapped salmon!

And salmon roe is ikura!

(Hmm... uni and ikura...)

Ah, as a Japanese person, I can’t help but imagine "that."

But, of course, without rice in this world, it’s impossible.

“...We don’t have anyone who can fillet fish and make sashimi, though.”

“Sashimi?”

It seemed to be an unfamiliar word, and the Berserks tilted their heads even more.

“Yes, sashimi. Instead of boiling or grilling, you cut the firm flesh of raw fish and eat it fresh.”

“Eh!? Eat it raw!?”

Not just the Berserks, but everyone present was surprised by my statement.

“Give it up, Mako. If you eat raw fish, you’ll get sick.”

Right, fish can have parasites.

I wonder if there are farmed fish in this world?

But from the atmosphere, it seems there isn’t much of a culture of eating raw fish.

“Well, sashimi is on hold. It’s a shame... By the way, can anyone here fillet fish?”

“Bushi is probably the best at it.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly called out, Bushi looked up.

“Among us, Bushi is the best at filleting fish. Right?”

“Yeah... to some extent.”

“That’s great! Bushi, can you try filleting this salmon?”

I leaned in, and Bushi took the Vizer salmon, saying, “Okay.”

“...But we don’t have any knives...”

“I’ll synthesize them.”

I activated Alchemy and generated a set of knives.

I also prepared a cutting board using the wood I had cut yesterday, and everything was ready.

“It’s been a while, so don’t expect too much.”

But there was no need to worry. Bushi skillfully filleted the salmon with quick, smooth movements.

He removed the scales, took out the innards, removed the head, and cut the flesh along the backbone—

“Is it like this?”

“Wow!”

As I had requested, he cut it into pieces that looked exactly like modern fillets.

The red fish meat shone.

Everyone present was amazed by the quality of the work.

“Amazing, Bushi! Truly a master’s skill! It’s a work of art!”

“R-Really?”

“What!? A work of art!?”

From somewhere, Delphi had rushed over.

He really is quick to act when it comes to art.

“Delphi, how are the animals’ hot springs?”

“Already done! They were overjoyed!”

“Really?”

“More importantly, what is this!?”

Delphi pointed at the filleted salmon on the cutting board.

“Yeah, Bushi filleted the Vizer salmon. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s artistic, you know.”

“Nn... it’s fish meat... nn...”

Ah, he’s feeling a bit defeated.

Indeed, the cuts and sizes are so precise, it’s as if they were cut by a machine.

“What do you think, Delphi? If we cut and align other fish in the same way, I think it would be colorful and artistic. Arranging fillets and squid to look like flowers, for example, would be highly artistic, wouldn’t it?”

“...In the end, it’s just a dead fish.”

Well, saying that.

Even if he grinds his teeth while saying it, it just sounds like sour grapes.

But if Delphi is jealous, it must mean it’s really impressive.

“Then, let’s eat it right away.”

Of course, we can’t eat it raw, so we decided to grill it.

I had the fillets cut into bite-sized pieces and skewered them, then grilled them over a fire like a barbecue.

The fat dripped, and the grilled Vizer salmon skewers were completed.

“...Mmmmmm!”

Amazing fat!

It melts in your mouth!

The salt is just right!

“Whoa! I want to drink sake!”

Lam, who was tasting it with us, shouted.

I can’t drink alcohol, but I’m sure this would go well with Japanese sake.

“What do you think, Delphi?”

“Guh... it’s good.”

Delphi muttered with a bitter expression.

But he admits it’s delicious.

I’m certain this fish will become a specialty of the village.

“So, Bushi! Show off your skills as our village’s chef!”

“O-Okay.”

Despite the situation, Bushi looked happy.

“...It’s so delicious when grilled. I wonder what it would be like as sashimi...”

“...Hey, Mako.”

Before I could give up, Reire called out to me.

“Mako, do you really want to eat raw fish?”

“Hmm... if possible, yeah.”

“Right. Is there any way to do it?”

“Hmm... farmed fish without parasites... Ah, right, freezing the fish kills the parasites, doesn’t it?”

“Freezing...”

Reire seemed to be thinking about my suggestion.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

In this way, the Berserk village rapidly developed.

Food, hot springs, wooden crafts... we were steadily acquiring items that could be sold, and we started thinking about how to use them as specialties.

It was then.

On the fifth day of the Berserk village’s tourism development plan, at noon.

“Wow, we’ve gathered quite a bit.”

Today, we went to the city for the first time in a while to buy various items we would need in the future.

Seasonings, alcohol, and so on.

We also stopped by the adventurer’s guild to greet Coru and gather information.

But there wasn’t anything particularly new.

The lord, Prince Stinger, still showed no interest in us.

The adventurers, including Cyra, who had been tasked with suppressing the Berserks, had been penalized for their misconduct (they deliberately provoked the Berserks to attack the city).

Entia was pulling the cart, and Iksa and I were on our way back to the village.

‘Sis’

“...Huh?”

We were almost at the village when Entia called out to me, seemingly noticing something.

“What’s wrong, Entia—”

I leaned out of the cart and saw someone lying on the side of the road.

“What’s wrong, Mako?”

“...Someone is lying there.”

I told Iksa and got off the cart, rushing to the person’s side.

It was an old man.

He was wearing good-quality clothes and had a gentlemanly appearance, despite his disheveled state.

His hair and beard were neatly groomed.

“Ugh, ugh...”

When I shook his shoulder, he groaned and opened his eyes.

“Are you okay, sir?”

“Huh... Where am I?”

“Tourist city Vizer... we’re almost there. Did something happen?”

I asked the old man.

He looked well-built, but his expression showed that he was quite exhausted.

“No... It seems I ended up as a vagrant.”

He laughed dryly and said.

No, this is not a laughing matter.

“I wanted to see the sea near the tourist city Vizer... I came here without telling anyone... But, as they say, age is a powerful thing. I fell ill during the journey and pushed myself too hard...”

“I see.”

He must have fallen ill on the way and kept walking without resting, eventually collapsing.

Indeed, he might have overexerted himself.

“Would you like to rest at our village nearby?”

I couldn’t just leave him there, and the Berserk village was closer from here.

So, I proposed to the old man.

“A village... nearby?”

“Yes, a new tourist spot that we recently developed... well, it’s still under construction, but we do have a hot spring. If you’d like, you can soak in it to heal your body.”

“Hmm, a hot spring...”

The old man looked surprised.

Given his condition, a hot spring would be beneficial.

That hot spring has the power to calm even aggressive wild animals.

“I would like to experience it...”

“Sure! How about it? We can provide you with a meal as well. We’re trying to develop this place as a tourist spot, so it would be great if you could be our first guest!”

“Is it okay?”

I nodded with a smile, helped the old man onto the cart, and headed to the village.

“...”

“...? What’s wrong, Iksa?”

“No...”

On the cart, the old man was lying down with his eyes closed, and Iksa looked puzzled.

“...I feel like I’ve met him somewhere before...”