Chapter 49

When I heard it referred to as a fishing port, I thought it must be far away, but it turned out to be not far from Chelina's guild.

From the large pier where the Veriello guild's large ships are docked, the further south you go, the more narrow piers for smaller boats appear. The southernmost area seems to be the fishing port. It was bustling, as it seemed that fishing boats that had gone out to fish had just returned.

It's quite fishy, but I guess that's what a fishing port is like.

"Hey, Chelina, do they go fishing at this hour?"

"Fishing with bonfires lit in the dark is the best. That way, they can return to the port in the early morning. However, for medium-sized or smaller boats, going out to sea at night is suicidal. Even though the bay is wide, the tide is complex. The open sea is really a tough sea. To go out to the open sea, you need both a good ship and skill. Even for fishing in the bay at night, you need a decent ship and skill. Daytime fishing is relatively safe, but the catch varies greatly from day to day, which is a problem."

Hmm, it seems to be a rather deep topic.

"It looks like the boats that went out to fish in the morning are returning. All the fishing boats in this town must join the Fishing Guild. Of course, Veriello is a member, but our guild mainly deals with maritime transport, so we have fewer fishing boats. ...Ah, that's one of our ships."

Chelina approached a ship. The sailors were skillfully carrying barrels filled with seawater and fish across a narrow gangway.

"Quite a lot, it seems."

Chelina approached a large man who was checking the contents of the barrels that were being lined up.

"Miss! What are you doing here? If you need to see Mr. Bahar, I'll call him for you?"

"I don't need to trouble you. I thought I might evaluate some fish for dinner today."

"Miss, personally?! But what a stroke of luck! We've caught a lot today!"

Chelina smiled, and the large man, who seemed to be a sailor from a hot country with sunburned skin, was flustered.

"That's great. Akira, is there any fish you want?"

"Me? I'll take a look."

"Since you're the one cooking, it's only natural, right?"

"That's true. Let me take a look, then."

I peered into the barrels that were lined up.

"Miss, who is this?"

"Oh, you don't know. This is Mr. Akira, who is accompanying me as an advisor. Please be respectful."

"Miss, an advisor?! I heard about it, but I didn't expect it to be such a young man..."

"Don't judge by appearance. Our guild is now fully committed to implementing his ideas."

The man frowned and lowered his voice.

"...Miss... It's best not to say such things outside."

"Hehe... We've already reached a point where others can't catch up. I believe we'll be able to announce something concrete soon."

"If you say so, it must be something great."

"Yes, unfortunately, it's not related to ship technology."

"No, no, if the guild thrives, we might be able to increase our ships."

"We're working hard for that."

"Then there's no doubt. I'm looking forward to it."

I tried not to eavesdrop on their conversation while choosing fish, but it was hard not to with such high expectations.

"That's right... The sea bream there looks good. Are they black sea bream? I'll take two... no, four, please."

"...Wow, you have a good eye. You're not bad, even compared to young Master Paros."

"Calling your brother 'young Master' will make him pout."

"Who's Paros again? ...Oh, right, Chelina's not-so-great brother."

"He's not so great, but he has top-notch sailing skills."

"Really?"

If I said that, I'd probably get beaten up by everyone in the port. But even his sister says "not so great"...

"There are also sardines. There are a lot. I'll take about ten."

"Sure, these came in on a current from outside the bay, so they're delicious."

"Outside the bay?"

That's different from what you said earlier.

"No, no, this ship can't go that far. It seems a current from outside came in today."

"Does it change that much from day to day?"

"Yes, if you can't read it, you'll end up at the bottom of the sea."

The man grinned, but it was a scary story.

"These sardines look delicious. There doesn't seem to be any tuna, though..."

"Tuna? You know a lot."

"Is there any?"

If there is, I'd like to get it. Red meat, medium fatty, tail, head. The cheek meat is also delicious.

"No, it's rare. You need to be well-prepared to catch it, and ordinary nets won't work."

"Is that so?"

"You have to spear it, but it's difficult. Sometimes people go out hoping to get rich quick, but coming back empty-handed is the best case. If they're not careful, they might be swept away by the current and never return."

The captain made a sweeping motion with his hand.

"That's... scary."

"The sea outside the Riberi Bay is very dangerous. At the very least, you need a medium-sized boat like the fishing boats over there, and if you want to go further, you need a large ship like Master Paros's."

"You mean Chelina's brother?"

I asked her to confirm. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details.

"Yes. He looks like it, but he has top-notch sailing skills."

"Wow."

If I said that, I'd probably get beaten up by everyone in the port. But even his sister says "not so great"...

"Do you want anything else?"

"Hmm..."

There are many fish I don't know, so it's hard to choose. There are even fish with legs. Scary.

"Hey? What are those barrels over there?"

There were barrels being moved to a less conspicuous place.

"Those... are trash fish. They don't sell, but the people in the slums want them, so we keep them."

"Really?"

I became curious and peeked into the large wooden barrel.

"...! Octopus! There are octopuses!"

"You know a lot. They sometimes get caught in the nets. They're creepy, right?"

"What are you saying?! Look! These plump, lively octopuses! They look super delicious!"

I realized later that I had dropped the formal tone from this point on.

"Huh?!"

"Wow! There are even eels! And scorpionfish and rockfish! What is this, a treasure box?!"

I was so excited that I almost jumped, and I didn't notice the expressions of the three people behind me.

"But do they live in such a warm region?"

He answered my sudden change with some confusion.

"There are cold currents, so the fish in the bay are diverse... but are you going to eat them?"

"Of course. I'll deep-fry the scorpionfish and make sashimi with the other one. I'll make miso soup with the rockfish. The eel will be eel rice! The octopus will be sashimi, deep-fried, and takoyaki!"

...Scorpionfish and rockfish are similar.

This is going to be a luxurious dinner.

"Miss... Is Akira from the slums?"

"No... I don't think so..."

Why is Chelina confused?

"I've never seen an octopus before."

Yarrai, who had been silent, was looking into the barrel with interest.

"Really? They're delicious."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Chelina frowned at Yarrai's nonchalant response.

"Mr. Yarrai, you don't hesitate to eat things?"

"As long as it's not poisonous, it's fine."

The captain and Chelina exchanged glances.

"Right, I'll cook now. Captain, you should come and see how good it is."

"Huh?! No, that... Right! I still have to maintain the ship!"

The captain quickly ran towards the ship.

"Ah! You're running away alone?!"

"Good luck...!"

He disappeared, leaving a Doppler effect.

"Aaaah..."

Chelina, for some reason, fell to her knees and bowed her head to the ground. It's the classic "orz" pose from the internet.

"Chelina, what's wrong?"

"N-no... nothing..."

When I helped her up, her face was a bit pale. She's been working hard lately. I should cheer her up with some good food.

"Alright, Chelina, I'll make you a delicious dinner to cheer you up!"

"Eh? Well... I appreciate it, but..."

"Let's get started with the preparation. Mr. Melvin, please show me to the guild's kitchen!"

"Y-yes..."

Melvin glanced at Chelina's face once, but when I urged him, he said, "This way," and led me. I followed, pulling Chelina, who was moving slowly.

▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽

I'm looking forward to your reviews, bookmarks, and comments (please submit them through my activity report).

▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽