Chapter 20

Yuta stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

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Gathering seaweed by the sea. I've got quite a bit. This should be enough for a small field. I thought about drying it on the beach, but it's better to wash it with fresh water since it's still covered in seawater.

I've heard of salt damage, and salt isn't good for the fields. This place is a bit uncomfortable, so I'll go back to the well and process it there. It's better to wash the small fish with fresh water too. I'm doing this on a hunch, so I'm pretty anxious. If my phone worked, I could look it up on the internet.

"Done."

"Kyu."

"Wow, that's a lot. Thank you."

The two of them look a bit disappointed. We'll have to do this again, I guess.

"Cough. Bell, Rain. Good job on completing the mission. After placing the small fish on the rock, you can take a break."

"Sure thing."

"Kyu-kyu."

After responding energetically, they placed the pile of small fish on the rock and went to play in the sea. Well, I can't store living fish... I'm not going to eat them, so I'll break their necks and store them.

Even though it's necessary, breaking the necks of the small fish one by one is mentally taxing. I'll just do it mindlessly.

"Finally done."

"Good job. It's getting dark, but should we head to the rock mountain base?"

"Yeah. Let's take a break and have dinner at the rock mountain base. Once it gets dark, we can level up and return to the well base."

Calling Bell and Rain, I headed to the rock mountain base with Sylph. The names 'rock mountain base' and 'well base' are a bit hard to say. I'll call the rock mountain base 'the beach house' and the well base 'the spring house.' I need to tell Dine about this too.

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"Good morning, everyone."

Back at the spring house, I greeted everyone the next morning and started the work.

"Bell, Rain. I need your help with a few things today. Is that okay?"

"I'll help!"

"Kyu."

Their enthusiastic responses are great. I can't help but pat their heads.

"What are we doing?"

"Kyu?"

"First, Rain, I need you to wash these thoroughly. Can you clean them with the spring water?"

Pointing to the large amount of small fish and seaweed I took out of the magic bag, Rain confidently tapped her chest with her fin. She's getting more skilled.

"Kyu-kyu-kyu."

When Rain chirped, a large ball of water rose from the spring and enveloped the small fish. Wow, the fish are spinning in the water. It's like a washing machine.

"Ah... Dine, it's not good to sprinkle saltwater on the ground, right? Can Rain clean that water?"

"Hmm. If she were a mid-level water spirit, she could separate the salt, but it's difficult for Rain."

If I could contract with a mid-level water spirit, I'd have unlimited salt? That's amazing. But right now, I need to figure out how to handle the water. I should have just used a cleaning spell on the seaweed... but with the amount, it might be faster to wash them all at once.

"I see. It's not good to sprinkle saltwater around. What should I do?"

"Store it in the magic bag?"

Sylph easily provided a solution. I just thought of this, but if I store a large amount of spring water and a large number of fish, and since we have a mobile base, we could go to a place where people live...

Watching the two of them happily helping with the field preparation... well, walking for over a hundred days would be tough. It's much easier to level up at the spring house, contract with Sylph, and fly there. I'll consider walking if my magic power doesn't reach B level.

"Good point. Thanks, Sylph."

I had the washed small fish placed on the rock and stored the water in the bag. I repeated the same process with the seaweed.

"Yuta, it's my turn too!"

She was excitedly waiting for her turn but couldn't wait any longer.

"Right. I need you, Bell, to dry these small fish with the wind."

The dry, dead land. With the strong sunlight and Bell's wind, they should dry quickly. I also asked her to dry the washed seaweed next to them.

"Are you going to mix the small fish and seaweed with the soil?"

Sylph seems skeptical.

"Yeah, that's the plan, but I'm full of doubts about the proportions and whether seaweed is suitable. I'm trying this with just a bit of knowledge, so I might fail."

I should have tried a home garden.

"Well, since it's a hopeless situation anyway, failing is the same as not doing anything. Just do what you want."

"Okay. I'll do my best."

I checked the drying small fish. It will take some time.

"Bell, Rain. Take a break if you get tired. Don't overdo it."

"Okay."

"Kyu."

Bell rode on Rain, circling the rock where the small fish and seaweed were spread, blowing wind. They seem to be having fun.

Looking at the small fish, something was nagging at me. What is it? I observed them again. Ah, dried fish. I should make dried fish. Dried fish makes me want rice, but it's a good change of pace.

Dried fish is made by soaking in saltwater and then drying, right? Soaking in seawater and drying in the sun should work, right? But I think the salt concentration needs to be higher.

Hmm. Since I can store them in the magic bag, I don't need to worry about shelf life. So, using seawater to make a less salty dried fish should be fine. ...Should I try it?

I washed the fish I had grilled and liked with seawater and soaked them in fresh seawater. Hmm, how long should I soak them?

The salt needs to penetrate the fish. Should I try ten minutes, thirty minutes, and one hour? Drying them in the sun for a longer time seems better than drying them quickly with the wind.

I don't have a drying rack. Should I make one with rocks? I cut a rock to about three centimeters wide, extended the tip of a chisel, and drilled countless holes. It's a tedious and subtle task.

I took out two rocks, cut them thin, and placed them like a bridge to complete the drying rack. I placed the fish that had been soaked for ten minutes on the drying rack.

When the time comes, I can move them to the drying rack. The seaweed and small fish still need time to dry, so what should I do? It feels awkward to take a break while Bell and Rain are working.

I should think about how to turn the small fish and seaweed into powder. A stone mill... I know the shape, but the alignment needs subtle adjustments. I'll skip that.

Simply put, I can make a mortar and pestle from rock and grind them with a hammer. It's not food, so a little bit of rock wearing off won't be a problem. I'll start making the mortar.

Since I have a lot of small fish and seaweed, a larger one would be better. I took out a two-meter cube of rock and inserted a shovel to shape it into a mortar.

The slight unevenness might help with grinding, so I don't need to smooth it out. I just need to make the basic shape, so it should be quick. After carving with a survival knife, I can crush it with a hammer.

I moved the fish that had been soaked for thirty minutes to the drying rack and found myself with nothing to do again. It's nice to have it easy, but being too efficient is a problem.

...Should I make more dishes? I haven't had coffee in a while, so I'll make a mug. Since it's instant coffee, it should last for a while if I only drink it occasionally.

Thinking about it made me want to drink it. I haven't had the luxury before, so it's a good thing. Usually, I use one teaspoon of coffee and two teaspoons of cream, and half a stick of sugar. This time, I'll use one teaspoon of coffee and one teaspoon of cream, and a third of a stick of sugar.

I should be able to enjoy it even if it's different from usual. I'll drink it elegantly after dinner. I'm looking forward to it. I got motivated and made a mug, a plate, a soup bowl, chopsticks, and a spoon, creating everything I could think of.

I got so absorbed that I forgot to move the fish after an hour. If Sylph hadn't reminded me, it would have been bad.

While I was making things, Bell and Rain flew over.

"Dried."

"Kyu."

"Wow, thanks for your help, both of you. You really saved me."

"Hehe, good job?"

"Kyu?"

"Yeah, both of you did a great job. I really appreciate it."

Bell and Rain started playing around, saying "Yay." They're so cute. I watched them for a while, and Sylph spoke to me.

"Yuta, you have a completely loving expression on your face."

I snapped back to reality. The combination of children and animals is unfair. They're undeniably cute.

"Ah, I need to cut the dried small fish and seaweed. Let's go."

Without looking at Sylph, I headed to the fish and seaweed. They were completely dry. This should crumble easily.

I gathered the small fish and seaweed, extended my survival knife, and lightly swung it to cut them. It cut through the rock below.

...Of course, since I've used this to cut rocks before. The survival knife and saw both cut through easily, so I can't really tell the difference except for the shape.

I should put a shovel underneath... but if it gets damaged, it would be too much of a shock, so I'll skip that. If I can go to town, I'll get regular knives. For now, I'll be careful not to cut the rock.

I carefully cut them and moved them to the giant mortar. I made the hammer about fifty centimeters long and mixed the small fish and seaweed by grinding them.

"Powder, powder."

"Kyu-kyu-kyu."

"Right. Thanks to both of you drying them well, they'll turn into powder."

Bell and Rain were looking into the mortar with interest.

I was about to warn them not to fall in, but I remembered they can fly, so I stopped. Even if they got caught, would physical attacks work on spirits?

Hmm... usually, they're invisible and untouchable, so attacks shouldn't work, but I can see and touch them. I need to check this later. If I accidentally hit them with a big hammer during a fight, it wouldn't be funny.

While grinding the hammer, I thought about what I need to check. If I can attack spirits, would I be considered dangerous?

If the spirits abandon me, it would be a big shock. Should I keep quiet... No, I can't. If I accidentally hit Bell and Rain, it could be fatal.

Thank you for reading.