Chapter 18

Sania was gazing intently at a fish larger than her own height.

The fisherman who caught it was a young man named Zes, who had been entrusted with the sale of ogalite a year ago and still regularly supplied the town.

"It's big, isn't it? This is an Ishinagi fish. It can be used as medicine, and it's quite common around here. In our village, merchants from inland buy them at a high price, so we sometimes target them. But, it's a secret to outsiders. If the lord hears about it and imposes a high tax, it would be a disaster. Every village keeps it a secret that the fish can be used as medicine. It's an unspoken agreement with the merchants... though you might not understand. In short, it's a secret. The part that can be used as medicine is—"

Several children were listening to Zes's lengthy explanation with exasperated faces. When Sania looked beside her, her friend Sharina was stifling a yawn.

They were currently studying fishing.

Zes, who had always enjoyed teaching others, often continued his long-winded explanations.

Sania watched with a wry smile as Zes, oblivious to the shared fatigue of the children around him, continued his explanation while preparing the Ishinagi fish.

"...That's why you get dumped by Rasette-nee."

A murmured voice was heard from somewhere.

After a while, Sania, freed from Zes's long talk, was observing ice plants in front of her assigned house.

Like Sora, Sania was frustrated with the unsuccessful marine agriculture.

"They grow well on land, though."

While grumbling and pouring seawater, Sania tore off a leaf and put it in her mouth.

She had been told to cultivate several seedlings and select the ones with the best taste, so she often sampled them when she had a chance. The one Sania ate had less bitterness, but the difference was minimal after only a year of selective breeding.

However, because she had grown the seedlings herself, Sania felt they tasted better than the others.

"Sania! Help me collect clams!"

A loud voice echoed from a distance, and Sania looked up.

Sharina was waving and calling from the rocky shore. Sania waved back and ran to the rocks, moving gracefully as a beast person with high physical abilities. Upon arriving, she looked at the gentle waves.

Red seaweed was drying on the rocks, probably brought by a high wave a few days ago. She became annoyed, remembering that her carefully cultivated ice plants had been taken away.

She got into the small boat as prompted and left the shore.

"Alright, let's start as usual! Sania, are there any sharks?"

Sania, who was asked, listened carefully for any sounds mixed with the waves. Confirming there were no sounds of small fish jumping to escape predators, she nodded.

"Alright, let's dive."

Sharina, who had already taken off her clothes, jumped into the freezing winter sea without hesitation.

She waved Sania over, seemingly unfazed by the cold seawater.

Sania also took off her clothes and the cloth on her head, did a light warm-up, and entered the seawater with a stone knife in one hand.

Her companions on the boat watched them off.

"Sania and I will dive first, so everyone keep an eye on the surroundings."

As the others agreed and encouraged them, Sania and Sharina dove into the sea.

In the slightly murky water, fish swam freely. A crab was waving its claws to intimidate small fish in the sandy areas between the rocks.

Sania collected clams near the crab and signaled to Sharina to surface.

"Wow, Sania wins this time."

One of the companions clapped as Sania's head emerged.

"Aah, I lost! I found a small one though!"

"Sharina, don't wave the crab around. Still, a big clam. That's a high score."

The girl patted Sharina's head to console her and took the clam, throwing it into the wooden bucket on the boat.

"It's Sania's turn to switch."

The girl handed the bucket to Sania and submerged her head in the water.

Sharina, who had been looking at the crab in the bucket with a regretful expression, eventually shifted her gaze to Sania.

"Didn't you hear about building a pier?"

"The boys are carrying rocks now."

In the direction Sania pointed, a pier was being built using rocks as a foundation.

Many boys, who seemed unhappy with the weight of the rocks they were carrying, couldn't say anything when they saw the girls diving into the freezing winter sea to collect clams.

They were being skillfully used by Zes.

"The village has become quite beautiful, hasn't it?"

Sharina smiled, looking at their village, which had been a desolate abandoned village until a year ago.

The most noticeable were the large kilns for ogalite production and the storage warehouses. Although they were completed only recently due to the careful gathering of materials, they now stood as symbols of the village.

Sania placed her hand on Sharina's shoulder to draw her attention while she was grinning at the symbol they had built together.

"What?"

"The crab is escaping."

"Huh? Ahh!?"

The children laughed brightly as Sharina hurriedly caught the crab that was about to dive into the water from the edge of the boat.

After finishing their sea diving, they returned to the village, where the boys, exhausted from physical labor, were resting.

The growing boys, along with Zes, were demanding lunch like chicks.

Shrina, the leader of the girls, playfully threatened them.

"Be quiet, boys! I'll boil you with the crab!?"

"Before it's boiled, I'll eat it."

"Fine. Boil the water and throw it in."

"The water is already boiling. Can't you see?"

"I'll give you the crab's innards as a treat. I won't give you anything else."

"Hey, Sharina, that's cruel!?"

Watching the excited children, Zes was planning to use the crab's innards as a snack with his alcohol.

Thinking the children wouldn't understand, he brought out the alcohol but was scolded by Sharina to stop drinking during the day and reluctantly put it away.

Meanwhile, the seafood was being cooked or grilled and served.

After eating, the children took a short break and then started their assigned tasks.

These included repairing boats, taking care of the ice plants being cultivated at sea, and making ogalite. Especially with ogalite, half of the ten children were involved.

Sania, who saw Sharina heading to repair the boat, returned home.

What she pulled out of her house was a bucket for drawing water. Since seawater couldn't be used for drinking, she needed to go deep into the forest to fetch it.

From the sky, one could see the large oak trees scattered among the black pines, forming a charming coastal forest, and a pond nestled in the back.

Sania, who had reached the relatively shallow pond that received seawater during high tide, submerged her bucket to finish the task before low tide.

"Hey, Luly, what are you doing there?"

She called out to the girl who appeared on the opposite side of the pond.

"It's Sania. I received a direct order from Sora-sama."

The girl called Luly, who had her golden hair with red highlights tied up behind her head, answered. At her feet was a bag filled with shells.

Sania couldn't imagine what the order was.

"What kind of order?"

"Secret."

Luly, who playfully put her index finger to her lips, seemed somewhat alluring for her age of thirteen.