Chapter 6

Margin thought many times about why he had to be petrified since his revival. At first, he thought Misty had betrayed him, but the last face of Misty he saw was one of pain and sadness.

"If you're going to make that face, don't do it at all…"

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no answer to this question. Besides, it happened over a thousand years ago. Even if Misty had a long life, she must be dead by now…

The thought that "Misty is no longer alive" made Margin's heart sting. He swallowed this feeling along with his breakfast, packed up his tent, and headed for the fishing port town.

[Welcome to Lionel, the town of trade and fishing]

This is a large town, but there is only a sign, no gatekeeper, and anyone can enter. Although it is called a fishing port town, it is also a bustling place for trade with other territories, with many merchants coming and going, and the prices are low. A characteristic of this town is the presence of beastmen, which are not seen in the capital.

There were beastmen even when he was part of the hero party, but they were more wild, living in the forest with nature, and more animal-like. The beastmen here are not much different from humans, with only animal ears and tails. It's unclear whether they evolved during the time he was petrified or if they mixed with humans.

Margin moved to where the seine fishing was taking place.

"Ah, they're doing it."

Small boats spread the net out to sea, and the strong beastmen on the beach pulled it in.

"Pull, pull!"

Everyone chanted as they pulled in the net.

"Hey, are you catching good fish?"

"Huh? What do you want?"

Although many fish were caught, most of them were poisonous, similar to pufferfish from his original world, and the beastmen fishermen were in a bad mood because poisonous fish cannot be sold.

"I'm Margin, and I've come to buy fish. Are you going to throw away the poisonous fish? If you don't need them, I'll take them."

"Huh, what are you going to do with these troublesome fish? Don't tell me you're collecting poison for some nefarious purpose?"

"Collect poison? I'm going to eat them, of course."

"Huh? Stop it, stop it. Don't you know how many people have died from eating these?"

"It's fine, it's fine. Look, I'll help you sort the fish."

"Stop it, don't touch it. Get out before you get hurt."

The loud beastman's warning attracted other fishermen.

"What's going on, I thought it was noisy. It's you, huh?"

The old man in charge of the group called out.

"Hey, old man. I've come to collect again this year."

"Do you know him?"

"This is Margin. He's a strange one who eats poisonous fish. Since he's here again this year, it means he hasn't died. Margin, I'll give you all the poisonous fish if you help sort them."

"Is that okay? He's a novice..."

"Newcomers, just watch. It'll be over soon."

"Huh?"

"Alright, I'll sort them. Is the method the same as last year?"

"The method doesn't change from year to year."

Margin sorted the fish by species and size, of course using magic.

"What, what's this..."

The newbies, who saw this for the first time, were amazed, and the old-timers who had seen it last year were smirking.

"Hey, newbies, isn't this cool? This guy is a magician."

"Can a magician do such things?"

The beastman who had shouted earlier asked with interest.

"If you're interested, I can sell you a magic book."

"Magic book?"

"Right. I run a magic book store and sell magic. This fish sorting magic costs 3 million, but you need a decent amount of magic power to use it."

"3 million? I can't afford that."

"Well, it's not much faster than doing it by hand, so it's a bit of a waste. Anyway, old man, I'll take the poisonous fish and the rays."

Margin took the pufferfish and rays that couldn't be sold.

"Margin, leave some of the ray fins for me. We'll have a drink at my place later."

"Sure."

The first time he visited this town, he had a confrontation with the old man, the leader of the seine fishing group. After showing his sorting and dissection magic, he made ray fin and was liked.

- At the Old Man's House -

"Old man, are there more poisonous fish? The net we just pulled in didn't have many sellable fish."

At the old man's house, they grilled dried ray fins, and with deep-fried and liver simmered dishes, they drank and talked.

"The number of poisonous fish is the same every year, but the number of rays is increasing."

"Ah, then the number of shellfish must be decreasing, right?"

"That's right. They eat up the sellable fish, which is a problem."

The old man frowned while holding the ray fin.

"Rays are delicious when cooked like this."

"Dried ones might sell, but this simmered dish is impossible. It's only possible because of the soy sauce you have. Are you not going to sell it?"

"No, I don't make enough to sell. I can give you enough for your use, though."

"Ah, that's a problem."

Rays are difficult to process, and the only edible part is the fin. If not processed quickly, they become smelly.

"The leftover parts can be dried and ground into fertilizer."

"Have you said that before? Will it really sell?"

"Why don't you try making a field and growing vegetables? If the vegetables are better than others, they might sell. If you don't have experience, ask a farmer to try it."

"Cooperate with a farmer..."

"Make sure to try it in a separate plot so you don't fail."

"That's true. If we don't start something new, we won't be able to feed the young ones."

"Is it easy to get magic stones or magic crystals in your area?"

"Magic stones are no problem."

"Then I'll give you a magic mill. You need to grind the dried fish into powder to make fertilizer."

"Do you have extra magic mills?"

"No, I'll make one. I have the materials."

After that, Margin helped with the fishing for about three days and made the magic mill.

"Here's the switch. I'll dry the fish with magic today, but from now on, dry them in the sun."

He taught the fishermen's wives how to make fertilizer. After drying the fish bones, they were crushed to a certain size and put into the magic mill.

When the switch was turned on, the magic mill started to roll, and the dried fish bones came out as powder.

"This powder is the fertilizer. The effect won't be visible for a while, but it's good to give it to fruit-bearing vegetables."

"Wow, it smells like it could be eaten as it is."

Is the wife a cat-type beastman? I don't think it smells good to me.

"The poison is gone, so it's safe to eat, but there are plenty of edible fish."

"Sure."

The wives laughed and playfully hit each other. No matter how the world or era changes, wives remain the same.

Margin received a lot of dried fish as a thank you for the magic mill.

After that, he went shopping in the town for souvenirs and his own enjoyment and returned to the capital.

"Be careful. It seems there are more monsters lately."

"If they're tasty, I'll hunt them. I'll see you next year, old man. Stay alive until then."

"Don't say such ominous things!"

Thinking that the old man's blood vessels might burst at any moment, he left the fishing port town.

On the way back, he made a detour. He left the road and headed towards a river. His target was ducks. He planned to capture the waterfowl that gathered in the calm part of the river and return.

"There they are."

Margin approached quietly and confirmed that no one was around.

"Good, no one's here. Paralyze!"

He cast a paralysis spell on the ducks and used a wind spell to bring them to his hand. He killed them instantly with a magic shot and processed them with dissection magic.

Now he had the ingredients for teppan-yaki and duck hot pot. His mission was complete. He might buy vegetables from a village he passed on the way. Margin waited until night and ran on the road. If he walked, he would have to camp along the road due to the detour.

Running much faster than a carriage, he noticed someone camping in a remote area. Although the road was relatively safe, there could be monsters or even bandits.

He was concerned but thought it was their own responsibility. He decided to run through without getting involved. Just then, he sensed that monsters were approaching.

"Ah, they're targeting us. The aura is that of wolves or magic dogs."

He decided to at least warn them.

Margin called out from outside the tent.

"Hey."

"Kyaa!"

Damn, it's a woman.

"Sorry for startling you. You're being targeted by wolves or magic dogs. Get ready for battle."

"Huh?"

"Don't just say 'huh.' If you're camping in such a place, you should be prepared for monsters. It's a small pack of about five, but it's not good to try to run. Try to fight and survive. See you."

"Wait!"

The face that peeked out of the tent was that of a young girl.

"What? I'm in a hurry, so if you have something to say, say it quickly."

"Mu, it's impossible."

"What's impossible?"

"With five wolves or magic dogs, there's no way I can win."

"Ah? You're camping in such a place. Don't you have the confidence to drive them away?"

"It's impossible, I tell you."

The girl shouted from the tent.

"I see... There's nothing I can do."

"Will you help me?"

The girl's face brightened at Margin's words.

"Short life, huh. Good luck in the next life. Well..."

"What's that supposed to mean? You're a man, right? How can you abandon such a delicate girl?"

The girl was desperate.

"Look, just because I'm a man doesn't mean I have to help a stranger. I told you the monsters were coming, didn't I? I should have just passed by without saying anything."

"Please, help me."

"Look at me carefully."

The girl strained her eyes in the dark to look at Margin.

"Do you see that I'm unarmed? I can't fight without a weapon, and even if I had one, I'm not good at it."

"What would you do if you were alone?"

"I'd run, of course. I'm confident in my speed. If we meet in the next life, I'll at least say hello."

"Bu, but..."

The girl was on the verge of tears when

Grrrr

Damn, I was distracted by her, and they got this close.

While they were talking, the wolves had surrounded the girl and Margin who had peeked out of the tent.