Hachinan tte, Sore wa Nai Deshou - Volume 20, page 6
"Humans and demons will always try to eagerly learn what they deem necessary. Human, you have too little patience."
Arnest possesses a tremendous talent in magic, but even he hasn't practiced flying overly much because he didn't need it. In the eyes of Doushi, that was outrageous.
But. no matter what he was told by Doushi, Arnest handled things at his own pace, which soured Doushi's mood all the more.
"We have arrived."
"Katharina, you're oddly pumped about this, aren't you?"
"Please leave the fish in mountain streams like this one here to me, okay? During my time at the adventurer prep school, I've often caught fish from streams located in the mountains."
Trout types that closely resemble masu salmon and chars inhabit steep, remote mountain streams on the Lingaia Continent too. Since you can sell them for a lot of money, a fixed number of adventurers and students will go catch them.
Because Katharina has been earning money in such a way as well, she probably wants to tell us that she knows all about mountain stream fish.
"But you see, today we're going to angle. Things might not be so easy without Wilma here."
"Be it angling or magic, you can count on me when it comes to places with fish."
Katharina sounds strangely confident.
Everyone had safely reached the mountain stream and after casting our fishing rods, we started to angle together.
"Ah, I got a bite."
"Bah! That's way too fast!"
Suddenly Luise pulled in a fish, and as expected, it was a trout-like fish. Its skin patterns didn't resemble chars or trouts, but its shape was close to those.
"The river is full of fish because no one has been here in ages."
The fish are probably not very wary towards people and fishing rods they haven't seen so far.
"I got one!"
"Caught one."
"If you always had such rivers available, adventurers would have an easy life."
"You can catch a good amount here!"
Given that it's basically an untouched mountain stream, the fish bit like mad once you put the bait into the water.
"Lyra, I got one more."
"Nothing less of you, Your Majesty."
The demon queen enjoyed angling from the bottom of her heart. Lyra-san exclusively supported her by dismantling the caught fish and throwing feed into the river.
"Can't you become a professional angler?"
"And how would you earn money?"
"Even if you sell these fish, they're nothing special and coming all the way out here is lots of work."
Are Mall and his friends planning to run a company?
"I see. The patterns of these fish are slightly different compared to fish of the same species you can catch in other mountain streams. This stream and the lake are not connected to any other water sources, so because the fish here have not crossbred with any other species, it is possible that they were able to maintain their original patterns."
"In short, you're saying it's very likely for the fish here to be endemic species who only live in this stream?"
"You are unexpectedly well-informed."
"The unexpectedly is unnecessary!"
Scholars tend to belittle the comprehensive capabilities of laymen, don't they...?
"Okay, this will serve as a great subject."
The demon queen immediately flipped her notebook open and wrote down the theory Arnest had mentioned in her diary. Then she started to draw a picture of a fish she caught.
I think it's a fairly challenging subject for the self-study of an elementary schooler, but maybe it flies because she's the demon queen?
"Studying at school is different but also useful, isn't it?"
"Learning and playing well is for the sake of becoming a good ruler."
"It's as Lyra says."
Lyra-san seems to be suited as a school teacher. I have been worrying that she might be teaching the demon queen anachronistic stuff because she was talking about studying how to be a good ruler, but it's good to see that it's common school knowledge.
"Earl-sama, we've got enough already, don't we?"
"We caught a lot!"
"Vel, let's go back."
"No, wait! Not yet!"
"Eehh!? Why? Didn't we catch a bunch!?"
I was the only one opposing an end of the angling, but there was a deep reason for that. After all...
"Only I haven't caught a single fish."
"Really? Katharina."
"Now that he mentions it, Wendelin-san hasn't caught a single fish."
"With the density of fish so high... maybe he got some sort of curse?"
"......"
I sure hope I didn't have a curse that hinders me from catching fish, as Lisa suggests. Even if the worlds might be different, something like that shouldn't be possible... right?
"Vel, it's already late, so let's go back."
"We have enough fish by now. Wendelin-san, you just need to catch something on the next occasion."
"And when is that going to be? I'm busy..."
"Dear husband, Elise-san and the others are preparing our food, so we need to go back quickly."
"Just wait a bit! Only five more minutes!"
I'm the only one without a single catch. I want to go back after fixing that!
"Earl Baumeister, being unable to let go of things is disgraceful for a man!"
"Doushi, I won't go back!"
"No choice then!"
"Doushi, let go of me! Guhh!? Your muscles are hard!"
Just one fish!
My prayers were in vain. While I was surrounded by Doushi's tough muscles, we headed back to Elise and the others.
* * *
"Oh my, you caught so many fish. How should we prepare them?"
"Of course, we're going to grill and eat them."
"Vel, I'm glad to see you cheered up after having sulked all the time because you were the only one to not catch a single fish."
"Luise-kun, one shouldn't pry open the past wounds of others..."
When we got back to Elise and the others, they had already completed a multitude of dishes, but now they'd be able to add another menu. We managed to catch fish similar to salmon and chars at long last, so it'd be only proper to eat them after charcoal grilling them.
"First you cut open the fish's belly and remove the gills and viscera. There's a red lump along the backbone, but since that will become a source of bad smell, scrape it out with your fingers and wash it thoroughly with water."
"I see."
The demon queen also processed a fish while following my instructions. Moreover, she doesn't forget to note it down in her diary either. The demon queen is a good girl who properly does what her teacher tells her to do.
"Next, you draw out the fish's moisture and sprinkle it evenly with salt. Make sure to not forget to sprinkle salt into the opened belly as well."
"Okay."
She eagerly wrote down everything while doing the work.
"And don't forget to cover the fin part with plenty of salt."
I added plenty of salt to the fin. Restaurants specialized on grilled mountain fish always smeared lots of salt on the fins. If you don't do it, the fins will get scorched and fall off during the grilling, spoiling the appearance of the dish.
"The fin won't be eaten, but appearance also matters with food."
"It's rare, grilled mountain fish after all. That's a dish appropriate to be added to a ruler's dining table, don't you think?"
In reality, many restaurants in Japan sell this, though.
"Next, the way how to grill it. Wilma!"
"Ready. Have raised the heating power."
"As expected of you."
"Accustomed to this sort of work."
With the preparatory work finished, the fish would be grilled over charcoal, but Wilma took care of preparing the grill since she's good at this part. Also, the charcoal is high.class stuff from Mizuho.
"The point is to initially grill fish at a distance with a high heat. You need to be carefull with the distance to not burn the fish...and you bring the fish close to the charcoal fire with its back first. Once the moisture has escaped, you flip it over, grilling its exterior so that it becomes crispy."
"I see. That's very informative."
"Once you've grilled the fish exterior, you lower the heat of the charcoal so that they become glowing charcoals and slowly cook the fish inside."
"Why have you split this in two stages, Earl Baumeister?"
"You see, cooking for a long time so that even the interior becomes well-cooked results in the small bones becoming soft, making it easier to eat the fish. Moreover, the fish smell is directly connected to the excess moisture inside the fish, so you can remove that moisture by heating the fish for as long as possible. Lowering the moisture also leads to a concentration of the meat's deliciousness. Once the moisture has escaped the belly side, it's done."
"I'm going to immediately sink my teeth into it! ...Oh it tastes great!"
"Wow, the meat is soft, flaky and very tasty. The small bones aren't that much of a problem either."
The demon queen seemed to like grilled fish.
"It tastes great, Dear."
"It's still too early for the babies to eat this, though..."
I'm sure my children will be as delighted as the demon queen once I treat them to this after they grow up a bit more. As I watched her happily stuffing her cheeks, I judged this to be a good rehearsal for the future.
"As always, you're well-informed about the strangest shit."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Eru. It's useful, so why not."
"I might not have been able to take it this far when I was still active as an adventurer."
"Ah, Burkhart-san, please give me the head and backbone."
"Sure, but what are you going to do with those?"
"I will make 『Bone Sake』 out of them."
I thoroughly grilled the left-over fish heads and backbones on the net, put them into a glass, and poured piping hot Mizuho sake into it. This finished the Bone Sake.
"This is pretty neat! Awesome!"
Burkhart-san was very satisfied with the Bone Sake.
"Earl Baumeister, me too!"
"Doushi, what about the fish heads and backbones?"
"I ate all of them!"
"..."
In this world, people who eat grilled fish whole... my grandfather, who should still be doing fine, was the same, but I guess it's just what you'd expect of Doushi...
I used my own share of fish heads and backbones to make Bone Sake for him.
"Sorry! Oh, this has a good flavor!"
"Pheeewww! Every once in a while sake is nice as well."
"Sake you drink without having done any work sure is sweet."
"This feeling of corruption rocks!"
"It's been quite a while since I last drank sake. If I did so at home, my family would just look at me as if cursing me for doing it despite being unemployed."
The demons... have it tough in various ways. They enjoyed the Bone Sake, though.
"Pheeww! It definitely penetrates your whole body!"
"Even though you are my student..."
"That's the reason why senpai isn't popular."
"Yep, yep, you must take an example of the demon queen and Earl Baumeister's wives."
"You lack any hint of elegance, really..."
Arnest and Mall's group flooded Lumi, who drank the sake totally like an old man, with their frank, unfiltered opinions. Though Eru and I actually agreed with them there.
"Usually I've got to deal with lots of stress! I must take on my old-fashioned, shitty bosses! Their thinking is completely outdated!"
"You sure don't hold back here..."
That does remind me of a certain company...
Because I could fully understand her feelings on this, I secretly topped up Lumi's cup with heated Mizuho sake.
"Your Majesty, I believe you will also encounter opportunities where you will drink sake after becoming an adult, but I urge you to keep it moderate."
"Is sake that delicious? All the adults drink it. Well, Elise and the other women don't do it."
I don't drink alcohol every day, so my wives don't drink either outside of special occasions. Wilma hates alcohol and although Lisa can drink quite a lot, she never drank it because she likes alcohol.
The majority of the alcohol we obtained is used for gift exchanges or vanishes in Doushi and Burkhart-san's stomachs.
"I have drunk quite a bit in the past as well. I had stress every day as a duchess."
"Is that so? That sounds quite terrible."
Therese drank alcohol everyday during her time as Duchess Philip. The amount wasn't that high, but maybe she couldn't keep up without drinking everyday.
"Nowadays it's no particular problem even if I don't drink at all, though."
Just like Elise and my other wives, she stays clear of alcohol these days. I guess it's because she isn't under stress any longer.
"I'm quite stressed as well."
"Wendelin, you eat instead of drinking, don't you?"
"You got a point there."
"I understand... so you're saying adults will often drink alcohol if they're under stress."
"How is your teacher going to assess that if she reads this in your diary?"
"Who knows..."
She might judge it as a bad influence for the demon queen's education, or she could unexpectedly praise her for the good observation.
The evening of the second day passed just like that.
* * *
"Earl Baumeister, look at this!"
"Her Majesty discovered it during her morning stroll. It was halfway buried in the sand of the lake shore."
"A box?"
"It looks like an old box, but maybe it holds a treasure."
On the third day of our camping, the demon queen showed us something similar to an old treasure chest that could be carried under the arm while we were having breakfast.
"Professor Arnest, what do you think?"
"Even if it is old, it is something from 1,500 years ago. I heard that this land had been abandoned in a past lying much further back than the farm village Your Majesty is trying to revive. It is probably a relic left behind by those who lived around here at that time."
Isn't it quite rare in that case? In the eyes of a human, 1,500 years ago is old, but you can't call it that for a demon.
"Still, this looks kind of like a treasure chest. Maybe it contains riches that could become funds for the revival of the kingdom."
"You think something so convenient is going to happen?"
Eru voiced his doubt, but even if it's no incredible treasure, it might contain a small treasure. I feel like this way of thinking is a lot more visionary.
"We just need to open it and actually take a look!"
"That's true."
Doushi and Luise wanted to peek into the box as fast as possible.
"There is value in looking at the contents of a box! Very well, let us get this opened then!"
"Wait, Doushi!"
"Burkhart-dono?"
Burkhart-san stopped Doushi just as he was about to open the box.
"Isn't it common sense for any adventurer to suspect that a treasure chest might be trapped?"
Burkhart-san snatched the box out of Doushi's hands and started to check the box for traps with Detection.
"How is it, Burkhart-san?"
"There are no traps, but there's no key to open the lock of this box."
"In such a case, it is a custom to pry it open!"
"Wait a moment, please!"
This time Arnest stopped Doushi who was about to force the box open.
"This is why I hate to deal with uncivilized humans. The shape of this box's keyhole is slightly special. Even if it might be only 1,500 years ago, it could still be a precious, cultural asset. Opening it without breaking it apart will allow us to leave it behind for future generations."
From Arnest's point of view as archaeologist, forcing the box open was probably on the same level as committing a crime. He immediately drew the box to himself."
"There is no key! Hence, you just need to make a key or unlock it by using thin, metallic needles!"
"I do not possess any such skills!"
"Don't say that while acting all proud about it!"
"I am an archaeologist, not a locksmith."
"You have a comeback for everything, don't you!?"
Arnest's argumentation was valid, but it was obvious that Doushi didn't like it very much. He stamped his feet in anger for a rare change.
"Pardon me, but couldn't you open this, Katharina?"
I recalled how she had skilfully used an unlocking spell in the Demon Forest's underground ruin.
"Vel-sama, well done to remember this."
"You're praising me? For this?"
Everyone, you should have properly kept it in mind...
Sure, Katharina occasionally fades away in the background.
"Katharina, how about it?"
"If it's something of this level, it will be alright. It's simple."
Katharina inserted a cluster of her mana into the box's keyhole and after waiting for a few seconds, the box opened with a click. Just as before, it's a pretty neat application of magic. In the end, I was never able to learn this unlocking magic, was I...?
"Incredible. I can't use magic to open locks."
"Me neither!"
Burkhart-san highly praised Katharina's unlocking spell. For Doushi... this is the type of magic that suits him the worst. I mean he tried to wrench open the box earlier, saying that it'd be faster to break it with his superhuman strength.
"Earl Baumeister, what is inside?"
So what's inside the old box with the lock? I think it's only natural for the demon queen as a child to be excited about this.
"Gold coins!"
"Gems!"
"Anything's fine as long as it's gold!"
On the other hand, the scummy, unemployed adult totally exposed their greed like with the whole dragon drool incense from the other day. In a certain sense, they're very demonic...not. They're more like humans.
"Wendelin-san, only one parchment is inside this box."
