Chapter 242: A Fishing Village Date?
“Good morning, Rest-san.”
“O-oh…”
The next morning, after having breakfast, Rest found himself face-to-face with Celestine once again. Remembering the events of the previous night, he felt his cheeks flush red. However, Celestine appeared completely unfazed, maintaining her usual calm demeanor.
“Do you have any plans for today?”
“Um, well… I was thinking of doing some sightseeing?”
Although it was a rural fishing village, he wanted to explore the place chosen by the Queen Dowager as her final resting home. There would surely be delicious seafood, and since he had been buried in work until now, staying a little longer wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“In that case, may I join you?”
“Ah, yes. Please do?”
Rest replied in a questioning tone. He was clearly acting suspiciously, but Celestine seemed to find it amusing. Despite Rest likely having more experience in socializing with the opposite sex, Celestine exuded a calmness and composure that made her seem older.
“Then, shall we go?”
“…Yes.”
Rest and Celestine left the hot spring inn together and began to explore the fishing village. Although they were together, Celestine’s attendants were discreetly watching from a distance, creating a slightly awkward atmosphere as Rest walked through the village.
“Indeed, there are a lot of fish here.”
“It seems to be a specialty product. There are quite a few boats as well.”
Several fishing boats were out at sea, and the fishermen were calling out with lively voices. Fish and seaweed were drying in various spots around the village, indicating that they were preparing dried fish and other products.
“Putting the fish aside… what are those black, leaf-like things used for?”
Celestine tilted her head curiously at the sight of the drying wakame. While it was a common sight for someone from Japan, it seemed unfamiliar to her.
“Those are food… right? Perhaps they’re used for fibers or spices?”
“That’s kombu. I think it’s used for dashi.”
“Dashi… is that an ingredient for soup?”
“Yes, it was probably in the meal we had this morning. The soup had dashi made from seaweed.”
Unfortunately, there was no miso soup in this country. Still, it seemed that the method of extracting dashi from seaweed was commonly practiced in this village.
“I thought it had a unique flavor… I see, so that’s the taste derived from that plant.”
Celestine’s face lit up with interest as she listened to Rest’s explanation.
“Is it dried for preservation? If so, it seems feasible to transport it to the Royal Capital. If they could produce it on a larger scale and establish a distribution network…”
Celestine began to mutter to herself, contemplating ways to promote kombu. If left to her, it might become readily available in the Royal Capital.
(If only she could develop miso and soy sauce too… With seventy-eight reincarnators around, surely someone must know how to make them?)
Rest didn’t possess the knowledge to make miso or soy sauce, but with so many reincarnators, there had to be at least one person who did.
(Reincarnators aren’t all Japanese, so maybe it’s more complicated than I think…)
“Is something the matter, Rest-san?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
Rest shook his head sadly as Celestine peered into his face.
“The dried fish being sold over there would taste great if grilled. It’s a different flavor compared to river fish.”
“I’ve had dried fish before. I was more surprised to see raw fish on the table.”
“Ah, sashimi… it really is rare, isn’t it?”
“If we could use ice magic, we could transport it to other regions without it spoiling… but the costs might be high.”
As Rest and Celestine continued their aimless conversation, they strolled through the fishing village.