Chapter 134: Sourcing Seafood at the Morning Market
“Hmm?”
As the festive commotion at the harbor began to settle down and we were about to head home, I noticed a figure peeking from the shadows of an alleyway, observing the festival grounds. The person appeared a bit ragged, wearing a choker around their neck—a slave. While slaves were not uncommon at the venue, this one caught my attention. Perhaps they had heard about the festival but arrived too late to join in. I exchanged glances with Rio, and we nodded in silent agreement before approaching the alley.
“The dismantling show is already over,” I informed them as I stepped into view.
The figure flinched, their shoulders trembling as they looked up at me with a frightened expression. They appeared to be a young Beastman child, sporting large fox ears atop their head. Though weary, the tufts of fur peeking from their waist suggested they might have more than one tail, much like Nil.
“Here you go,” Rio said, pulling out a piece of grilled fish from her Dimensional Box, freshly served at the festival.
“…?”
The child tilted their head, unsure of how to react to the offered dish. However, the enticing aroma seemed to overpower their hesitation. Their nose twitched, and drool began to drip from their mouth.
“Then take this too,” I added, retrieving some carpaccio to accompany Rio’s grilled fish, and pressed the plate into the hands of the foxkin.
“Make sure to come on time next time,” I said, turning on my heel without waiting for a response as we headed back to our inn.
The following day, just as Mognov had suggested, I made my way to the morning market at the harbor. It was still early, with the sun just beginning to rise, but many fishermen were returning from their shifts. Various seafood was being unloaded from the boats that had just returned to port. Adventurers could also be seen disembarking, possibly having taken on escort requests for the fishing vessels at the Guild.
“…Speaking of which, I haven’t done much work at the Guild lately,” I remarked.
“Ahaha, since coming to the city, we’ve only been eating our way through it,” Rio replied with a chuckle.
“Maybe we should visit the Guild tomorrow.”
With our plans set for the next day, we wandered through the bustling market filled with seafood. Wooden crates were neatly arranged, displaying fish, shellfish, shrimp, and crabs.
“I’ll take all of that,” I declared, pointing at a selection.
“E-everything?” the fisherman stammered, taken aback.
Ignoring his surprise, I continued to purchase items one after another. I was satisfied to be able to source seafood beyond just the giant fish. As we moved further into the market, I spotted a wooden crate filled with a haphazard assortment of fish.
“What’s this?” I asked, intrigued.
Rio, noticing my curiosity, called out to the fisherman, who grinned and explained, “These are the ones that don’t make it to the general market. The main reason is that they don’t sell well, but some of them are poisonous.”
“Poisonous?”
Could it be similar to fugu back on Earth? Perhaps if the poisonous parts were removed, they could be edible?
“Yeah, some people say the weakly poisonous parts have a tingling taste that’s quite delicious,” he added.
“Really?”
No way. That meant they were eating poison, right? But wait, I had the Poison Resistance Skill. Maybe I could actually eat these supposedly delicious ingredients.
“There are also creatures known as Sea Devils, but… only a handful of us fishermen would dare to eat them,” he continued.
Sea Devils? The fact that someone eats them means they must be edible.
“That sounds really interesting,” I said, my curiosity piqued.
“Yeah, I’d like to see them too,” Rio agreed, exchanging glances with me, and we both felt we should definitely acquire some.
“O-oh, is that so?” the fisherman replied, seemingly taken aback by our enthusiasm for the Sea Devils, but it didn’t matter if we could obtain new ingredients.
“If you’re looking for unusual items, there’s a section over there where the oddities gather. You might find something interesting,” he suggested.
“Thank you! We’ll check it out later,” I replied, turning my attention back to the peculiar fish before us. One fish was entirely purple—could this be the poisonous one?
＝＝＝＝＝
Name: None
Species: Illegal Bale
Description: A monster that inhabits the shallow regions of oceans worldwide.
It possesses poison beneath its skin, which can enter the body if bitten or if its fins scratch you.
The poison is weak, so death is rare.
Status: Dead
＝＝＝＝＝
Ah, so it was indeed poisonous. However, once it dies, its strength and other stats become unreadable. Since it was caught by an ordinary fisherman, it probably wasn’t that strong.
“This looks like the poisonous fish,” I said, pointing it out.
“It certainly has the right color,” Rio noted.
“Yeah. But they say it’s edible, so let’s buy it all,” I suggested.
“…Do you think I could learn Poison Resistance too?” Rio pondered.
“Maybe? I think you could,” I replied, considering her growth rate. With her skill, she’d likely learn it soon enough.
Thus, we began to gather various unusual ingredients. Many of them were familiar from Earth—spiky items like sea urchins and slippery ones resembling sea cucumbers. There were even some strange items that looked like turtle hands, which I had never seen before, even back on Earth.
“This looks a bit like a turtle hand,” Rio remarked.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen such bizarre creatures before. This truly feels like an Otherworld,” I replied.
“Oh, turtle hands can be found in Japan too,” she said.
“Really?” I asked, surprised.
“Hehe, have you ever watched a deserted island development show?” she teased.
“Deserted island… oh, that show! I know it!” I exclaimed.
“It often featured turtle hands,” she explained.
I hadn’t watched it every week, but it seemed turtle hands were a common feature on that show.
“I’ve never tried them, but I’ve heard they’re delicious,” she added.
“Really? That’s something to look forward to,” I said, smiling as we made our way back to the inn, satisfied with our haul.
By the way, the Sea Devil turned out to be a creature resembling an octopus, with about twenty tentacles. I’ll just say it was a bit unsettling.