Chapter 142: Is the Mysterious Seaweed Wakame or Kombu?
“That said, there’s really not much we can do, huh?”
“Yeah…”
After pondering various possibilities, we inevitably arrived at the same conclusion. The only idea that came to mind was to remove the collar and take her to another country. However, if it were to be discovered that we were the ones who removed it, we would become criminals ourselves.
“It might be nice if we could solve this with money.”
“But we don’t even know what kind of person we’re dealing with.”
“Guess we’ll just have to see how things unfold.”
Phonia was indeed adorable, but we hadn’t grown that close yet. Getting too emotionally invested might not be wise, so I decided to shift my mindset.
And so, we found ourselves back at the Harbor. Today, we had come to harvest seaweed, but I wondered if it was even edible. Well, I suppose we could find out through appraisal.
“The real question is how we’re going to gather it.”
“…Free diving?”
“I feel like we could manage something with magic.”
Given the current climate, it wasn’t too cold to enter the sea. It felt like a pleasant spring day in May—neither too hot nor too cold.
“It might still be a bit chilly to go underwater.”
“Right?”
I stretched my arm over the pier and dipped it into the water, only to find the seawater was cold.
“For now, let’s try casting some magic since we can see it.”
To cut to the chase, using magic to remotely operate a blade and harvest the seaweed turned out to be the quickest method. Initially, I had aimed with my magic based on what I could see, but I had forgotten that objects appear displaced due to light refraction underwater. However, that wasn’t the main issue. When I shot magic at an angle into the water, it struck the seabed directly, causing sand to swirl up and obscure my vision.
“That’s huge.”
“Yeah, it is.”
As I examined the seaweed I had pulled up, I estimated it to be about ten meters long at the root. It resembled a single elongated green leaf. This was the kind of seaweed that could be found in shallow waters close to shore. Perhaps there were even larger ones further out.
“What’s the difference between wakame and kombu again?”
“Um… I’m not sure…”
I voiced a fleeting question, but it seemed Rio wasn’t well-informed either.
“Well, let’s appraise it for now.”
＝＝＝＝＝
Type: Plant
Name: Aogusa
Description: Edible seaweed
When dried, its umami is concentrated, making for a great broth.
Can be eaten raw.
＝＝＝＝＝
“Hmm… Looks like it’s edible.”
“Really?”
“It says it makes a great broth when dried.”
“Wow, sounds like kombu.”
“Then how about this one?”
There was another type of seaweed, tinged with red. From a thick stem, branch-like tendrils sprouted, adorned with leaves.
＝＝＝＝＝
Type: Plant
Name: Akagusa
Description: Edible seaweed
When touched, the leaves wrap around and constrict tightly.
Contains poison, but it becomes harmless when heated.
＝＝＝＝＝
“This one is also edible, but it can’t be eaten raw.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“It says the toxicity breaks down when heated. Plus, it wraps around you and can strangle you if you touch it.”
“That’s scary.”
“Yeah, we need to be careful with plants too.”
“By the way, there’s seaweed growing on the rocks as well.”
“Is that the one that looks like nori?”
＝＝＝＝＝
Type: Plant
Name: Midorigusa
Description: Edible seaweed
＝＝＝＝＝
As I approached and appraised it, the result was straightforward.
“It only says it’s edible.”
“Should we go ahead and harvest some?”
“It might be a bit of a hassle, but if it’s tasty, we should gather more.”
With that, Rio and I decided to split up and collect the seaweed.
“Alright, time for a taste test!”
“I’ve sorted them by type.”
“There’s one that looks so unappetizing I’m not sure I want to eat it.”
“Yeah, it turned bright blue after cooking it.”
But the appraisal said it was edible…
“Well… I guess we won’t know until we try.”
“For now, I just boiled them, so they might not have much flavor.”
Steeling myself, I took a bite, and to my surprise, none of them tasted bad. I dehydrated the kombu-like seaweed with magic, drying it thoroughly, and the broth it produced was quite decent.
“This blue one isn’t bad either…”
“Even if it looks like that, I kind of like it.”
“As for me, well, I can eat it… I guess.”
“If we sun-dry the kombu-like one, it might concentrate the flavor even more.”
“Ah, that’s true. Rapid drying with magic feels a bit forced. Maybe we should try drying it on the inn’s balcony.”
“I’m not sure how to dry it, but let’s experiment with it.”
In any case, I was glad we came to harvest seaweed. The fact that it could be eaten with little seasoning meant that if we cooked it properly, it would surely taste even better.
“If there’s another Giant Fish Disassembly Festival, it might be fun to serve seaweed dishes to the townsfolk and get their feedback.”
“Haha! That sounds good. It seems like something we have nearby but haven’t tried.”
“It’s a shame to waste all the seaweed growing on the seabed.”
“Then let’s venture a bit further out and gather more.”
“Right!”
And so, we spent the entire day diligently collecting seaweed. Occasionally, we stumbled upon crustaceans and shellfish on the seabed, adding to our haul. At one point, I felt like I had been pricked by some shellfish, but I brushed it off.
…Wait, does that one have poison?! What? It could be quite potent and potentially lethal? …But I feel fine, so my poison resistance must be working well.
I should let Rio know. It would be bad if she got stung.