Chapter 100

Summary of the previous episode ------------------------------------------------------

We set up camp and take turns keeping watch.

We spend time training our skills and take turns sleeping at night.

The next morning, we savor a soup that resembles udon.

After breakfast, Haruka and the others go to check the traps they set up yesterday.

"How many did you set up in total?"

"Three small and three large box-shaped ones, and three baskets, for a total of nine."

We didn't pay much attention while we were fishing, but it seems they were set up in a reasonable area.

"I couldn't decide where to put them."

"We tried to place them in various spots..."

"Let's start by lifting the large boxes."

Haruka led us to a location where a long box, about 1.5 meters in length and 30 centimeters in width and height, was submerged. The sides of the box had several holes to allow water to drain.

The box was placed in a spot not far from the riverbank, at a depth where it could just sink below the water surface. Some stones were placed on top to act as weights.

"Alright, let's lift it."

Toya removed the stones and lifted the box, but he soon shook his head.

"It's empty."

We all peered into the box Toya brought back, but it was indeed empty, with nothing inside.

"The bait is gone too. Maybe it was washed away?"

"What did you use?"

"Orc meat."

That makes sense; there's plenty of it.

Since some of it was thrown in without proper dissection, using the inedible parts would be efficient.

"Since it's a river creature, wouldn't fish be better?"

"No, I think they eat almost anything, those kinds of creatures."

"Let's see the results of today and decide. Next, next."

The second trap was a bit downstream.

Toya lifted it again, this time with a grin, and carefully opened the lid.

"...These are catfish. And there are two of them."

"Wow, they're big."

The two catfish, thicker than my arm and about a meter long, lay there lazily. Despite being lifted out of the water, they didn't move much.

"Even though they're not great salamanders, catfish are edible, right?"

"Yes. We need to remove the mud, but I've heard that catfish are often used in the fried white fish in convenience store bento boxes."

"Really?"

"Yes. The taste can vary greatly depending on the environment they grow in, but I think they should be quite tasty from this river."

"Then let's remove the mud and prepare them next to the soft-shelled turtles."

We temporarily placed the catfish in a bucket of water and headed to the next trap downstream.

"This is the last large trap."

"Great salamander... Oh, this might be a catch!"

Toya said this as he tried to lift the box, changing his grip to carry it over.

"It's heavier than before. We need to be careful."

Without opening the box, we checked inside through the holes on the side and saw a slimy face. It was the one we saw yesterday.

"I didn't expect to catch anything... I was just hoping for the best."

"No, the mechanism was well thought out. It just wasn't certain."

Haruka sounded more impressed than happy, and Natsumi protested a bit.

The main person who led the trap-making was apparently Natsumi. She knew the theory but had never practiced it, so she wasn't very confident.

"Let's freeze it so it doesn't escape."

Unlike the catfish, the great salamander has legs, so Haruka cast a spell to freeze it solid in the box. Then she put it in the magic bag.

It was easily over a meter long, so it should fetch a good price.

"We need to set this up again."

"Yeah. Just one night and we could get hundreds of thousands of yen... It's thrilling!"

Yuki said this with a big smile, and of course, we were all smiling too. It's great that there's no risk to our lives and it doesn't require much effort!

"Next, let's lift the smaller boxes."

"These are for fish... actually, eels!"

"Eels! But we don't have soy sauce, right?"

The deliciousness of eels comes from the cooking method and the sauce.

I don't want to eat eel jelly, which is rumored to exist in England.

"...For when we can get it!"

Natsumi also only knows about kabayaki as a delicious cooking method for eels.

I've heard about eating grilled eels with wasabi and soy sauce, but it still involves soy sauce.

"Let's go check first. It's like 'a fox in the henhouse,' right?"

"Yes. We can worry about it after we get it."

The smaller boxes were set up in shallower waters.

They were about the same length but narrower, with sides less than 15 centimeters.

"Oh, something's in there."

This time, I recovered it. It was a bit heavy.

I couldn't tell if it was an eel, but something was definitely inside.

I brought it to the riverbank and flipped it into the prepared bucket...

"It's an eel!"

A thick eel slithered out of the box.

It was thicker and longer than the eels I usually imagine.

Well, I hardly ever see real eels. I remember seeing some in a tank at a sushi restaurant, but they were quite thin and short.

"Natsumi, is this an eel?"

"Yes, it's an eel. According to [Help], it's the same as Japanese eels, but I'm not sure if it tastes the same."

Ah, right. Not all eels are delicious.

"Huh? Are there different types of eels?"

Toya's question was answered by Natsumi.

"Yes. In Japan, the eels used for kabayaki are Japanese eels or European eels. There are other types of eels, but they are not used for food or are not very tasty..."

"I see. But this eel seems edible. [Appraisal] says it's safe to eat."

"That's good news. Whether it's delicious... we'll find out when we eat it."

We recovered the remaining two boxes and caught two more eels, which we also left to remove the mud like the catfish.

"Last, the baskets. There are three of them. I tried setting them up in shallow, deep, and intermediate areas..."

"Our target is crabs and shrimp."

"Wow! Can we catch them!?"

"Even if we don't get large ones, small crabs can still be used for stock, so it won't be a waste."

Crabs! I get excited!

As a commoner, I don't get to eat them often.

"First one... Wow!"

"We did it! Crabs!"

The basket contained more than ten crabs, each slightly larger than a palm.

They were quite heavy.

"They're about the size of blue crabs, but their shape is more like crayfish. Are they edible?"

"Their name is 'Barley Crab,' and they are edible!"

Great! If they're not edible, it would be a disaster.

"Let's secure them. Put them in a barrel."

We used a barrel from the magic bag, filled it with clean water, and put the crabs in. There were a few small fish, which we released. Good luck growing big. For the next time we come fishing.

"It's going better than expected. I thought we'd barely get anything."

"Yeah. After all, we're amateurs."

"Maybe no one else comes to catch them. It's dangerous. If it becomes known that they're delicious, rich people might start requesting them."

"Let's keep it a secret!"

"No objections!"

Toya immediately agreed with me, and Yuki nodded enthusiastically.

But Natsumi smiled wryly.

"Barley Crabs might not be delicious. They might not be caught because they don't taste good."

That would be a huge letdown.

Given their size, they look promising.

"Next, the basket in the intermediate depth. How about this one?"

This time, Haruka jumped onto a rock in the middle of the river and pulled up the basket using a rope tied to it.

From the riverbank, we couldn't see clearly, but something was inside, and Haruka returned with a smile.

"They seem to be river shrimp. Toya, are they edible?"

"According to [Appraisal], they are."

Looking into the basket, we saw quite a number of translucent shrimp jumping around. They were about 10 centimeters long, not very big, but there were many of them.

We transferred them to the barrel with water and moved on to the last basket.

It was placed in the deepest part of the river, and the rope was tied to a tree on the opposite bank.

When we pulled it up...

"It's quite heavy?"

"That's because of the weights. It's quite deep."

The water depth was probably over 5 meters.

The rope wasn't very thick, and the basket itself didn't seem very sturdy, so we lifted it slowly and carefully.

This trap, made by modifying a wooden basket, seemed quite delicate in terms of strength.

"...Wow."

The basket that surfaced was filled with shrimp-like creatures.

They looked similar to crayfish but were about 20 centimeters long, with hard shells and a dark brown color, unlike the reddish hue of American crayfish.

"These are 'Crustacean Shrimp.' They are also edible."

"Shrimp might be delicious, but with so many... they look a bit scary?"

"No, but they are shrimp! They must be delicious!"

"I hope so."

We returned to the opposite bank and put them in the barrel.

Despite the crowded conditions, they seemed to calm down once back in the water.

"However, the fish are easy to catch, and we got a lot from the baskets. This is a great fishing spot."

"And conveniently, everything is edible."

Catfish, crabs, and two types of shrimp. According to Toya, all of them are edible, so we're lucky.

"But that's not surprising. In Japan, if you dredge a river, most of the creatures you catch are edible, regardless of how tasty they are."

"Right. Even carp, crucian carp, dace, loaches, crayfish, black bass, and bluegill are edible. Turtles might be tough, though."

But then Natsumi dropped a shocking piece of information.

"Actually, green turtles and soft-shelled turtles are also edible. I haven't tried them, though."

"Really!?"

"Really."

It seems to be true.

If Toya uses [Appraisal], would it say that those turtles are also 'edible'? ...Probably.

But since we eat soft-shelled turtles... no... I don't really want to eat them. Appearance is important, for both people and food. Even if the inside is good, it's meaningless if you can't bring yourself to eat it.

Well, from the perspective of the food, it might be better that way.