「Ooh!　Isn’t this a scallop!」


  「Oh?　What?　Is that shellfish really that amazing?」


  Roomba approached me when I was amazed at the scallop I picked up.

  Eating net-grilled scallops with butter spread on them and soy sauce is delicious, you know.

  Aah, there are only scallops but no soy sauce, so frustrating.

  Eating them with salt and butter is also delicious enough, even so, I would really like to have some soy sauce.

  The moment when the scallops will give off that fragrant smell after you sprinkle some soy sauce on it, mou…!

  「So you know about it. Have you eaten those in the royal capital?　There seems to be a lot of people who don’t like scallops, but I like them very much!」


  Time passed when I looked around at the fish market, asking for some ingredients that I know of like wakameor turban shell, and it's already noon.

  「Now then, it’s about time for lunch, shall we go? 」


  「「Yeーs!」」


  Since we’re not really familiar with the area, we just nodded obediently and followed Ilya’s suggestion. It feels like an elementary school trip.

  I’m mostly just looking for some foodstuffs today, as it seems that some preparation is necessary before the ship leaves the port city, so we’re going to stay here for around two days.

  Even if I become so exhausted today, there’s still tomorrow. Let’s look for some souvenirs and foodstuffs for me tomorrow.

  ◆


  Ilya led us for several minutes.

  There are a lot of stalls lined up in a row on a street located east from the port where the ship is docked, making the atmosphere very lively.

  Various people - from a man who has finished his morning task, travelers wearing their coak, to adventurers and ordinary people - are rushing toward the stalls, trying to fill their hungry stomachs.

  The stalls salesperson are assertively raising their voices, trying to attract as many hungry customers as possible.

  The smells and sounds of grilled meat and fish are floating everywhere, furiously stimulating my stomach.

  Just as you’d expect from a port town, maybe it’s because of that the fish are freshly caught and the menu at the stalls are seafood variations such as salted-grilled fish, steak, grilled Ebi, and seafood soup, dishes which are not found in the royal capital.

  Such a good smell. I’m not that hungry before, but I became hungry immediately after coming here. Especially the smell of seafood that has been wafting around since a while ago is unbearable.

  Ilya raised her voice happily as she looked around the place curiously while enduring her drool from trickling out.

  「Ah, we have arrived. It’s here!」


  When I look in the direction Ilya pointed to, there’s a plaza adjoining the street.

  Even though it’s a plaza, it’s not as magnificent as the plaza in the royal capital, with planted trees, benches, and a fountain, it looks unorganized.

  There is a well-ventilated cabin at the center of the plaza, there were tables and chairs lined up all around. Moreover, the place is mostly filled with people and it’s very crowded.

  And there are shops and stalls lined up to surround those tables, and there is a constant stream of people moving toward that place.

  It has this atmosphere just like when you came to a B-class gourmet venue.

  「Wow, there’s a lot of people. It looks like the royal capital’s festival. 」


  「But the royal capital is so crowded with people that every day is like a festival.」


  This kind of festive mood is not too bad once in a while, but Koryatt village is still the best place to settle down after all. As expected, I would really like to refrain from living in a place as noisy as the royal capital every day.

  「By the way, where are Tori and the others? It would be difficult to find them if it was this crowded.」


  「I can see the others already! Look, over there!」


  Ilya smiles as she points at the building in the center.

  When I followed Ilya’s finger, familiar faces were gathering in that place.

  「Ah, Alfried-sama is here, hey!」


  「Oi, you guys, the kanpai practice is over!　We're going to start after this! 」


  「「Uiー!」」


  Tori beckoned us with his hand, but it seems that Irvine, Mort, and Tori firm’s workers have already finished doing something. Everyone had their faces slightly red as they raised a wooden tankard.

  What is a kanpai practice?

  Oh well, in any case, they have reserved someplace for us, but I guess they can hardly wait for us so they started drinking first.

  Weaving our way through people and tables, we headed toward Tori’s place.

  There are nets and iron plates lined up on the table, and a lot of seafood is already grilled on them, making a sizzling noise.

  「Come, Roomba-san and Alfried-sama can sit in front of us!」


  「Ilya can sit next to me.」


  Prompted by Irvine, Roomba and I sit in front of Irvine and Mort.

  I personally think that it would be better to sit in front of Ilya and Aleutia, but I endure it since they sit diagonally from me. Incidentally, Tori sits next to me, and Tori’s secretary-san is next to him.

  Having such a neat secretary-san in a barbecue-like place like this feels greatly out of place.

  「Orange juice for Alfried-sama!」


  Irvine - who sits in front of me - treated me like a child and filled a mug with orange juice.

  「Oi, it’s fine to do a prank just like some time ago by pouring some fruit wine that looks like orange juice here, you know?」


  Even though there is seafood barbecue as an ideal snack here, I can’t drink liquor……… They leave me out.

  「Don’t be stupid. Immediately after you do that, Aleutia will scold you. It’s just a normal orange juice for a kid this time.」


  I feel like that ‘immediately after’ is going to happen soon. Persistent jerks.

  「Ooh!　There is a lot of foodstuffs I saw at the fish dealer a while ago!」


  As he was sitting next to me, Roomba’s eyes lit up as he looked at the foodstuffs placed on the net.

  Scallops, clams, Ebi, turban shells, white-fleshed fish, etc are placed on the net, and a salty smell is spreading. Certainly, it’s a seafood barbecue. And as if saying that the main course is seafood, the net was filled with seafood.

  「Oi, Irvine, there are no vegetables.」


  「It’s a seafood barbecue anyway, it’s fine isn’t it?」


  Even though there are vegetables on the female’s group table, it seems that there are no vegetables for the male’s group, huh? That’s fine though, I’ll just ask them later if I wanted to have some vegetables.

  「Rather than that, look at this!　It’s so amazing, isn’t it!」


  At the place where Irvine proudly pointed to, is something that was placed on an iron plate and giving off a strong presence since some time ago.

  It’s a broiled fish head.

  There’s a thick fish steak on top of the iron place, but a huge fish head is placed in the middle facing upward.

  I wonder if this fish is tuna? 　Or rather, it’s too big for us to eat.

  「Such a huugee fish!　It’s going to be gratifying eating this!　We can also eat the head, right?」


  When I thought, but when I look at Roomba beside me, I think we can afford to eat this.

  We chatted like that for a while. And when everyone has seated themselves, Tori stands up.

  「Now then, everyone! We are heading for Kagura, and now we have arrived at the port city of Esport!　And after a week of a journey across the sea, we will arrive in Kagura, yeah? We still have a fair distance to go, but to relieve our fatigue from our journey, you can eat and drink to your heart’s content today, right! Everything’s on me!」


  The men cheered after hearing Tori’s last part of treating everyone.

  To be able to eat a meal without hurting your pocket, such an attractive offer.

  I understand that feeling.

  「So, then! Kanpai!」


  「「「「Kanpai!」」」」


  Everyone cheers and raises their tankard to match Tori.

  Everyone clinked their tankards, red wine, and ale splashing everywhere yet no one cares. Everyone is smiling while talking to each other.

  「Irvine, Mort! Kanpai!」


  「Ouu!　――wait oi oi!　Don’t deliberately mix the orange juice!?」


  「Hahaha, this is punishment for trying to make me drink seawater! Oops, hey Mort?　You’re not going to have a drink with a noble-sama like me?」


  I also mixed some orange juice to Mort’s tankard but had a normal toast with Roomba.

  I immediately drank the orange juice in one breath and moistened my throat.

  The refreshingly sweet and sourness of the orange are wonderful.

  At the same time as I placed my mug on the table, Irvine and the others also banged their tankards on the table.

  「Dahaa! It has a strange orange taste, but whatever!」


  「It’s free anyway! Whatever we’re drinking now, it’s delish!」


  「Give me a refill!」


  Did Irvine and the others drink up their drink in one gulp, they poured the next drink to their tankard.

  After wetting my throat and calming myself down, I immediately turned my eyes toward the foods that were grilled on the net.

  As expected, should I take the scallops first?　Just as I was aiming for that in my mind, Tori - who sat beside me - talked to me.

  「I have a wonderful present for Alfried-sama, see! 」


  「Mm? What wonderful present?」


  What is it I wonder? Is it the surprise gift he was talking about this morning?　What the heck is he going to take out? I won’t be surprised easily you know?

  Just when I was having a high expectation, Tori put a small jar right in front of me.

  「This is!　I got a soy sauce here!」


  「What’d ya say!?」