The Old Guys on Their Day Off
After returning to Legol, I was immediately caught up in a flurry of activity, but afterwards I went back to the inn and slept soundly. Long journeys are mentally exhausting, you know.
However, it was good entertainment. I felt refreshed, or rather, I enjoyed myself to the fullest. Escort work is sluggish and bothersome, but going on excursions while fishing isn’t bad either.
“Hey Momo, I’ve done that data collection you asked for. And here, I’m returning the flippers.”
“Mongrel! You did the job! Well done!”
“Of course I did it, I’m a professional. Here, I washed them in well water just to be sure.”
“My, how thoughtful of you.”
When I asked the members of “Young Tree Staff” at the guild, they said Momo was at the clan house, so I went there.
As expected of a party that was making waves in the royal capital, their newly built clan house looks quite impressive. Some parts are still under construction, but it already looks livable enough.
A room to receive guests like me was prepared, and for some reason Momo was there having tea with MiseRaina. Maybe they were taking a break in between studying.
“Hmm hmm… MiseRaina-san, what do you think? Mongrel’s report says this…”
“…The handwriting is terrible… ah, s-sorry!”
“No, it’s true so it’s fine. Sorry for the poor handwriting.”
“The content is what’s important. …You said it should bend more?”
“The material, or the thickness. This one felt a bit too thick. But I think that can be covered to some extent with length.”
“…Hmm, length…”
Well, I only swam for a few tens of minutes and I’m an amateur, so I’m sorry for my humble opinion.
But from my memory, I think the flippers definitely had more length, and I think if we at least make them similar to those memories, we’ll get better results.
“There’s also this kind of material. It’s whale baleen.”
“…Ooh, this is…!”
“Wow, I’ve never seen this before. Is this from the Kiritatis Sea?”
“Apparently. I don’t know what kind of whale it came from though. They say it was taken down by a large sailing ship.”
“…Oh, this has elasticity. If we shave and shape it, perhaps…!”
“Well, it’s just one example. It might be cheaper and more reliable to just pluck some carapace from insect-type monsters.”
“Insects… hmm.”
The insect monsters in this world are ridiculously huge. If we search, we might find materials with similar elasticity.
“…MiseRaina-san, what do you think? In the magic tests, this prototype certainly seemed to have just the right hardness…”
“Mm, mmm… We experimented with water flow and fixing devices but… I think the feel when actually attached to feet is different… probably…”
“This is troubling. Elasticity… if we’re looking for that, it’s quite difficult…”
“Well, I did feel like my swimming was somewhat assisted. Diving and surfacing were a bit tough though. That might be a matter of getting used to it.”
“…”
After thinking for a while, Momo suddenly looked up and bowed her head to me.
“That was helpful, Mongrel. I can see the direction for improvements now.”
“Yeah, glad I could be useful.”
“Next time I’ll definitely finish it into a tool that will amaze Vandale-san. Mongrel, if there’s another opportunity, will you help again?”
“Well, if I’m free I don’t mind. Prepare compensation even if it’s not money. I refuse to work for free.”
“I understand.”
“Ah, this is a souvenir of salmon jerky… no wait, Hightail jerky. Share it with everyone in the party. It was well received.”
“Eh, you’re giving this to us? Thank you!”
“Wow… th-thank you very much. I’ll gratefully receive it…”
With this, the flipper errand quest is complete for now.
If there’s a second round, give me better ones next time. When that time comes, it wouldn’t be bad to try swimming in the sea. Though I can’t swim carelessly because sea monsters are scary.
“Man, I’m hungry, I’m hungry… Oh? What’s this, Thomas-san. And Josran-san is here too!”
“Yo.”
“What’s this, Mongrel? What about work, what about work!”
“That’s my line…”
Missing the taverns where food and drinks come out smoothly when ordered, I went to “Forest’s Bounty Inn” and found two familiar faces there.
Thomas-ojisan who works at the sawmill, and Josran-san the blacksmith.
I worked with Thomas-san several times chopping firewood in winter, and from Josran-san I… bought whetstones, I think. That’s about it. I rarely take things in for sharpening so I don’t visit often. If anything, I have more dealings with his daughter Josette who does casting.
“Mind if I sit here?”
“Go ahead and sit. It’s not my seat.”
Since there’s an empty counter seat, I decided to sit next to Thomas-san.
Thomas-san is puffing on his corn pipe tobacco today as well. Well, there’s nothing I can do about people in this world dying of cancer, and there’s no point in saying anything about it. It’s good that he cares for his back, but I wish he’d properly look after his internal organs too.
“Excuse me, three grilled mallet rabbits and one ale!”
“Hahaha, don’t be stingy, order them all at once, Mongrel!”
“Listen here, Josran-san. I like eating freshly grilled, delicious skewers. If I order them all at once, they’ll get cold halfway through and be ruined, right?”
“Just eat them all at once, that much! If you’re a guildsman, eat more and get bigger!”
“What a noisy old man. Right, Thomas-san?”
“Hmph, I don’t care. You’re both noisy.”
Oh, here comes the rabbit meat. This one has good volume not just in the hind legs but the front legs too. The fat is good for a rabbit, probably because of what they eat.
And ale. Even if it’s not cold, room temperature is perfectly delicious in summer.
“…Puhaa.”
“You’re as old-mannish as ever.”
“Mongrel’s been an old-mannish guy since we first met.”
“I’m 30 this month. Don’t call me an old man. Even being called middle-aged hurts my heart.”
“30? I thought you were almost 40!”
“Josran’s old man is quite noisy again. If you drink too much, your daughter will scold you again.”
“It’s fine today! I’ve reduced my drinking somewhat too. It’s my own calculation!”
The rough calculations of craftsmen are unreliable in such matters.
“More than that. The rod material I got from Thomas-san before, and the fishing rod parts Thomas-san’s daughter made for me. I finished a fishing rod with those and went to the lake to fish.”
“What? Which lake? The one toward Dryden?”
“Zahia Lake.”
“You know it well.”
Both of them know it. As expected of two old men and an almost-old man. They’re knowledgeable.
“You can’t catch anything decent with a fishing rod. That’s just playing around.”
“Was there anything there? That lake is all birds.”
“Actually, I caught a fish this big.”
“Tell a better lie, you fool!”
“It’s true! It’s not a lie! There were Hightails there!”
“So that’s what they’re called.”
While ordering additional salted beans and meat, I draw a simple sketch on parchment from my chest.
“Look, it was a fish like this. Ever seen one?”
“No.”
“Hooo, doesn’t look like something that would be dried fish or anything… quite flashy fins it has. That one looks more like a bird.”
“It had an amazing pull. The rod was at its breaking point. It was a miracle the line held… If the archer who came with me hadn’t finished it off at the end, I might have lost it.”
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Josran-san is looking at my sketch, bringing it close and far from his eyes. It’s not such an intricate drawing that it requires that kind of viewing.
“Did you kill it and try eating it?”
“Of course. Dressed with vinegar, grilled with salt, smoked, all sorts of ways. Look, I happen to have brought some. Josran-san and Thomas-san, try eating one each.”
“Oh! Hey hey Mongrel, now that’s what I’m talking about!”
“Hou, good color it has. I’ll take one. Let’s see…”
The two bit into the salmon jerky-like Hightail jerky and chewed it thoughtfully for a while.
“…Hey, another ale.”
“…Same here.”
“See? Good, right?”
“This makes the drinking go well, good, good, Mongrel. I’d buy more if you had it. How much?”
“I don’t have enough to sell. After giving small portions to acquaintances in town, that’s it.”
“Don’t give any to people I don’t like!”
“…Josran-san really has bad points like this.”
“Ah, really. So petty, Josran.”
“Hey! Geez, it’s a joke, a joke!”
It didn’t sound like a joke at all though. This is why alcohol lovers are troublesome.
“Then at least take some to our daughter, Mongrel. It was Josette, not me, who made the parts in the first place. If it’s a souvenir, give it to her.”
“Oh, that’s right too.”
“And a little for me too, okay?”
“Don’t say ‘okay?’ That’s the same thing in the end.”
“Gehehe… But this kind of fish isn’t bad either. I’m not usually one for dried fish, but this is good.”
“Mongrel, is this fish something that appears in the market?”
“No, I’ve never seen it at all. I only knew about it because I saw it in a reference book. Apparently they’re also in the sea.”
“Well of course they’re in the sea too, they’re fish.”
“That’s not right, Josran-san. Normally, fish that live in fresh water like rivers are different from those that live in salty seawater.”
“What?”
“Hou, that’s educational. Kukuku, you’re just like an old man.”
“Gahaha! That’s true! My grandfather was knowledgeable and just like this!”
These two older guys… Well, counting my previous life, I am older than both of them.
“I’m angry now. I’m going to eat jerky deliciously in front of you two while drinking ale. Excuse me, another ale!”
“Ah, this guy! How cruel! That’s not very mature, Mongrel!”
“Because I’m an old man! Old men are creatures that forget shame!”
“Fufu fufu.”
That day, I drank a lot of ale for the first time in a while and enjoyed chatting leisurely with the old men.
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