Volume 6 Chapter 5 Agito The Rebel
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I stopped by Professor’s apartment to report that Ms. Shirakaba was safe, but…
Everyone was colder than I expected. They were all fired up to go rescue her before.
It felt like as long as they knew she was alive, that was good enough for them, and it left me at a loss. I wasn’t expecting a dramatic, emotional scene, but I did think there’d be a bit more reaction.
Even in the extraordinary setting of another world, human relationships don’t play out like a drama, it seems.
Maybe there’s also some envy toward Ms. Shirakaba, who got to marry a Duke’s daughter.
Becoming a noble is apparently a goal for summoned Heroes. Just (having) strength alone isn’t enough──connections are absolutely necessary.
Getting picked by the daughter of a grand noble and landing a huge catch like that seems too good, and it’s making people jealous.
When status ranks start to form among summoned Heroes, relationships inevitably get awkward. It’s a tough situation.
* * *
Now, the professor didn’t seem very interested in that kind of thing. Only interested in his research subjects, which is very scholar-like. But as soon as I asked him about the sturgeon in the fish farm pond, he suddenly got talkative.
Apparently, he bought it from a fisherman ages ago, released it, and then totally forgot about it. I wonder what it ate to survive all this time, left alone. That’s some incredible life (strength).
Breeding them would be ideal, but with only one, it’s impossible. Sturgeon are apparently rarely caught in the canal, but nobody knows where they come from. There’s no large lake nearby, so maybe they spawn at sea and swim upstream.
The sea, huh? I’d like to visit at least once. But the lower reaches are crowded with small countries, making travel a hassle. Back in the day, the land all the way to the sea was under the Holy Kingdom, so you could just raft down the canal…
”People call it the sea, but I’m thinking it’s actually a huge lake.”
”Is it freshwater, professor?”
”No, it seems they’re boiling it down to extract salt, so there must be some level of salinity. However, if you consider how salmon head back to the sea after spawning──”
Apparently, the reason salmon die after spawning is the stress from changes in salinity. Even on Earth, salmon relatives that breed in lakes live long and spawn multiple times.
Hm, so that’s the important point for Professor. As expected, his perspective is not like an ordinary person’s.
”Wasn’t it while researching salmon that Professor also came up with his theory that this world might be the legendary continent of Atlantis?”
”No, that was while researching eels, not salmon. In ancient times, it’s highly possible there was a continent in the middle of the Atlantic, and European eels used to ascend rivers there. The reason their spawning grounds are so far away can be explained by that.”
Even with a Mind Communication skill, I can’t understand even half of what he says. Basically, if this world really is Atlantis, there might be European eels here.
Eels, huh? Now that I think about it, I really want to eat some unajū. Anyway, Professor is actually someone remarkable──a world authority on salmon and trout farming, apparently. He’s got all sorts of cheat skills even without a summoning bonus.
”So, have you had any luck finding eels?”
”We are currently investigating, but haven’t found any yet.”
According to Professor, eels are originally deep-sea fish, so they need deep ocean for spawning.
It’s hard to believe that the eels in irrigation canals are deep-sea fish, but apparently, Professor truly believes that.
Eels are pretty foolish, aren’t they? If they just laid eggs in rivers, it’d be so much easier. But according to Professor’s theory, about half of all eels spend their lives in the sea. Why the other half come up the rivers remains a mystery.
Hearing they might not exist in this world makes me even more eager to eat them.
It’s not an eel, but a fish that’s pretty eel-like in appearance, the swamp eel, can sometimes be caught in canals or wetlands. In Toyata village, it’s considered a rather nice treat, and the older kids look pretty seriously for them while playing around the water. It doesn’t have the oily richness of eel, but it’s basically a tasty fish──maybe with the right sauce, you could somehow make it into something like eel rice. The texture being totally different is the problem.
”A swamp eel, huh? In Southeast Asia, it’s an important food fish. Since it doesn’t originally live in Europe, I suppose a summoned Hero must have brought it over in the past.”
Getting summoned while holding a slimy, snake-like fish would make for a pretty surreal scene. Is there any chance the fish itself was summoned instead? If that’s the case, I’d want them to summon something like a big tuna.
”Hmm. If it’s possible to summon creatures besides humans, the possibilities for dreams and hopes are endless.”
Professor’s eyes are sparkling. He’s probably seeing a world I can’t even begin to understand.
What I can understand is, if we could summon tuna, I could eat sashimi. The lack of real soy sauce is a problem though. Ah, I want some Edo-style sushi.
”The food culture of this world is by no means inferior to Earth’s, but since cooking techniques are generally kept secret, commoners can’t benefit from them.”
”I’ve heard royal banquets are amazing. I’ve never been to one myself, though.”
I hear the food is incredible, but it sounds like the manners and everything else are pretty tough.
There’s no chance someone like me would get invited, and even if I did, it’d definitely be a pain, so I don’t even want to go.
”That’s right. If there’s an opportunity next time, I’d love for you to join as well.”
Professor seems to get invited from time to time. Apparently he knows royals from various countries──just what you’d expect from Professor.
I see, I could have Professor take me as his guest.
”So I just have to steal the taste, right?”
”If you steal it outright, the chef’s guild probably won’t let that slide.”
I know recipes have huge value in this world. The fact that the guild protects cooks so thoroughly is nice and all, but because of that, cooking techniques get kept secret and never make it to commoners.
Basically, it’s just roasting or boiling as is. Bakers belong to a different guild altogether.
It seems Professor wants to raise the level of this world’s food culture without causing trouble with the other guilds. The reason for researching new ingredients is also because, as long as he doesn’t violate the rights of existing cooks, it’s relatively easy to publish new recipes.
Using ingredients that aren’t recognized as valuable, making delicious food with new cooking methods, then releasing the recipes to the public for free. It’s easy to say, but honestly, that’s kind of a ridiculous feat.
Professor doesn’t just talk──he acts with strength. Even with no reward, he thinks about bringing happiness to the poor. He’s truly a great person.
But, I feel like things aren’t going too well because he’s just too good a person.
The salmon hatchery, the Hero ranch──both had huge initial success, but people flocked to exploit them, and in the end they failed.
The desire to help troubled people is admirable, but wouldn’t securing my own profits first make it possible to help more people overall?
* * *
Before I knew it, from after noon until sunset, I ended up staying with Professor the whole time just because he wanted someone to talk to. The other Heroes have been busy leveling up lately, so they run away when they see Professor’s face.
With guild interference and the loss of Ms. Shirakaba, who was the most passionate, the Hero ranch isn’t going well. From now on, he says they’ll just quietly keep it going for their own food.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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