I wake up to the feeling of tentacles creeping over my body.
A familiar ceiling, a familiar room, a girl I pretty much just met, a familiar bedside table, a moss ball on the floor for some reason… That moss ball was on top of a plate… Ah, it ran away.
I grasp my left arm, that is now an immovable pillow, and use my free right arm to operate the small information device to ask Iris if the moss ball is multiplying. She responds that they need to be disposed of from time to time, and I tell her one that escaped is in my room.
Iris comes in, and secures the moss slime running around on the floor. Suzuri and Kori are peeking in from the other side of the automatic door, both with impressed expressions.
“Dinner will be in an hour, so please compose yourselves before then.”
“Ou.”
“Yes…”
Hum… Yes, yes. I finished Vasilisa’s interview this morning and we brought her stuff in… That’s right.
All of Vasilisa’s stuff that was in a rented storeroom has been brought on board Tortilla Double… Yes. And I chugged Vasilisa’s aphrodisiac and went right into it.
▽▽▽
I clean myself a bit with the purification magic item, and get dressed with Vasilisa, putting on the clothes Iris put out for me, an Hawaiian shirt with a flower pattern. I’ve never been there, but I can get into it.
“Aloha!”
“Aloha~!!”
“Aloha?? What’s that?”
“What has gotten into you so suddenly?
“What master said, aloha, is a greeting.”
“Oh yeah? Then aloha to you too!!”
Maybe I’ll make something close to loco moco with the food printer.
“Anyway, this is Vasilisa, the fifth wife.”
“Thank you for having me!”
“Hello~!”
“Hello again.”
“It is a pleasure~.”
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
I know I’m the one who brought her, but this is really casual…
“Isn’t everyone really casual about this?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not like it’s a surprise.”
“My culture is not monogamous, so if you can afford it, it is no problem.”
“Harems are the best~! You should build a bigger harem! More girls!”
“Mechanical intelligence advocate for being fruitful and multiplying, and filling the earth.”
“Leaving aside the dangerous ideas of laflotty and mechanical intelligence, things are pretty tough for races like us that deviate from walkers.”
Us? Oh she’s looking at Saratha, who’s scratching her cheek.
Apparently since walkers are the majority, having a very different body type causes a lot of compatibility issues. Since there aren’t many of them, men of their races tend to go after small walkers or subspecies of walker, and since they take many wives, they tend to not come out into space. Once they start talking about this, these two go on and on.
“Yes! I don’t know why, but they go after walker women! Why do snake people spout nonsense about not liking us strong and heavy!!?”
“That sounds rough for snake people. Octopus men are small and weak, and adults are about as big as Suzuri at the biggest!! And they don’t like us ’cause we’re big and scary!!!”
“Perhaps Saratha and Vasilisa are on the same page.”
“Let’s just eat. I feel like they’ll be more peaceful once they get some alcohol in them.”
“Oh~. I think they’ll be good friends~! That’s nice, Sara~…”
“Let’s get a big plate we can share, as the main dish.”
Iris and Suzuri get a flat bread with toppings like a pizza, various deep fried foods, and other things we can eat with our hands from the high grade food printer.
I get synthetic alcohol that’s like beer, and give it to Saratha and Vasilisa. And they immediately drink it. Good thing I changed the parameters to lower the alcohol content.
“This food printer is so great! Ah, that’s right! There’s fermented beer I made in some of the bottles I brought. I want you to have it. Hum, it’s in the cargo bay.”
“Almost everything is in the mixing room. I will go get it.”
“Look for my octopus tentacle mark!”
“You did say you brewed your own alcohol…”
“Genma, perhaps you should remember that selling your brewed alcohol is illegal in most colonies. You can make it and drink it, but not serve it to others… Although family is an exception.”
That’s important. Apparently there’s a tax involved.
I cut some organic ham and serve it to the girls, and I use the food printer to make loco moco, wakame, and green onion miso soup. And organic pickles.
But just as we’re about to eat, Iris brings something like a shopping basket with five bottles.
“Yes… Should we actually start drinking? I heard alcohol can easily get moldy if we’re not careful, or turn into vinegar…”
“Hum! I was careful, you know! Don’t say nonsense, after I made that I… Oops.”
“Perhaps I should bring the simple appraisal magic tool! When did you make this!?”
Oh no, it was before I got stranded, I hear her say. Is this okay!?
“I checked, and it appears to be safe, master.”
“Ah, really? Great! I’ve never had something that’s been around for over a month after making it! Go on boss, drink up!”
Kori, Saratha, and Suzuri start questioning if it’s safe to drink something that’s over a month old, but I assume it will be safe if it was closed.
I take one from Vasilisa, and notice the bottle is transparent. The liquid inside is transparent too, so I can see Suzuri looking really suspicious.
This is a half liter bottle. There’s a label with an octopus tentacle illustration, and letters that say real shine after I translate them.
The drink appears to be fermenting on the inside, as I see it bubbling a little with carbon dioxide gas. I’m about to uncork it, but then I notice it’s a bottle cap. Hum, where’s that bottle opener?
I look at Vasilisa, and she pops it open with her bare hands, I mean, tentacles. She’s strong…
“Pop mine too, I can’t do it barehanded.”
“Yes! Boss!”
She catches the bottle cap as it flies, and presses her thumb against the inside. Then she sets it against the rim of the other bottle cap, applies force to it like a lever, and it easily pops off.
Kori and Suzuri clap, and a nice smell fills the air… Hm? Wait, what did she even ferment for it to be clear?
Iris gets four small glasses. I pour until it’s less than half full to take a couple of sips.
“Before I drink, what did you use to make it?”
“Stuff I bought here and there. Sugar, drinking water, dry beer yeast, flavorings, and a little food cartridge stuff.”
“I didn’t want to hear that last part.”
Let’s get the cup closer to my face first.
It smells just like alcohol for sterilization. Did you really use flavorings? I lick a little, and take a sip.
Ah, this is probably beer. Probably without hops. There’s practically no bitterness, or that refreshing feeling. Hn, I guess it’s like black beer? Like the bitterness and acidity has been weakened. It feels mellow.
“It’s pretty good.”
“Oh! Right!!? It took me half a year to reach this flavor!”
“No, I think the food cartridge is doing it. Sugar water wouldn’t be like this.”
One of my coworkers had the idea to ferment sugar water. It was pretty sketchy. He figured there are drinks where you add molasses or honey to water, so it could work, but it didn’t.
“Yes! It wasn’t working at all at first! I got frustrated, and only noticed there was food cartridge meat in one after it was done fermenting! I figured it was a waste, so I drank it, and it was strangely tasty!”
Is everyone who makes alcohol like this…
“Ogyah! I can’t handle this! Unya~!”
“Hnu… I would say it feels both tasty and not.”
“Ah, this works for me. It’s pretty good.”
It looks like it’s a no for Kori, an ambivalent reaction from Suzuri, and an okay from Saratha.
Kori tends to like alcohol, but leans more towards sweeter stuff. Saratha and Vasilisa are getting worked up again.
“Maybe the mixing room will become a brewery.”
“I think so. Should I stop?”
“It’s fine, I’m interested too. We need to get some stuff…”
White liquor infusions, compote… There’s a lot of interesting stuff to be made.
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