“Munch munch much!”
“L-Luna’s fish… Y-you’re not winnin’!”
“Munch munch munch munch munch munch!”
The alfar girl devours the salt grilled sweetfish, grabs another one, and starts eating it too.
The way she’s completely focused, like there’s no need for words anymore makes me wonder if this isn’t how she’s to be naturally.
“Look at her go. It feels like there’s no end to it no matter how much I grill…”
“Luna doesn’t want to lose, but she can’t keep up with that speed.”
That large amount of sweetfish is disappearing fast.
There should be enough for me, Reina, and Elga too, but at this rate there won’t be.
That said, I don’t think it would be very mature of me to jump in there and start eating too, so I’m not.
“What was her name… Katima?”
“Yes, she lives on the mountain a little far north from here, and she’s an alfar.”
“How did a girl that lives on the mountain get carried here by the river?”
“Well…”
After she woke up and said she was hungry with tears welling up in her eyes, I got a short explanation from her.
The reason why she got carried here by the river couldn’t be simpler. She was hungry, so she tried to catch fish, fell into the river, and got a leg cramp.
“…So she’s clumsy?”
“Warming up is pretty important.”
Even if deep down I agree, I don’t actually say it.
Katima then told me her name, and we came here to eat.
I called her miss at first, but she told me that Katima is Katima, so I stopped.
“Are you two sure ’bout this? Luna’s sweetfish is almost gone.”
“Yes, we have to let it go for today.”
“Reina’s right… I don’t know if I want to go in there and ask them to share after seeing this display.”
Watching Katima and Luna bite into salt grilled sweetfish at that incredible speed is making us feel full too.
“Fui… That was tasty.”
After a while, after all the sweetfish are gone, Katima lies down and rubs her belly. Her expression hasn’t really moved since she woke up, but she looks satisfied now.
Luna copies her and lies down too.
“Hey you two, lying down right after eating is bad manners.”
“Uu…”
“Ah…”
They let out languid sounds after Reina immediately makes them get up.
It’s kind of funny. They look like sisters.
Even after getting up, they rub their eyes like they’re sleepy.
“Katima gets sleepy with a full stomach.”
“Luna too…”
“I see, that’s understandable. I guess it’s late, so Katima should stay here tonight. And Luna…”
“Luna too…”
Says Luna, sounding half asleep already.
I look at Elga, and all he does is shrug. I guess there’s no problem then.
“Well then, let’s go to the tent.”
“…Yes.”
I take Luna’s hand, and she follows me with uneasy footsteps.
But then I feel something pulling on my clothes, and see Katima with sleepy eyes.
“Katima too… Sleep.”
“I see.”
I guess her consciousness is already drifting away, but is she all right staggering like that?
She didn’t feel at all like she was about to pass out while she ate, but I guess almost drowning did take a toll on her stamina.
“Fufufu, you look so mature, dad.”
“That would make you the mom, Reina.”
“…”
“…”
I fire back after Reina made fun of me, and she looks away with her cheeks turning red.
That was supposed to be a joke, but her reaction is making me self-conscious too.
“Hey you two, I know you’re havin’ fun playin’ house, but those two are about to fall.”
“Ah!?”
I look down immediately, and see Luna and Katima are barely awake at this point.
I quickly grab one with each arm, and carry them to the tent.
I lay them down in the tent and cover them with blankets, as both girls are already off into dreamland.
“…So unconcerned…”
But I think that’s nice. Move a lot, play a lot, eat a lot, sleep a lot.
Different people might have different opinions on that way of life, but as for me, it’s the whole reason why I was reincarnated here.
I come out of the tent and go back to Reina and Elga, and see she’s preparing something else. She has a frying pan, and the wind carries a very nice buttery smell to my nostrils.
“I actually wanted to make sweetfish butter saute, but they were going so fast that I didn’t have the time.”
“Oh? But didn’t they eat all the sweetfish…”
“I figured somethin’ like this might happen. Here.”
Elga says with a grin on his face while presenting his own bucket.
It’s a lot less than Katima and Luna ate, but it’s still enough for three people.
“We adults are having dinner by ourselves.”
“Ooh!”
“Sweetfish sansho butter saute with herbs… Haha.”
I’m sure sweetfish grilled with butter and soy sauce has a different aroma than sweetfish grilled with just salt.
Seeing them on plates really works the appetite, and the herbs accompanying them gives them a nice look too.
“Gulp… This smell is violent.”
“Ah, Elga, you can’t scream this time. It’s late and those two are asleep.””
“…I dunno if I can contain it.”
Elga doesn’t look too sure about Reina’s warning, and I give him a tap on the shoulder and a thumbs up.
“It’s all right. If you can’t, I’ll hold you down or throw you far away.”
“…I’ll really try my hardest to contain it.”
I sit down and get a good look at the sweetfish butter saute. I really have been eating mostly meat since I arrived on this island, so I can’t take my eyes off it. Having a fish dish in front of me after so long really stimulates my Japanese instincts.
I say that, but this body isn’t even Japanese.
“…It makes me want some wine to accompany it.”
“Oh, all right.”
“Eh?”
“What did you…?”
I just mumbled that without thinking, but Reina takes white wine out of her storage magic. Elga and I can’t help but look at it with surprise on our faces.
Reina has never brought out alcohol.
I thought for sure she didn’t have any, but it looks like she was just hiding it.
“I’ll have you know I wasn’t hiding it. I have just been saving it because I don’t have a lot of it.”
She brings out three wine glasses, and starts pouring the white wine.
And as I hear that familiar glug glug sound for the first time in a while too, everything is ready.
“Well then, we’re having a special adults only party tonight. Cheers.”
We follow Reina’s lead, and a high pitched sound echoes for just a second as we lightly clink our glasses.
I quickly take a sip. It tastes refreshing, and goes down smoothly without lingering in the throat. I can tell this is high-quality stuff.
I turn to Reina, and see her lightly waving her glass, letting it take in air.
She looks cool, and those gestures feel very natural coming from her. I try to imitate her, but I don’t think I’m really doing it well.
“It’s tougher than it looks…”
“Fufufu, you’re bad at it, Arata. You should keep the glass on the table and move it there until you’re used to it. Like Elga.”
Elga’s been doing it without Reina telling him to.
That means the wine is stable as it moves around the glass, and also takes in air.
His smug face looking at me works up my competitive spirit.
“Ah, I did it.”
“Yes, like that. And smell the wine before drinking it too. Part of the fun is enjoying how different it smells compared to before you aired it out.”
“I see. Now that I think about it, I only had wine a few times before.”
I mostly drank beer and shochu in my old world, but I would’ve drank more wine if I knew it was this tasty.
And with that in mind, I turn to the sweetfish.
The tingling sensation from the sansho combines with the soy sauce butter as they overrun my mouth.
The soft white meat of the sweetfish is properly seasoned, and goes incredibly well with the white wine too.
“Ahh… Tasty.”
“This… Would’ve been wasted on those two.”
Elga’s body is trembling, as he holds the urge to yell.
I get it. I honestly feel like yelling too.
“A light red wine would probably go well with the strong bitter taste of the liver. How about we try that next time?”
“…!?”
It can taste even better!?
Both Elga and I scream in our hearts
“Ahh… But the wine really was the right choice here.”
Reina’s sigh feels more bewitching than usual now that she has alcohol in her.
My heart races for a second, and I turn away to the sweetfish and wine.
The night feels fantastical, in the middle of the forest and illuminated by light magic, as three friends take it easy and enjoy sweetfish butter saute along with white wine.
We continue having fun in this environment that’s different than usual, as I think to myself that there’s no other time as luxurious as this.
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