“Father, the arrangements for lunch is done.”
Reiko informed the group while they were relaxing on the beach, looking at the sea.
It was a few minutes past 1 PM. That is after taking the time difference between Kaina village and Hourai island into consideration.
Sheets were laid out on the beach for them to sit, with the baskets just beside them. Even a tarp was set up.
A tarp is a cloth used to block the sunlight. It’s usually set up using simple props and the tension of a rope.
It was already June and, as Hourai island was located in the Northern Tropic, the sun was blazing down on them from above.
“Ooh, now this is comfortable.”
As the tarp can block off sunlight very well, it was refreshing underneath it. Sun shades are quite important here as the temperature is higher near the coast.
“Everyone, there are many different items so please feel free to choose whatever you like.”
Reiko said, opening the lid of the basket.
“Oohh…”
Sandwiches, smoked meat, boiled egg, pelshika and citran, each of these were put into different baskets.
And inside the last one was…
“Onigiri?”
Onigiri, seasoned with salt and wrapped with edible seaweed.
“Jin, what’s this?”
Reinhart asked with a curious expression, looking at it.
“Ahh, that’s called ‘Onigiri’. It’s made with cooked rice and wrapped with ‘laver’, a kind of seaweed.”
Saying that, Jin was the first to take a bite into the onigiri. Reiko, who had been observing from the side, poured him tea from the thermos flask.
One bite. These onigiri which are seasoned with Hourai island’s seaweed salt are tasty by themselves.
“Hmm, tasty!”
Saki was the second to try it after seeing Jin happily stuff his cheek with onigiri. She took a bite and said,
“Oh-this really is tasty. It’s simple but has a profound flavor.”
Hearing that, Elsa, Reinhardt and Belche also tried it.
It’s black on the outside because of the seaweed but pure white on the inside.
“Jin-nii, this is tasty. The scent is also nice.”
“Ohh, it truly is! This is… awn… no, rice!”
“Jin-sama, unlike its appearance, the texture and taste is quite something.”
It seemed the 3 of them truly liked it. Jin was happy that they liked the taste of seaweed.
“Thank you. It’s the taste of my homeland… Reiko, it was Laojun who did this, right?”
Jin asked with a grin. Laojun’s surprises are somewhat bittersweet since they remind him of his homeland.
“Yes, father.”
“I see, as I thought. It’s delicious.”
Jin gulped down his fourth piece.
“These are also delicious.”
Belche said while having a sandwich.
“These boiled eggs are so good, even though it’s just normal boiled eggs with salt. This salt is not our usual salt, is it?”
Reinhardt tried out the boiled egg and was surprised by its good flavor.
“Which one, which one? ……Hmm, Jin, this isn’t some normal salt, is it?”
Saki also supported Reinhardts claims. They are quite sharp.
“Yeah. That’s seaweed salt and can be harvested around this area.”
Jin answered, pointing at the Tatsumi bay.
“You make it by burning the seaweed gathered from here, then dissolving the ashes in water and desiccating the clear top layer of the liquid.”
“Hmmm, if you do that, does that mean there’s something mixed in here that’s in the seaweed?”
“Exactly. It’s salt with the umami that’s in the seaweed.”
Although the taste gets dull if it’s used inappropriately, it seems it goes quite well with boiled eggs.
“By the way, the salt used on the smoked meat is also harvested from this sea.”
“It’s such a clean sea, after all.”
As Saki said so while looking at the sea, Aqua suddenly emerged from it. Number 33.
“Uwaah!”
Saki was so surprised that she toppled over on the sheet. The others were also considerably surprised but not as much as her.
“That’s Aqua, a golem maid. It’s in charge of ocean development. It seems it has just harvested some laver.”
As Aqua had just suddenly appeared with the laver that they had all been having, all of them unanimously looked at Aqua 33’s hand.
It was holding a large amount of dried laver.
“That’s seaweed?”
“It actually is sea weed, huh?”
“How do you process that to make it edible?”
As expected, it was Saki who came asking the recipe. Jin answered her question.
“After cleaning and drying off the clean sea water, it’s minced and put back into normal water. Afterwards, it’s filtered with a wooden flask and drainboard before drying again.”
It was quite an abridged explanation but Saki was able to somewhat understand the process.
“I see. So, basically, after slicing them up into small bits, you flatten them out and dry them, right? Interesting.”
It was at this moment that Jin had decided to discuss paper making with Saki later on.
After lunch, when they were having fruits, Hydro 2 and 3 returned from outside.
Reinhardt had ridden them before once during the turmoil caused by the Unifiers but Belche and Saki were seeing them for the first time.
“J-Jin-sama, what is that ship?! It’s moving without an oar or a paddle!”
As expected, Belche was surprised seeing the Hydro’s propulsion system, as she was somewhat knowledgeable about ships.
“It’s called the Magi Water Jet, it moves forward by gushing out the sea water.”
He explained it quite simply but Belche was unable to comprehend it.
“Marine 2, 3, are you done with today’s patrol?”
They answered in the affirmative to Jin’s question.
“Yes, my lord.”
In reality, it was Laojun who skillfully handled the scheduling without even letting the Marines know.
In the first place, it was weird for them to return here, at the sandy beach, even though the bridge is just some distance away.
Of course, Jin too noticed this but didn’t say it out loud.
“If so, would you give us a little ride?”
“Yes, anywhere, anytime, as long as it’s your order, my lord.”
The Hydros were 4-seated. As the Marines were handling the ship, Jin, Elsa, Saki and Reiko (Reiko could fit since she was small) boarded Hydro 2. And Reinhardt, Belche and Neon got on Hydro 3.
Unfortunately, Aal, Edgar and Noir had to stay back this time.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Understood.”
And like that, Hydro 2 and 3 started moving.
“O-o-ohh, this is-!”
Saki was amazed by the acceleration.
“Kyaa! What is this?! This speed?!”
Belche was also astonished.
“Hmmm, this really is amazing!”
Even Reinhardt, who had ridden it once, couldn’t hide his surprise.
“I would also like to try building one but I should start with a paddle steamer…”
Reinhardt was well aware of his abilities.
Hydro 2 and 3 were moving at about 50 kmph.
“Jin-nii, this is really fast. Amazing.”
Elsa said, feeling refreshed with the sea breeze.
The ebb and flow difference in the seas of this world is small since the moon is small.
Moreover, as occurrences of typhoons are comparatively low, the seas here are also gentle.
And today as well, the movement of the waves were gentle. Catamaran-styled Hydro displayed impressive stability with speed.
“Jin, this feels really good! This ship is amazing! I know that’s all I have been saying but I just can’t help it!”
Saki half-shouted, being somewhat excited. Hydro 2 and 3 rode through the never-ending, vast, blue ocean, leaving a white trail of foam.
After about an hour of riding fast on the sea, they returned back to Tatsumi bay.
“Welcome back.”
Edgar, who was in charge of the luggage, had come over to the foreshore to welcome them. As for Aal, he was making seaweed salt with Aqua 33. And Noir had taken a fixed stance as if to protect the luggage.
Jin felt this to be interesting, as their personality could be seen from their roles.
As they drank the cooled pelshika drink, their dried up throats moistened and they felt refreshed, even under the hot sun.
After having the rest of the fruits, the group got back on the automobile and headed back to Jin’s research lab.