Chapter 189: Breakfast of the Fishing Village and Souvenir (2/3)
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← The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 3 Chapter 189: Breakfast of the Fishing Village and Souvenir (1/3)
They also demanded other stuff and told me things like ‘You should go somewhere warm and then let us out there’ and ‘You can be the migratory bird in our place and move around the world according to the seasons’, but I rejected them.
After that their life in the Dimension Home has been going well, but they weren’t happy that the rimel birds and the slimes were also living in the Dimension Home. They were also unhappy with the difference in living space.
The hierarchy is currently like this:
Me > Rimel Bird > Slimes > Kohaku (Leader) > Them
But I had to put a lot of effort just to get things to this point.
Especially getting them to acknowledge the slimes. I can’t even remember anymore how many times a wave of slimes had to wash them away.
For some reason, though, they didn’t really want to pick a fight with the rimel birds. Maybe they have some kind of complex with birds that can fly? Even though it took so long just to get them to see the slimes as ‘monsters that don’t taste good’.
In the end, a sticky slime had to appear as a representative for the slimes and fight a one on one duel with a representative from the clever chickens. After that the chickens finally shut up. If that still wasn’t enough, I would have had to put them into jail or turn them into food.
The chicken that got beaten up was lively enough to ask for a day off – in their case, a day off means they won’t have to lay eggs – so after thoroughly healing him with my healing magic, I refused his request.
Honestly, I really respect that chick that’s only been born for a few months and rely on him a lot. I’m sorry for the clever chickens, but as a monster tamer, even if we have really good compatibility ability-wise, our personalities just don’t match. We can understand each other, but it’s not that clear.
I asked the branch head of the tamer guild about this, and apparently, it’s normal for tamers to worry about understanding their familiars and forming relationships. If anything, people like me who haven’t had any problems understanding and communicating with his familiars are the weird ones.
That’s why many normal monster tamers make use of the carrot and stick method to try and teach their familiars. Kind of like how one would teach a normal animal. But when you think about it, it only makes sense. After all, monsters are living creatures too.
Until now I’ve always been highly compatible with my familiars. Moreover, my familiars are limited to the intelligent rimel birds and the slimes, which are said to be perfect for beginners, so it’s no wonder that I’ve never had any problems communicating with them.
If I take it as a learning experience, the clever chickens being so difficult to handle isn’t such a bad thing.
Besides, Kohaku is around to act as a mediator, and the merit of being able to get eggs five times a week is huge.
There are also poison and acid slimes that have shown interest toward the eggs… Huh?
The big cleaner slime is touching my legs.
Looks like it finished cleaning while I was thinking to myself.
“Thanks.” [Ryouma]
Out of the 60 eggs I got, there are 52 left. That means there were 8 that cracked.
After confirming the numbers, I used Identify on the remaining eggs. Looks like everything is safe to eat.
I gave the cracked eggs to the slimes that showed interest to the eggs, while I took the uncracked eggs away for myself.
Before leaving, I put some food in the feeding box of the clever chickens.
“Thanks. How was it?” [Kohaku]
“Out of the 60 you gave me, there were 8 that was cracked.” [Ryouma]
“Achaa… Looks like piling them up like that was a bad idea, after all.” [Kohaku]
“Well, it’s a lot better compared to when we first started.” [Ryouma]
According to my contract with the clever chickens, I am to receive 60 eggs five days a week.
There are 20 adults within the brood that can lay eggs, so that means each adult will have to lay at least three eggs.
“It’s fine if we look at the handling of from a long-term perspective, but please make sure to take care of the sanitation and the chicks.” [Ryouma]
“Don’t worry. The scavenger slime senpais have been cleaning our nests everyday, while the cleaner slime senpais have been giving us a bath. None of the chickens have complained too. Of course, I wouldn’t have allowed them to complain anyway. Don’t worry about the chicks. I’ll make sure to teach them well.” [Kohaku]
The sanitation I’m talking about is mostly about maintaining the environment inside the Dimension Home and preventing diseases. The rimel bird are also doing it.
As for the education of the chicks, that’s aimed toward the next generation.
The old clever chickens can’t be helped anymore, but the chicks around Kohaku’s age still have a future. They’re selfish too, but they’re still a lot better than the adults. For better or for worse, they’re still in that state where they don’t really understand what’s going on. Depending on how they’re raised, they still have a chance.
“I’ll leave it to you then. I’ll help out as much as I can too.” [Ryouma]
“I’ll educate them thoroughly. This will benefit me too, after all, since I want more allies too.” [Kohaku]
There was a resolve burning within Kohaku’s eyes.
After parting with him, I left the Dimension Home, and came back to the kitchen with fresh eggs for breakfast.
After a while, breakfast was ready.
For the first dish of today’s menu we have mustard soup. That’s the same dish we had last night.
Mustard soup is treated in this region like miso soup, so for today’s soup’s ingredients, we’re using the leftover crab from yesterday and the eggs I brought.
Another dish we’re having is the usuyaki bread made from Kotsubuyarikusa. A dish that I ate a lot of when I lived back at the forest. We also have some pickled vegetables that resemble pickled daikon radish.
Mornings at the fishing village start early.
Because of that breakfasts here are usually made up of something that can be easily prepared plus another dish that can fill the stomach.
“Oh! Today’s breakfast sure looks extravagant.” [Kai]
“Where did the bird eggs come from?” [Kei]
“Ryouma-kun brought it as a souvenir for us. He says he’s raising chickens using dimension magic.” [Mother]
“He even helped out with today’s breakfast. You boys could learn a thing or two from him, you know?” [Mei]
Kai-san and the others who have just woken up ignored their older sisters’ words and stared at the soup with twinkling eyes.
Looks like they like it. As the one who gifted it to them, that makes me really happy.
“Thank you…” [Hoi]
“? Ah, you’re welcome.” [Ryouma]
The dad muttered a ‘thank you’ quietly. Our eyes met, so I realized that he was thanking me.
He didn’t say anything more and quietly started eating after picking up his plate.
Does he have low blood pressure? He’s acting completely differently compared to yesterday.
“Sorry about that. My husband isn’t very talkative without liquor. He’s the kind of guy who just says one word when he needs something.” [Mother]
“I see.” [Ryouma]
I feel like I heard about it yesterday, but I didn’t think it was this bad.
“He’s not angry, so don’t mind him. You eat too, Ryouma-kun.” [Mother]
As the mother of the house said that, she got some kotsubuyarikusa bread and placed it over her plate.
The dad started eating, so Kai-san and the others started eating too.
Well, in that case, I might as well dig in.
…Yep. Delicious. The kotsubuyarikusa bread has a peculiar taste, but after soaking it in the mustard soup, it’s not noticeable at all. If anything it’s served to only add a nice accent.
But I wonder why…
This soup seems to be really nostalgic. It’s almost as if I’m about to remember something just from eating it.
“What’s the matter? You’re making an odd face. Do you not like the food?” [Mother]
Oops, the mother is looking at me anxiously.
“I was just thinking about something. I feel like I’ve eaten this soup somewhere before, but I just can’t remember where.” [Ryouma]
“Oh, so that’s why.” [Mother]
The mother sighed in relief.
Fortunately that cleared up the misunderstanding.
There’s not much time, so I better leave the thinking for later and just finish eating quickly.
Everyone eats quickly too anyway, and I have to fight the mud salamanders today.
I need to prepare myself thoroughly!