Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thors Stone

Now then, Ill need to make some toilets next. In a sense, thats more important than the huts. I made a toilet enclosed with three earthen walls with a length and width of 150 cms, and a height of 200 cms. The entrance would be covered with cloth. In the center was a U-shaped toilet seat with a fairly deep hole beneath it.

If one needed to go to the toilet, theyd just need to drop the blanket that would be hung at the entrance and go do their thing in privacy. The blanket would be thick enough to completely block the view from outside. Once one finishes doing his or her business, theyd just need to fill out the hole a little with the clumps of soil Ill be leaving just beside the toilet seat, and then raise the blanket back up. In other words, when the blanket is down, it means someone is using the toilet, so another can avoid entering it by mistake.

When I showed it to the girls, they were very happy about it. The toilet was very well received. And since Im the only guy in the group, I needed to build two toilets. One is for my exclusive use, and the other is for the girls. I also had to make them a certain distance apart.

Hey, Selena! What are you doing!?

After I finished making the toilets, I heard Cleria call out in a loud voice.

Whats wrong?

Its a Bug (insect). It looked like a beetle that was 20 centimeters big, Selena replied.

Well, thats not good. Did you kill it?

Of course.

Great. You did well.

Great? Alan! Selena just crushed a big bug underneath her foot you know!

Yeah, it looks like she did. Whats wrong? Why did you raise your voice anyway?

Eh? But she just crushed a passing bug for no reason at all, you know?

Isnt that normal? If you see one Bug, youll have to kill it, right? Thats just common sense.

Eeh!? Common sense?

Cleria looked to Sharon for help.

Theyre right. If one sees an insect (Bug), youll have to kill it right away. Theres no other choice but to kill it. If not, it may prove dangerous, Sharon explained.

Eh? I-Is that really the case?

Yeah, of course. Whats wrong with you, Cleria?

Its nothing. Im sorry. I was just a little surprised, thats all. Yes

There are cases when letting even just on Bug escape resulted in incidents with massive casualties in the empire after all.

In order to protect this planet, we have no choice but to exterminate all those we encounter.

Before long, Arista and the others came back from bathing. They were quite surprised by the campsite that was made.

U-Um, what are these? Arista asked.

These are the huts well sleep in for tonight. They look a bit shabby, but theyre at least better than flimsy tents, right?

Y-Yes, I guess

Is this also an application of Earth magic? Karina inquired.

Thats right. Like I said, Earth magic is quite convenient. Go ahead and check out the interior. Im sure youre all tired from todays events. Ill prepare our food in the meantime, so please relax until its time for dinner.

I then showed them the magic hair dryers and taught them their usage. It would be best if they dried their hair to avoid catching colds. Oops. Nows not the time to be preoccupied with anything else. If I dont hurry, I wont be able to make sushi. Oh, but the other girls may not like eating raw fish. What should I do? Oh well. Ill be making pork bowls anyway, so I guess theres no problem. But itll be pretty tight if I need to make both dishes before dark.

Ill do it anyway. If I let this pass, I dont know if therell be another chance for me to make sushi. Kuh. Guess Ill just have to do my best then.

If anyones free, can you please go and catch some fish for dinner?

The girls eyes sparkled in excitement and rushed over to the bags with fishing equipment inside. They then ran to the river. Dangit! I would have wanted to join them too.

The girls are already familiar with handling the fishing rods and using lures. Thats because, even if there werent really any instances where we could go fishing again lately, they kept fiddling with equipment during the journey. It looks like they really took a shine to fishing.

Um, where are the others going? Arista asked.

Theyre going to catch ingredients for tonights dinner. Im going to put on some tea, so please relax around that table if you want.

No, can you please allow us to help out with something as well?

Its fine. You all are our guests after all. And Im always the one who makes the meals for this party anyway. Thats why you dont need to mind me and just make yourselves comfortable.

I produced some drinking water using Water magic, poured it inside a kettle, and started boiling it after lighting a fire with Fire magic. I then went to the riverside to wash the rice grains. Since theres a chance the girls may catch a good number of fish, I took a spare bucket as well.

They sure are a curious group of people. Dont you both think so too?

Thats right. Judging from the way they cast spells earlier, theyre all at least at a level of a veteran mage. And from the way I see it, theyre all pretty skilled with a sword as well. They arent at the level of a C rank party. Theyre on par with most veteran A rank parties Im familiar with, Karina replied.

Im quite curious about Ria-san and Elna-sans circumstances as well. Those two are most likely of noble birth. Their attitude and gestures have a certain refinement and grace to them. At the very least, theyve received education on par with that of nobles. Its a lot more pronounced on Ria-san. I would definitely believe it if someone said she was a highborn noble daughter without a doubt, Arista added.

But is that really possible? How can noble ladies like them work and risk their lives as adventurers like this? Natalie exclaimed as she posed her doubts.

Thats why Im puzzled. It really is perplexing.

Im most curious about the party leader, Alan, though. From what weve seen, he can freely use Fire, Light, Earth, and Water magic. And the spells are all cast in practically an instant. He should be quite famous with such skills, but why have we not heard of his name until now? Karina observed.

Things are getting even more perplexing, arent they?

After I finished washing the rice, I called out to everyone fishing upstream.

Its fine even if you catch only one fish.

Okay!

Dammit! They sound like theyre really having fun.

I got one! Elna excitedly exclaimed.

They just started fishing and shes already got a bite!? Thats honestly very impressive. Looks like Ill have enough fish to prepare after all. Elna may have some talent for fishing.

Okay girls. Elnas already caught one, so its okay to stop fishing after a bit.

Yes!

Oh shoot! I nearly forgot the water I was boiling! I called out to Sharon, who wasnt busy fishing.

Can you check out the water kettle I put on top of the campfire, Sharon? It should have started boiling already, so can you make some tea for our three guests?

Understood. Ill get to it right away.

Oh, right! Take this rice pot and put it over the flame next. Make the fire stronger as well. And make sure not to spill the contents, okay.

Yes!

The salmon Elna fished up was a big one. It was probably about 80 centimeters in length. This was a standard size for this type of fish.

I chopped the salmon into three parts, put it inside the bucket, and went back to the center of the camp together with the rest of the girls. The girls sat down around the table and enjoyed some tea while exchanging stories.

Since the rice wont be fully cooked for a while more, I should prepare the sushi first. I first cut the salmon from earlier into large slices. It was very rich in fat, and can be made into some splendid toro salmon sushi.

They caught just one salmon, but it looks like it was more than enough for all of us. I ended up having plenty of salmon slices for sushi. Well, its alright. Ill just make some aburi (partially grilled) and shioyaki (salt grilled) salmon with the rest.

Okay. Looks like the rice is finally cooked now. I tried a spoonful and found it to be perfectly cooked.

I can finally start making sushi now. I already prepared some sushi vinegar earlier. Aside from a portion I would use for making pork bowls later, Ill make the rest of the rice into sushi rice. I put the cooked rice inside a large bowl, sprinkled it with sushi vinegar little by little, conjured hot air using Wind magic and let it seep into the rice, and finally, mixed it vigorously. Alright, that should do, I think. Lets let it cool for a bit.

Ill prepare the pork bowl ingredients now. The main ingredient is simply the Big Boar ribs we had in store. Theres quite a few varieties of pork bowl, but I dont have much time today, so Ill just go with the salty-sweet variant.

First, Ill grill the Big Boar ribs over the fire. Once they were nicely grilled, I put them on a plate and set them aside. I took out some soy sauce, sugar, and sake next. I poured each ingredient inside the pot and stirred the mixture over the fire until it gained a thick and rich consistency. I then put the meat portions back inside the pot and let the sauce mixture seep into them thoroughly. This should be fine. I finally completed cooking the pork bowl meat with salty-sweet sauce.