Chapter 10: Arrow Shot From Pitch-Black Darkness III

【9th day】

Urgh...

The day was just dawning.

Looks like I had fallen asleep. No, I passed out, didn’t I?

I could feel the grass and soil on my cheek, and something white was touching my nose. It was an alternate world winged rabbit. Even though it was a wild animal, it was sociable. Come to think of it, the winged rabbit had found its way into the camp previously, and had been chased away by Misuranika-sama.

I reached out slowly, and it placidly sniffed my fingertips. When I scratched it lightly near its neck, it made small movements with its wings. It’s adorable. Should I keep it?

「Because you're white as snow, I'll call you Yukihiko(snow boy)」

Let’s keep it. I had already decided on its name anyway.

「I wonder if it's alright to feed vegetables to the rabbits from this side?」

Although I was rubbing and petting it, Yukihiko showed no signs of wanting to escape. This guy probably won’t survive in the wild. It was also a sort of fate that I had met it here.

「Alright, I’ll feed you something」

When I stood up,

An arrow suddenly struck Yukihiko in its head.

「YukihikoooOOOOO!!!」

「I’ve secured breakfast!」

Ea’s posture said that she had just shot an arrow. Yukihiko had died in one shot. I didn’t think that it had suffered. I wondered why reality was so cruel.

「Huh, did you, by any chance, practice through the night?」

「I have memories up until it was near dawn. Well, it was fun. I might be cut out for it」

「Hmm, I'll take a look for myself. After eating breakfast」

After removing her arrow, Ea proffered Yukihiko’s corpse to me. I accepted it.

Yukihikooo~.

I returned to the camp while holding Yukihiko by its still-warm ears.

『Good morning, Souya-san. It's good to be enthusiastic about practice, but please take care of your body. Should Makina make coffee? Or would you prefer cocoa?』

「Two cups of cocoa」

Because Ea would probably want one too.

Makina lit the fire in the kitchen and boiled water.

「Makina, can you butcher rabbits?」

『Makina can process fish, but has never butchered rabbits before』

「Huh, you can process fish?」

I had asked perfunctorily but I was surprised at the reply.

『A-hem, Makina was originally created as a cooking robot. Some of the memories and experience from the older generation remained, so processing fish is a piece of cake for Makina』

「So, anything about rabbits in those memories?」

『Rabbit doesn’t appear in Japanese dishes thought, does it? Do you think it’ll be fine if Makina just drains the blood, removes the internal organs, and skins it?』

「Probably」

Hmm, both of us tilted our heads. I marvelled at the kind of structure Makina had that allowed her to tilt like that. Could it be that she could actually transform? She was more or less made in Japan after all. Oh, she seemed like she might be able to do stuff like combining too.

「What? You don’t know how to butcher rabbits? Pfft」

I was laughed at by Ea.

「Hemus really can't do anything at all, can they? Give me that, I’ll do it for you」

She took Yukihiko from me, then pulled out a knife and chopped off its wings and head, cut open its belly, removed the internal organs, cut into its hind legs, then used her hands to peel its skin off, almost like she was taking off its clothes.

「Here」

Ea gave me back Yukihiko, which had neatly become Nikuhiko(meat boy). Although I had somewhat mixed feelings about it, if we didn’t eat it completely, it would have died for nothing.

But, how do you cook rabbit?

『The cocoa is done』

「Ho, hot, sweet!」

While I was staring at Nikuhiko, which was on the cutting board, that exchange was taking place beside me. For the time being, it was unsanitary, so I dumped the removed parts of Nikuhiko into the trash and washed my hands.

I went to the food storage and took out a cut of pork, vegetables, seasonings and bamboo skewers, then returned to the kitchen.

「I'm taking the pot」

『Okay』

I measured some soy sauce, mirin, noodle soup base, and sugar by eye. I tested the mixture’s taste using my little finger. Alright.

「Tell me when it boils」

『Roger』

I started on breaking Nikuhiko down. First, I chopped off the paws. Avoiding the bony parts, I cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Nikuhiko, your meat looks a lot like chicken, you know? It would be good to stew the parts with a lot of bones over a low flame if I had the time, but since I didn’t, I crushed them with a meat hammer. It would probably be fine if I was the one who ate these parts. I cut up some root vegetables into bite-sized pieces too.

I started threading the resulting ingredients onto the bamboo skewers.

『It's boiling～』

「Got it」

After taking a look at the pot, I added water-soluble potato starch to thicken it. I taste-tested it again. Not bad. Hmmm, it was somehow missing one last thing, but if I added it, it felt like the overall taste would end up weird. Was this the limit for amateurs?

I took the sauce off the fire.

「Makina, can you do it?」

『Of course』

I handed over the bamboo skewers. Using her arm, Makina arranged the ingredients and started to thread them onto the skewers nimbly.

The creaking sounds of wheels drew close. I heard the neighs of a carefree old horse, and a shout from a carefree old man. The middle-aged serf that had helped us yesterday had arrived.

He showed me the freshly picked vegetables that were loaded on his wagon.

I bought five white eggplants, three thick and large cucumbers, and three juicy tomatoes. The exceptional price of 5 copper coins surprised me. It seemed like vegetables that couldn’t be preserved were generally cheap. Agreeing to see each other again tomorrow, I waved as we parted.

『Okay, it’s done』

Makina had finished threading the ingredients onto the bamboo skewers.

「You’re amazing, you know?」

『Ahem』

I soaked the ingredients on the skewers in the sauce.

Putting a metal net over the fire, I tried grilling one skewer first. The smell of grilled sweetened soy sauce wafted out. This early in the morning, it felt like a heavyweight punch. I wanted to eat rice. But there wasn’t a lot of it, so I held back.

「………………」

Ea was staring at the skewer while drinking my share of the cocoa.

It was the gaze of a predator that had locked on to its prey.

A small amount of meat juice was boiling up and dripping from the rabbit meat. The ends of the onions were slightly burnt.

『It's about time to turn it over』

「Understood」

I turned the skewer over and dribbled more sauce on it. The brutal fragrance of the sauce enveloped the camp. I don't think that there’s anything in the world that would taste bad when grilled with sweet soy sauce.

「That seems about right, doesn’t it?」

The color of the meat and the softness of vegetables both looked good.

『For Makina, the standard of the grilling is 65 points. Escherichia coli is killed by heat, so it can be eaten safely』

「You’re strict, aren’t you?」

Just as I was thinking of taste-testing it right away, my wrist was grabbed.

「Are you going to eat that?」

「Yes」

Ea’s arm was rather strong. The skewer wasn’t coming closer to my mouth at all. Just when I was about to bring my mouth closer instead, she raised my arm up high.

「First of all, if I don't taste it, I’ll have no reference of its taste一」

「Then, one bite. I’ll eat one bite first. Just one bite」

「That’s a lie. You’re definitely going to eat everything」

You're making that kind of face.

Even though there were still more skewers, Ea and I were quarrelling over this one.

「Alright, okay. Let’s eat it at the same time」

「No way! That’s gross!」

「Don't hurt my feelings! There's plenty more, so bear with it for a little while! Just for a little while, alright?!」

「Why don’t you be the one who bears with it then?! I want to eat it now! Give・It・Here!」

Thinking that she was such a child, I decided not to yield to her. If I yielded to her here, she would probably do the same thing in future.

After more impertinent scuffling,

「That elf over there」

I heard a voice from behind me.

「Take your hand off that man. Shame on you for stealing the food of my guest」

Geto-san had readied his harpoon.

Why oh why did this person show up at such a complicated moment?

「Ky」

Hmm? Ea’s face had turned white as a sheet.

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

She let out a loud scream. She trembled and shook after immediately hiding behind me.

「My god, Ezusu, my god, Ezusu, protect us from the beings of the abyss with the grace of the forest」

Even if you use me as a shield, my defensive power doesn’t amount to much, you know?

「Good grief, how extremely rude of you, elf. Incorrigible」

「I’m sorry, Geto-san. She’s just a child, so please forgive her」

「Why is Souya apologizing? I don’t understand」

I sat them down at the dining table so that both sides could calm down. In the meanwhile, Makina was grilling the skewers. I cast a sidelong glance at her work. It was vexing, but she was better at it than me. The standard of the grilled skewers on the plate was at a level where they could be served in stores. For the time being, I ate the one I grilled. Well, it was delicious.

「Souya, what about my breakfast?」

「Good morning, Misuranika-sama. Makina is already making it」

「Hmm, Makina. What meat is that?」

『It’s fresh rabbit』

「Rabbit, huh. I don’t like it because it’s so bony. The pork over there is better. Let it cool down properly, then dip it in the sauce once more before giving it to me to eat」

Misuranika-sama was on top of Makina's head, and was reserving skewers for herself.

「Oh, Souya. I forgot, but here, take it」

「Thank you for providing this every day」

「It’s fine, you’re treating me to breakfast after all」

I was given a net filled with shellfish. Wow, there were a lot of oysters. Let’s eat it right away.

「Makina, please scan these」

『Okay. My arms are busy at the moment, so please put it in the inspection box below』

I filled Makina’s inspection box with oysters. The seafood that Geto-san always brought from the Mojubafuru ocean could mostly be eaten raw because of the ocean’s good water quality. However, with that said, since they could contain parasites, inspecting them was essential.

There were some oysters left over, so I removed them from their shells, washed them with water, coated them with potato starch, gently rubbed them, then washed them again with water. I repeated those steps three times to remove the slime and dirt. After that, I left them in salt water.

I grilled the white eggplant lightly, and cut it into sticks. The cucumbers were cut in the same manner. Tomatoes were cut into four. They were all cut into easy-to-grasp sizes. I wanted to be wild and eat everything by hand today.

Next was to make the dressing. I mixed a combination of Japanese-style soup stock, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. After taste-testing it, I added more vinegar and soy sauce. I put the vegetables on a plate and filled the cup beside it with the dressing.

『Souya-san, the inspection is finished. There’s no problem with eating them raw』

「Is that so?」

I took an oyster out of the box, put some lemon juice and salt on it, and ate it directly.

What’s this? It wasn’t just delicious. It was so fresh that it felt like it was dancing inside my mouth. That luxurious fleshy body had an exquisite chewiness. It tasted very rich and creamy. The way it cleanly passed through my throat was like fruit. It had true value as an ingredient. Was such deliciousness allowed?

「Souya, what about my share?」

Geto-san was glaring at me with reproachful eyes while I trembled emotionally.

Transferring the other oysters that I had removed into a bowl, I added ponzu sauce and lemon juice. I didn’t want to boorishly add flavors to it, but Geto-san was accustomed to the taste of these ingredients, so I wanted to present something novel using Japanese seasonings.

The shells were quickly washed with a natural detergent and arranged on a platter. I put the seasoned oysters back into their shells and sprinkled ponzu sauce and lemon juice once more from above. I put the finished product on the table. Makina also put down plates of skewers at the same time.

「Today's breakfast. Raw alternate world oysters, a large serving of salad with Japanese-style dressing」

And,

『A plateful of grilled skewers, and here’s the sauce』

In addition, Makina set out green tea for him.

「Oh, ohhー」

Ea was making an expression that was equal parts joy and fear.

「This is raw, isn't it?」

She pointed to oysters.

「It's fresh so there’s no problem」

『Yes, no problem at all』

「If you don’t want it, I can eat it for you」

Geto-san ate the oysters right away. As usual, he ate the shells too. After some rather ominous chewing sounds,

「Delicious」

His eyes, which had shot open wide open, were peeking out from behind his sunglasses, which had slipped out of place.

「To think that the shellfish that I had gotten tired of eating would be so delicious」

Wow, this person has such luxurious eating habits.

「Ea. Wash your hands before eating. Also, wake your Onee-san」

I brought a bucket of water for hand-washing.

「For Onee-chan, she won't get up until noon. She also stayed up until it was very late last night, so I want to let her sleep」

「Hmm…… oh, right. I guess so」

I decided not to ask why she stayed up late. That's right, she was in a stranger's home after all. Not being vigilant would be stupid.

Ea had washed her hands, and was plucking up the courage to eat the oysters.

「You eat one first after all」

「I ate one just a while ago though」

「It’s fine, isn’t it?!」

「Yes, yes」

「Good grief, even though it's so delicious...... I'm not going to force the elf to eat it though」

Geto-san made an exasperated expression. I washed my hands, said itadakimasu, and ate an oyster.

「It’s deliciousss~」

The ponzu sauce didn’t lose to the ingredient at all. What a synergistic effect they had. Geto-san and I couldn’t stop ourselves from eating the oysters.

「Misuranika-sama, you’re not going to eat them?」

I asked after slurping down an oyster.

「I can’t eat raw food for religious reasons」

It couldn’t be helped then.

「What's thisー!」

Ea shouted in delight after finally eating an oyster.

She forget her fear of Geto-san, and began eating the oysters. Or rather, I wondered, why was she scared of him?

「I want to let Onee-chan eat this too」

「Hmm, raw food goes bad easily. Another day, alright?」

I wondered if I could make a refrigerator by myself. I had the battery and the solar charging device for the glasses.

「It’s a promise! You absolutely have to!」

「Yes, yes」

I promised her easily. For the time being, the oysters were being gobbled up by three people. There were twenty of them, but they were finished off in less than five minutes.

『This one has cooled, Misuranika-sama』

「Hmm, take care of it for me」

Well, god-sama was the first to eat the grilled skewers. There wasn’t any special meaning behind it.

「U, um. Umm. This is quite, umm」

She was being fed by Makina. The ingredients were pork and onions. It goes without saying, but don't give onions to ordinary cats. You must absolutely never do it. Ours is a god, so it’s safe. I wondered if she would use her human-form to eat.

「Makina, I’ll also eat the rabbit after all」

『Okay』

Alright, let's all eat the skewers too.

「It’s sweet and salty. It’s a strange taste」

「Don't like it?」

「I didn’t say that」

Ea had a face that said it was about 70% delicious as she ate.

「It’s scrumptious. I think it's delicious」

It looked like Geto-san meant every word he said. He was eating alternately from the skewers he held in both hands. I thought of something, and went to get the seasoning.

「Ea, try sprinkling this on the food. Just a little! Because it’s a precious commodity in this world」

I handed her a small bottle of Shichimi, a Japanese spice mixture.

After opening and closing the lid curiously, she sprinkled a little bit. Then, she took a bite.

「Oh, it's delicious」

She had a twinkle in her eye as she roughly sprinkled more on her food, then ate it.

「Spicy and delicious, spicy!」

Her eyes were watering. She was an easy-to-understand person.

「Souya, I'll have some too」

「Me too」

Both of them tried the Shichimi. Misuranika-sama couldn't handle spicy food, so it was ill-received. Geto-san received it favorably. I like this person because he eats everything deliciously.

「Hey everyone, let's also eat the vegetables, okay?」

I did my best to finish off the salad which hadn't decreased much even though it was so delicious. Was the dressing unpopular? I would have to try harder next time.

When the number of people increased, eating became fun. After much rowdiness, breakfast was over.

Having eaten her fill, Ea laid down on the grass. Misuranika-sama laid down beside her too.

While I was washing the dishes in the river, Geto-san sat down beside me.

「There's a lot of things I want to say, but like I said before, you're the only one who associates with fishmen nonchalantly. Whatever you ask me won't change that. Besides, it's presumptuous of the sea races to speak about the troubles of the land races. However, as long as I have received you as a guest, I'm worried about leaving things as is. Here, I'll give this to you」

「What’s this?」

It was something like a dried-up finger, no, an octopus arm?

「It’s a tentacle of my god, Grizunas. If worst comes to worst, and there just happens to be a body of water nearby, hold this in your hand, and call on god in my name. If you’re lucky, salvation will probably, maybe, it’ll be nice if it comes」

「Eh, ehh」

What an uncertain salvation.

「My god is capricious. Even the people of the sea cannot comprehend my god’s will. Truly, use it only as a last resort. Use it with resolve that a result more horrifying than death awaits. If possible, don't get into a situation like that. I think you're a wise person. I do think that, but you’ve got a really foolish kind of wisdom. I don't hate taking risks like that, but those thoughts are too much for mortal beings to handle. It’s something like that…… I'm heading home. See you」

「See you」

With a splash, the fishman dived into the water. His disappearing form was like a shadow.

Looking at the tentacle that I had received, I began craving takoyaki.

Well then, let's practice the bow.

Carrying the quiver, I stood in front of the target. I drew the bow, which I had now gotten a little accustomed to. I shot about 10 arrows, and my hit rate was 70%. It would be fine if it was always like that, but it would start to drop from here on out because of fatigue and loss of concentration.

「Ahー, no, that’s no good. You’re straining too much」

Ea was behind me. She was lying down like a reclining Buddha.

「Match the draw and release of the bow to your breathing. Because they're not matching, you're using excessive strength and hurting your elbows and wrist」

「Understood」

I tried to do as I was told, but I made a mistake with my breathing, and the arrow flew in the wrong direction.

「Breathe after the arrow hits the target. Until then, stiffen your body」

「Okay」

Somehow, she was coaching me like a teacher. I followed her instructions and shot an arrow. It hit. It was a beautiful shot that put less burden on my body than I had expected.

「Repeat what you just did so that your body remembers it」

「Okay」

Like I was carving in the feeling of that shot, I made my body remember it by repeating it over and over again. I had thought that it was similar to shooting a gun, but I was wrong. I tried to eliminate the differences in my senses. I wasn't firing a shot, but releasing a shot.

I reached into my quiver but my hand only found air.

「Use these」

With a jangling sound, arrows were put into my quiver. My body leaned backwards from their weight.

「Last night, Onee-chan was free, so she assembled them. Where did you buy these?」

「From the Zavua merchant company's store. It was a beastkin who recommended them to me though」

「I see. It's similar to the Lusasa tribe's hunting arrows. They're powerful if they hit. In exchange, they're heavy though」

I tried nocking one. Its shaft was also made of metal, so it was three times heavier than the Kyui arrows. Taking that into consideration, I aimed slightly higher. I held my breath. I mustn't miss the first shot.

I released.

The sound of the arrow was somewhat low. The sound it made when it hit was dull. The arrow had went through the target.

「Alright, practice, practice」

「Okay, understood」

I didn't know whether it was because Ea was here, or because these arrows suited me, or because I had gotten the knack of it, but the arrows were comfortably hitting the target. I was getting caught up in the moment.

I shot through the target.

The fourth shot shook the support of the target.

The fifth shot completely destroyed it.

I looked at Ea smugly. She was making a complicated expression.

「S, something like thatー! I was also about the same! I did that about half a day after taking up the bow!」

「Wow, that's amazing」

「Never mind that, go practice! Shoot a hundred by noon!」

「Understood」

Makina had prepared a spare target because she had anticipated that this might happen. I stuck it into the ground. I checked the arrows that I had retrieved for damage, then returned them to the quiver.

「Oh, wait. From now on, every time your arrow hits, take three steps back. Once you miss, go back to the original position. Okay, begin」

「Got it」

Practice made perfect.

For anything.

I made my body remember how to shoot an arrow without thinking. But this might be futile. Even if I carried a first-rate bow and learnt first-rate skills, it would be meaningless if it was thwarted by the blank scroll.

Well, if it didn't work, then I would move onto the next. If that also didn't work, then I would try the next. I would keep on trying ceaselessly until the day I lost the thought and the strength to try. My life here would probably pass by like this.

I missed my fourth shot.

Ea stood behind me and booed me every time I missed.

I went back to the original position.

I repeated that over and over again. But surprisingly quickly, change came.

The fifth shot. The seventh. Was the distance to the target about 18 meters?

I nocked an arrow and made an image in my mind. The trajectory of the arrow, the curve I intuitively imagined it would take. I pulled back the string, lined up that trajectory to the target, and released. At that moment, the wind blew.

The shaft flexed, then became a rotating arrow.

The arrow shot through the target.

My senses had told me that it would be a miss, but the wind had corrected it.

I thought that it was a miracle. Was it god's work, or was it god's mischief? Still, it was a miracle that couldn't be more meaningless. All the same, a hit was a hit.

「How's that, Ea?」

I turned around and did a guts pose. But Ea was nowhere in sight. No, I saw her once I looked down slightly. She was curled up into a ball and her breathing was ragged.

「………………Ea?」

There was no reply.

Oof, Yukihiko. So many references to the winged rabbit that I was so sure it was going to be a pet or something, but reality is cruel……

It’s a cultural thing, but Japanese use “Ahem” a bit differently from the rest of the world. It can be used as an expression of pride, ie at one’s skills, or after being praised, etc.

Shichimi is a Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Each blend may have different combinations, but here are the typical ingredients that may be used: coarsely ground red chili pepper(this is the main ingredient), ground Japanese pepper, roasted orange peel, yuzu peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, hemp seed, poppy seed, ground ginger, seaweed.