“So, you wiped out the swarm of eels but left the cleanup to the townsfolk, huh?”

“Well, yeah. More like we shared the ingredients with them.”

“…Fine. You’re saying there aren’t any materials the guild can buy, right? In that case, the reward won’t be much. This request was based on selling the eel materials, after all.”

Even so, the Adventurer’s Guild paid out a daily wage’s worth of reward. This time, they ended up in the red due to a broken magic tool, but since neither Mika nor Dada’s group was strapped for cash at the moment, they decided not to worry about it.

Upon returning to Acid, Mika and the others split into three groups to handle the aftermath of the request.

First, Dada accompanied the injured Zurah to the hospital. The other members took the eels back home. After dropping off their belongings, Mika alone headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to report, while Gatt and Flower stayed behind to prepare the eels and cook a late lunch.

By the time Mika finished her report and returned home, the sweet and savory aroma of sauce wafted through the air even before she opened the door.

“Zurah and the others aren’t back yet. You should hurry and take a shower.”

Fortunately, Mika had been fully prepared to wade into the river this time, so she had brought a change of clothes. She stuffed her mud-stained outfit into a plastic bag, quickly showered, and put on clothes similar to what she had been wearing before.

“Let me dry you.”

Flower toddled over and vigorously towel-dried Mika’s hair.

“Thanks, Flower. You’ve already had a bath too, huh?”

“Mhm. Gatt washed me. And dried me.”

Flower, now completely attached to Gatt, happily returned to his side.

Gatt, who was on cooking duty today, had also rinsed off the mud and was now dressed comfortably, stirring a pot.

Just as they were setting the finished dishes on the table, the front door opened.

“We’re back—!”

It was Zurah and Dada. Zurah’s arm was wrapped in bandages and held in a sling to keep it immobile for a while.

“The wound wasn’t too deep, so it should heal in a few days.”

“That’s a relief!”

“And wow, that smells amazing!”

On the table were a large loaf of bread, soup that had apparently been prepared earlier, and—in the center—a heaping pile of eel.

The cleaned and gutted eel had been sliced into rings, fried until crispy, then stir-fried again with colorful vegetables and seasoned with a sweet-spicy sauce, finished with a spice blend similar to shichimi.

It seemed to be a traditional Acid-style eel dish.

“It’s simple, but delicious!” Dada explained between mouthfuls.

Mika, now quite accustomed to Acid’s seasonings, smiled cheerfully as she reached for another bite with her chopsticks. She had brought the chopsticks from her own home and kept them at this house for a while now.

Of the many eels they had brought back, they planned to take only a few home. The rest would be prepped and preserved by Gatt and Zurah later.

Mika took several of the eels—giant freshwater eels—back with her. Two were for her own home, and the rest she decided to bring to Takayuki Yamano, the former manager of Himawari Mart.

“Wow, these are splendid eels! Thank you, Mika.”

“I brought them to your house since I thought the store manager might be surprised. They were swarming in the river, so my friends and I caught some to share.”

“I see, I see. You’re really settling into that world, Mika.”

Laughing, Takayuki also shared a basket of strawberries with Mika, calling it a little gift in return.

“These are from a different country than Acid, but they’re delicious.”

With fresh eel and strawberries in hand, Mika walked home with a spring in her step.

Note:

Eel blood contains toxic substances—eating it raw can cause stomach issues, and getting it in your eyes during preparation is quite dangerous. However, this toxin breaks down with heat, so proper cooking neutralizes it. It’s best to avoid eating it as sashimi.

Also, preparing eel is pretty difficult.

“M-M-Mika-chan, what do we do…?”

“It’s fine! The fishmonger at the supermarket prepared it for us!”