CH 3.30

The Sea, Fishermen, and Sailors

Translated by Mlzkzr

Edited by Mlzkzr

I remove the internal organs from the octopus, rub the octopus with salt several times to remove the sliminess, rinse it thoroughly with water, and then boil it.

Then I cut them into pieces of appropriate size and it was ready to eat.

It would be great with soy sauce, but it tastes good enough without it.

“Delicious. The texture. It’s good. It’s got a subtle saltiness and flavor. Yup. It’s a taste that makes you want to drink.”

Ignoring Driese, who’s complexion is paling, wondering if I’m really going to eat it, I carried the octopus to my mouth.

If I wanted to promote the taste of octopus, it would be better to make a dish in which the octopus is hidden from view, but this is enough for me to eat.

Even if I were to make takoyaki, it would honestly be a hassle for me to lock myself away in the forge now to work on it and prepare the uneven iron plate.

Ah, I’m pretty sure copper plate is better in terms of heat conduction, isn’t it?

“No, I tasted it a little. It definitely was delicious. I could make a lot of things out of the eight-legs if I did research about it.”

The owner, who cooked the octopus, placed a dry cider on the table while saying that.

Apparently, he was the only cook and checked its taste before serving it to me.

“Ueh, seriously. …………Hey, elf brother. Can I have some?”

Seemingly intrigued by Grand’s words, who appears to be his childhood friend, Driese hesitantly reaches for the octopus.

As for me, this was something originally caught by Driese, so I have no complaints if he eats it a little.

I would be really angry if he ate all of it, though.

“After that, the squid…… it’s called ten legs, right? It’s delicious too, you know? You can remove its entrails and suckers, wash them in salt water, dry them in the sun, and then grill them to eat them.”

I tell Grand while looking sideways at Driese, whose eyes become black and white from the unfamiliar texture and the flavor that spreads in his mouth.

Sadly, Driese had only caught an octopus, saying silly lines that eight-legged and ten-legged octopuses are the same.

No, I was grateful enough to him for catching the octopus, but he was, what can I say, a bit of a brusque person.

Grand’s eyes sparkle with curiosity at my words.

“Oy, Driese. Why didn’t you get the ten legs? Go get them right now. Right now.”

What a ridiculous thing to say, but for me, as long as I can eat it, I don’t mind the squid at a later date.

Because the octopus is so delicious, I’m already satisfied for today.

Besides, I plan to stay for a while until I get tired of eating seafood anyway.

For this reason, I would like for Driese to concentrate on fishing without worrying about trivial matters.

From what I heard at the inn and the market, I soon learned of the problems in this Saurote town.

Currently, in this town of Saurote, there is a serious conflict over the right to use the harbor between merchants who trade with large vessels and fishermen who fish in the surrounding waters with smaller vessels.

Saurote was originally a town that made its living from fishing for a long time.

The Pastelli family is a well-known family that has been in charge of the fishermen in Saurote since ancient times.

The Pastelli family holds a seat in the Congress of the Republic of Vilestrica and is a respected and prominent local family.

However, the dominance of the Pastelli family in Saurote was severely shaken when another prominent family, the Tritoline, established a stronghold in the town.

The Tritoline, like the Pastelli, were a prestigious family with a seat in the parliament, but their livelihood was commerce, and not fishing.

The Tritoline family, which manages a large number of merchants such as the Laretto Company, has set their sights on Saurote as a new trading center.

Nevertheless, it seems that at first, both the Pasteri and Tritoline families worked hand in hand to develop the town of Saurote.

If the number of people visiting the town for trade increases, they could also sell their fish as food.

If the fish sells, the fishermen get rich.

But I wonder from what time.

Cracks gradually begin to appear in the relationship between the two, which had been hand in hand.

For example, trade ships have a deep draft, so they want some construction to deepen the port.

They want to invite more merchant ships, so they want to use the port widely.

A small fishing boat would be able to go out to sea from a sandy beach, if not from a harbor.

If they expand the port more, the number of merchant ships visiting this area would increase.

With that, they built a sandy beach and turned it into a harbor.

……what a manner.

I don’t know if this is a common problem in seaside areas or not, but at least in this town of Saurote, these things sparked a conflict.

If there was only one prominent family with a seat in Congress, the problem would have been cleared up quickly, with one side driving the other out.

But in the town of Saurote, there are now two great families, and their positions are completely opposite.

As a result, conflicts have escalated, and sometimes there have even been incidents involving violence.

Driese is quick to get into a fight, but he has a strong arm, and with his caring nature, he is like a facilitator for young fishermen.

Therefore, it was probably the plan of the Rahreto Commerce Company to make an example of him to the fishermen by lynching him in retaliation.

It was indeed a troublesome problem.

What is troublesome is that there is no entity that can be declared evil at the root of the problem, even if the method of lynching people is the worst.

The merchants and fishermen are just trying to protect their livelihoods, to make them better, and that in itself is not evil.

Also, even if both the merchants and the fishermen are at odds with each other, they do not want the other side to disappear altogether.

If, for example, all the merchants withdrew, Saurote would revert to its original fishing-only town.

However, after the fishermen had experienced the prosperity of the town, it would take a long time for them to forget it and return to their former lives.

Conversely, if the fishermen are expelled, there will be a shortage of food to feed the merchant ships and merchants who visit this town.

Of course, they would have ways to transport food from other towns, but this would certainly reduce the value of using this town as a trading base.

Moreover, the reason why Saurote is kept safe and secure from miscellaneous people who visit by boat is because the Pasteri family uses strong-armed fishermen to help maintain public order.

In short, the two sides are at odds with each other, but they are working for the betterment of the country.

Hence, the problem shows no sign of being resolved anytime soon.