Chapter 43 - Each Person's Values
Forget it. Let's go hunting with Dan instead.
"Dan, let's hunt for lunch."
"It's a little early, but shall we go?"
Let's not go deep into the forest like yesterday. Let's just go to the area where rabbits might appear.
"Eating meat every day gets boring. Aren't there any fish around here?"
“If we go a bit further, there’s a pond.”
"What kind of fish are there?”
“There are carp and catfish, but since we don’t have fishing gear, we’d have to set traps or dive to catch them.”
I don’t like carps since they smell muddy. I heard grilled catfish tastes like grilled eel, but without soy sauce, I don't think it will be as good. I wonder if there's miso and soy sauce in this world.
"Should I make some traps and set them?"
"No, I'll pass. I don't think they will taste good."
"Grilled fish is delicious."
"I'm sure they will smell muddy, so no thanks."
"Come to think of it, Young Master is not good with meat with strong smell."
"I wanted to eat fish, though. Isn’t there somewhere else with different fish?”
“It's quite far, but if you go to the lake in the north, there are trout and such. But unless you ride a boat, your fishing line will not reach where the fish are in the lake."
"You don't use fishing reel?"
"Fishing reel? What's that?"
"It's a hand-cranked device mounted onto a fishing rod used to deploy and retrieve fishing line. This lets you cast the bait far away."
"No, I don't think I've seen one."
There is no fishing reel in this world, huh. I wonder if Dwan can make it.
"Let's just catch rabbit today. One won't be enough for three of us, so let's catch at least two."
"Got it."
Gail and Dan quickly hunted two rabbits and returned.
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"Bossman, can you make a fishing rod?"
"Isn't bamboo good enough for a fishing rod?"
"I want a fishing rod that can cast the bait far away."
"What kind of fishing rod is that?"
Gail explained by drawing a fishing rod with guides and a spinning reel on the ground.
"I can make the rod, but this fishing reel will be difficult. You should ask Big Bro to make it."
"Yeah, I will try to ask him later."
Gail went to the training ground after eating lunch. The target board that was cut before had been replaced with a new one by Dan. This time, Gail lowered his speed and focused on accuracy.
"I did it!"
Gail gradually increased his speed after that one success.
"Young Master, you've got it!"
"I tried focusing on the sword's counter-attacks and it worked well."
“That’s great. Once you can do it unconsciously, you’re on to the next stage. Still, your learning speed is so fast.”
"I'm still a kid, so I learn things faster."
"Y-Yeah, I guess...."
Looks like Dan is getting suspicious. If he asks, I will just use the revelation as an excuse.
"Speaking of which, about the fishing reel from earlier, is that also from the revelation?"
"Yeah. I was thinking about a way to cast the bait far away, and it just suddenly crossed my mind."
"I see...."
Dan kept muttering to himself as he made wooden swords for Bent. Meanwhile, Gail went back to his training. Due to exhaustion from concentrating so hard, he was drenched in sweat.
Ugh, it feels gross.
"Dan, can we end today's training?"
"Okay. I've also finished my wooden sword, so let's call it a day."
"I'm drenched in sweat, but adventurers just wipe themselves off at times like this, right? It must be tough when you're on an expedition."
"Yeah, your clothes start to smell worse and worse, and it's hell, especially in the summer or in hot, humid caves."
"Everyone must smell like an animal."
"You get used to it eventually, but it's still not a pleasant feeling. That's why it is really convenient to have a mage in your party."
"Convenient? Like producing water with magic to wash your body?"
"Well, some people do that, but there aren't many who can use both water and wind magic like you, Young Master. There are also some people who can use something called clean magic."
"Clean magic?"
"Yeah, it's magic that removes dirt and grime from your body. This magic also seems to clean your clothes and armor. If you can use clean magic, you'll be in high demand in any party, especially parties with female members!"
That's such convenient magic. Let's try it!
First, imagine all the dirt and grime are removed from my body. Then, while maintaining that image, envelope my whole body with magic power.
Oh, I'm starting to feel refreshed.
Let's use more magic power....
"Ouch! Heal! Heal! Heal!"
"Young Master, what's wrong?"
That hurt so much. It felt like my skin was being peeled off. I should be careful with clean magic.
"Pfft, what's with your head, Young Master?"
Dan burst into loud laughter.
Huh? My head?
Gail touch his head and it was smooth like an egg.
"M-My hair is.... gone!"
Not just Gail’s hair, but all the hair on his body was gone.
"Young Master, you look even more imposing now! Even thugs in town will run away from you. Hahahaha!"
Dan continued to laugh out loud as he said this.
"Take that!"
"Ouch! It hurts! My whole body hurts!!"
"Heal!"
"What the hell are you doing, Young Master!?"
"You are so hairy, Dan. I thought you might be hot, so I gave you some hair removal."
"H-Hair removal!? Oh no, my hair.... I've lost all my hair."
"Now we're matching!"
"You little!"
“Run, a scary old man is angry~!”
Gail ran towards Miguel while laughing.
“W-What's wrong with you guys? What happened to your heads? You didn't catch any strange disease, did you?"
Miguel was frightened by the two hairless creatures. Gail then explained that it was caused by overly strong clean magic and not a disease.
"Seriously, you guys just can't stop making a scene."
"I didn't do anything!"
"You laughed at a poor two-year-old, didn't you?"
"Would someone do something like this just because they were laughing? Besides, a normal two-year-old wouldn't do something like this!"
The two continued arguing
"That's enough! Since we're done for today, let's go home."
Thus, the three left the forest. Miguel was going to stop by Dwan's place before going home, so he said his goodbye to Gail and Dan. The crowd parted as the bald and eyebrowless giant and child walked down the street, making it easier to walk. Then, upon arriving at the mansion, the two immediately went straight to Aina.
"Madam, your son.... your son did something terrible to me!"
Dan tattled to Aina, almost in tears.
"Oh my, your new appearance look so fresh."
Aina remained unfazed, as expected of a former member of hero party. Gail then explained that he and Dan had lost all the hair on their bodies due to overly strong clean magic and asked for her healing magic.
"□□□□□ Heal!"
Dan's hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes grew back.
"M-Madam, what about my arms and chest hair...?"
"You look better without them."
"My manliness...."
Dan seemed to equate hairiness with manliness.
"Next is Gail.... Oh, it feels nice to the touch."
Aina happily stroked Gail's bald head.
"□□□□□ Heal!"
Gail's eyebrows and eyelashes grew back.
"Huh? What about my hair?"
"You're not cute without eyebrows and eyelashes, so I restore them."
"Mom, what about my hair?"
"Your bald head is cute and it feels nice to the touch, so I let it as is."
Aina continued stroking Gail's bald head.
This is too much....
"M-Mom...."
"Calling me Mom makes you even cuter."
*stroke*
*stroke*
*stroke*
People's values are diverse....