Kays Translations

Chapter 181: Crustaceans

As I watched Mika-san dive into the sea, she resurfaced just a few minutes later.
The water’s surface rippled violently—something was thrashing about.

“Got it! Everyone, I’m pulling it up! Heave-ho!”

With a throw that resembled a shoulder toss, Mika-san hurled the sea monster she’d caught using the magic device onto land.

The suddenness of it sent everyone scrambling to get ready for battle.

“She’s so fast—from surfacing to throwing it already!?”

“The monster’s coming! Shoji, block it so it doesn’t crawl back into the water!”

“I’ll team up with Yui—we’ll beat it to a pulp!”

In just a blink, they exchanged those words and took down the monster instantly.
It was a piranha-like creature about the size of a tuna—once it was launched out of the water, it was nearly powerless.
Ren and the others made short work of it.

“That was really weak.”

“Guess once you get them out of the water, they’re nothing special.”

“In any case, our first hunt’s complete. Sato-san, please inspect it.”

Even if they said that, I honestly had no idea what to check.
For now… maybe I’ll try eating it?

I had them start a fire using magic, borrowed a small knife, and began butchering the large piranha-like monster.
It was a rough job, but I managed to carve out some meat.

The flesh looked like white fish—visually, quite appetizing.
I bought some Ajishio (seasoned salt) and decided to grill it.

“It smells… delicious!”
“Sato-san, I’m curious what it tastes like.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

I took a bite of the salt-grilled fish monster.
…Hmm. Neither good nor bad, I’d say.

It wasn’t unpleasant, but the flavor was extremely mild.
Thanks to the seasoned salt, it seemed tasty—but the monster itself wasn’t very flavorful.

“So, Sato-san? Is it good?”

“…I’d say it leans toward not good.”

“Aw, man. It smelled great, though.”

“Well, things rarely go so smoothly. Let’s tell Mika not to target this species again. As for the leftover meat—can I scatter it as chum?”

“Yes, please do.”

I didn’t expect perfection on the first try, but still—it was disappointing after getting my hopes up.
We finished the remaining slices and waited for the next monster to be hauled in.

The first catch was a miss.
We grilled and tasted five more kinds of fish-like monsters after that, but none were particularly good.

They weren’t as tough as land monsters, but they still had that firm, dense texture—very plain in flavor.

Since there was only so much we could eat, we decided to change our hunting focus.

Up to now, we’d been going after fish-type monsters, but this time, we’d target the ones hiding along the sea floor.

Yui-san was next to dive, and about twenty minutes passed since she submerged.

Even though we knew she could breathe underwater safely, I started getting worried.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, her head popped up from the sea.

She seemed to be struggling a bit—whatever she caught must’ve been big.

“Ugh, heavy…! I’ll force it up, so the rest is up to you guys!”

With that, Yui-san used magic to fling the creature onto the land.
What came flying out was a massive, pitch-black crab-like monster.

“Whoa, it’s huge! Looks so tasty too!”

“Tasty or not, we’ve got to take it down first. Crabs can move pretty well on land.”

“The magic spear didn’t even pierce it—it’s still lively! Blades might not cut through, so let’s think smart!”

Just as predicted, the black crab monster moved freely on land.
Its pincers looked deadly, and I was on edge watching—but Ren and the others skillfully dodged and defeated it with ease.

“And that’s that! Sato, get cooking!”

“Understood. Could you break off the claws for me? I don’t think I have the strength for it.”

“Got it. Give us a sec.”

Ren and Shoji joined forces, snapping the claws off and scoring them so I could extract the meat easily.
I roasted the crab monster over the fire, then sprinkled some salt—simple grilled crab.

Ideally, I’d drizzle soy sauce, but buying a small bottle seemed wasteful, so Ajishio would do.

“I’m the taste-tester this time, right? This crab looks sooo good!”

“Careful with the shell, okay?”

“Got it! Alright, time to dig in—mmm! It’s amazing!”

Before I could even ask how it was, Mika-san clutched her cheeks and shouted that it was delicious.
From that reaction alone, it was clear—the crab monster was a huge hit.

Ren, the others, and I each took a piece of the crab meat too, and… it really was incredible.
None of the usual toughness of monsters, and the flavor—rich and packed with umami.

The size was another plus.
We’d only grilled one leg, but there was enough meat for all four of us to eat our fill.

We set some aside for Yui-san, who caught it—and now that we’d tasted the meat, we were dying to try the crab’s innards too.

With gleaming eyes, we tore off the crab’s shell and indulged ourselves in its miso and flesh to our hearts’ content.

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