Chapter 25: Eating Magic Fish

The usual waitress brought a dish to Ren’s table the moment he sat down, without him even saying a word.

A fragrant steam rose from the plate placed before him, whetting his appetite.

The scales had been removed, and the flesh was steamed to a pure white.

A refreshing herbal aroma—likely from herbs grown in the guild’s backyard—drifted upward.

A light sprinkle of coarse salt had been added, with green wild herbs garnishing the dish.

Ren gripped his wooden spoon and swallowed.

Carefully, he slid the spoon in and gently lifted a piece of the white fish.

The freshly steamed meat was astonishingly soft, and the rising steam carried the scent of herbs that tickled his nose.

The moment he put it in his mouth, a mild yet rich flavor spread through it.

It was so tender it practically fell apart without needing to chew.

“…Delicious. This is really delicious!”

The words slipped out without thinking.

At that moment, a large adventurer at the next table—chewing on some tough dried meat—burst out laughing.

“Hey, newbie! That looks like some good stuff you’ve got there. Oi! Bring me the same thing!”

The big man called out loudly to the waitress, who glanced back.

“Only four plates left.”

“Oh, then I’ll take one!”

“Me too!”

Hearing it was a limited dish, nearby adventurers began ordering one after another.

It sold out in no time.

“Here. 30G.”

When the fish dish was brought to the large adventurer, Ren overheard the price.

(Two bowls of soup… same price as grilled skewers…)

It was expensive compared to other cafeteria meals.

Ren figured that unless you caught it yourself, you probably wouldn’t get to eat it.

(Oh, maybe I should just bleed it and take it home next time…)

He scooped up another bite of fish with some broth and brought it to his mouth.

The rich flavor spread across his tongue, while the refreshing herbal scent passed through his nose.

A smile crept onto his lips.

Later, when he asked at the guild’s purchasing counter, he learned that the fish he brought in were small and posed almost no danger—so bringing them in alive wasn’t a problem.

However, for larger, more aggressive magic fish, they had to be properly killed before being brought in, as they could be hazardous.

Ren hadn’t been stopped at the village gate—either the guard hadn’t noticed the fish were alive, or they judged that something carried by a kid like him wasn’t dangerous.

“Phew… that was close. Good thing they were safe to carry…”

After leaving the Adventurers’ Guild, Ren considered going back to the river to catch more magic fish, but then realized he couldn’t tell which ones might be poisonous.

“I’ll need to study the different kinds of magic fish later…”

Since he had already left the guild, going back to the archive room felt like a hassle.

Instead, he headed toward the grasslands near the forest where he usually gathered herbs.

“…It’d be nice if I could process horn rabbits myself too…”

He had read the instructions for processing horn rabbits in the guild’s archive, but while handling magic fish seemed manageable, the thought of butchering a horn rabbit still felt a bit intimidating to Ren.