You guys have been doing this for a while?
"Yeah, well...

　I slurred my words. I couldn't honestly say, "No, I only started making it a few months ago.

I see. ....... That's why your father wants it.

　Anne is holding back and struggling with my sword. In the meantime, work has stopped, but we can't deliver the goods until the long rains end, so we'll just take it easy.
　We went back to work.

　And night. The sun god had finished his work long ago, and had made enough knives and swords for the day.

Cooking becomes monotonous when you can't go outside.
That's about right. That's about right, in fact, it's more than enough.

　Samija responded to my words, and Rike, Liddy, and Helen nodded. Deanna and Anne don't seem to get it.

The food available in our area at this time of year is very limited.

　Samija said, and took a mouthful of salted meat from the soup.

"Aristocrats are different, aren't they?

　This time it was Rike who finished swallowing the meat. He is not trying to hide his curiosity. No, it's better to be curious and not worry about it.

You're right. ....... I don't know if it's because it's my house, but it was pretty much the same as usual. I don't know if it's because it's my house, but it was pretty much the same as usual.
It's the same at my place.

　Deanna and Anne answered easily. It's nothing to hide.

I heard that some aristocratic families have their own smokehouse or something, but that's special.
We had one. We had one. We had to be able to preserve the food ourselves in case of emergency.

　Everyone in the family looked at each other with admiration. Anne was a little proud of herself.
　Anne's house is a castle, as she put it. After all, it must also function as the center of the Imperial City, literally the "last fortress".
　It has to be close to the outer wall (these things are usually close to the outer wall. It would be more reliable to have it in the center of the city, considering that it might be destroyed when it is close to the outer wall (these things are usually located close to the outer wall, because it is convenient to carry firewood and finished products).
　But I guessed that it was actually just a hobby of the Emperor. There's no need to have a smokehouse in the castle, let alone a charcoal house for important fuel.
　I have no intention of actively befriending him, but I feel a kinship with him as he strives to pursue his hobby with logic.

"It looks like I'm going to be able to make some really gorgeous smoked fish.
"It's just a regular smoked fish, you know?

　Anne says with a puzzled look on her face. If I were just a naive person, it would be more likely that the "normal" is something that is on a very different level from the average person's point of view, but Anne says that.
　I think it's necessary to take some things into account, but generally speaking, the standard of "normal" is not different from ours.

"Is that so?
I'm sure you're not the only one. Well, so am I. ......

　I held back from looking at Rike. It would be somewhat rude to look at the lady at this time.
　If you are smoking meat that was not used that day or a while ago, it is not surprising that it is common meat that the average person can manage to get if they work hard.

　After this, the topic of conversation shifted to the taste of smoked meat that we had eaten, and the dinner time of the day passed.