We ate stir-fried beef that my father had left for us, and then sorted the shellfish we had caught by type, soaked them in water, and let them spit out the sand.

After that, I took a nap in the hammock in the garden, when I heard the sound of a cart coming in.

What's up? Today is not the day for Yuna and Elina to come to the vegetable market, and it is already late in the evening.

I wonder who has brought in what.

I opened my eyes and saw that it was my father who was pulling the cart.

So, what he was carrying on the cart was seafood bought at the market. That's a very generous amount of seafood.

If they find out that I'm awake, they might make me help them with the luggage or something.

I immediately close my open eyelids to make a sleeping face so that my father won't know I'm awake.

Oh, Tori. Just in time. I was just about to bring the groceries... Are you sleeping?

As expected, my father demanded help as soon as he saw me. But when he saw my healthy sleeping face, his voice faded away.

Hmmm...even fathers are weak in the face of their lovely son's sleeping face...huh?

Hey, Sierra! I'm back from the market and I need your help to bring it in!

Then he asked his mother to help him at the inn.

I did it. They thought I was sleeping, so I was excused.

Now I can enjoy napping in the hammock for a while longer.

'You've bought a lot of stuff again.

'Today's main dish is seafood. I splurged a little.

'It's hard to carry all this stuff in. We'll need Tori's help.

Mom's unrelenting words make me squirm as I lie in the hammock.

'Oh, come on, you're sleeping so comfortably. You can let him sleep a little longer. ......'

Yes, Dad. Tell him more. My son is sleeping comfortably. There's no need to wake him up and force him to work.

If he's sound asleep, yes, but I think it's good for him to pretend to be asleep in front of his troublesome work.

She walked up to me and inserted her arm into my side and waggled her fingers.

Still, I tried my best to pretend to be asleep. However, a tickle running through my side made me yell out.

'A-hi-ya-hi-ya!

'See, you reacted right away, didn't you? If you were sound asleep, you wouldn't stiffen up at my approach, and you wouldn't make a sound so soon. In general, Tori's face when she is sound asleep is not this beautiful, but much more disheveled.

But she never stopped tickling me.

The hammock swung so hard that she stopped tickling me just before I was about to fall out.

d*mn, I guess her eyes couldn't be fooled. I can't believe how easily she could see through my pretending to be asleep.

Tori, did you pretend to be asleep?

I didn't pretend to be asleep. I just went back to sleep when my father came home.

'You're with me! If you're awake, help me carry him!

At my father's insistence, I reluctantly get out of the hammock and start walking to the cart.

There are many crates packed on the cart. Inside are, of course, fish and shellfish from the market.

When my father handed them to me and I held them in my arms, I could feel a cool, cool air leaking from the crates.

Oh, here. It feels nice and cold.

What I'm holding now is probably a fish from the sea, frozen by an ice charm.

The coldness of the sea is very pleasant for me now that the weather is getting warmer after spring.

I understand your feelings, but please hurry up and bring the food to me because it will be damaged.

Dad rushes me to carry the crate into the kitchen.

'I'll put them in the fridge, so just keep bringing them in,' he says.

'Oh, that's not fair.

I envy you that all you have to do is fill the fridge. I wish I had that job.

'You're a boy, you'll have to carry the load.

My mother was stronger than I was, but I knew that if I told her that, she would give me a fist-bump, so I kept my mouth shut and went back out into the courtyard to get my stuff.

Every time my father and I carried crates, a pile of crates would form in the kitchen.

On the table, frozen sea fishes were laid out from the crates, and my mother was busy putting them on a bat and putting them in the refrigerator.

Some of them were left outside to thaw naturally in the room. Even though we bought a big commercial refrigerator, it can't hold such a large amount of food.

These fish must be heat-treated, since defrosting at room temperature in a room has a high probability of bacterial growth.

When you poke the fish with your finger, you can see that the frozen fish has a hardened texture.

Ah, it's a spectacular sight to see all the fish from the sea lined up in a row, isn't it?

I notice that Michal is at the kitchen receiving counter, a very satisfied smile on her face.

I don't know if he has been at the inn all day or if he just got back, but I feel like he is always around when foodstuffs are involved.

Oh, that's a swordfish on the mebbar! You've got the spring tastes down pat, Abel-san.'

'Oh yeah! These guys are the best sea fish in season right now!'

Dad proudly holds up a red fish like a mebaru with a spiny dorsal fin and a fish with a long, thin, sword-like object extending from the tip of its mouth.

I've eaten mebbal before, but never a swordfish," he says proudly. I wonder what it tastes like.

What's wrong? The kitchen is kind of busy, isn't it?

'It's hot! What is it? Tori made a new dish again!

Natalia, who was upstairs, comes down from the kitchen and Hermina, who has just returned from a job, comes over to her with interest.

I didn't cook anything new. I'm not cooking anything new, just that tonight's dinner will be mainly seafood.

'What? That means there will be grilled fish and stuff!

Hermina's eyes light up when I answer her.

'Yes. Not only that, there will also be dishes using fish from the sea.

'Even sea fish! Ha-ha-ha, Ralph and Sheikh! I guess they punished me by leaving me alone to go drinking! It's only right that we eat at the inn today!'



Yeah, no wonder I didn't see Ralph and Sheik, who are always with us.

They must have already gone to the drinking district with their fellow adventurers and the guys.

And while Hermina, a woman, was sulking at being left out, there was a seafood party at the inn. I can see why she might say, "Suck it up!

'...... Okay, I've made up my mind. I'm going to take today off from work.

Natalia, who had been listening to the conversation between me and Hermina, suddenly said something.

'What? Are you sure?

'Because I'm going to have a feast that I rarely get to eat. I can't work. We're going to eat and drink as much as we can today.

Most of the days when I don't have to work are spent like that, but I won't go into that.

For what it's worth, Natalia is a serious person when she has to go to work.

It would be okay for her to take a day off on days when such a delicious meal is served. It is very important in life to have a break like this.

'Good for you, Natalia! Let's drink together today!

'Yes, we're having a girlie drink today!

Hermina and Natalia, perhaps excited by the prospect of eating seafood dishes, hit it off with each other on the spur of the moment.

It is one of the great advantages of staying at an inn to be able to casually invite other guests for a drink.