Lahal started farming rice yesterday. At first, I wondered, Are we going to get any rice before we leave? But this morning, I saw that the shoots had grown quite a lot. It was shocking!
It’s good that we have more farmland, but having to swim to get there is a real pain.
Still, I practiced swimming to prepare for that Cal Mira event, so it’s no big deal for me.
After you leave the water, you just have to wait for a bit for your clothes to return to normal—that’s one of the perks of this being a game. Otherwise, we’d need to use a campfire just to keep dry.
Oh, right, Kizzy! I found some Orichal Ore and Starice Gems! Could you get Brave Pekkle to help me process them?
I think I can make something nice, but I’d rather do it with a Cooperation Skill. L’Arc’s only just started to learn Craftwork and all, so I’d appreciate the extra help.
So, should I start logging my mining too? Here you go: 200 rocks, 5 Orichal Ores, 2 Starfire Gems, 3 Starice Gems, 40 Miraka Ores, 16 copper ores, 6 iron ores, 4 fossils, 30 raw crystals, 4 raw rubies, 3 raw amethysts, 2 topaz, 3 raw sapphires, and 1 aquamarine.
As you can see, I dug some ores that seem unique to this settlement. They’re pretty numerous, but the raw gemstones you can find in normal mines are way rarer. I guess that’s because we’re in the dungeon.
Honestly, Kizzy, if I wasn’t getting your Crystal Fish, it wouldn’t feel worth all this effort.
When you break open a Crystal Fish, you can actually find a lot of raw gemstones mixed in among the debris. I’ve been hoarding them.
Since you’re catching them left and right, I think I’m going to stay put!
Those fish are like little loot boxes!
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I finally figured out how to make the Crystal Fish bite. Well, you asked me to look into it, Therese, so I did a bit of trial and error and found out the trick.
The fact they weren’t going for the standard lure should’ve clued me in. Ultimately, what worked was bait fishing—in a sense... I just had to tie a Glass Shard to the fishing line to get a bite. With that said, I don’t think glass is their primary diet. They’re probably fish that grow by eating various ores and minerals.
I mostly fished them up for your request, but I’d like to get back to fishing for other stuff too...
Oh, I also took a page out of Sheryl’s book—she’s one of my comrades, by the way—and tried spearfishing with a harpoon. The fish I managed to snag that way were Nile perch, catfish, more Crystal Fish, and some Vampyre Fish.
I guess you could say it’s simpler to do it this way? Well, as long as you can see the silhouettes of the fish.
As for the rice paddies, I’ve been checking the water temperature regularly, and it’s less stable than expected. Since it’s part of the Crystal Lake, I thought it wouldn’t change too much, but it seems to shift between cool and warm based on the time of day.
Judging by their growth, I’d say harvest will be in about...let’s say six or seven days. The stalks will probably pause tomorrow and stay the same for another two days or so.
Emoji’s been diligent with the weeding and pest control, so we’re ready to drain as needed. Letting out some water should help the ine to root itself nice and deep.
We’re lucky the game speeds up the growth as much as it does.
There will be more pests from here on out. Keep a watchful eye, and don’t skimp out on those potions.
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We are finally halfway through the rice crop. The Magic Onions have grown quite splendidly too. And to think, this exchange diary has reached its eleventh day—what a surprise it is.
After eleven days together, I think I have begun to understand you, island lord.
There is no doubt that you surpass Kanade in persistence. With your determination to achieve anything, no matter how long it takes, perhaps you will become a big shot someday.
How was that? Did I sound like a wise loli kitsune just now?
Anyway, I have learned a great deal from you, but the seeds we brought are running low. We have nearly used up everything save for what the hoe produces. Still, it’s good to see that they have all borne proper fruit.
Oh, right, I should mention that the edamame ripened into soybeans, so I harvested them! Two hundred pods at that. The quality was maintained, and they were truly a delight!
Therese and the island lord made tofu and okara from them, and the result was superb.
They said that the natto would be done tomorrow, and I can hardly wait.
To taste such fine dishes from the soybeans I planted myself... There is nothing better in this world.
By the way, would you consider making some fried tofu? I wish to try some inari sushi.
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Oh Lahal, what a glutton you are!
But soybeans are really handy, aren’t they? There’s all sorts of foods you can make with them.
The edamame were tasty too, and if L’Arc was here, I just know he’d ask for some drinks to go with them. It’s unfortunate that there’s no alcohol in this game besides cooking wine. I guess that’s to keep the age rating low.
Man, I’d have loved to have a beer with them too.
Back to soybeans, they’re making me want more of them. The more we have, the more stuff we can make.
I’m sure we can produce miso and soy sauce, and other seasonings too...though we might have to turn to Cray for that part. He’s been putting his effort into alchemy. Those seem to be a bit outside of the scope of cooking. The recipes just won’t pop up.
We get salt from rock salt here, right? In the Prado Desert, I mean.
Lahal, have you gotten the hang of farming yet? The ine plants are starting to look the part, and it’s amazing just watching them. I overheard you asking Kizzy about seasonal crops while he was fishing.
And speaking of Kizzy... It’s honestly impressive how you’ve basically stuck to nothing but fishing or fossil cleaning this whole time. That’s some serious concentration.
I could see you streaming for hours on end. I mean, you were able to talk to Lahal just fine while you fished, so maybe you have a talent for it?
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I mourn for you, Emoji. It’s hard to do that wise kitsune loli bit when Therese just ignores it.
Streaming, huh... Well, I don’t really have the constitution for VR dive games, see? I’m only participating in Dimension Wave ’cause they put in countermeasures for that.
Retro games aren’t out of my ballpark, but the most popular ones these days are FPSs or fighting games, right? Even if I stream constantly, I just don’t see myself becoming a popular streamer. I’m not that good.
Being persistent just means I don’t mind repetitive stuff.
It looks like we’ll be able to harvest the rice tomorrow. Even though Emoji lacks the knowledge, her enthusiasm kept the ine plants growing well.
Still, as I suspected, the pests stormed in like crazy. Where did they all come from...and what would’ve happened if we didn’t have that pesticide potion?
By the way, Emoji... On break, you held up that inari sushi like it was radiating holy light before you ate it, but that gag only really works when you’ve got the sun out to backlight it. It doesn’t really land when we’ve got a ceiling over our heads.
Still, it’s thanks to your vigilant watch over the fields that we can notice issues and deal with them as soon as they crop up.
We harvested the Magic Onions too... They turned out to be onions with mandragora-like faces. After discussing it with Therese, we cooked a few, and the verdict was...onions with high mana-recovery effects.
So anyway, it’s already day thirteen of life by the lake. The lord still ain’t biting.
Our main goal was to secure vegetables to keep the Bunownies active, and that worked out just fine, so I guess this outing was a success.
We’ve got plenty of turnips, carrots, and potatoes. Considering our future food supplies, the edamame/soybeans seem like nice, easy crops to raise.
I’m honestly amazed that I’ve found two people willing to stick with me for this long.
Even Shouko didn’t want to tag along for fifteen days of fishing life with me.
I feel like I’ve really gotten to know you two during our dungeon stay, and it’s been a lot of fun.
The exchange diary was nice too, and I’d like to take this moment to say thanks. Thank you.
Even if you both turn out to be shut-in NEET, basement-dwelling middle-aged men pretending to be cute girls online, I still appreciate the time we spent together.