Isekai Nonbiri Nouka Chapter 1072: Yame’s Life on an Inhabited Island II

My name is Yame.

The island’s caretaker.

I was surprised to learn that the value of gold coins has risen considerably compared to when I knew them.

I guess this is what the passage of time does.

-0-

Right now, we’re building a raft with Village Chief, who came to the island for the day.

Freshly cut wood still contains a lot of moisture, so it isn’t suitable for making a raft.

It’s heavy.

And sticky.

It isn’t sticky either.

Is this magic too?

If I worry about every little thing, I won’t be able to survive.

Since we can use it right after cutting it down, I’ll just accept it.

With the High Elves and Lizardmen here, the raft was finished in no time.

It’s big enough for about five adults.

There’s no sail.

It just floats.

For now, we carried the raft to the beach, and Village Chief and three Lizardmen climbed aboard.

Each of them was holding an oar.

And then, they set off.

……

The waves pushed the raft back onto the beach.

They tried three times, but it didn’t work.

The waves are strong.

Village Chief thought about it.

The waves don’t only flow toward the beach.

There are also places where the current flows from the shore toward the open sea.

Village Chief said that was called a rip current.

Apparently, it’s a dangerous place to be when you’re near the sea.

We placed floats at various points along the beach… and searched for one that was being carried out toward the open sea.

We found it.

The float was moving out to sea faster than I expected.

I see why it’s dangerous.

If we put the raft here, we should be able to set off.

We carried the raft over.

Before Village Chief and the others could even climb aboard, the raft was swept out to sea.

Then the waves overturned it, and the raft broke apart.

………………

The seakins recovered the broken pieces of the raft and the floats we had placed.

Um, Village Chief.

Wouldn’t it be safer to ask the seakins about rafts instead of trying to figure it out on your own?

Look, even the seakins want to give you some advice.

Good.

I’m glad you listened to them.

-0-

A raft that travels down a river and a raft meant to be paddled out to sea are two completely different things.

A raft meant for the open sea needs to be designed to withstand the waves, or it’ll come apart just like the one we made earlier.

To deal with the waves, apparently it’s better to make the raft out of logs rather than arranging the wood like planks.

If you want to carry several people, it’s better to line up log-shaped sections and place planks across them.

I see.

So first, we bundle the wood together into the shape of a log…

Huh?

Wouldn’t it be better to just use thick logs as they are?

Village Chief realized that too.

He said he’ll bring some large logs the next time he comes to the island.

There aren’t many thick trees on the island.

-0-

After asking the seakins for more details, we learned that rafts aren’t really suitable for going out to sea.

It’s not impossible, but they don’t recommend it.

I see.

I thought a raft made by arranging wood like planks would be enough.

Apparently, a small plank that carries one person can manage, but when several people get on and the center of gravity shifts, it needs to be considerably stronger.

I’m learning a lot.

-0-

After we told Village Chief what the seakins had said, he brought some logs, gave up on the raft, and made a boat by hollowing out the logs.

He connected two of those boats together to make a catamaran… or rather, a twin-hull boat.

It’s designed for two people, but because it’s a twin-hull boat, the two seats are separated.

The rowers sit side by side.

When Village Chief took one side… he had trouble controlling the force he used to row, and the boat wouldn’t go straight.

So Village Chief gave up on riding it, and two Lizardmen who worked well together climbed aboard and set off.

Oh!

It’s actually moving properly.

They smoothly made their way out toward the open sea.

They even had enough room to wave at us as we watched from the beach.

I waved back.

The twin-hull boat is pretty stable.

It can withstand the waves, too.

Amazing!

Just as I thought that, a slightly larger wave came along, the connection between the two hulls broke, and the twin-hull boat capsized.

Apparently, it couldn’t withstand the swell of the waves.

The two Lizardmen aboard were rescued by the seakins.

Neither of them was injured.

Thank goodness.

And so, Village Chief and the rest of us realized that we still had a long way to go before we had the skills to venture out to sea.

Oh, Village Chief.

Ancestor-san has come to pick you up.

It’s about time to go home.

But you got soaked by the waves, so you should change before you leave.

There’s a lot of snow piled up in the village, right?

If you go back like that, you’ll catch a cold.

-0-

After seeing off Village Chief and Ancestor-san as they returned to the village.

I looked around the common room of the inn.

There were piles of supplies stacked up everywhere.

They were gifts for the island that Village Chief had brought every time he came.

……This new shield is probably for me.

I’ll gratefully put it on display.

As for the supplies… I need to take them to various places.

The food and other things that need to be kept cool were put away as soon as they arrived, so I don’t need to hurry with those.

As for the magic tools from Village Five, where should I put them?

The tracking cargo carts could stay outside… but if a strong wind came, they’d get blown away.

It might be safer to have storage sheds attached to each house, too.

Oh, this large box for cooling things should go in the kitchen.

Yeah, that looks useful.

……

I can’t do all this by myself, so somebody come help me.

-0-

The Inferno Wolf returned from his patrol of the island and reported that everything was normal.

Good boy.

Wash your paws, then you can get into the kotatsu.

Here, a cover for your horns.

Hmm?

Oh, that’s the magic tool Village Chief brought that blows air.

I think he called it an electric fan.

This doesn’t go with the kotatsu?

Ah, the kotatsu is supposed to keep things warm, while the electric fan is supposed to cool things down.

I guess they don’t go together.

But I took out the hot stones from the kotatsu, so it isn’t warm anymore.

If the Inferno Wolf using it says so, I’ll listen.

I’ll obediently put away the kotatsu…

The Inferno Wolf gave me a deeply exasperated look.

He meant I should put away the electric fan.

Personally, I feel like the electric fan is more useful, though.

For now, I’ll leave the kotatsu where it is.

I adjusted the position so the electric fan’s breeze wouldn’t blow directly onto the kotatsu.

-0-

Dinner was meat Village Chief had brought.

But we didn’t eat indoors. We ate outside.

On the beach, to be precise.

We set up a grate over a campfire and grilled meat and vegetables on skewers.

Village Chief called it barbecue style.

The High Elves were in charge of adjusting the heat of the fire and the height of the grate.

The Lizardmen handled cutting the ingredients, such as the meat and vegetables.

I put the cut meat and vegetables onto skewers.

Apparently, you don’t have to put things on skewers for a barbecue, but since we were cooking over a campfire, skewers were more convenient.

The skewers were also something Village Chief had given us. Apparently, the part you hold is resistant to heat, while the rest of the skewer conducts heat normally.

I thought they might be magic tools, but Village Chief said it was simply a matter of blacksmithing.

Hmm.

Very convenient.

Did he make these skewers using the shells I gave him before?

I hope so.

If the shells become valuable, they’ll provide an income for the seakins.

While I was thinking about that, about ten seakins came over.

They were carrying seafood.

Nice.

Let’s eat together.

The High Elves divided the fire and prepared another grate.

The Lizardmen started cutting the ingredients even faster.

……

There’s no way I can put everything on skewers by myself, so you seakins, help me too.

Just follow my example.

Don’t put the shellfish on skewers. Put them on the grate with their shells still on.

As for the shrimp… Let’s remove the heads and tails and peel off the shells.

The fish… leave those to the Lizardmen.

Just cut them into rough chunks.

Any fish that’s not suitable for grilling can go into the pot and become soup.

Oh, two of you High Elves, go get some plates from the inn. It looks like we’re running short.

And bring some alcohol while you’re there.

We’re going to run out, aren’t we?

-0-

The barbecue on the beach was lively and delicious.

-0-

Village Chief「The island is warm even in winter.」

Yame「Compared to places buried in heavy snow, yeah. But the island gets cold when the winds are strong.」

Narration「The island is not located directly on the equator, as typhoons do reach it.」

-0-

Yame「Two High Elves! Go get some plates and alcohol!」

High Elf「Understood!」

Yame「Don’t all of you go!」

-0-

Lizardman 「If it’s just cutting, we can manage.」

Yame 「Fish too?」

Lizardman 「If you just want them cut into chunks… We can’t clean and prepare them properly.」

Yame 「……I wonder if I could get one of the Oni maids assigned to us.」

Lizardman 「Yeah, that would be nice.」

-0-

Birds and chickens「(Waiting for a share.)」

Slimes 「(Waiting for scraps.)」

Inferno Wolf「(Relaxing in the kotatsu, confident that Yame will bring him some meat.)」