The Sea is Vast
“Father, the arrangements for lunch is done . ”
Reiko informed the group while they were relaxing on the beach, looking at the sea .
It was a few minutes past 1 PM . That is after taking the time difference between Kaina village and Hourai island into consideration .
Sheets were laid out on the beach for them to sit, with the baskets just beside them . Even a tarp was set up .
A tarp is a cloth used to block the sunlight . It’s usually set up using simple props and the tension of a rope .
It was already June and, as Hourai island was located in the Northern Tropic, the sun was blazing down on them from above .
“Ooh, now this is comfortable . ”
As the tarp can block off sunlight very well, it was refreshing underneath it . Sun shades are quite important here as the temperature is higher near the coast .
“Everyone, there are many different items so please feel free to choose whatever you like . ”
Reiko said, opening the lid of the basket .
“Oohh…”
Sandwiches, smoked meat, boiled egg, pelshika and citran, each of these were put into different baskets .
And inside the last one was…
“Onigiri?”
Onigiri, seasoned with salt and wrapped with edible seaweed .
“Jin, what’s this?”
Reinhart asked with a curious expression, looking at it .
“Ahh, that’s called ‘Onigiri’ . It’s made with cooked rice and wrapped with ‘laver’, a kind of seaweed . ”
Saying that, Jin was the first to take a bite into the onigiri . Reiko, who had been observing from the side, poured him tea from the thermos flask .
One bite . These onigiri which are seasoned with Hourai island’s seaweed salt are tasty by themselves .
“Hmm, tasty!”
Saki was the second to try it after seeing Jin happily stuff his cheek with onigiri . She took a bite and said,
“Oh–this really is tasty . It’s simple but has a profound flavor . ”
Hearing that, Elsa, Reinhardt and Belche also tried it .
It’s black on the outside because of the seaweed but pure white on the inside .
“Jin-nii, this is tasty . The scent is also nice . ”
“Ohh, it truly is! This is… awn… no, rice!”
“Jin-sama, unlike its appearance, the texture and taste is quite something . ”
It seemed the 3 of them truly liked it . Jin was happy that they liked the taste of seaweed .
“Thank you . It’s the taste of my homeland… Reiko, it was Laojun who did this, right?”
Jin asked with a grin . Laojun’s surprises are somewhat bittersweet since they remind him of his homeland .
“Yes, father . ”
“I see, as I thought . It’s delicious . ”
Jin gulped down his fourth piece .
“These are also delicious . ”
Belche said while having a sandwich .
“These boiled eggs are so good, even though it’s just normal boiled eggs with salt . This salt is not our usual salt, is it?”
Reinhardt tried out the boiled egg and was surprised by its good flavor .
“Which one, which one? ……Hmm, Jin, this isn’t some normal salt, is it?”
Saki also supported Reinhardts claims . They are quite sharp .
“Yeah . That’s seaweed salt and can be harvested around this area . ”
Jin answered, pointing at the Tatsumi bay .
“You make it by burning the seaweed gathered from here, then dissolving the ashes in water and desiccating the clear top layer of the liquid . ”
“Hmmm, if you do that, does that mean there’s something mixed in here that’s in the seaweed?”
“Exactly . It’s salt with the umami that’s in the seaweed . ”
Although the taste gets dull if it’s used inappropriately, it seems it goes quite well with boiled eggs .
“By the way, the salt used on the smoked meat is also harvested from this sea . ”
“It’s such a clean sea, after all . ”
As Saki said so while looking at the sea, Aqua suddenly emerged from it . Number 33 .
“Uwaah!”
Saki was so surprised that she toppled over on the sheet . The others were also considerably surprised but not as much as her .
“That’s Aqua, a golem maid . It’s in charge of ocean development . It seems it has just harvested some laver . ”
As Aqua had just suddenly appeared with the laver that they had all been having, all of them unanimously looked at Aqua 33’s hand .
It was holding a large amount of dried laver .
“That’s seaweed?”
“It actually is sea weed, huh?”
“How do you process that to make it edible?”
As expected, it was Saki who came asking the recipe . Jin answered her question .
“After cleaning and drying off the clean sea water, it’s minced and put back into normal water . Afterwards, it’s filtered with a wooden flask and drainboard before drying again . ”
It was quite an abridged explanation but Saki was able to somewhat understand the process .
“I see . So, basically, after slicing them up into small bits, you flatten them out and dry them, right? Interesting . ”
It was at this moment that Jin had decided to discuss paper making with Saki later on .
After lunch, when they were having fruits, Hydro 2 and 3 returned from outside .
Reinhardt had ridden them before once during the turmoil caused by the Unifiers but Belche and Saki were seeing them for the first time .
“J-Jin-sama, what is that ship?! It’s moving without an oar or a paddle!”
As expected, Belche was surprised seeing the Hydro’s propulsion system, as she was somewhat knowledgeable about ships .
“It’s called the Magi Water Jet, it moves forward by gushing out the sea water . ”
He explained it quite simply but Belche was unable to comprehend it .
“Marine 2, 3, are you done with today’s patrol?”
They answered in the affirmative to Jin’s question .
“Yes, my lord . ”
In reality, it was Laojun who skillfully handled the scheduling without even letting the Marines know .
In the first place, it was weird for them to return here, at the sandy beach, even though the bridge is just some distance away .
Of course, Jin too noticed this but didn’t say it out loud .
“If so, would you give us a little ride?”
“Yes, anywhere, anytime, as long as it’s your order, my lord . ”
The Hydros were 4-seated . As the Marines were handling the ship, Jin, Elsa, Saki and Reiko (Reiko could fit since she was small) boarded Hydro 2 . And Reinhardt, Belche and Neon got on Hydro 3 .
Unfortunately, Aal, Edgar and Noir had to stay back this time .
“Alright, let’s go . ”
“Understood . ”
And like that, Hydro 2 and 3 started moving .
“O-o-ohh, this is–!”
Saki was amazed by the acceleration .
“Kyaa! What is this?! This speed?!”
Belche was also astonished .
“Hmmm, this really is amazing!”
Even Reinhardt, who had ridden it once, couldn’t hide his surprise .
“I would also like to try building one but I should start with a paddle steamer…”
Reinhardt was well aware of his abilities .
Hydro 2 and 3 were moving at about 50 kmph .
“Jin-nii, this is really fast . Amazing . ”
Elsa said, feeling refreshed with the sea breeze .
The ebb and flow difference in the seas of this world is small since the moon is small .
Moreover, as occurrences of typhoons are comparatively low, the seas here are also gentle .
And today as well, the movement of the waves were gentle . Catamaran-styled Hydro displayed impressive stability with speed .
“Jin, this feels really good! This ship is amazing! I know that’s all I have been saying but I just can’t help it!”
Saki half-shouted, being somewhat excited . Hydro 2 and 3 rode through the never-ending, vast, blue ocean, leaving a white trail of foam .
After about an hour of riding fast on the sea, they returned back to Tatsumi bay .
“Welcome back . ”
Edgar, who was in charge of the luggage, had come over to the foreshore to welcome them . As for Aal, he was making seaweed salt with Aqua 33 . And Noir had taken a fixed stance as if to protect the luggage .
Jin felt this to be interesting, as their personality could be seen from their roles .
As they drank the cooled pelshika drink, their dried up throats moistened and they felt refreshed, even under the hot sun .
After having the rest of the fruits, the group got back on the automobile and headed back to Jin’s research lab .