Fin Test
I’d only finished the prep work so far.
Well, the main thing was smoking the fish. Just grab some random hardwood, smoke it, and let the fish fillets soak up the aroma. Cold-smoking would’ve been ideal, but I’d have to ask Nastasha for ice, and honestly, I’m more worried about parasites—so warm-smoking seemed like the safer bet.
As usual, I set up my homemade smoker (made from branches and leaves) over the wood stove and let the high-tail fillets slowly absorb the smoke.
A lot had happened, so I decided to smoke a pretty large batch. The reason being…
“This fish is quite fatty. It’s a rare flavor.”
“Maybe it had plenty to eat. Hmm… puzzling.”
I’d grilled the fillets after scraping them clean for Artemis, and they ended up being surprisingly well-received.
The flavor was rich and aromatic.
…Okay, the “aromatic” part was a bit of a mystery to me too, but overall, it tasted similar to salmon.
Salmon, man. Salmon. The color of the fillets had given me a little hope—like, “Please let this be the case”—but I never expected it to actually taste like salmon.
Maybe it’s because, like salmon, these fish migrate upstream? No clue. Though, body-wise, they’re closer to flying fish. Probably pointless to overanalyze.
Anyway, if it’s salmon-like, then smoked salmon is the way to go—hence why I’m smoking it now.
…Another option would’ve been to ask Nastasha to freeze it solid to kill parasites, but I don’t know the exact temperature of her magic. Plus, considering how long she could maintain it, eating it raw after freezing seemed too risky.
Smoking, on the other hand, gives it a decent heat treatment, and the smoke kills most nasties. More importantly, there’s no way I could handle all these leftover fillets raw. So, might as well smoke the whole batch.
“Piercing Shot!”
While I was busy smoking the fillets, slicing onions to soak, prepping yatsude kelp, and simmering the leftover fish heads…
Raina was engrossed in testing out her newly acquired skill.
Attack skills consume way more mana than support ones, after all.
It’s important to know how many shots you’ve got before running dry. Even if it means passing out from mana exhaustion, it’s worth testing.
“Whoa… it reaches that far even without an arc…”
“Indeed… perhaps Raina should prepare specialized arrows from now on.”
“Seriously…? Yeah, you might be right…”
Take it easy, Raina. Relying too much on skills will give you bad habits.
“Alright then.”
“Huh? Mongrel, where are you going? What about the cooking?”
“Nah, it’s already noon. Gotta take care of that request while it’s still light out.”
With that, I showed Ulrika the swim fins.
“…I was curious since they were sticking out of your luggage, but… what are these?”
“They’re supposed to make swimming easier… apparently. Momo from ‘Young Wands’ lent them to me.”
“Ehh… you really think they’ll work?”
“Dunno. In theory, they should. That’s why I’m testing them. Of course, I can’t exactly strip half-naked in front of Artemis, so I’ll do it over there, away from everyone.”
Sheena and Nastasha were cooking waterfowl dishes.
With a ton of herbs gathered from around the lake… wonder what they’re making.
I left the smoker in their care, but if I spent hours playing in the water, they’d probably get mad. Better wrap this test up quick.
“…Hey, hey, Mongrel. Can I come watch you swim?”
“Huh? I mean, it’s just gonna be me swimming half-naked—”
I was about to say that, but then figured, Eh, whatever.
“I’m a guy too, so it’s fine, right? I wanna see what these ‘foot fins’ are like. I’ll even help!”
In this world, men going shirtless isn’t unusual, and Ulrika is a guy. No point in me being the only one embarrassed.
“Sure, but I’ll probably be underwater most of the time, so don’t expect conversation.”
“No problem! Let’s go, let’s go!”
And so, Ulrika and I boarded a small boat and headed to a secluded spot farther down the shore—out of sight from the others.
It wasn’t the most stable natural shoreline for mooring, but it made boarding easier.
“Alright… time to swim. It’s been way too long. How many years has it been…?”
“You can swim, Mongrel?”
“Eh, kinda? Not well, but enough to not drown. I can keep moving as long as my stamina holds… What about you, Ulrika?”
“Me? Well… I’ve floated around in springs before…”
“If you can float, you can probably swim, right?”
“Maybe?”
First, I took off my shirt. Summer-weight clothes made it easy.
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“Whoa…”
“Sorry, space is tight. Don’t wanna get my clothes dirty, so I’ll leave ’em in the boat. I’ll dry off on shore.”
“O-Oh, it’s fine. You’re pretty toned, Mongrel.”
“Well, running around in nature every day does that. Plus, I mostly eat lean meat…”
Next, I took off my pants. That was it.
“…You’re swimming in those?”
“Yeah. The fabric dries fast. Dug ’em out of the cabinet just for today.”
Not that they compare to my old-world swimwear in performance.
Still, easy to wash. The waist is tie-fastened, so they’re basically like swim trunks.
Finally, I strapped on the fins. Ready to go.
…Damn, I wish I had goggles or a snorkel. Too late to ask now.
“Alright, Ulrika, guard the stuff.”
“…Yeah, sure. I’ll keep an eye on it.”
And with that, Momo’s swim fin performance test began.
“Gwah?!”
I tried mimicking that backflip dive you see on TV, but I just belly-flopped into the water.
No idea. Pretty sure I did it wrong. I don’t even get why people enter the water like that.
Yeah… not gonna lie—I’m a total beginner when it comes to marine sports.
I can swim, thanks to school lessons, but that’s it. Never even used fins before!
Honestly, I have no frame of reference to judge how good Momo’s fins are compared to my past-world knowledge…
“Ugh… wish they fit my toes better.”
At least they don’t slip off. But every time I kick, there’s a weird flapping sensation at the toes—like wearing ill-fitting shoes. No clue if that’s normal.
“Guh… this… might take some getting used to…”
Trying to stay upright while floating was surprisingly taxing.
Without fins, floating is effortless, but these things mess with my usual kicking technique. Just maintaining position requires a different motion now.
“…Maybe like this?”
The idea was a graceful flutter kick.
If I pointed my toes and moved them slowly—splash, splash—it felt easier. Maybe.
At least now I wouldn’t drown from sheer incompetence.
“I shouldn’t need to use my hands…”
This should let me swim with just my legs… right?
Let’s try.
“Hnn…”
Tough. Slow kicks… splash, splash… flex… flex…
…Is this even flexing? Feels way too stiff.
…Nah, blaming the gear right away isn’t fair. Gotta adjust first.
“Pwah!”
I really want goggles. The underwater view is probably amazing, but it’s all blurry.
“Hm?”
Wiping my face, I turned and realized the boat was farther away than I thought.
…Had I been unconsciously swimming forward? Maybe I was faster than I realized?
For not using my arms, yeah… that does seem quicker.
“…One more try.”
In the end, I swam back and forth a few times, testing distance, diving, surfacing—all sorts of things.
By then, I’d mostly gotten the hang of the fins. …Though I wouldn’t mind if they were a bit softer and longer.
Still, they worked better than I expected. Guess even basic fins make a difference.
…But if I ever go to the sea, I bet they’ve got similar stuff there.
Fishermen probably have their own traditional versions…
“Yo, Ulrika. Sorry for the wait.”
“…Ah, Mongrel. Done already?”
“Swam plenty. Hand me that—gotta dry off.”
“O-Oh, sure.”
Towels aren’t common in this world—you can find them, but most people just use rough, cloth-like fabric, like hand towels.
I usually make do with spare clothes—wiping off with an old shirt or something. Not unusual here. Some folks even wipe their mouths with their sleeves after eating…
“Ahh… nostalgic. That post-swim fatigue.”
I’d turned off my enhancements to simulate a normal person’s experience, so this was the first time in ages I’d felt proper exhaustion.
Swim class… was rough. Changing afterward was always such a hassle…
…Also, this shirt smells kinda like Ulrika since he was holding it earlier. Not that I mind.
“Alright. Time to head back. Gotta finish cooking.”
“…Sheena’s handling the main dish, but I’m looking forward to yours too!”
“Ah, well, think of it more as an appetizer. Like… a salad or something.”
“Eh? But it’s fish?”
“Fish salads exist, technically. But since it’s my first time cooking this, no worries if it’s not to your taste. I’ll probably eat it all myself.”
Fish dishes… compared to meat, a lot depends on familiarity.
Cultural differences, I guess. I love raw sashimi, but I know that’s not universal. Same goes for soy sauce, miso… all those Japanese seasonings.
Part of me does want to share those flavors with someone, but I can’t force it. This is Harupelia. The cultural gap is even wider than on Earth.
…But if it’s salmon… salmon will surely win them over…!
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