017. Loot
The enormous body of the Poison Slime collapsed.
And from inside it...
Something shining popped out.
“What’s that?”
While I stared blankly, the shining object floated in the air for a moment before falling toward the sea.
Whoosh!
Just before it fell into the deep water, Orlan quickly dove and caught it.
Wow.
“Orlan! That was seriously amazing! You were the best!”
I raised both thumbs toward Orlan and praised him from the bottom of my heart.
Whether he was excited or embarrassed, Orlan fluttered in the air like a sparrow.
Then...
“Ahem!”
He repeatedly cleared his throat like an old man and gently flew toward me.
“This much is nothing, Lord Suho. Peep, peep. If it is to protect the fish farm, this Orlan could even fly to the far reaches of space! Peep, peep!”
“There’s hardly any atmosphere in space, so that would be dangerous, Orlan.”
“Ah... That was... figurative... Peep...”
“I’m joking.”
“You...! How mischievous...! Peep...! Ahem! In any case, the being threatening the fish farm has been completely destroyed. Please rest easy. Peep.”
“Yeah. Seriously, thank you. Daldal worked hard too! Thank you!”
Peet-peeeep.
[Translation: Well, it was nothing. Barely even morning exercise!]
“Ha! With the strength of a landbound Spirit Beast without wings, this battle would have been impossible, wouldn’t it? The victory in this battle was entirely thanks to this Orlan Scopa! Isn’t that right, little rookie Spirit Otter? Peep?”
Peet-peet-peep. Peep-peep.
[Translation: I hear a chicken clucking somewhere.]
“C... Chicken?! Have you said everything you wanted, brat?! Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!”
Peep-peep! Kyaa!
[Translation: Come at me. Come at me!]
Why were they fighting again after working together so well?
“Hey. From now on, if you two fight in front of me, I’m not making snacks.”
Peep...!
[Translation: Gasp...!]
“Ha! Trembling over a mere snack. Peep. As expected of a rookie...”
“That applies to you too, Orlan. If you keep it up, I’m banning alcohol.”
“A... Alcohol ban! Alcohol ban! Anything but that! N, no! Lord Suho! Peep! What tragedy could be worse than eating while looking at this beautiful blue sea without a drink beside the meal?! Peep, peep!”
“Then don’t fight. Got it?”
“Please reconsider, Your Highness, Small Dragon King!!!! Cock-a...!”
“I’m saying I won’t ban it if you stop fighting.”
After barely calming Orlan down from his dramatic wailing...
“Oh, right. Orlan. Something came out of the Poison Slime’s body earlier. What was it?”
“Ah! I nearly forgot. Sniff. Peep!”
Orlan sucked in some clear mucus and carefully handed me something he had been holding in his talons.
What was this?
[Item Information: Giant Dragon Palace Absorption Sponge]
Rank: B+
A mysterious underwater sponge that automatically absorbs any liquid desired by the user, then purifies and releases it in whatever form the user wishes. It also absorbs curses and poison without distinction. Because of this property, it can easily become defenseless against natural enemies such as Slimes.
When processed and used, the user can determine the desired intake and discharge volume.
The curse accumulated inside the sponge has been removed, increasing its size and effectiveness.
Permanent.
Permanently bound to acquirer.
An Item!
And once again, it looked like something that would be incredibly useful for operating the fish farm.
“Hmph. A sponge. Its Rank is high, but I do not see what use it could possibly have. Peep. A sponge is not even something delicious. Peep, peep.”
“No, Orlan. This is going to be a huge help to us.”
How could this shining white sponge help us?
“A big part of fish farm operating costs is purifying seawater.”
If you raised flounder, abalone, or similar species in tanks on land, you needed to bring seawater in from the ocean.
But if you simply pumped seawater directly into the tanks, problems would definitely happen.
Even clear and clean seawater contained substances that were not suitable for raising fish and marine creatures.
That was why nearly every land-based fish farm had huge filtration facilities.
They used expensive pumps to bring seawater in and purify it.
Yes.
Just hearing that should tell you how much electricity it consumed.
But this sponge...
“Oh! Oh! It’s real! It’s pulling seawater up by itself! And I can set the intake and discharge volume through the Status Window too! Yes! I can finally worry less about the electricity bill!”
Without any electricity, it automatically pulled up seawater, purified it into perfect water for farming, and poured it out in a powerful stream.
“Great! The operating burden just dropped a lot. It’s all thanks to you two. You protected the fish farm and even gave me a gift like this. Seriously, seriously, thank you, guys!”
I hugged Daldal and Orlan tightly and stroked them with all my strength.
“L, Lord Suho... Birds have light and weak bones, peep...”
“Thank you!”
“Ah... Well... Hehe... Peep...”
I was not saying it lightly.
If these two had not been here, I could never have even dreamed of reopening Father’s fish farm.
And what if another enormous Boss Monster like that appeared?
Just imagining it was horrifying.
Thinking about that made tears rise in my eyes without me realizing it.
Peet-peeeep! Peep-peep-peep.
[Translation: The grown Dragon King is crying. Bleh-bleh.]
“Who’s crying? Sniff... Good. Let’s install this sponge properly. And if it works exactly the way I want...”
Peeeeep?!
[Translation: If?!]
“We’re having a massive feast!!”
PEET-PEEEP!!
“Woooohooo! Lord Suho, there is still some of that alcohol we enjoyed before, correct? There is, yes? Peep!”
“Of course. And that’s not all. I have even better alcohol too!”
Hoo-yeah-peet-peep.
“The world is still worth living in. Peep.”
After safely finishing the terrifying battle against the Poison Slime, we began cleaning up and properly installing the Giant Absorption Sponge.
We installed the sponge where the fish farm normally pumped in water.
Then we activated its function according to the Status Window instructions.
“Ohhh!”
Peet-peeeep!
[Translation: It works!]
“Hahaha... Success. Good grief.”
The blessed giant sponge automatically sucked seawater upward, purified it inside its huge body, and powerfully sprayed it into our fish farm.
“The Dragon Palace Rockfish and Jewel Sea Bream look more comfortable in the water purified through the sponge too.”
Peet-peet-peep-woo. Peet-peep.
[Translation: Maybe because the water feels similar to the Dragon King’s Sea.]
“I see. It would be good to recreate an environment similar to their home sea. I think this gives me a clue for improving Fantasy Fish farming.”
Fish farming and marine aquaculture developed through repeated trial and error, finding the most familiar and comfortable environment for each species.
If I wanted to farm even more Fantasy Fish in the future, I still had a lot to learn.
While feeding the fish in the tanks, I carefully thought about what they might enjoy even more.
“All right. We confirmed the sponge is working hard. That’s it for today!”
Peet-peep...?
“Then, Lord Suho? Peep?”
“Tonight, let’s fill the table with delicious food and enjoy ourselves.”
PEEP-PEEP-HOI!!
