009. Otters Really Are...
Within only a few hours after uploading the fish farm video and Detailed Appraisal Certificate,
all one hundred Dragon Palace Rockfish I had listed were sold.
Sure, once people knew the products were trustworthy, I could understand them buying the fish.
But...
[Shop User Comments: Current traffic to the comment page is too high to display comments.]
The response seemed far more explosive than I expected.
“I’m dying to know what everyone wrote.”
I kept pressing the comment page.
But the overloaded window had completely frozen and would not move.
Hmm...
Well.
“Everyone probably wrote about how cute our Daldal is. Right?”
Peet-peep?
[Translation: Is this body cute?]
“Of course. You’re cute. Let’s see if the Shop has anything that can improve the translator.”
Since I had earned the fairly large sum of 10,000P in total,
I decided to go shopping for the first time in a while and looked around other Awakened Shops.
‘Small Restock of Saudi Chewy Cookies Made with Gate Pistachios!’
‘The One Choice That Will Protect You During Gate Raids: Helm of the Fallen Prince now available.’
‘Buy Gifts for Your Partner at the Tamer Shop!’
I looked through various products, but nothing really caught my attention.
“The Tamer Shop looks the most interesting. I’m technically a Tamer too. Hopefully they have something related to translators, or maybe a gift for Daldal.”
Peep, peep?
[Translation: Pwesent?]
“Ah, a present. Yeah. If I find something you’d like, I’ll buy one for you.”
Peeeeep!
[Translation: Happiness!]
Let’s see.
After looking through several Tamer Shops, I chose one with cute illustrations and a carefully written introduction from the Shop owner.
‘Dried Salmon Snack for Partners Who Love Fish, 280P’
Oh.
Salmon.
I had never seen a dog or cat that hated salmon.
Daldal was an otter.
He would probably like it too, right?
I carefully read the product description.
Made from Alaskan salmon...
YACCP certified...
‘Contains Gate Cherry Blossom Powder, which can increase Affinity with your Partner.’
I especially liked that Special Effect.
The price per piece was expensive, but if my Partner Daldal liked it...
“All right. Purchase...”
Trying my best not to look directly at the evil price tag, I pressed the Purchase button.
Whoosh!
Wow.
This was even faster than same-day missile delivery or whatever people called it.
The product arrived the instant I purchased it.
Peeeeep!?
[Translation: I smell something good!?]
I had only held the dried salmon snack in my hand for a moment,
but Daldal was already showing interest.
“Here. A present. Thanks for helping me with the fish farm.”
I immediately gave the snack to Daldal.
He spent a long time smelling the long piece of dried salmon resting in my hand...
Peet-peet-peep!!
Then, with an enormous cry, he grabbed the snack and devoured it at terrifying speed!
Is it really that good?
[Information: Affinity with Partner has slightly increased.]
The Special Effect activated immediately.
No wonder it had such good reviews.
Peeeeep. Peeeeep. Ahem...
[Translation: It is not as good as Dragon King’s cooking, but it is certainly delicious. Achoo...]
You little...
Your words and your true feelings do not match.
You say my cooking tastes better,
but your eyes have not left the remaining snacks for even a second.
“Well, I guess humans sometimes crave snacks more than a proper meal too. Here. They’re all yours.”
PEEEEP!?!?
[Translation: Is today perhaps my birthday!?]
Daldal took all the salmon snacks from my hand.
Then he began carefully eating them one by one while constantly watching his surroundings.
Peeeeep... Peeeeep...
[Translation: Wow... I’ve wasted my life until now.]
Just how delicious did they have to be for you to sigh while eating?
His reaction was so funny that I secretly recorded it with the Status Window camera.
Then I immediately uploaded it.
“Hehehe.”
Good.
Now I had one more reason to work hard and grow the fish farm.
Haa.
That sigh was not mine.
Phewww.
Incredibly,
it was the Spirit Beast of our fish farm sighing.
Haa...
“Daldal. If something is bothering you, tell me.”
Peeeeep...
Daldal silently shook his head and helped me feed the Dragon Palace Rockfish fry.
“Seriously.”
Actually,
I knew exactly why he kept sighing.
He could not forget the salmon snacks he ate yesterday.
I still had plenty of Points left, so I checked the Tamer Shop again today to buy more.
Unfortunately...
[Notice: Production of Salmon Snacks for Partners has been temporarily suspended due to the sharp increase in the price of Gate Cherry Blossom Powder. We ask for your understanding.]
I had to deliver the tragic news that production had stopped because ingredient costs had skyrocketed.
“Don’t look so miserable. I’ll make you something delicious today too. Okay?”
Peeeeep...
[Translation: Yeees...]
Look at this little guy.
When did he stop believing that my grilled fish was the most delicious thing in the world?
I never knew he could be this fickle.
“Still, I hope they restock the salmon snacks soon.”
But if eating those snacks was one of the small joys of his day,
I could not simply ignore it.
Wait.
Right.
Salmon was salmon,
but the sea in front of our fish farm was full of fish too.
What if I caught some suitable fish and dried them to make something similar?
Maybe the ingredient Daldal really loved was not even the salmon.
It might have been that Gate Cherry Blossom Powder.
“Shop Search. Gate Cherry Blossom Powder... Whoa! Why is it so expensive?!”
The ingredient cost more than the entire snack.
One tiny container of powder cost 70,000P.
Now I understood why the Tamer Shop owner had no choice but to stop production.
There were even tons of angry comments on the Shop...
‘If the Tamer Class hadn’t suddenly become popular, prices wouldn’t be this ridiculous.’
‘I know you’re supposed to row when the tide comes in, but isn’t this too much?’
‘Owner, your oar is going to snap at this rate ^^’
‘The second there’s a replacement, I’m switching immediately, damn it.’
I guess I would have to work hard and earn enough Points to buy it.
After feeding the Dragon Palace Rockfish fry,
we lazily sat together on a wide rock beside the beach.
“Daldal.”
Peeeeep...
[Translation: Yeees...]
“Are you still thinking about those salmon snacks?”
Peeeeep...
[Translation: Of couuurse...]
We were soaking up the warm early-spring sunlight and filling our bodies with vitamins.
But Daldal kept sighing right beside my face.
At this rate, only one of my cheeks was going to freeze.
Haa...
This was the first time I had learned that otters were so good at sighing.
I had heard plenty of dogs sigh before.
“You know, Daldal.”
I slowly stood up and called him.
“I’ve been thinking. Couldn’t we make those salmon snacks ourselves?”
Jump.
Daldal instantly stood up and hurried in front of me.
“If you think about it, they’re basically just dried salmon snacks. The sea in front of us is full of fish. There have to be fish that taste good dried, right?”
Peeeeep?
[Translation: Continue speaking, Dragon King.]
“...So we catch a suitable fish, dry it, and make the snacks ourselves. And this is just a feeling, but maybe we can find a replacement for that Gate Cherry Blossom ingredient in the Dragon King’s Sea too. The sea has everything, after all.”
Honestly, I had completely made up the part about there being a substitute for Gate Cherry Blossoms in the sea.
I thought it might at least improve Daldal’s mood.
And if we were lucky,
maybe we really would find something.
“So since we’re already talking about it, should we go explore the Dragon King’s Sea again?”
I stood up from the rock and stretched.
Peeeeep!
[Translation: Let’s go!]
I immediately gathered the necessary diving equipment and headed underwater with Daldal.
Splash!
“Haa.”
Maybe it was because I no longer had a heavy oxygen tank.
Or maybe my heart simply felt lighter because I could freely enjoy this beautiful sea.
Beautiful.
With Daldal’s pass around my neck, I entered the Dragon King’s Sea once again.
Far more colorful creatures than before seemed to fill the waters as if welcoming me.
“Sooho! Look at this! Super fast!”
“Hahaha.”
Daldal happily swam through a forest filled with kelp as tall as buildings.
As expected,
otters were the cutest when they were underwater.
I should film this and upload it immediately too.
Ah, right.
I had bought something new while browsing the Shop because it seemed useful.
[Information: Item, Simple Appraisal Device activated.]
It was something like a scouter from DragonX.
It quickly and briefly told you the value of creatures and resources found inside Gates.
I wanted to test it.
[Information: E-Rank Amethyst Sea Urchin, estimated skincare effect, Shop value: 20P or more each.]
Ah.
So this was how it worked.
In addition to the normal name and brief explanation automatically provided by the Status Window,
it gave a simple estimate of the Special Effect and Shop value.
Still,
if an Item that was only supposed to work inside Gates worked perfectly here in the Dragon King’s Sea...
Maybe this place was actually a type of Gate too, even if it looked different.
If bad Gates existed,
then good Gates could exist too.
That was just how the world worked.
[Appraisable Item discovered.]
Hm?
The Simple Appraisal Device even reacted to the ordinary-looking wild rock seaweed nearby.
[Information: Byeoljubu’s Rock Seaweed, when dried and processed into powder, estimated to increase Taming Partner Affinity, Shop value: 70P or more each.]
Found it...
It really exists?
“Daldal. Come over here.”
“Sooho?”
“This rock seaweed seems to have an effect similar to Gate Cherry Blossoms. If we do this right, we might actually be able to make something similar to those dried salmon snacks you liked.”
“Wweally!?!?”
Daldal’s eyes grew huge in surprise.
He immediately grabbed the bitchang from my waist.
Without anyone even telling him to, he began eagerly harvesting the rock seaweed.
An otter harvesting seaweed.
Rare.
Record it immediately.
Upload.
“Sooho! Small Dragon King! I’ll work super hard!”
Daldal used the bitchang like a veteran haenyeo with fifty years of experience.
Soon, he brought me an armful of rock seaweed.
After stuffing so much rock seaweed into the collection net that it looked ready to burst,
we went searching for a fish that could replace salmon.
Hm?
What was that golden fish?
I looked toward a huge school of fish that had suddenly appeared nearby.
Golden fish slightly larger than my palm were swimming together in a formation that made them look like one enormous fish.
“Sooho! Look at those! Those fish are super tasty!”
Daldal quickly approached the school and hunted several in an instant before bringing them back to me.
[Fantasy Creature Appraisal complete.]
Name: Fairy Croaker
Species: Fantasy Fish
Rank: D
Difficulty of Acquisition: Easy
Description: A fish with a vivid golden color due to the power of the Dragon Palace.
It possesses no Special Effect, but tastes extremely delicious when dried.
Croaker, huh.
It would definitely taste amazing dried.
I placed the Fairy Croaker Daldal had hunted into the collection net.
Then we left the Dragon King’s Sea.
Peeeeep...
Early that evening,
I found an old but perfectly functional food dehydrator inside my father’s farm cabin storage room.
I immediately began making snacks for Daldal.
“Let’s see. Fish needs twelve hours at low temperature. Seaweed and kelp need eight hours. Everything should be dried by tomorrow. That’s faster than I thought...”
Peet-peet!?
[Translation: Tomorrow!? I will die before then!]
“Don’t exaggerate. If you want delicious food, you need to learn how to endure waiting. Be patient.”
Daldal stared intensely at the Fairy Croaker drying inside the dehydrator while drool dripped from his mouth.
He was not going to secretly open the dehydrator and eat them while I was not looking, right?
For dinner, I made ordinary seaweed soup with seaweed collected from the ocean.
Daldal ate with me,
but he kept staring at the dehydrator as if he did not even know whether the soup was entering his mouth or his nose.
With nothing else to do and growing bored, I wandered through the Awakened Shop.
[Information: Error affecting the Awakened Shop comment page has been resolved.]
Oh.
It looked like the error on our Shop’s comment page had finally been fixed after half a day.
Now I could finally see what all those people had written about our Shop.
With my heart pounding, I opened the Shop page and checked the comments...
“What is this? Why are there so many comments?”
[5.51K]
There were more than five thousand densely packed comments.
I almost lost consciousness.
There were so many that it took me quite a while just to gather the courage to open the comment section.
Finally, I tightly closed my eyes and opened it.
For a moment, I became scared.
What if the very first comment is some horrible insult?
But,
as if mocking my worries,
the more than five thousand comments were almost all saying similar things.
‘Please upload more Daldal videos.’
‘Insanely cute.’
‘The otter is so cute I’m dying.’
‘Video please video please video please video please.’
‘Shop owner, hand over more videos immediately.’
‘I want to throw money at you, when are more products coming?’
Daldal.
I think you became a star.
