Chapter 52: The Island and The Meat

The morning arrived.

I really wanted to “play with” the sugarcane today, but I had not talked to the Guild yet. I mean, it wouldn’t be good to take a rest from logging, since my actions could delay that process.

But, if I went to the Guild now and said, “I’m going to take a rest today,” the Guild wouldn’t stop me.

Therefore, today, I decided to focus on sugarcane. Okay, shall I make sugar here?

Surely, I could make sugar by crushing the sugarcane and squeezing it to extract the juice*.

Then, I could boil down what came from it…

Crushing was no problem, since I could crush it properly with the wand sword.

However, I would need a proper mechanism to squeeze the juice or I would lose all the content of the sugarcane.

If I used the magic sword, I would destroy it altogether, so it was safer to use the wand sword.

Since it was made from the Metal Lizard Metal, and the design was superior in durability and stability.

To squeeze it…If I made a tool, I’d be able to do something about it.

Pressure Magic was also promising since it could slowly compress over time.

Needless to say, I could afford to boil it, but I’d have to be careful not to burn the sugar.

However, it was impossible to do here because there were no tools.

Moreover, my sugarcane was not infinite.

It couldn’t be helped, but I had to put the sugar production on hold.

I decided to secure a farmland, another important factor in obtaining sugar.

I had to find an island that felt just right.

If I didn’t burn the whole island, I could be attacked by monsters, but considering that the island had lots of sugarcanes, it would be a waste to burn it.

I saw a few islands near the one I was before, so I could use one of them as a farmland.

Of course, if I wanted to use the islands as farmlands, I would need workers. As for transportation, I could transport food in the item box. Also, I should have water too.

Well, humans used water in the boiling process too, but it all depended on the nature of the sugarcane, especially in this world, so it was not a priority.

Okay, I decided to scout the area.

I followed the same route as yesterday to visit the island where the Wyvern was living.

I only remembered part of the route, but maybe I was lucky, since I found the Wyvern’s island pretty soon.

I could see quite a lot of islands when I raised the altitude to nearly 1 km.

In fact, there were so many islands that it seemed like Matsushima**.

I didn’t know why these islands had such topography, but most of the islands were flat and there were no volcanoes. Well, it seemed easier to use them that way.

I noticed an island with a radius of about 1 km, which was about 10 km away from the island where the Wyvern was living. That island seemed to be just right in terms of size.

I landed on that island.

I saw a Garden near the landing point. Fortunately, I cut its head quickly and thrust it into the item box.

I floated a little and went around, but I couldn’t find any plants that seemed to be particularly valuable.

I couldn’t find any fresh water, so I wondered if I should rely on magic tools.

I also needed a harbor…Ah.

Speaking of which, there was a Boat Killer in the sea near the monster area, and it could be dangerous if I made a harbor.

But maybe I could make a boat capable of withstanding monster attacks.

If it used a lot of Metal Lizard Metal, it probably would sink.

Although I was trying to make it big with my company, creating a strong boat could be a challenge. Of course, wooden boats were cheaper and faster to make, but I had the trouble with the Boat Killer since wooden boats were quite fragile.

If creating a strong boat wouldn’t be possible, then did I have to lift and carry humans with flight magic?

I would be in trouble if something happened while I was away, so I wanted to avoid that option as much as possible.

I wanted a proper place to build a sturdy boat.

The area around this island looked like a sandy beach, so it was not suitable for making a harbor.

Perhaps, there was a way to change the terrain with magic, but it seemed to be difficult.

Depending on the draft of the boat, or should I say ship, the major construction work required a dig up to the bottom of the sea.

Shall I look for a different island?

I flew again, and this time, I focused on the coastline.

I looked for a place with deep water.

Even if I looked at it from about 1 km, there were countless of islands below, so it was a difficult and slow process.

With that in mind, I searched for the right island while maintaining an altitude of about 100m.

I could roughly understand the depth of the sea by looking at the colors.

The colors of the sea were a mixture of light blue, blue and green. Deep water would be dark and shallow places would be closer to light blue.

Well, I should find an affordable island soon.

—

…About 50 minutes later.

There was none.

None of the islands had deep sea and the right size.

Actually, no island had a deep sea even if I ignored its size.

Apparently, it would be impossible to use a ship with a deep draft.

When it came to ships that used heavy metal, were they tough enough?

However, if it were not large, the defense power could drop.

If I created a small ship, then it would be the perfect target for monsters.

Hmm.

Should I consider a landing ship?

If I used hovercraft or helicopter, I may be able to land while avoiding monsters.

The ship itself should be heavily armored and should be able to withstand the attack of the Boat Killer. A landing ship could be large too, and that way, it would be possible to transport large-scale personnel.

It seemed that a tremendous initial investment would be required, so maybe I had to consider the size, but it could be an option.

Okay, I considered that option…Then, shall blow up the island after catching the sugarcane?

But maybe I should go to the Commerce Guild first and foremost.

If I just wanted to prepare my own sugar, I could begin with the procedures. It was a good idea to hurry the production. Shall I go home for the time being?

I also had to think about the Wyvern’s corpse.

It would be regrettable to keep the material with me.

First, I had to know the purpose of the Wyvern’s meat.

About the sugarcane and the ship, I could ask Mercia later, but it was worth asking the Guild as well.

If I asked a grocery store person, he or she could give me an answer, but probably not the greatest of the answers.

I could expect a more accurate advice in a place such as the Commerce Guild.

「Excuse me; I have the Wyvern’s material. Is there any recommended way to use it?」

「If it is Wyvern, then I think you’ll find many buyers if you bring it around Photoren.」

The person at the reception today was polite. I wondered if someone said to the receptionist that I had defeated a Wyvern, since I saw no particularly strange reaction.

But it was a little wasteful to sell it.

Besides, I had no troubles with money.

If I needed a lot of budget to build a ship, I may need to sell the Wyvern, but I would rather use business money to build a ship, than use the Wyvern’s material.

「No, I wonder if there is a good way to use it for myself rather than selling it.」

「It’s special when it comes to Wyvern, and I’m not a specialist…I think you can use it as a weapon or use the hard bones as armor.」

A weapon and armor, huh.

Using hard bones as armor only had the merit of being a little lighter than my current armor.

As for other properties, well, should I ask?

「Is it stronger than the Metal Lizard Metal equipment? 」

「In terms of toughness, Metal Lizard Metal is a little heavier and sturdy. Wyvern’s bones are lighter than metal, and if you make weapons from the Wyvern’s materials, the magical power will invoke fire, so overall Wyvern is better.」

Hmm, subtle but obvious changes between materials, I see.

「You said magical power, does that mean using its own magical power? 」

「Yes, swordsmen often do not use magical power, so it seems the Wyvern’s materials make it usable. You don’t have to concentrate. It seems that if you shake the material, a flame will come out.」

Ohh.

In other words, was it the type of materials that absorbed magical power without permission?

Unlike the magic sword that went too far at times, the output was small, so it may still be manageable.

Or maybe it didn’t have enough suction power to exceed the limit and absorb the magical power.

In any case, weapons that could use magic outside the framework of our own magical power were not that bad.

Well, I still thought that it would be a lot inferior when compared to the magic sword, so I put it on hold for the time being.

It was faster to fight with magic properties that worked for me, and the magic sword was great for tough enemies.

Was it meat, after all?

「Can you eat the Wyvern’s meat? 」

I wondered if it was edible.

「I have heard that it is delicious if dried in a good place for about 1 year, but basically, it is a monster meat from the realm of monsters, so it’s not suitable for eating.」

「Does it have too much magical power? 」

「Yes, so I don’t recommend eating it. 」

「I understand. Thank you very much. 」

Did it have that much magical power?

Was it that delicious?

…I wondered if I should eat a little. I was okay when I was in that cave.

If I did poorly, the MP could increase dramatically.

I decided to eat little by little and wait and see so that it would not be lethal.

It may be a little early for lunch, but I decided to go out a little and cut 5 cm squares in the open area and then bake the sliced meat.

I didn’t have any tools to bake the meat, so I cut the stones that were flat with the magic sword, washed them with water, and used them as iron plates.

All I had to do was heat the plates from above with magic.

If I used Fire Magic that had less power and a longer duration, I would manage without a separate board that allowed heat to pass through easily.

Soon after, it smelled nice.

「Hey, kid, what are you cooking? 」

A pair of adventurers who passed nearby suddenly spoke to me.

「I’m cooking Wyvern. 」

「…I’ve heard that you’re that Kaede fella, but you shouldn’t do that, it’s better to eat other types of meat.」

「I won’t know if I don’t try. Besides, I have a lot of magical power, so it won’t affect me much even if it increases a little.」

The meat burned nicely.

I cut the meat about 1 cm thick into 1 cm squares and threw 1 piece into my mouth.

It tasted great. It felt like Japanese high grade meat with a slightly thicker taste.

Its hardness was not that hard to the point where I couldn’t chew it.

I felt no particular deterioration in my physical condition.

「Ahh, you ate it…Are you feeling okay? 」

「It’s delicious! I’ll keep it eating it! 」

「Oh, I see… 」

I drew unnecessary attention.

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*Cane sugar processing consists of the following steps: sugar cane is crushed; the juice is heated and filtered, then sent to a series of crystallization steps to create crystals of raw sugar, followed by centrifugation to remove any remaining juice or syrup.

**Matsushima is one of the Nihon Sankei or “Three Great Sights of Japan”. What makes Matsushima so special is the archipelago next to the town. Consisting of approximately 260 tiny islands, the vast majority of the islands are barren, uninhabited, and covered in pines, but some have small settlements.

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