Chapter 300: Emi Encounters the Culture of a Seaside Village
* * *
This is the memorable 300th chapter!
The next morning!
I woke up at the same time as the sunrise, ate some shellfish I picked up at the beach yesterday, and then walked towards the forest I saw in the distance.
I thought I'd go to the place that I found before going to sleep yesterday, which I thought was probably a village or something.
Come to think of it, it's been several months since I talked to Mitran and Leiseida-san during the ruins exploration.
Since then, I haven't talked to anyone.
It's about time I start feeling lonely.
<You'll get bullied again, you know?>
Probably.
That's why I'm thinking of secretly peeking from somewhere out of sight.
After all, sightseeing.
Not just nature, but also human activities and culture, you know?
It's important to see that too, right?
<Hmm... If you say so, it's fine, but...>
It's okay, don't worry, Extra-sama.
I'm strong now.
Even if I get bullied by some small fry around here, it doesn't matter anymore!
<Well, yes... that's right! If you don't like the villagers you meet, you can just kill them all!>
I won't do that!
I won't do such a thing!
Extra-sama is as dangerous as ever sometimes...
While having such a conversation, I push through the growth of coastal plants and progress forward, and what appears in front of me is a white path apparently made by crushing shells.
From any angle, it's a complete artificial object.
<Ah, this is, Emi, your guess is absolutely correct. There's definitely a settlement over there.>
That's right.
If you look at the path's destination, what's ahead is the forest I saw before going to sleep yesterday.
Beyond that forest, there's probably the culture I'm seeking.
I want to see the culture now.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Stepping on the remains of the shells laid out, I start walking towards the forest.
...By the way, this path, you know.
I wonder why they laid out shells.
I'm fine even barefoot because I'm sturdy.
But normally, if you walk in a place like this barefoot, you'd get injured, right?
It's not user-friendly.
<Let me tell you something good, Emi. Currently, many travelers wear shoes. It is estimated that barefoot users like you are a very small minority.>
I know that!
I'm joking!
* * *
Now, as I started walking on this white path.
After walking for a while, from ahead on the path.
A unique smell that I had never smelled before started wafting in on the sea breeze.
<This is probably the smell of fish, don't you think? Since the sea is close, there must be a processing plant.>
Oh!
Oh, oh, oh!
In other words, are you saying that unknown otherworldly gourmet is waiting for me ahead, Extra-sama?
<Why are you acting so high and mighty? Well, that possibility is high! If they won't share, let's kill them all and take it!>
Why does this person always make statements that lean towards being an bandit...
While sighing at the dangerous Extra-sama, I proceed forward with a crunch, crunch.
In the forest, passing through the warm dappled sunlight and going straight ahead, what was there was indeed a village.
Although it's called a village, the scale might be quite large.
Several wooden houses of a decent size are lined up.
Perhaps to match the shells laid on the ground, or to reflect the summer sunlight, the walls of the houses are painted pure white.
That white stands out nicely against the summer blue sky.
It's dazzling.
But.
<There are no people, are there? Are they out fishing?>
Yes, as Extra-sama says, there don't seem to be any people around here.
<Or perhaps, caught up in a supernatural occult phenomenon, the breath of people has vanished from this village?>
Hey, stop saying such ominous things, Extra-sama!
This world is already fantasy as it is!
Because I can't immediately deny the possibility of such phenomena, it's quite scary!
<It's okay, Emi. Even if that's the case, it's okay. If so, you can just beat the cause to death.>
Hah!
T-That's right, that's right, Extra-sama.
Enemies should just be killed.
It's a simple matter.
...For now, while suppressing the black haze that seems to leak out, I extend my [Mana Sensing Threads] and explore the entire area.
Then... oh, what do you know, there are people.
It seems that all the people of this village have gathered in the center of the village and are doing something.
Phew!
<Tch!>
Don't go "Tch!"
Don't expect an incident.
<Anyway, Emi, let's head to the center of the village. It's a bit unnatural for all the villagers to gather in the center at once. The possibility of an incident occurring still can't be ruled out.>
I said, don't expect an incident.
Well, I'm also curious about what the villagers are doing.
Shall we go and see?
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Still stepping on the shells laid out, I walk towards the center of the village.
As I get closer to the place where people are gathering... the noise gradually gets louder.
Oh, it's lively and vibrant.
I wonder if they're having a festival?
"........."
I peek at the state of the square in the center of the village by sticking only my face out from the shadow of a house.
Then, what jumped into my sight.
...It was!!
"""UOOOOOH!!!"""
Yes, while screaming... the sight of tanned, muscular men running with all their might while pushing heavy metal rods!
Those metal rods seem to be part of some device, four in total.
Since they are connected at the center, the device probably forms a cross shape when viewed from above.
The men are pushing those four rods, shouting, and running in a circle, turning them round and round!
"""Go for it! Go for it!"""
While cheering on those men, women, children, and the elderly are helping to cool their bodies by splashing water on them or fanning them with fans from the surroundings.
"Thanks, Mom!"
One of the men pushing the rods waved his hand at a woman while showing his white teeth!
But at that moment!
"Ah!?"
Because he was looking away, and with his feet wet from the water, the man lost his balance!
However, the other men don't stop!
The man who lost his balance desperately tries to cling to the metal rod, but he can't go against the great law of nature called centrifugal force generated by the rotation, and he is blown away towards the surrounding crowd!
"What are you doing, Pyoryochunjyu!"
"It's because you were looking away, wasn't it!"
"Don't get carried away just because you're newlywed, you idiot!"
"Die! Die! Die!"
Jeers fly all at once from the surroundings and the men turning the rods!
Especially the harassment from people who seem to be unmarried men is severe!
H-Hey, Extra-sama... what in the world is this...!?
<Emi, look up...!>
Up...!?
Being told that by Extra-sama, I look up at the upper part of the device.
Yes, this device that the men are turning extends upwards.
The metal rods that the men are turning, as I mentioned earlier, would form a cross shape if viewed from above.
At the center of that cross, there is a thick, also metal pillar standing from the ground towards the sky.
In other words, the men were turning this pillar round and round by pushing the rods and rotating.
And at the upper part of that pillar, something... several somethings are suspended!
Arranged in a circular shape and divided into multiple levels, those suspended somethings are also rapidly rotating while greatly expanding outward due to centrifugal force as the pillar rotates.
Those somethings are suspended at a height around the roof of a two-story building, but my excellent fantasy vision captured what they were despite their high-speed rotation.
It was.
It was!
...Fish!!
Filleted fish are suspended from the device and rotating round and round!
In other words, this is!
T-These people are...!
<You've already figured it out, haven't you, Emi? Yes... these people are!>
They're... making dried fish...!?