Prep Phase 2: Preparing the Sushi
After receiving permission from Lord Momonga, I borrowed a pendant that granted the effects of flight—since I can't fly on my own—and headed to the sea under Demiurge's guidance. However...
"Is something the matter?"
"No... it's nothing."
Demiurge had apparently decided that his usual suit would be too restrictive for physical labor and had changed. He was now wearing black trousers, a black shirt, a crimson fishing jacket, and a crimson hat. He looked exactly like a professional angler. It was a bizarre sight, yet with his dark skin, the look was strangely suited to him.
(Is this Ulbert's influence? Was this his sense of style?) I wondered what kind of aesthetic had gone into Demiurge's wardrobe design as I scanned our destination.
We were on a remote, uninhabited island far from the mainland. The shore was so distant it wasn't even visible. The sunlight reflected off the water in a brilliant shimmer, broken only by the sound of constant splashing. It looked like a feeding frenzy—a "boil" of fish. If small fish were jumping like that, there were definitely large predators underneath.
"Alright, I'm going to explain our equipment and the ingredients we're looking for," I said.
"Understood!" Demiurge and Pandora's Actor replied in unison.
"First, we have two rods specifically designed for catching Vanishing Sail. These should be sturdy enough to handle almost anything in these waters."
The Vanishing Sail wasn't a legendary monster just because of its level; encountering one required high-tier fishing skills and specialized gear. Furthermore, they only lived in the Great Frozen River, which had a field effect that drained HP at an alarming rate. The conditions to catch one in Yggdrasil had been nothing short of brutal.
"We'll use these for the main catch. Since this is a different world, I don't know the exact species, so we'll fish first and identify them later."
Once we landed something, I'd use my appraisal and taste-testing skills to categorize them. I was hoping for something like yellowtail or amberjack, but since I didn't know if those existed here, I kept my mouth shut about specific names.
"Then there are the shellfish," I continued, showing them samples I'd brought for reference. "We need scallops, abalone, and sea urchins."
"Lord Kawasaki, where do these usually reside?" Demiurge asked.
"Abalone cling to rocks like this. Scallops and sea urchins should be on the sandy bottom near kelp forests... I think."
I didn't know their exact ecology in this world, so I had to guess. Demiurge and Pandora's Actor stared out at the ocean.
"I see! Then I, Pandora's Actor, shall take the lead in gathering the shellfish! Being a Doppelganger, I have no need for oxygen, so I can stay submerged indefinitely!"
I'd forgotten about that racial trait. That was incredibly useful. I handed him a specialized scraper.
"Be careful, okay?"
"Leave it to me! For the sake of Lord Kawasaki and Lord Momonga!"
Pandora's Actor gripped the tool and dashed toward the rocky shore. He paused to shed his coat, cap, and tunic before diving headfirst into the waves. I didn't know about the scallops, but he'd likely find plenty of abalone.
"Alright, Demiurge, we'll start fishing. First, we need small baitfish. Do you know how to set up the rig?"
"It is quite alright. Lord Ulbert instructed me in such matters."
Did Ulbert actually like fishing? I wondered. I was constantly learning new things about the other Supreme Beings since coming to this world. I set aside the massive Vanishing Sail rods for a moment and prepared shorter, three-meter rods with reels. Demiurge and I headed to a rock formation in the opposite direction from where Pandora's Actor had dived.
+++
Being entrusted with the duty of guarding Lord Kawasaki while assisting him in finding gifts for Lord Ainz... the honor was so great my hands trembled as I struggled with the fishing line.
(I must land a catch, no matter what.)
I pulled the line from the reel and threaded it through the guides. I felt pathetic that such a simple task took me five minutes.
"We'll use a sabiki rig," Kawasaki explained. "Since we're off a remote island, the drop-off is immediate. We can use a bait cage as well."
"Understood."
He handed me a rig with seven hooks wrapped in translucent pink skin and showed me how to tie it to the main line.
"As we saw at the Lizardman lake, the fish here are different from Yggdrasil. We'll catch some and see what we're dealing with."
"By your command."
I packed the cage with small shrimp and made a light cast. I felt the rig sink deep into the darkness. I sat down on a cooler box next to Lord Kawasaki, wondering if Pandora's Actor was faring well. My cooler held the bait, while his held our lunch and drinks. The line whirred off the reel... just as I expected, the depth here was immense.
Tug!
A sharp strike vibrated through the rod tip. I flicked my wrist to set the hook. A fish just under thirty centimeters came up, fighting with a pleasant weight. Kawasaki set his rod down.
"Hmm... it looks like a horse mackerel. Let's keep it alive and use it as bait for something bigger."
"I shall fetch some water."
I filled a bucket with seawater and dropped the fish in. It swam vigorously, making it a perfect live bait.
"Oh, I've got one too."
"Congratulations, Lord Kawasaki. Ah! And another for me!"
In less than ten minutes, we were in the middle of a feeding frenzy. Every time we dropped our lines, we pulled up fish. They were all the same species. By the time the school moved on, our three buckets were nearly full.
"A great haul," I remarked.
"It seems the concept of 'fishing' doesn't really exist here, so the population is incredibly dense," Kawasaki said with a smile. He scooped a fish out, skillfully gutted it with a knife, and tossed the remains into the sea. The water immediately erupted with splashes. The ocean was teeming with life.
"The taste is very close to horse mackerel. Rich and fatty. I'll prep five or six of these now."
He seemed satisfied with the quality. He quickly bled the fish and tucked them into the cooler with ice.
"Want a taste, Demiurge?"
It would be a grave disrespect to refuse. I offered a short prayer of thanks and placed a slice of raw fish in my mouth. It was just as he said—the fat content was high, and the meat seemed to melt on my tongue. I was certain this was worthy of being presented to Lord Ainz.
"Now, let's use these as live bait to go after the big ones."
Our true goal wasn't these small fry; they were merely tools. I nodded and ran to fetch the heavy-duty Vanishing Sail rods we'd left on the sand.
+++
While Demiurge and Kawasaki were catching bait, Pandora's Actor was having a different experience beneath the waves.
(Gwaaaaah! What in the world is this?!)
While he had been peering into a rocky crevice searching for abalone, a massive octopus had suddenly lunged from the shadows. Its tentacles were wrapped around his limbs, and he was currently fighting it off with a survival knife. He didn't need to breathe, but fighting in the creature's home turf was a struggle.
Even a Level 100 NPC found the beast's strength impressive. Kawasaki and the others didn't realize it yet, but this "uninhabited island" was actually known to the locals as a cursed place—a haven for savage monsters.
+++
Kawasaki's Perspective
I threaded the hook through the nose of the baitfish. This allowed it to swim naturally once it hit the water. I dropped it in and opened the spool. The line whirred out steadily. I kept the rig simple—just a single sinker—to ensure I didn't impede the fish's movement.
"Demiurge, how's your side looking?"
"My float has settled," he replied.
Demiurge was using a float rig. It restricted the bait's movement a bit more, but it allowed him to see exactly when a predator was stalking his line.
It's a beautiful day.
The breeze was perfect, and the sun wasn't too hot. I really did want to bring Momonga here next time. A "camping trip" on this island sounded like a great idea. Just then, bubbles began to break the surface.
"Lord Kawasaki, get behind me."
Demiurge dropped his rod and stepped in front of me, sensing a threat. A second later—
"Pwah! Gasp... gasp... that was almost a double knockout!"
"Pandora?!"
Pandora's Actor breached the surface and hauled himself onto the rocks. He had a thick rope coiled around his body.
"Lord Kawasaki! I've secured a massive one! Heave... ho!"
He pulled on the rope. A few seconds later, the water churned again, revealing the prize at the end of the line.
"What is that, a kraken?!"
It was a monstrous octopus, nearly as big as Pandora's Actor himself. A knife was buried deep between its eyes; it was dead.
"That's... incredible, Pandora."
"Yes, I was genuinely worried we'd take each other down in the water."
If an octopus that size grabbed you, it was no joke. I began to wonder what else lived in these depths. If this was just the "shellfish" expedition, what was going to hit our fishing lines?
"Let's get this into the Item Box for now."
I opened the inventory and, with the help of the other two, shoved the massive cephalopod into the seafood tab.
"I gathered several other things as well."
Pandora's Actor lined up his catch on the rocks. I stared in awe.
"The shells are forty centimeters across... and these urchins are the size of softballs..."
The marine plankton in this area must be incredibly rich for the shellfish to grow this large.
"Are these acceptable? There were more down there if you require them."
He had brought two abalone and seven sea urchins. I thought for a moment.
"Get me three more abalone."
It wasn't about overfishing. In the real world, seafood like this was worth its weight in diamonds. I'd handled farm-raised fish before, but I'd only ever seen abalone of this quality in textbooks. I needed to experiment to find the right seasoning.
"Understood! Please wait a moment!"
Pandora's Actor put his knife between his teeth and dove back in. Was he a wild man in a previous life? I wondered if he could catch fish by hand if I gave him a harpoon.
Suddenly, the loudest whirring I'd ever heard erupted from the shore. Demiurge and I spun around. One of our rods was being dragged toward the ocean, nearly vanishing into the waves.
"Demiurge! Grab the rod! That's Mythic-grade gear—don't let it go!"
Those Vanishing Sail rods were high-tier Yggdrasil equipment. If we lost one to the sea, Momonga would be rightfully furious.
"H-help!"
Demiurge lunged for the rod and pulled back with all his might. The rod tip bent so far it looked like it was about to snap.
"Nngh! The strength... it's immense!"
"The fish in this area must be monsters! Stay with it!"
Even with his strength, he was being dragged toward the water. The line was screaming off the reel.
"Be careful! Play him slowly!"
"I... I am trying!"
Demiurge wrapped his tail around a jagged rock to anchor himself. I threw my weight behind him, helping him resist the impossible pull. After nearly an hour of struggle, we finally hauled in the catch: two massive fish, one a yellowtail and the other an amberjack, both the size of tunas.
+++
We returned to Nazarick shortly after noon. I'd originally planned to eat lunch on the island, but the three of us were so exhausted that we decided to use a teleportation scroll to get back quickly. I thanked the two of them and headed straight to my kitchen.
"Everything goes into the Item Box."
The inventory was better than any refrigerator; it perfectly preserved freshness. I sliced the massive yellowtail and amberjack into manageable blocks and stored them alongside the horse mackerel. The tuna was already prepped and ready, but the next few steps were going to take time.
"Now for the hard part."
I cut into the head of the monster octopus and reached in to remove the innards and the ink sac. Then I removed the eyes and the beak.
"I should call Pickie and Shiho."
I needed to massage the octopus with salt to tenderize it, but doing it alone for a creature this size was a nightmare. I'd have the two of them help me. When it came time to boil it, I'd do the legs one by one. Any leftovers could go to the other servants.
I called for one of the maids waiting outside. There were forty-one of them, and I felt terrible that I couldn't remember her name, but I asked her to fetch Shiho and Pickie.
"Time to experiment."
I was serving the sushi tomorrow, so I wanted to try different ways of prepping the abalone. I tried scrubbing them with brushes, washing them by hand, parboiling them, and leaving them raw. As I waited for my helpers, I began planning the order of the meal and the sake pairings. Then a thought struck me.
(Wait, is Momonga okay with wasabi?)
And what about octopus or squid? Raw seafood was a rarity in the real world. I decided that since he'd been eating everything else I served, he'd probably be fine. But then I realized something even more important.
"I can't believe I forgot something this basic."
It wasn't about the fish or the wasabi.
"I need to tell Momonga to invite Albedo."
Making a specialized sushi dinner for just one person felt a bit lonely. Albedo would be thrilled, and Momonga would enjoy the meal even more with company. Satisfied with the plan, I carefully lowered the prepped abalone into the simmering liquid.
***
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