Chapter "398"
Make A Trap
Today, as I was happily inhaling the summer aroma filling my chest and diligently working on potion-making, I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching from afar.
"Pii!"
""Pii pii!""
Immediately, the pixies who had been helping with the work used magic to vanish or flew away to hide themselves inside the buildings.
Just as the yard was left with only me, Sasayama-san's forestry truck came rolling in. Since we had managed to exterminate the mountain monsters, we had left the main gate open today to improve ventilation.
"Good afternoon, Sasayama-san."
"Ooh, Egetsu-kun. Hmm... why in the world are you boiling coolant for a radiator, though?"
Oof... It seems the all-purpose recovery potion I was simmering over the fire in a pot looked like radiator coolant to Sasayama-san. Well... I guess it kinda does look like that.
"Ah, no, this is just a little endurance test, you could say. So, did you need to see Oji-san?""Hmm~ well, I do have business with Seibee-san too, but again, it's also for you guys..."
Oho, so he's here to ask for food again, is he.
"Ara, Oji-san, welcome."
"Good afternoon~, lovely weather, isn't it?"
Then, Serai-san and the others, who had gone to store the potions in the storehouse, returned.
"Yah, Machi-chan. And Shizuka-chan too."
...
So, after the five of us, including Oji-san, had some tea and talked, it turned out Sasayama-san's request was, once again, to ask for food.
"U~mu, this is never-ending..."
"Right?"
Even Oji-san, who's used to this, made a bitter face and groaned at the repeated requests. No matter how much of a farm warrior Oji-san is, he can't produce rice and vegetables infinitely, so that's only natural.
"But Oji-san, it hasn't been that long since your last visit, right? How did you run out so quickly again?"
"That's right, we talked about making it last this time, didn't we?"
"U~hn, that hits a sore spot. I'm weak when you say that..."
Saying so, Sasayama-san began explaining the situation again.
According to him, besides the evacuees, there were also people begging him for meat, and the meat that was supposed to be distributed to various facilities had disappeared, only to be sold in a town far away for some reason. ᚱàŊỒʙЕS
"Eh? Does that mean our meat was stolen and resold??"
"That's right, that's the only thing it could be, I'd say..."
Well, I'll be. Even meat resellers have shown up. It's like anything goes now.
"A hunter acquaintance of mine contacted me, saying there are people bringing meat of unclear origin to butchers and supermarkets. That's how I found out..."
Ara ma, so that means even Sasayama-san didn't notice the situation until he got that message.
"I have my own work too, so I can't exactly keep my eyes peeled all the time... Sorry."
Saying that, Sasayama-san bowed his head, but it's not really Sasayama-san's fault, so the rest of us just exchanged glances, wondering what to do.
"That can't be helped, Oji-san, you're busy and doing your best. So don't worry about it."
But amid all this, Serai-san alone was kind to Sasayama-san.
"Machi-chan..."
"I always had meals with nothing but vegetables, so I was really looking forward to the meat you brought us, Oji-san."
Ah, the feeding of one's youth is a powerful thing. And Oji-san looked slightly shaken by his beloved granddaughter's "nothing but vegetables" statement, which was also a little sad.
"But, if that's the case, what do we do?"
"Fuumu... Well then, how about this. Let's go with the Back Fat & Trotters Hatred Strategy."
"Hatred Strategy?"
"Yeah. Even if we share the meat like before, the same thing will probably happen again, right? So this time, we'll make the actual meat portion tiny, and most of it will be hard-to-handle back fat and trotter skin."
"I see! That way, it's a hassle to cook and can't be easily disposed of!"
Un, Nina-san, whose family runs a Chinese restaurant, caught on immediately.
Yes, back fat isn't something you can eat by itself, and it's a pain to cook. Well, there might be some tough guys who can eat it plain, but such fellows can be considered exceptions.
And trotter skin also has a strong flavor, so it divides opinion.
Besides, pork trotters are tasty when you eat a little bit during a yakiniku BBQ. But if everyone around you is grilling and eating meat while you can only eat trotters, that would be kinda sad in its own way.
Well, I'm sure there are people in the world who love trotters, but that's just my subjective opinion.
"Eh, but there's still a little bit of actual meat, right...? Ah, so if someone steals that with the intent to resell it, this time they'll earn even more resentment from everyone around them than before!"
Fufufu, that's right, my dear Akechi-kun. I mean, Serai-san.
"Exactly. That way, we corner the thief-resellers from both inside and out. Sasayama-san. Can you contact your hunter friends and spread the word that there are guys trying to sell stolen meat without even a hunting license?"
"Ah, that I can do right away."
Professional hunters with hunting licenses must have their familiar butchers they supply their game to.
So, through those hunter connections, we'll also urge the butchers to be cautious. Ideally, if they could also check the appearance of anyone trying to sell meat of unclear origin, that would be even better.
We'll make these thief-resellers, who stole the meat we shared and disturbed the peace of mind of the kind-hearted Sasayama-san, pay the price in full.