234: You know, observation skills are important, right?

I invited the two merchants I met by the coast after passing through the volcanic region for a meal, since it was such a good chance.

Would’ve been nice if they’d stared at our food, drool dripping, the whole time.

Probably planned to invite them anyway—there was more food than usual, after all.

“Uuuuuh, so good…!”

“C-can this really be the same fish!?”

Both of them went wild. Not wanting to be rude since they’d been invited, they offered us a fish they’d just been roasting over the fire. Burnt on the outside, dry near the skin, raw near the bones—edible, sure, but honestly not tasty at all.

“What’s the difference between us!?! Is it the seasoning!?”

“The seasoning’s definitely something, but isn’t the cooking stove what really makes the difference?”

The merchant points at the makeshift hearth Leifan conjured in an instant.

It’s the kind of work that’d make sense if a Noom with the highest rank of seal had made it—could’ve been used straight in the royal palace without raising an eyebrow. I figure he’s just grumbling in defeat, but really, his point hits closer to home than he knows.

I look at Leifan, who’s blushing.

“Leifan, why don’t you just tell them?”

No secret tech here, not really. It’s already spreading all over Goldendown.

Leifan nods, then starts explaining to the two merchants.

“Yeah. The most important thing in cooking is heat control. You gotta understand the distance from the flame, how long you’re cooking, what the ingredients are like—giving the right amount of heat at the right time is what matters.”

The merchants tilt their heads, confused.

“Heat control?”

I get it. I felt the same way at first.

Back in my adventuring days, I cooked just like the merchants—tossing ingredients on a campfire and roasting them haphazardly. Even when using a hearth, it was the same. Just shove in some logs, throw in the pot, and leave it.

As far as I know, most of the common folk in this kingdom cook the same way. Nobles are different, though.

You don’t even think about controlling the heat on a wood-fired stove. The merchants’ attitude was perfectly reasonable.

So when Leifan told me that heat control changes the taste drastically, my eyes nearly popped out.

Leifan showed me a test—two small cuts of meat, frying side by side in two pans. One pan had the fire adjusted to a bright, hot glow. The other was so blazing that the flames wrapped around the pan itself.

One pan was perfectly browned all over. The other was charred on the outside but raw in the middle—just like the fish they’d handed us.

The merchants tried both, eyes wide. Shocked.

Yeah. I get it. I felt the same way.

It’s all about noticing it or not.

Some restaurants knew how to cook with fire control, but mostly kept it secret as their own recipe. That’s why it never spread.

In Goldendown, Leifan had already been showing off his skill since the early days. That’s how it caught on. Kind of a side note.

By the way, in the Mizoho Shrine Nation, this was apparently standard. Nobuna was smirking like he’d just won something.

Nah. You weren’t that good at cooking, were you?

And the secret in the soup? Stamina potion.

Still tastes like broth somehow.

In Goldendown, it was standard practice to stir the cheapest stamina potion—thinned down to the point of near-ineffectiveness—into dishes.

We were still chatting and laughing when Eva and her sister returned from a little ways off.

They sat at the table and filled us in on what they’d found.

"Checked a few spots. The island out at sea is definitely our destination."

"Thought so. Good work. Take it easy now."

Eva had confirmed the location by performing dowser’s tear drops at multiple points along the coast.

From here, the island’s hidden behind the horizon, but there was no doubt about it.

The merchant, who’d been listening in, glanced at his companions, then shot a quick look toward the island.

"The island out at sea?"

" dunno what you're after, but cut it out. That island's got a reputation as a monster's nest."

" Yeah, nobody who went there ever came back alive."

They're trying to warn us, I guess, telling us just how dangerous that island is. Maina was looking at the two of them, puzzled, like she'd seen something strange before.

Come to think of it, she used to look like that when she was studying, staring at the two of them.

I couldn't help but ask.

" Hey, Maina. You've been acting weird since a bit ago. If there's something on your mind, just say it."

If she says something like "their faces are funny," I'm gonna lose it—but she's not that kind of girl.

After a pause, she said.

" …How come you two knew which way the island was?"

I didn't get it at first. Then she pointed at the island, and it hit me.

That direction was exactly where the merchant had turned. Of course, the island wasn’t visible from here.

Not just me—Maina adds, her voice tight—my companions are shaken too.

I saw the magic formula from Professor Javir a moment ago.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? But yeah, the merchants had definitely said the magic formula was beautiful.

Back then, the teacher had poured extra magic into the spell, carefully unfolding the arcane formula so Maina could sense it too—but that still assumed she had some basic magical knowledge.

If it's Goldendown, students at the academy all have basic magic knowledge, so plenty can read magic formulas. Got used to it, that's why we didn't notice the abnormality sooner.

That meant they’d figured out the magic formula. So they were mages.

We snapped into combat stance in an instant, facing off against the merchants.

Maina lifted Persia and carried her backward. Javir, the teacher, did the same with Ryuuko.

The fish the teacher had been eating floated midair. A cry of “No, no, no!?” echoed—but we ignored it.

The two merchants instinctively went for combat stances, then instantly raised their hands.

“Wait, wait! It’s true we kept our magic a secret, but we’re not your enemies!”

“Calm down! We’ll explain! Just sheathe your swords!”

They held up their hands, pleading with Nobuna and Camille, who were still poised to strike at any moment.

Quickly judging who posed the greatest threat—these weren’t amateurs.

I kept my guard up and asked.

“What the hell are you two? Why are you here, in this place?”

Please tell me it’s not another demon clan.

I’m not falling for that again.

“We’re islanders!”

What—what?!

"Various circumstances mean we’re the ones keeping everyone away from that island!"

"It’s an isolated island! We’ve been spreading rumors that monsters live there, so no outsiders come near!"

Huh?

So those two… were thinking the same thing.

Evah steps forward, arriving at the same conclusion as the other two.

"Ah. So you’re the ones who live in the Hermit’s Garden."

Maina was studying when Evah was out surveying. If Evah had been there, maybe she’d have noticed sooner.

"Why would you—?!"

"Wait… you’re not—?!"

The two stare in shock. Evah speaks calmly.

"I came here to find a clue toward uncovering a piece of the world’s secrets."

The two stand frozen. Then, after a pause, they nod, resolve hardening in their eyes.

"We’ll guide you to the island. We’ll signal, and they’ll come fetch us."

And so, we began our journey toward the mage’s hidden village.

◆

We picked up our meal again.

Eva was asking the two mages all sorts of questions.

Meanwhile, I kept praising Maina.

"Good eye! Well done, Maina!"

"Mm!"

She climbed onto my lap, all smiles. Sure, sit as long as you like.

"Was I impressive?"

"Damn right! You were a real help!"

I ruffled her head, and she looked absolutely thrilled.

Eva, seeing that, suddenly turned sour.

"I helped too, you know."

"Huh? Oh yeah. You really did. Saved us."

She was the reason we’d gotten this far. All I could do was thank her.

I thought I’d given her full thanks—but she still wouldn’t cheer up.

She kept fussing with her hair, all grumpy.

Split ends, maybe?

The way I was thinking it, Leifan gave me a sideways look.

“Craft… you’re gonna get stabbed one of these days, you know?”

“Why?!”

Anyway, we finally made it toward the hidden village of mages.

◆

The ship that came from the mage’s hidden village was bigger than I expected.

It docked at a pier hidden among the rocks. A robed old man stepped down, his presence thick with gloom.

Eva’s eyes widened when she saw him.

“Master…”

She said it under her breath, then dropped to her knees right in front of him.

“Eva Casper. I trained in the outside world. I’ve returned to the village.”

The old man bowed slightly in return.

“Welcome back, having endured trials and found your way. We welcome you.”

“Still… I didn’t make it back alone.”

Eva held up the dowsing teardrop. The old man shook his head.

“It matters not. What one person can do is limited. Knowing that is part of the trial’s reward.”

“Thank you.”

“Everyone, board the boat. I’ll guide you to the village.”

“Are you sure?”

“You brought her this far. You’re trustworthy. We welcome you as a guest.”

Seeing the old man return to the boat without waiting for Eva’s reply, she let out a sigh of relief.

I gave her shoulder a light tap.

“Tired. So you had a teacher, huh?”

She was drenched in sweat, unsteady on her feet—probably from nerves.

I quickly caught her as she swayed.

“Huh!?!”

“Don’t push yourself. The tension’s broken. You’ve been carrying the weight of responsibility all along. Of course you were thinking, ‘What if we don’t find the village?’ That’s just like you, Eva.”

Eva looked up at me, eyes wide, leaning into my support.

“How did you know that!?”

“Nah, I noticed. You’ve been tense the whole way. I thought I might’ve pushed you too hard, so I kept an eye on you. Just to make sure you didn’t overdo it.”

“Really? You were watching me the whole time!?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Eva flustered. That’s it—she thought I hadn’t noticed what she’d been hiding. If the roles were reversed, I’d’ve thought the same.

…Though, honestly, I did get a little tip from Ryuuko along the way.

“Lady Eva’s a responsible one. Best to keep a close eye on her during the journey.”

That kind of thing. So I caught on to her subtle shifts. She was playing it cool, so I played along and pretended not to notice.

“Anyway, I pushed you too hard, Eva. Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“N-no, it’s—”

Eva leans into me, all her strength gone. Probably pushed her too far. All I can do is hold her up like this.

Even so, I’ve got decent stamina for an alchemist, you know?