295: The fish we caught, everyone shares

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's today's sushi."

"Thank you."

First to arrive were the tuna, salmon, roe, and squid—various types of sushi.

Other than the modest quantity, they looked ordinary.

"Satā. Satā, just stay put. I'll take care of it. When I bring it near your mouth, please open up."

"Got it."

"……"

No response from the fishing rod.

Judging by what I can see through the main body, there appear to be various sizes and types of fish and shellfish living within the aquaculture tank, suggesting a developing ecosystem. I suppose they might start feeding on it if left alone.

So, I could leave it be and go eat sushi instead... but since Viridianiela is asking for it, I'll go with her preference.

"Alright, open up."

"Open up."

And so, I eat the tuna belly sushi that Viridianiela brought me.

Hmm, delicious.

There's nothing particularly special about it, but it's straightforwardly tasty.

"Delicious, isn't it?"

"Yes, it really is."

But the fact that tuna sushi is served here...

Is it actually caught here?

Or rather, does tuna even live in this aquarium?

Hmm, let me check the surrounding mods briefly.

"Hmm, hmm."

"Sat? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm just curious about what mod this room—or rather, this shop—is using."

First, this room.

Not only are standard security and soundproofing mods in use, but there's also a special shield mod that only allows passage of specific objects into the fishing pond area.

Specifically, only the built-in fishing rod and bait are freely movable. Only items touching the fishing rod can enter from the pond side, and humans or others cannot enter the pond from the room side.

Ah, and there are even mods to prevent the fishing pond water from getting onto sushi or the like—very hygienic.

"Whoa, got it... I caught one!"

"Congratulations. Sata."

"Thanks, Vee. Hmm... looks like a trout."

The fish caught was small.

But it was definitely a fish, so it was handed over to the shop staff to be made into sushi.

"I already handed it over, but isn't trout a freshwater fish?"

"Yeah. Uh... there's a freshwater zone and a saltwater zone inside the aquaculture tank, and they're using mods to keep them separate while still allowing movement between them."

"Kinda feels like a surprisingly advanced technique just showed up..."

The massive aquaculture tank beneath us is primarily made of saltwater.

However, based on what we've seen and analyzed from the mod used, there are sections mimicking river environments, and those areas seem to be constantly shifting.

I don't know the details, but it seems like the fish farming area is somehow managing to keep things going.

Just as Joharis said—pretty impressive tech, really.

Oh, someone just reeled in a big fish, it looks like.

"Apologies for the wait! This is our trout sushi!"

"Thank you very much."

Wow, quick work.

So, we're eating sushi made from the trout I caught.

Hmm, I see. Quite impressive.

"Delicious. Thanks to the mod, they quickly added vinegar and ensured safety, yet the way they prepared the fish and rolled the sushi is truly professional."

"This is absolutely delicious. It's even better knowing it's the fish Sata caught."

"Man, this is really good..."

This is a sushi made possible only through swift, mod-assisted cooking.

Of course, the taste was left completely untouched.

Yeah, it's delicious, and with the thrill of having caught it myself, it feels like a flavor unique to this place.

"Oh? Hmm, hmm. Then, since we're here, why don't we go ahead and order?"

"What's the matter, Miss Vee?"

"Miss Johalis. You've seen the note, right? It seems another customer has just reeled in a big catch, and they're planning to share it with others."

"I see, that kind of thing does happen. It's probably because it's this shop, isn't it?"

Could it have been the guy I saw earlier?

The fish was big enough to be seen even from my main body, and it's definitely hard to finish eating something that big in just one room—so it makes sense to share it with others.

As for how the pricing works in that case... that's not really my concern.

"Apologies for the wait. Here is your tilapia!"

"Thank you very much."

Eventually, what arrived was a large assortment of tilapia sushi.

I hadn’t paid attention, so I hadn’t heard, but it seemed the Viridilanas had asked who exactly had caught this tilapia.

Ah, so if you catch a big one and distribute it to another room, you might accidentally sell someone else’s name just by being in the same time zone at the same time.

In that case, there must be quite a few people coming here with that very purpose in mind.

"Ah, this is pretty delicious too."

"You're right. We should be grateful to the person who caught these."

You never know what you'll catch.

You can't tell who else is walking in at the same moment.

But perhaps that's exactly what makes this place special—the chance encounters that arise precisely because of that uncertainty. That might be the real selling point of this 'Jika Sushi.'

As for my catch afterward, I only managed to reel in a few small fish, enough to eat within the room.

Well, I don't really have any fishing experience, so this is probably about what I should expect.