We went around to the back and to the area prepared for dismantling.
There was a water supply here as well—All we did was build a platform about two meters high, put a large barrel on top of it, fill it with water, and then ran pipes to here, the kitchen, and the bathroom, and installed faucets.
Water supply?
I made a very delicate waterwheel that could turn easily in the stream and let the water flow through a gutter. It pumped a small amount of water, but it was always running, so even a small amount was enough. It was only for the four of us and the barrel was big.
And that was just for appearances.
The barrels were full to overflowing and the overflowing water flowed down the drain, but this water never actually entered the barrel and was not used. The barrels had a double structure.
If the water level in the barrel's "real water storage area" fell below a certain level, a warning light in the house would light up. At that point, water would be supplied using my "Infinite Water Potion" or Reiko's water magic.
…Of course. No matter how much water you put through a water purifier, drinking water from a stream that is diverted from a river where sewage is dumped directly upstream and animals bathe in is psychologically a bit tough. Even if you can cure any illness with potions…
Of course, if we were to leave or be away for an extended period of time, we could flip a lever to have the water flow from the wheel into the barrels.
Mine and Aral were already fully prepared. They had changed into their work clothes and have the knife sets lined up.
Only Mine and Aral would learn to dismantle.
...Reiko and I didn't need to remember that, right?
It was not like we were going to make a living off it in the future. If we used an item box, we could skin, bleed, and gut them in an instant. This was training for Mine and Aral, not for me and Reiko.
"Then please." (Kaoru)
"Eh?" (Hunters, x4)
Hmm, I wonder why you all have blank looks on your faces, Hunters...
"Well, it's not you guys who will learn how to dismantle, but these little ones?" (A hunter)
Ah, so that's what most people would think...
"Yes. We are the employers and these children are our employees, so..." (Kaoru)
"...Oh, oh..." (A hunter)
Yes, this was not an orphanage. Reiko and I were not nurses, and Mine and Aral were not orphans in custody. They were both full-fledged members of society who earn their living by their own efforts. They did the work that needs to be done. Tuition was free, so they just needed to study hard for their future. As simple as that.
"Well, first I’ll show you an example, so take a good look… but what are those tools you’ve prepared?! All sorts of knives that look incredibly sharp, and tools I’ve never seen before. And what’s with that thing that comes out of a thin tube…" (A hanter)
Yeah, we had got some good tools.
"Let me borrow it for a bit... Wow, what's with this sharpness! You idiot, if a blade isn't sharp you have to use too much force to make it dangerous, but it's also dangerous if it's too sharp! Besides, if it's this sharp when you're trying to peel skin, you'll end up cutting the skin in the middle of peeling! It's important to use things in moderation, I mean..." (A hunter)
Oh, I thought they were well-mannered, but suddenly they turned rough... Wait, could it be that they’re scolding for the sake of the children?
"Well, we'll lend you ours for today. Hey, you guys, go to the knife shop later and explain in detail how you'll use them so they can pick them out for you. Take these guys with you and have them take a good look at your build, hand size, grip strength, and so on, and then leave the rest to the owner of the shop. Really..." (A hunter)
Ah, this was something I made. There was a potion in the handle. Yes, in the same way as the divine sword, Exgram, that I made for Francette.
Of course, it didn't have monomolecular blades or ultra-high speed vibration functions.
Still, I thought it would be better if the blade was sharper, so I made it quite sharp, but perhaps this backfired...
"Here we go. Watch carefully. First, cut off the head. If you don't, the horns will get in the way while you're cutting it up, and beginners might accidentally try to stab themselves. Sometimes, fools focus too much on what to cut, and end up stabbing themselves in the stomach when they pull the animal closer to the stand."
I see. Well, you should take your head off first. That makes sense!
Besides, it seems the horns have a variety of uses.
Well, we probably wouldn't make any money if we used it for the same purpose, so we'd leave that to our predecessors and look for another way to use it.
"Then, I put the blade here and, with all my might, struck it in one go..."
The hunter then skinned the animal, removed the organs, and took apart the meat.
"This time, the condition was that it be delivered in untouched condition, so I took it home whole, but normally you drain the blood and remove the organs on site, and if there's a spring or stream, you cool the meat there. If you don't do that, it won't keep as well and the flavor will deteriorate.
Ah, at least I drained the blood right there on the spot. If I didn't do that, the value of the meat would drop..."
"Oh, that's fine. I just want you to teach us how to drain the blood..." (Kaoru)
Yes, it would be enough if they pointed out the actual item and explained it verbally. Besides, I wrote on the request form that the blood should be drained on-site, so there's no problem.
Then, after dissecting another animal, the hunter handed the knife he was holding to Mine.
"Come on, give it a try."
"Eh……" (Mine)
Mine was solidified.
But Mine was a girl who had made up her mind. She would survive on her own and she would live protecting Aral.
Grab!
Then, Mine tightly gripped the knife that was offered to her, which was a little too big for her hand, and faced the third Horned Rabbit that was placed on the stand.
After butchering the four fish, Mine lost her concentration.
Therefore, the remaining two were butchered by the hunter, and today's butchering training came to an end.
Only Mine had received training, but it was not a problem as Mine would teach Aral, who was watching.
But…….
"Even though only one person actually taught me how to dismantle it, I still have to pay four people's worth of reward, after all..." (Kaoru)
The three of them just stood there, looking a little flustered by what I said.
No, I was just kidding, of course. If four people taught me, my head would explode.
Besides, the request was accepted by a party of four. It would be impossible for one person to hunt eight horned rabbits.
When I said, "Just kidding, just kidding!" the Hunters laughed bitterly.
No, even if I'm a little girl, I have some common sense...
I wonder how much this request was worth to these people...
Apparently, the price of a horned rabbit was about two silver coins if you sell it to the guild's purchasing window. But it was three silver coins for us. Plus, if you completed a request, the guild would get a commission from us, so it was a contribution to the guild and you got achievement points. So, maybe they would treat it as a request from us rather than selling it to the guild as a regular request...
For us, we could get the skin and horns and research whether we could use them for something.
In the town's stores, butchers only sold meat. The horns and furs were all bought by businesses specializing in those products.
Each fish was worth three silver coins, so for eight fish, that would be 24 coins. That's about 24,000 yen... For four adult men, that was a bit low-cost for a day's earnings.
But, maybe they also earned income from defeating goblins and kobolds, creatures that weren't eligible for purchase from us, and from medicinal herbs and wild vegetables they found along the way.
Also, even if they only catch small fish this time, if they could hunt a deer or a wild boar once every few days, it might be a decent income on average. It was also quite cheap if they cook for themselves.
Also, this time there would be a separate reward for teaching us how to dismantle it, so today might be a good day for us.
"...Hey, what are we going to do with the organs?"
"Eh?" (Kaoru)
"Well, I thought if we were going to throw away the innards, we might as well get some. We're poor, so things like offal hotpot are quite a delicacy, whereas most people just throw them away..."
Ah, I see. However...
"In front of kids who were orphans until just a while ago, you say things like, 'We're poor'..." (Kaoru)
"Ah……" (Hunters, x4)
The hunters looked a little uncomfortable.
No, I didn't mean to be mean or anything...
"This time, I’m also thinking of learning how to cook the innards… Hmm…" (Kaoru)
Well... I guess since this is the first client, I'll give them a little extra service...
"We'll cook the food, so why don't you come and have dinner? Of course, we'll serve you other dishes as well as offal dishes." (Kaoru)
"Seriously?!" (Hunters, x4)
It was probably the toughest time as a hunter until they were able to hunt orcs. It wouldn't hurt to let them have a little good fortune.
Author's Note
"Potion" has finally reached its 200th episode! (^^)/
It has been four years and five months since the series began posting, one day after "Rōkin," with a one-year hiatus in between.
This work was supposed to disappear without a word from anywhere, but the three days of the Triple Game began on the day the first season ended.
At the time of completion, the daily page views were 2000.
The next day it was 6000.
Two days later, 18,000.
60,000 three days later.
And pulled along by that, the ongoing serialization of "Roukin" rose up the daily rankings, and the first episode of "Noukin," which began serialization on the day that it ended, reached second place in the daily rankings 12 hours after it was uploaded.
It all began with "Potion".
"Roukin" was my debut work on Narou and was something I had been planning for many years.
"Potion" was the catalyst for this breakthrough and laid the foundation for the other two works to be released to the public.
And then there's Noukin, which made my dream of having it made into an anime come true.
…Right now, everything just feels nostalgic… (T_T)