The well-Balanced Yamamoto-san Gets Caught up in a Death Game

Chapter 40

For now, we’ve decided that Lili-chan will participate in the Grand Martial Festival, but the problem is finding a partner to team up with.

So, I’ve asked Lili-chan to go to the Adventurers’ Guild to look for a potential partner, even though it’s sudden.

There, she’ll approach people and recruit a partner.

Well, as they say, strike while the iron is hot. There’s no harm in taking action early.

■□■

While Lili-chan is working on the Grand Martial Festival, I have a mountain of tasks to deal with myself.

So, I’ve returned to…

▶Forzine Underground Labyrinth

I want to get [Alchemy] materials from the monsters that appear here, but…

▶[Balance] has activated.

Adjusting monster spawn balance.

Feeling the ground start to rumble, I immediately retreat!

What is this…?

Am I marked by EOD or something?

It seems I can’t just fight monsters normally in the Forzine Underground Labyrinth without doing something about this.

I need to come up with a countermeasure.

“Come to think of it, didn’t Gobuzou-san say something about the Giant Boulder Worms lurking in the Forzine Underground Labyrinth for a long time…?”

If that’s the case, searching through old documents might reveal information about the Giant Boulder Worms’ ecology, weaknesses, or how they were defeated.

“For old information, a library might be better than the Adventurers’ Guild? I don’t know if such a facility exists, but maybe I should ask Katze-san?”

Katze-san is a resident of this town, so she should know about the town’s facilities.

If not, I could always check a map at the Adventurers’ Guild as a last resort.

Thinking about this, I veer off to a side path, glancing at the people waiting for the Area Boss.

It seems that once you’ve defeated an Area Boss, you can use these shortcuts.

Stepping on the magic circle in the small room, I warp to the magic circle beyond the Area Boss room.

Very convenient indeed.

“By the way, is this the World Event effect? There were quite a few people waiting in line.”

It’s a shame for parties that mainly focused on boss farming, though.

Is the World Event that attractive?

Or maybe they’re after the [Revival Drug] participation prize?

Still, if I can’t even gather [Alchemy] materials, what should I do…?

I guess I have no choice but to try what I thought of earlier at the café.

■□■

And so, here I am at the sea!

Blue ocean, white sandy beach…

If you just look at this part, it feels like I’ve come to a tropical resort. But it’s not VR, you know. It’s not just a game, you know.

For now, since I’ve come to the sea, I might as well do this.

No one’s around, right? *Glances around*

“Ocean, you bastard!”

I tried shouting it out.

Ah, that felt good.

As I was thinking that, a black shadow slowly rises from the sea surface…

!?

A human head?

“The sea isn’t a bastard.”

Saying that, it slowly disappeared into the sea…

Wait, what was that!?

A sea monk or something!?

And my shout was heard!?

I’m so embarrassed I want to bury myself in the sand!

As I was thinking this, the sea monk… no, a man with a stern face and two horns amidst his long, wavy hair slowly emerges from the sea.

His upper body is all muscle and…

…his lower body is just a loincloth. He’s a pervert.

Moreover, he’s holding a thick chain in one hand…

What is this, a real pervert?

“Um, is this sexual harassment?”

I couldn’t help but ask.

I mean, this guy is approaching confidently in just a loincloth. Wouldn’t anyone think it’s harassment?

Then, this person—

“Then what are you, all silver in the sun-drenched beach? Heat harassment… hara for short?”

He says something like that!

I’ve never heard of heat hara before!

It’s probably a made-up word!

The man reaches the beach and starts pulling the chain wrapped around his right hand with both arms.

As I watched, wondering what he was doing…

There was a huge harpoon attached to the end of the chain, and it had pierced the head of a huge tuna? Bonito? He dragged it out of the sea! Eek!

Wait a minute…

“Huh, isn’t that dead? Why hasn’t it turned into polygons!?”

“Are you a player? Ah, I see. I guess only a player would be in armor on such a hot beach…”

“Sorry for being so hot and stuffy! I’m a Dullahan race, so I can’t take off my armor!”

I think it’s probably because of the knight setting, though.

Still, the fact that he’s asserting I’m a player means he’s most likely a player too, right? Diving into the sea and harpooning fish is quite unusual!

“I see. So it’s like a racial trait. I didn’t know, my apologies.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for… More importantly, why hasn’t that fish turned into polygons?”

“This guy?”

With a strong pull, the fish flew out of the sea and rolled onto the beach.

It must be about five meters long, right?

It seems even bigger than real-world tuna.

“It’s the power of a skill. There’s a skill called [Dismantling]. If you have it, there’s a chance all the materials will remain intact.”

“[Dismantling]… That’s quite a skill.”

“Well, you can get more parts, so you earn more, but it’s a hassle because you actually have to dismember it, and you need to be able to handle gore. It’s not a very popular skill.”

Saying that, the man took out a large sword that looked like a big kitchen knife and started a fish dismantling show.

He seems quite skilled, as if he has experience… but I probably won’t take [Dismantling]. I don’t like getting all bloody red. Plus, I can’t handle gore.

“Hey, can you use [Water Magic]?”

“I can, why?”

“Lightly wash away the fish blood. Lightly, okay? Lightly.”

“Got it, [Water Ball].”

The [Water Ball] I used is a level 3 [Water Magic]. It’s supposed to deal damage and knockback, but the damage is a bit low, so attack-focused mages ignore it.

I use [Mana Manipulation] to finely adjust the force and aim it at the fish being dismembered.

With a splash, the bloody mess becomes much cleaner.

“You’re good at this. What, are you a pro?”

What kind of pro?

“I’m just a normal production class.”

“I see. Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m ‘Canned Tuna Is Delicious♪’. Nice to meet you.”

“Is that your name?”

“I get that a lot.”

Canned Tuna Is Delicious♪… I’ll just call him Tuna-san… says this with a gentle smile.

It’s strange. What he’s doing is wild, but there’s a certain gentleness to his demeanor.

Is it something inherent to his character?

“And you are?”

“Ah, I’m Yamamoto…”

I cover my mouth after saying it, but it’s too late.

I thought I might slip up someday, but to make such a blunder here!

I glance at Tuna-san, but he doesn’t seem to react differently.

That’s a relief. Maybe he didn’t catch it?

“I see, so you’re the EOD killer…”

He heard it clearly!

But Tuna-san doesn’t change his attitude and continues dismembering the fish calmly.

Huh?

I thought I’d be dragged into troublesome things like being invited to parties or asked for information, but nothing…?

“Eh, is that all you have to say?”

“Don’t worry… well, I’m not sure if I should say that, but I’m somewhat famous too. I understand how it feels to be fussed over. So, whether you’re the EOD killer or whatever, I won’t make a big deal out of it.”

Tuna-san continues his dismantling work.

What’s that about? Is this the ‘actions speak louder than words’ thing?

Huh, that’s kind of cool.

“Hmm.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing~”

Well, it’d be bad to disturb his dismantling work.

I’ll focus on the task I came to the sea for.

Placing my hand on the seawater, and…

“[Storage]”

I start filling my empty [Storage] slots with seawater. I didn’t have many empty slots because of production materials, but I should have collected quite a lot of seawater in total.

This will be an important component.

Having achieved my goal, I turn around with a satisfied look, and Tuna-san is still dismembering the fish. Well, it’s five meters long, so it must take quite some time. As I’m watching, thinking it seems like a lot of work,

“Do you think it’s time-consuming and troublesome?”

He asks me.

Well, to be honest, yes.

But Tuna-san probably has his reasons for doing this.

So, without outright denying it, I say,

“It does look like hard work.”

Tuna-san chuckles a bit, finding something amusing, and without looking at me, he asks. He seems quite talkative.

“Have you eaten food in this LIA?”

“Yes. I even choose inns based on how delicious their food is. It’s important.”

“Then, have you ever defeated monsters and obtained monster meat?”

“I think I have, several times.”

“So, why don’t you find it strange?”

Huh? What do you mean?

While I’m confused, Tuna-san continues.

“We Japanese, even with yakiniku, eat each part separately. Kalbi, harami, liver, mino, tongue, offal, misuji, zabuton. So why don’t you question ‘monster meat’ when you don’t even know which part it’s from?”

Now that he mentions it, that’s true.

Items drop as ‘meat of XX’, but I had no idea which part of the monster it came from.

Tuna-san speaks passionately.

“I’ve collected and observed various types of meat drops from the same kind of monster. As a result, I discovered something. Even for the same monster, the part that drops is randomly determined.”

“I see.”

“In other words, the taste of the dropped meat changes each time. The deliciousness is randomly decided. I want to eat delicious things as much as possible, but it’s troublesome if the taste changes every time. That’s when I found the god-like skill [Dismantling]. With this, I can eat any part I like as I please. There’s no other skill as wonderful as this.”

“Well, if the whole thing remains intact, there’s no hit or miss.”

“Yeah. So while this is troublesome and time-consuming, for me, it’s also a joy.”

An attitude of seeking delicious food even if it takes time and effort.

Tuna-san is a gourmet hunter.

As Tuna-san’s dismantling finishes, the fish parts gradually disappear into [Storage].

Then, he takes out a wooden sushi board.

He arranges thick slices of fish parts on it.

“It’s not just meat that I’m particular about. It’s the same with tuna. Otoro, chutoro, akami, kama, kamatoro, tail. This time it’s not aged, and there’s no vinegared rice, but I intend to enjoy it as fresh sashimi. How about it, want to eat some too?”

“Absolutely!”

If you’re offering, I’ll gladly partake!

Ah, that’s right.

“Then, I’ll bring this out.”

Ta-da! What I take out is a drink box!

I’ve heard many people say sake goes well with sashimi. Well, I only drink umeshu on the rocks though.

“What’s this?”

“This is a drink server that can serve any drink you like. It can produce anything water-based, from alcohol to condiments. However, unknown flavors might be difficult.”

“You’re saying it can even produce soy sauce for sashimi and sake…? Are you a god…?”

“I told you, I’m in a production class.”

“You’re different from the production class I imagined…”

“Well, never mind that, let’s have a toast! I want to eat the sashimi quickly!”

“Hmm, you’re right.”

And so, cheers!

We indulged in eating and drinking sashimi to our heart’s content on the deserted beach.