"Happy Birthday!"

September 28th was the birthday of Saki's father, Toa.

The Jin family was all gathered at Horai Island to celebrate.

"Thank you!"

It was Toa Eschenbach's 45th birthday.

"At my age, I never thought I would have such a happy birthday.

Toa is standing next to Stellina.

"Father, aren't you happy that it's just you and me on this birthday?"

Saki looked into his face and Toa blushed.

"No, no, that's not true. I'm also very grateful for this birthday, just the two of us.

"Don't flatter me. I can see it in your face."

"......"

"Well, Juliana, you're looking good. You're not shy, are you?"

In Bertsche's arms is Juliana, the child of Reinhardt, who is excited by the lively atmosphere.

"Yes, she doesn't cry at night anymore, and she's much heavier now.

"It reminds me of when Marcia was a little girl.

Vivian and Rodrigo looked into Juliana's face, and their expressions were broken.

Meanwhile, Reinhardt was talking to Jin with a glass of wine in his hand.

"Jin, since we are all here, you must have something to tell us, right?"

"Yes, of course. We've learned some new facts. I'll tell you when the feast is over.

"I'm looking forward to it."

The banquet continues to go on in harmony.

The highlight dish this time is broiled eel.

"It smells good, doesn't it?"

Saki, who has a good nose, smells it.

"Here you go."

Immediately after that, the golem maids bring in the broiled eel.

"Oh, what's this?

"Is it fish ......?"

"It's a soy sauce type sauce.

"It smells very fragrant ......."

Jin begins to explain to the surprised and interested crowd.

"Well, this is a dish called kabayaki. It is a long, thin fish that is split open, grilled once to remove excess oil, then baked again with sauce.

"Long thin fish or ...... what is it?"

Goose is twisting his head.

"It's a fish, not a snake, right?"

Saki wondered what he was imagining and reminded Jin again.

"It's a fish."

Jin nodded reassuringly and continued.

"This fish is an eel. Not a dragonhead eel?　It was found in the southern hemisphere ocean by the Mermaids and sent back to us."

"Oh, from the southern hemisphere ......?"

Goose is eager to hear more.

"Well, you should try it first. "Well, try it first. If you like, you can sprinkle some of this pepper powder on it to make it taste even better.

"Oh, that's the herb we got at Huso the other day, isn't it?"

Saki, who was accompanying me, seemed to remember.

"That's right. This is the grounded berries.

"Oh, it smells so good!

Bina's nose twitched as well.

"I think it's good for pregnant women because of its nutritional value.

"Oh, really?"

I have done some research on it.

Even if it looks like eel, it would be bad if it is poisonous.

"Well, let's eat!

Toa first puts the chopsticks on the table. As a result of practice, he is now able to eat Japanese food with chopsticks.

Seeing Toa put his chopsticks on, the other participants started to eat as well.

"Yes, it's delicious!

"It's delicious! It has a lot of fat, but not too much.

"The smell of this powder sprinkled on top of the fish is delicious.　It has a nice aroma if you sprinkle some of this sansho powder on it.

"Sansho" is fine, but "sansho" is more accurate.

"Yes!　Grandma, it's delicious!"

"It really is, isn't it?"

"This sauce, right?　It's sweet and salty, with a hint of umami.

Jin was relieved that the kabayaki was well received.

"You don't see this over here on the continent. ......"

Goose muttered as he refilled his kabayaki.

Jin thought it was time to talk, so he started to explain.

Since he is eating, he starts with a non-serious topic. Mainly, it is about the biota reported by the <>.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"It's called ......."

Jin explained slowly and took a sip of his tea to moisten his throat.

"Well, I don't know what this is, but I agree that the island was used to preserve the species."

Goose agreed with the old man's guess.

"The old man also wants to discuss some things with Guth, so you go over there later.

"Okay. I'm looking forward to it.

"Mr. Jin, may I join you?"

Sure enough, Vivienne also volunteered to sit in.

"Of course. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them with me.

"We don't have free magic element (ether) in the south. Is that why this didn't become a demon?"

There is a reason why Licia asked this question.

The Shama Marsh in the eastern part of the Klein Kingdom, and Lake Manuse into which the river flows.

The that lives there is a herbivorous monster that can grow up to three meters in length. Because of its weak magical power, its skin is used as a material for magic tools.

Licia is from the Kingdom of Klein, so she is familiar with the dragon-headed eel.

"It is possible that the dragonhead eel is a normal eel turned into a demon.

Goose mentioned a possibility.

"I see.

"So, we haven't been able to get to the continent yet, but we'll be adding more skyscrapers, so I'm sure we'll get more information later on. If you are interested, ask the old man in a few days."

That was the end of the story about the Antarctic research fleet.

"And, as a more recent matter, ......"

Jin then talked about the and the . Erza added her own comments as needed.

"Hmmm... ....... I did hear about that. It was resolved, wasn't it?"

Reinhardt nodded broadly.

"But what I'm curious about is this automata called Lance and the researchers who were living in hiding.

"Yes. This time, His Majesty is in charge of ......, or rather, Mr. Degauze is in charge."

"You have the technology of the warp gate, don't you?　If it is put to practical use, it will revolutionize distribution and transportation."

Jin half agrees with Reinhardt's opinion and half expresses doubt.

"It's not going to happen that fast. I didn't tell you, but their warp gates are designed for high free-magic concentrations, so they can't be used satisfactorily in the current world.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. So, it will be placed only in key locations and its use will be restricted to those with permission.

It is inferior to Jin's warp gate. Still, it would be desirable to revive a technology that was interrupted by the Magic War.

"It will take time to spread. The key component, magi crystals of the dark attribute, are rarely found in ordinary places.

The dark attribute has a great influence on space, but because of this great effect, it is almost impossible to obtain.

Though they are abundantly available from the underground of Horai Island.

Jin thinks that it is probably related to the singularity of free magical element (ether).

Thus, the exchange of information proceeded smoothly.