ćSomethingćblue-black, slimmy and wriggling had been accumulated so much that the pile even almost reached my wrist.
Thisā¦ I donāt think a mere mop and dust cloth should make their appearance this early in the game. I should go get a shovel or a spade.
I went back to borrow some appropriate tools and started tossed those ćsomethingćin a bucket I had left near the door. Then I kept on going back and forth between the bedroom and the garden everytime the bucket was full.
But stillā¦ Thisā¦ ćSomethingćā¦ No, maybe I should call it ćfragment of the seaćto be precise?
I scooped the pile with a shovel and the things like manila clam, orient clam, mussel, oyster, turban shell, barnacle kept on appearing and appearingā¦. It was really interesting to see I could get the kind of shellfish you wouldnāt be able to find on the beach.
Truth to be told, I wasnāt really sure if I was cleaning or clamming.
Whoaā¦ Amazing! What a big and splendid orient clamā¦.! T-thisā¦ This clam will definitely taste amazing if I just grill it a little bitā¦ I can also make a great clam stock out of it.
I happily sorted my war trophy and put away the ćfragment of the seaćaway.
Now that the floor had been completely cleaned, I went further into the bedroomā¦
Then I saw a figure of someone sleeping on what I assumed was the dukeās working desk. The desk was quite small and modest, considering it was the dukeās working desk and the chair was made from stone.
The person who was dozing off there was actuallyā¦ The duke himself.
Oh, I seeā¦ If he sleeps on the bed, heās going to get the bed soggy and wet then the bed will get moldy soon. So this is how he sleepsā¦.
Even though he was sleeping peacefully, the wrinkles between his eyebrows still remained. I guess this was the testament to the stress he had to endure everyday.
āā¦ā¦ā¦. Ah.ā
I quickly noticed another marine creature, something that resembled a sea urchin with sharp spines was about to fall from the dukeās scalp. But the duke was still fast asleepā¦.
Iād feel bad if I were to ignore it as it was and the dukeās soft skin ended up pricked by the sea urchinās spine.
Without a second thought, I grabbed the sea urchin to remove it from the dukeās skin.
āā¦ā¦..!!ā
At that moment, the duke, who was supposed to be still asleep, suddenly pushed my hand away.
ā?! Youā¦.? W-whatā¦. Just whatāsā¦?ā
āM-my apologiesā¦ I was thinking of cleaning your bedroom and as I was cleaningā¦ I saw something about to be shed from your hair and soā¦ I thought itād be dangerous if this thing were to fall on youā¦ā
It appeared the sea urchinās spines slightly wounded my hand because the duke suddenly pushed me away. Slowly, two small beads of blood began to form on my fingers.
āAhā¦ā
The moment the duke saw my wound, he immediately became flustered. He tried to talk but then decided otherwise, he flapped his mouth open and closed repeatedly. He then started to inspect my whole body. His brisk and fidgety movement clearly showed his agitation.
āI-Iām sorryā¦ Are you alright?ā
It turned out when the duke was flustered, the marine creature sticking to his skin also became flusteredā¦ I could see the tentacles that were growing from his arms began to wriggle in a weird way, as if it was feeling restless.
āYes. An injury like this is nothing serious.ā
In fact, this level of injury was an everyday occurrence for me when I was living in my parentās house. When my stepmother and stepsister were feeling emotional, theyād thrown any nearby tableware on my head, causing a more severe bloodshed than this small prick on multiple occasions.
āā¦ā¦ā¦ But stillā¦. Why would you even think of picking that disgusting thing with your bare handsā¦..ā
The duke adjusted his glasses and then he started to frown when he saw the sea urchin in my hand.
āDisgustingā¦.. Thingā¦.?ā
But actuallyā¦ This thing was super delicious and creamy though? Youād have to crack it open to reveal the yellow part first though. You could easily find them in the rocky area butā¦ Those areas were infested with a lot of seaweed so it was actually pretty difficult to harvest them by yourself.
Still, after you knew how delicious it tasted, youād also find this spiky, thorny body as something charming or something cute even. Your attitude toward the sea urchin would definitely take a 180 degree turn after you tasted it.
T/N: MC basically AYYY YESSS FREE UNI ā(ā”ļ½„ć ļ½„)Ł ĢĢ But for real, sea urchin is hella expensive. If only the duke can focus on producing sea urchinā¦. (ė_ė)