Hadak Family Grilled Fish

Ignoring the excited stonemasons, Danyla, who was already rather tired and ravenously hungry, simply flew away on Dreamfyre.

As for how they would revise the construction plans, Danyla could not offer much help. She would leave the specialist work to the specialists!

Judging by their enthusiasm, though, they would not be satisfied until they had created a masterpiece that stunned the world!

Only the foundation of the Fighting Arena had been completed anyway, so expanding it or making major changes to its architectural style would be easy.

She might as well let them have their way. Danyla was hardly short of funds now. If they really managed to produce something impressive, she could use it to make even more money in the future. Why not?!

After all, the fighting pits in Slaver's Bay were quite profitable. Of course, Danyla would not cruelly exploit slaves for money like those slave masters did.

But she could use the Fighting Arena to hold more tournaments that were exciting to watch. Alternatively, collecting rare and exotic beasts or developing interesting products and holding exhibitions would also be good options.

Once she had the venue, there would be plenty of profitable ways to use it!

As Danyla flew low on Dreamfyre past the Fighting Arena construction site, she caught the enticing aroma of grilled fish.

Looking down, she saw that the refugees had spontaneously formed a small market at the New Dragonstone Island Dock, which was still under construction by the shore.

"Now, this looks interesting!"

Danyla had Dreamfyre land, then walked toward the little market.

When everyone saw that Danyla had come to the market, they hurriedly stepped aside and respectfully bowed in greeting, their heads lowered deeply.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

"Carry on with what you were doing. I'm just here to look around!"

Danyla quickly called out to them.

The market was small, and her voice carried across almost all of it.

Yet wherever Danyla went, everyone still hurried to bow and greet her, nervous and respectful. Some did not dare move for quite some time.

This did not necessarily mean Danyla was deeply loved by the people. Rather, it was a habit the people of this world had developed over generations to stay alive.

Within their domains, nobles held absolute power over the lives and deaths of their subjects. There was no shortage of nobles who beat, killed, or abused people they disliked, using disrespect toward their lord as an excuse.

Everyone's eyes remained fixed on Danyla. Only once she had gone some distance away did they resume their normal activities.

Fortunately, Danyla had become something of a social butterfly since coming to this world. In her previous life, she probably would have fled in embarrassment long ago.

The market was small, but it had a little of everything.

There were stalls selling coarse cloth and linen clothing, kitchen knives and sickles.

Vases and dishes, fishing nets and leather goods.

Almost every little everyday necessity could be found here.

The tableware made by the vendors catering to common folk was particularly distinctive, despite its simple craftsmanship.

In this world, commoners mainly used wooden utensils, crude pottery, and ordinary metal tableware.

Though they could not afford expensive pigments to color their tableware, they were skilled at using natural dye plants to carefully decorate these humble utensils.

The patterns were neither particularly intricate nor elaborate, but they had a rustic, natural beauty of their own.

The most numerous vendors in the little market were fishermen selling sea fish.

"Fresh fish jumping, a treat worth buying! Plump and tasty, come give them a trying!"

"Fish for sale! Fish for sale!"

"Women who eat fish are the prettiest!"

"Young men who eat fish are the strongest!"

"Old folk who eat fish live the longest!"

"Fresh oysters, razor clams, rock oysters, and scallops!"

"Live grouper, cod, and tuna! Trout, sea bream, and giant squid!"

There was quite a variety of fish and seafood here, and every fisherman had his own catchy, humorous sales pitch.

Although the sheer quantity of seafood produced an unpleasant fishy stench, it also gave Danyla a rare taste of the bustle of everyday life.

However, almost all the finest seafood would be bought up by the cooks from Dragonstone Castle and the wealthy households of White Sheep Town.

Most commoners, especially the newly arrived refugees, could only scrimp and save to buy some spoiled fish and rotten shrimp.

Before long, Danyla finally followed the aroma to the breakfast stalls. There were not many of them, and most sold dark bread and various seafood porridges.

The cleanest and tidiest was a grilled fish stall with a wooden sign. This was the source of the aroma that had drawn Danyla here.

The wooden sign read "Hadak Family Grilled Fish" in the Common Tongue. A long queue had already formed in front of the stall, so the fish must have tasted quite good.

Danyla dutifully joined the end of the queue and asked the person ahead of her a question.

"The grilled fish here smells wonderful. How much does it cost?"

Seeing that Danyla had arrived, the people waiting in line immediately stepped aside, hurriedly giving her the place at the front.

"Your Highness, please go first!"

Danyla did not refuse their kindness.

"Your grilled fish smells wonderful, ma'am. How much is it?!"

Even amid the small commotion caused by Danyla's arrival, the woman running the stall calmly continued her work, managing to bow and greet Danyla at just the right moment.

Danyla could not help giving the neatly dressed woman a few more looks.

"Your Highness, the grilled fish costs ten coppers each."

Mrs. Hadak, the woman running the grilled fish stall, answered without servility or arrogance.

"Mrs. Hadak! Please give me ten."

With that, she took a gold coin from her bag and handed it to the woman, then added,

"Use the rest to thank everyone who made way for me!"

There had only been a dozen or so people ahead of Danyla in the queue. One gold coin would be enough even if each of them took ten fish.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

Seeing that the seasoning Mrs. Hadak sprinkled over the fish was actually the Special Barbecue Seasoning she had developed, Danyla exclaimed in surprise,

"That seasoning isn't cheap. No wonder your grilled fish smells so wonderful!"

"But that seasoning alone couldn't make grilled fish this delicious. It seems you have a secret recipe of your own, Mrs. Hadak!"

Though Mrs. Hadak's face lit up with excitement at Danyla's praise, her voice remained calm as she replied,

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Our family has grown up by the docks in Fisherman's Village for generations, and this fine grilled fish recipe has been passed down to us."

"Receiving Your Highness's approval is our greatest honor!"

"Our grilled fish tasted good before, but it was never this enticing. As Your Highness said, it's all thanks to the special seasoning we bought from the spice shop in White Sheep Town. Mixed with our secret recipe, it lets us grill fish this delicious."

"So that's how it works!"

Then Danyla smiled and suggested,

"Perhaps you could try it on chicken, duck, pork, or lamb in the future. They might turn out just as delicious!"