Chapter 281: Mountain Play
After entering the back mountain, Lime basically handled scouting.
Asu-kun carried a wooden sword for self-defense, but Lime was the one defeating any monsters they found.
Moving skillfully, Lime took down monsters one after another, while Asu—riding on top—cheered excitedly the whole time.
While Lime played a big role in the “activity,” Mash steadily identified edible wild plants and mushrooms with precision.
Apparently, he can tell whether something is poisonous just by its appearance or smell.
By the time we reached the stream, my basket was already full of gathered ingredients.
“It was about an hour’s walk, but thanks to Mash, we gathered quite a lot.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect this much food. There’s so much beyond just farmland.”
“Mash deserves most of the credit. Now we just need to head back along a different route, so I think we’ll have a very filling dinner.”
Whether it would taste good was another matter, but we had more than enough.
Catching fish would be a bonus—but even if we didn’t, we were already covered.
“Ahh, this is so fun! Lime, you’re amazing!”
Right after we finished talking, Asu and Lime—who had been fighting monsters nearby—arrived at the stream.
As hugged Lime excitedly, clearly having the time of his life.
“Good work, both of you. Now comes the main event—catching fish. Can you give it a little more effort?”
“Of course! I’ve just been riding Lime—I haven’t done anything yet! I’ll catch fish!”
Rolling up his pant legs, Asu was fired up.
We brought three types of tools: a fishing rod, a spear, and a crab trap.
We set the trap downstream where the water was deeper, and split into groups to fish and spear.
Asu decided to try catching fish by hand and ran straight into the stream.
Milagros followed behind him with a spear, keeping an eye on him while fishing.
Since Lime can swim, it stayed close to Asu.
Meanwhile, Sheila, Mash, and I headed downstream with the rod and trap, starting to fish where the water was deeper.
“It’s been a while since we came to the stream. For fishing… I think this is our first time since that initial visit?”
“That’s right. We didn’t catch anything last time, so today is our revenge match.”
Back then, I had been eager to catch fresh fish for Sheila, but ended up empty-handed.
This time, I was determined to catch at least one.
But… even after an hour, not a single bite.
We could see fish, but they wouldn’t take the bait—probably too cautious.
“Hmm… nothing’s biting. Sato-san, may I change the bait?”
“Of course. Do you have something in mind?”
“They seem to be feeding on insects near the surface, so I’ll try catching one and using it as bait.”
Before I could even react, Sheila quickly caught an insect midair.
She hooked it onto the line and cast it—instant bite.
After struggling for so long, it felt almost ridiculous how easily she caught a fish.
It looked a bit fierce, but it was definitely still a fish—what a relief.
“Sato-san, I did it! I think they only eat specific bait. You should try using insects too.”
After switching bait, we started catching fish steadily.
In the end, Mash and I caught two each, Sheila caught three, and with one from the trap, we had a total of eight fish.
When we returned upstream, we saw Asu lying there completely soaked.
For a moment, I thought something had happened—but seeing his blissful expression, I realized he was just exhausted.
“We’re back. Did you catch anything?”
“Ah, Sato-san! I caught one!”
“With your hands? That’s impressive.”
“Lime helped herd it, but I caught a big one! It was sooo fun!”
“I caught two. How about you?”
“We caught eight in total. More than enough—I think we’ll have quite a feast tonight.”
“Yay! I can’t wait to eat the fish we caught!”
After that, we finished preparing the fish and headed back to the villa.
On the way, we continued gathering wild plants, mushrooms, and berries, ending up with more than enough food.
Thanks to Norman, everything turned into a fairly delicious meal.
But more than anything, what stood out was how much fun Asu had.
Even for me—an old guy—it felt like a mini deserted-island experience, and I really enjoyed it.
Maybe it would be interesting to develop the back mountain a bit and turn it into something like a gathering tour.
I don’t know if it could become a main attraction, but having more activities for guests is always a plus.
Thanks to Asu, not only did I come up with a new idea, but the physical activity also gave me a great night’s sleep.