Chapter 14: Our Journey: Travelogue⑦ – The Port Town and Fishing

Seeing the horizon makes you instinctively mistake it for the sea.

They say the River Reeve is among the top three on the continent in both length and breadth.

“Wof-kuuun. Over here!”
“Okaaay.”

Led by Bid-san, we headed to a breakwater in one corner of the port town.
There was no one else there. We had the place all to ourselves. Well—just the two of us.

“No one’s here. We’re lucky,” he said.
“Yes, we are.”

I stood beside Bid-san.
With practiced ease, he attached bait and cast his rod.
The bait was live—worms. Bid-san calmly picked them up and fixed them on.

At his suggestion, I did the same and cast my rod.

For me, fishing was a matter of revenge.

What was that saying about fishing again? Something like, if you want a hobby you can enjoy for life, learn how to fish. I remember hearing that in my previous life.

Fishing symbolizes the slow life.
That’s why I wanted fishing to be my hobby.

But the two times I’d gone fishing before, I’d caught absolutely nothing.
Worse still, what did bite were things like talking land catfish or fish-people… and so I’d given up on fishing.

That’s why this is a rematch.
Today, I’ll catch a fish for sure!

“H-help… help me…”

I’ll catch one. One or two fish—no big deal.
That said, fishing is about waiting.

“I-I’m drowning… this river is deep…”

Wait. If you wait, you’ll catch something. Yes—if you wait, you will.
Wait for your chance. I’ll reel in a big one.

“Nice weather today. Perfect for fishing.”

Right. Blue sky, white clouds drifting by… it’s exactly like the sky I saw in my dreams.

Then Bid-san’s rod reacted.

“I-I’m drowning, drowning!”
“Bid-san! Your rod’s pulling!”
“Wha—really!?”

Bid-san hurriedly grabbed the rod again and skillfully alternated between pulling and easing off.

“I-I’m sinking, sinking!”
“Just a little more!”
“I’ve got this! Heeeyaaaah!”

Bid-san pulled with all his might. The rod bent deeply, and at the end of the line I could see a big fish hooked on. It flew through the air and landed at Bid-san’s feet.

“Ooh!”

It looked like a black sea bream—similar to an ishidai.
But it was a river fish. Very similar to an ishidai, though.

“It’s a Kurou-roko! Yes! I caught a Kurou-roko!”

Bid-san beamed. Kurou-roko—so that’s what it’s called.

“I-I’m drowning… this time I really am…”
“Is it tasty?”
“It’s delicious. I’ve only had it twice myself.”
“Ohh. We could have Hoss-san cook it—ah, that’s not possible right now, is it?”
“But at least we can put it in storage, right? You put those tuna jars in there before.”
“That’s true.”

For now, we put the Kurou-roko in a bucket.
Alright. I’m going to catch one too.

Two hours later.

Why? Why is this happening? I can’t catch anything. Not a single bite.
Bid-san has already caught two Kurou-roko.
Plus four other fish. And yet I’ve got nothing.

“Um, Wof-kun… I was thinking—why not use a relic?”
“A relic?”
“If you can tell where the fish are, you might catch one.”
“…You’re right. I’ll try.”

The Wheel of Fortune doesn’t react to living creatures.
But I’d made Bid-san worry unnecessarily, so I used it anyway.

Green lights dotted the river. There were also three yellow lights far away.

They weren’t moving at all, so they weren’t fish.
Something dropped from a ship? Or maybe a sunken ship?

“Wof-kun! It’s pulling!”
“Whoa—it really is!”

I grabbed the rod in a panic. The pull was strong. Too strong.
The rod bent as if it were about to snap—this is a big one! Finally, a big catch!

“Wof-kun, stay calm! Calm!”
“Y-yes!”
“In through the nose, out through the mouth—huff huff!”

That’s not it. Bid-san was more excited than I was—but somehow that made me happy.

Push and pull, push and pull… but something felt strange.

The reaction was odd—there was no real feel to it. That can’t be right!

I steeled myself and yanked the rod with all my strength.

At the moment the rod bent so much it really looked like it would break—

I caught it.

It was the drowned corpse of a human with a fish for a head.
There was seaweed on its head. Why seaweed? This is a river!

“Deboaaahhh!”

It started spitting fish out of its mouth.

“Waaahhh!”
“Gyaaahhh!”
“An undead! We have to deal with it!”

I readied my elixir-grade kukri knife.

“Slash it! Just slash it!” 

Bid-san shouted.

She drew her Swift Blade.

“Abaaaahhh…”

Still spitting fish from its mouth… a fish-man? A fish-man?

“Slash it.”
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“This fish-man… we know him.”
“Fish… ah!”

Bid-san realized it too.

That monster with its entire head turned into a fish—I know him.
Not only that, this is the second time we’ve saved him like this.
The first time, he was drowning in a river too.

A First-Class Explorer.
Sea-Origin Marquis… I think that was his title.

“Gymnema… Sylvester.”
“Uboaaahhh!”
“Gyaaahhh!”

Gymnema Sylvester spat out another fish.
Ah—Kurou-roko.

And Bid-san—put your sword away.

A diner near the breakwater.

We sat at a table.

The fish we caught had been placed in the storage of Skia Coffin Ele.
As for the fish that came out of his mouth—we released all of them.

“Well then, once again, you have saved me.” 

He said cheerfully.

Gymnema Sylvester smiled broadly as he thanked us.
A man and woman passing by flinched and moved away. Well, that’s understandable.

“I’m glad we could help, but why were you drowning?”
“I fell from a ship.”
“You fell?”
“A bird stole my sandwich. I chased it, fell in, was swept away, and sank.”

A First-Class Explorer being toyed with by a bird…

Bid-san ate the olive-marinated grilled fish she had ordered.

Several kinds of small fish are marinated raw in olives, then grilled in olive oil.
Afterward, plenty more olive oil is poured on top—a traditional dish, apparently.
Honestly, it feels like all you can taste is olive oil.

“So, Gymnema-san, you’re heading to Heizen as well?”

“Indeed. From Heizen, I intend to sail to the Coppa Archipelago.”

Munch munch. 

“A job?” 

Munch munch.

“Yes.”

An archipelago… sounds like he might drown again. Will he be alright?

Munch munch. 

“Sounds dangerous,” 

Bid-san said.

“Hahaha, I’ll be careful. Still, being saved twice, and not even having repaid the first debt—this weighs on me.”

“Don’t worry about it. Treating us to a meal is more than enough.”

“But that alone would not suffice… ah, yes.”

Gymnema reached into his pocket and placed something on the table.

A green crystal containing a fist-sized blue stone.
The blue light reflected within the green crystal, emitting a mysterious glow.

Huh? This is—

“It’s pretty! But… blue and green?”

“Yes. A rare mineral known as a Blue-Green Crystal.”

“Wha—!?”

“What!?”

We both stood up at the same time. That’s how shocked we were.

It was a material needed to newly enhance Lupinas-san’s shield—Torquetum.
To obtain it, Torquetum had headed for Heizen.

And now it was here.
The Blue-Green Crystal was right here before us.

“… ”
“… ”
“What is the matter?”
“Ah—no, it’s just…”
“Well, um… would you give this to us?”
“Certainly. Please take it.”
“Thank you very much.”

To think we’d obtain a Blue-Green Crystal in such a way…
Holding it, I felt happy—but also strangely conflicted as I put it into my pouch. 

Meanwhile, Mineha and Anna were facing an unexpected crisis.