Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 104

Once we finished our lunch, fatigue from playing since morning seemed to catch up with us, and we slipped into a relaxed mood. Lumia, Nelge, and the maids were chatting amicably under the parasol, sipping hibiscus juice, while Saffy was slumbering deeply in her chair.

The conversation among the women was lively and bubbly.

It’s nice to have such a lively atmosphere, but feeling the need for some quiet time, I had wandered away from the parasol to the rocky area.

Here, there was no sandy beach, and the strong currents due to the terrain meant it was less popular.

But there were a few men scattered about enjoying fishing.

Though it lacked the bustling activity of a beach, there was a sense of enjoyment in pursuing hobbies. Not bad at all.

Peering into tide pools, I spotted small crabs and fish resembling gobies swimming around.

It might not be as vast as the sea, but it was enjoyable to peek into this small underwater world.

If I were to dangle my fishing line near the rocky areas or tide pools, I might catch something unexpectedly.

Since I had brought a magic bag, thinking there might be something to collect, I took out my fishing rod set.

“Hmm, you’ve got some good stuff there. Don’t you have another one?”

“You surprised me. Were you following?”

“I can’t really relax over there.”

Klaus said with a bitter expression.

It seems he wanted to retreat to a place where he could relax for the same reason as me.

“I see. Well, I’ve got another one, so I’ll lend it to you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

I hand the other fishing rod I took out from the magic bag to Klaus.

It’s convenient to have someone you don’t need to keep secrets from at times like these.

It’s not like I don’t trust Lumia and the others, but it’s always better to keep things secret to prevent information leakage. It’s complicated.

While thinking about such things, I attach a worm I bought for bait onto the hook and lower it into the tide pool.

“Wait a minute. What are you doing?”

“Huh? Fishing in the tide pool?”

“You think you’ll catch anything there?”

“Well, yeah? Like crabs and gobies.”

I point, and Klaus peers in, frowning.

“Is it fun to catch such small fry?”

“Even with small catches, there’s enjoyment in fishing.”

It seems Klaus was aiming for bigger fish.

Aiming for big catches is good, but there’s also something not bad about the interaction with these small catches.

“Give me some bait.”

As Klaus watches the water’s surface, he approaches and says so.

Seems like he wants to give it a try after all.

Handing him some bait, Klaus puts it on the hook and lowers it into the tide pool.

“Oh, a goby!”

A goby appeared near my hook.

The goby seemed curious about the bait and cautiously approached.

The goby pecked at the bait and then gulped it down.

Feeling the tug on the hook and a solid sensation on the fishing rod, I lifted it up.

“All right, caught a goby!”

The goby flailed energetically, resisting.

Indeed, it’s satisfying to catch even such a small prey.

It’s fun to wait for the fish to bite, but catching one is the best.

“Over here, I’ve got a crab.”

As I removed the goby from the hook, Klaus had caught a crab of a charming size.

“Oh, nice. It looks delicious when fried.”

“Same goes for this goby.”

Small crabs and gobies are sufficient for frying.

“By the way, the sensitivity of this line is quite good. What kind of line are you using?”

“It’s Zel Spider’s thread.”

“…No wonder it’s so sensitive.”

Klaus nodded with a mixture of astonishment and understanding.

We’ve collected plenty of Zel Spider’s line in the Demio Mines, so I thought it’d be better to turn it into fishing line if we have some to spare.

I took out a case from the magic bag and stored the goby and crab inside.

By doing this, we can treat living creatures as objects, making it easy to store them at any time.

After re-baiting the hook, I resumed tide pool fishing.

This time, I saw a pale-colored shrimp at the edge, so I lowered the line there.

The shrimp reflexively backed away. However, it timidly approached when it realized that what had fallen in front of it was a worm.

When I moved the bait away, the shrimp followed suit.

It seems to completely recognize it as bait now and is attempting to eat it.

Once the shrimp approaches the bait, it slowly grabs it with its claws and drags it back to its shelter.

Although I’m eager to reel it in due to the line’s responsiveness, I must resist the urge.

Since it hasn’t taken the bait yet, it could escape if I reel it in now.

I patiently wait until the shrimp feels safe enough to take the bait.

And then, as it reaches its shelter, it snaps at it.

As soon as I feel a strong tug on the fishing line, I quickly pull it up.

“Here it is! Ah…”

The shrimp was pulled up beautifully, but it seems it wasn’t hooked securely enough and slipped off the hook, splashing back into the pool.

“It seems I pulled too early.”

Klaus chuckled as he showed off the white shrimp he had caught himself.

“Darn it.”

As Klaus taunted me, a man who seemed to be a fisherman approached and spoke, “Brothers, aren’t the tide pools a little stingy with the fish?”

“Well, it’s frustrating when you can see the fish but can’t catch it.”

“Haha, indeed, it’s frustrating when the catch you can see gets away. I just had a big one within sight a while ago, but it cut the line.”

The man seemed quite disappointed, genuinely sad.

“What did you catch today?”

“Although I lost the big one, I had quite a good catch.”

When I asked, the man lowered the box he had on his shoulder and opened it for me.

Inside were shining silver fish and bluish medium-sized ones.

“The silver one is a Silverfish, and the blue one is an Ohaguro.”

The man lifted up one of the medium-sized fish, looking somewhat proud as he spoke.

“They’re both delicious when grilled with salt.”

“That sounds great. Can you catch them around here too?”

“I could see a school of fish until just a moment ago, so you might catch some now.”

Seeing the fish displayed like this, I couldn’t help but want to aim for larger ones.

“Klaus, let’s give it a try too.”

“Yeah, let’s catch some.”

Apparently, Klaus shared the same sentiment, as a definite determination glimmered in his almond-shaped eyes.

“In that case, we’ll also aim for the bigger fish.”

“Sure, go ahead. If you’re looking for bait, you can use the clams clinging to the rocks.”

“Thank you!”

Thanking the man for the information, Klaus and I walked deeper into the area.

Once we found a safe spot away from the waves, we looked for the clam bait the man recommended.

“Oh, found one!”

As I glanced around, I noticed a multitude of clams clinging to the wall of the rock.

I stabbed my knife into one, and it easily came off, so Klaus and I collected several.

After extracting the meat from the shells and cutting it into pieces, we baited our hooks and dangled them into the sea.

Klaus also sank his bait a little distance away from me.

Looking down at the water’s surface, unlike the tide pools, the depth made it difficult to gauge the situation.

I felt a bit uneasy about whether there were really any fish here.

But for now, all we could do was wait and trust.

The waves crashing against the rocks were stronger than those on the beach.

The soothing sound of the waves going zazan zazan, reverberated through my eardrums.

The wind blowing in from the sea was a bit stronger, carrying the scent of the tide.

Ah, the sea.

It wasn’t bad to just gaze at the horizon without thinking about anything.

As I stared blankly at the surface of the sea, I thought I caught a glimpse of silver light underwater.

“Was that a Silverfish just now?”

It was a brief moment, and even the silhouette was unclear. I couldn’t be sure if it was really one.

It could just be sunlight reflecting off the water’s surface.

“Let’s take a look.”

I searched for Silverfish and activated detection.

As I permeated the magic into the sea, there were hardly any Silverfish where I had baited.

However, on the opposite side, there was a school of fish. They were so tightly packed that I couldn’t even count how many there were.

I eagerly reeled in my bait and moved to the other side, where I dangled it.

Then, I slowly sank it to the depth where the school of fish was.

“Oh!”

As I moved the bait, suddenly the line reacted.

In my field of vision, the silhouette of a glowing blue Silverfish was clearly visible.

There was no doubt it had taken my bait.

The strength of the pull was incomparable to the goby earlier.

The line was being pulled, making the rod bend.

With Zel Spider’s line, there was no worry about it being bitten off.

However, the rod wasn’t that sturdy, so I carefully reeled it in to prevent it from breaking.

“I did it! I caught it!”

At the end of the line was a shining Silverfish.

It was thrashing around, its body nearly forty centimeters long.

Looking at it like this, it was quite sizable.

“…Hey, did you use a detection skill?”

As I looked at the Silverfish I had caught and removed from the hook, Klaus approached with a suspicious look.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. You must have known it was there, you moved right to it.”

Klaus must have known I had a detection skill.

“There’s a school of Silverfish around here. They’re probably catchable now.”

Confessing honestly, Klaus immediately started dangling his bait.

“Got one!”

After dispatching the caught Silverfish, it wasn’t long before Klaus’ line got a response.

He reeled in his line and landed himself a Silverfish.

“Oh, congratulations.”

“Mine seems a bit bigger, doesn’t it?”

“… ”

Ignoring my praise, Klaus made the remark comparing his caught Silverfish to mine.

“I’ll catch an even bigger one next.”

Annoyed by his words, I baited my hook to aim for the next catch, determined to outdo Klaus.