Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 95

The next day, I left the mansion and once again arrived at the beach.

I’ve become accustomed to operating in the nearby waters and I’m able to handle movement and combat without any issues; today I plan to venture farther.

My goal is to reach the southern island where the sunken ship lies, and returning is the objective.

Naturally, the types of fish and creatures inhabiting the nearshore and offshore areas are completely different.

Though I’ve become somewhat accustomed, executing salvage operations suddenly is dangerous.

As usual, I’ll use detection to stealthily approach the scene and hopefully reach it.

While reaffirming the goal, I’ll properly stretch and loosen up my body.

Swimming in the sea is a bit different, but it still requires the use of the whole body.

Exercising while looking out at the sea in the morning feels like a healthy lifestyle.

As I diligently stretch, a slender woman runs along the beach.

Our eyes meet unintentionally, so I offer a greeting.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning. What are you doing?”

“Just stretching my body a bit.”

“Hmm, it’s an interesting movement. Mind if I try?”

“Yes, please do.”

Perhaps intrigued by the strange movements reminiscent of exercises from a past life, the woman began to mimic my movements.

Although I had been doing them in a random order, I felt that if I were to serve as an example, I should do them in a more regular manner, so I switched to the safe and familiar radio calisthenics.

Initially puzzled by the odd movements, the woman seemed to be bewildered, but once she recognized the regular pattern, she enjoyed mimicking them.

Exercising with an unknown woman on the beach. It’s a strange experience, but not unpleasant.

It’s a refreshing morning interaction.

“That was a strange movement, but it was fun, and I feel lighter. Thank you.”

“No problem. Take care then.”

Once the radio calisthenics were over, the woman smiled and resumed her running.

Feeling adequately warmed up, I infused magic into the bracelet of the sea guardian, wrapping myself in its membrane.

Then, still running, I entered the sea.

It feels like running in the sea.

“Wait a moment! What are you doing? Are you trying to commit suicide!?”

Suddenly, the woman from before rushed back, grabbing my arm forcefully.

Huh? Suicide?

Faced with her intense expression, I calmly considered her

In the current situation, it certainly looked like I was attempting suicide by drowning.

“Oh, no, that’s not it…”

Feeling apologetic, I explained about the effect of the item, and the woman let out a big sigh.

“…I’m sorry for misunderstanding.”

♦ ♦ ♦

Using the sea guardian’s bracelet, I enter the sea again, ensuring not to worry anyone.

It’s still strange not to get wet or feel the cold while underwater.

Since the sunken ship is near the island visible to the west, I aim straight for it today without wandering around the nearby waters.

I create a water current under my feet with water magic and smoothly move forward.

Today, Lindblum’s sea is beautiful as always, teeming with many fish.

As I teleport forward with magic, a large fish swims gracefully beside me.

Its eyes are unusually far apart, and it has a lump-like structure on its head.

【Gobu】

A friendly and sociable large fish.

It has plenty of fat on its body, making it delicious when grilled with salt.

I was cautious, thinking it might be a monster like a hammerhead shark, but it seems to be just a normal fish.

There’s no need to fear it since it doesn’t attack humans.

Approaching it, Gobu glances at me with its round eyes and rubs its body against mine from the other side.

It doesn’t seem intimidated by me being human at all.

Although it looks a bit different from typical fish, those unusually far-apart eyes seem cute when viewed like this.

When I lightly stroke Gobu’s lump, it feels smooth to the touch.

It’s like caressing a beautifully shaped stone; it feels pleasant.

Being nestled by a fish larger than myself gives me a sense of security, and its serene swimming is incredibly calming to watch.

Interacting with fish like this while swimming is probably not something you can do often in this world.

Although I usually only imagine her making strange items, Saffy made something quite nice.

After swimming side by side for a while, a school of small fish with silver bodies approached.

Spotting them, Gobu stopped swimming alongside me and began to chase the small fish.

The small fish quickly scatter upon spotting their predator, but Gobu is swift too, and many of the small fish are sucked into its large open mouth.

It’s easy to forget amidst this fantastical scenery, but conflicts among creatures are more active in the sea than on land.

To avoid becoming prey myself, I need to hide my presence and move carefully.

Since Gobu has gone off chasing fish somewhere, I decide to advance while hiding near the seabed.

We’re already far from the coast, and I can’t see land even when I look back.

Perhaps because of the depth, which could be tens of meters, the water’s surface is also unclear.

“Detection.”

Activating the skill to remain vigilant, I see silhouettes of many creatures in the rocks.

There are three flat fish on the surface and one octopus-like creature in the rocky area.

【Rock Octopus】

A mollusk that prefers to inhabit dark and narrow places like crevices and holes. It spits out ink when threatened to escape.

Its ink sacs provide high-quality ink material, which is traded at high prices.

【Rock Flounder】

A flat fish capable of changing its body color to match the color of rocks.

It has little flesh, but when simmered, it produces a good broth.

Oh, it seems that octopuses also exist in the sea of this world.

Since there seems to be no danger, I peeked in and saw a brown octopus with a sullen expression.

The eerie yellow eyes glowing suspiciously in the rock crevice send shivers down my spine.

Since ink sacs are traded as high-quality ink, I definitely want to secure them.

However, just sticking my hand in recklessly like this is scary. I might get wrapped up by its tentacles and its suction cups might not let go.

Alright, in situations like this, I should try poking it with a stick. That way, it might wrap around the stick and I can pull it out.

Taking out a stick of just the right length from my magic bag, I poke it into the area where the Rock Octopus is.

Immediately, its tentacles wrap around the stick and start pulling it forcefully.

What incredible strength. If I had stuck my arm in without thinking, I would have definitely been injured.

Feeling the force pulling the stick, I pull it towards me with both hands.

As I tug and pull, the creature tries to resist by wrapping more tentacles around, but it seems I have the upper hand, as the Rock Octopus hiding in the crevice is pulled out tangled around the stick.

“Uwaa~! Freeze!”

As the octopus wriggles its tentacles along the stick, I freeze it with ice magic.

The result is a statue of the octopus entwined around the stick.

The frozen Rock Octopus is declared dead, and I store it in my magic bag.

“This should work for the Rock Flounder too.”

I thought catching fish would be impossible, but it seems feasible with this method.

I place my hand on the rock where the Rock Flounder is clinging and activate ice magic.

In an instant, the ice permeates, freezing not just the rock but also the Rock Flounder camouflaged on it.

I peel the Rock Flounder off the rock and store it in my magic bag.

I’ll hand this over to the mansion’s cook to prepare. Yesterday’s Grass Mussel and Sea Urchin were delicious, so I’m sure the Rock Flounder will be tasty too.

However, it seems like this method will only catch some of the fish hiding in the rocks.

Next time I dive, I’ll prepare a spear or a net and try to catch fish swimming around as well.