Chapter 102
Sway…
“…”
“…”
A single boat drifted alone on the vast blue sea, tinged with a hint of black.
Swoosh—
Every time a gentle wave rippled, the red fishing bobber would sink briefly before rising back up again.
It was a peaceful and tranquil scene.
However, Da-eun didn’t seem to think so.
Her half-closed eyes idly watched the bobber with a bored expression.
Jerk!
Suddenly, the bobber plunged deep into the water.
Her previously half-closed eyes shot open, and her hand gripped the fishing rod tightly.
As if the boredom from just moments ago had never existed, her face lit up with excitement as she pulled hard on the rod—only for her expression to turn into disappointment.
“Boo…”
No fish had taken the bait, and the hook still held the untouched bait as if nothing had happened.
Plop.
With a disinterested hand, Da-eun cast the line back into the water.
Thus began another long and uncertain wait.
Blinking slowly as she followed the bobber’s movements, Da-eun spoke.
“…Kana.”
“…”
“Kana. Kanaaaaa.”
Why is she calling me like that?
I was sitting beside her, practicing sensing the flow of Mana, but I couldn’t ignore her constant calling and finally responded.
“What?”
“I want to become a fisher of men.”
What Da-eun usually said was half nonsense, half chatter, so it rarely helped to listen carefully.
So, sensing more nonsense coming, I turned my head away.
“That’s mean.”
“No, it’s not.”
Despite claiming she’d become a confident angler when she picked up the fishing rod, she was now fidgeting, too bored to sit still.
“If you’re that bored, why not spar or train a little?”
“But if I fight on the boat, it’ll sway too much, making it hard to keep my balance.”
“That’s why you need to experience it in advance. If it’s too tough, at least practice your stance. It’ll help you keep your balance.”
“Pfft… Why can’t you just play with me?”
Pouting her lips, Da-eun grumbled and complained but carefully set the fishing rod back on its stand.
“Make sure to watch closely if it catches something, okay?”
“…Me?”
“Since I’m training like you suggested, Kana, you have to take responsibility too!”
“…Is that so?”
She said it so confidently that it confused me. I tilted my head, and Da-eun stuck out her tongue playfully.
“Heh, just kidding.”
“No, I’ll watch it.”
“Huh? Really?”
“It’s no big deal… It’s not even difficult.”
The One-armed Swordsman and Krumo’s Shadow.
Perhaps the encounters with them had sparked something in Da-eun, as she’d been diligently training lately.
Without me saying anything, she’d voluntarily gone out to practice her swordsmanship. I couldn’t believe it when she even came to me, lying in bed, to ask about sword techniques…
‘…Who are you?’
‘Huh?’
‘Ah, it’s nothing.’
Given all that, my reaction was perfectly justified.
Who would’ve thought that Da-eun, who used to slack off, would suddenly start showing such initiative?
It was truly a heartwarming development.
If a student does something praiseworthy, isn’t it the teacher’s duty to reward them?
“Wait! If that’s the case, then I’ll take a different reward! I want to cancel what I just said! I can’t waste a reward from Kana on something as trivial as watching a fishing rod…!”
“Nope. You can’t take it back.”
“That’s so unfair…!”
“If you keep working hard consistently, I’ll give you another reward.”
“You promised.”
I hadn’t even specified what kind of reward, yet Da-eun’s enthusiasm flared up once again.
“Hey, Kana. Have you ever gone fishing before? Do you know how to catch a fish?”
“Don’t you just pull it in?”
“Beep! Wrong answer! Sometimes you have to apply strength, and sometimes you have to ease up to tire out the fish. The key to fishing is not just pulling blindly. It takes a lot of energy that way, and if you’re not careful, you could even break the rod. It’s a common mistake beginners make, so it’s good to know.”
Da-eun continued to babble on about how it’s all about the subtle push and pull, or how timing the hook set is crucial.
Standing in front of the fishing rod, listening absentmindedly to Da-eun’s Fishing 101 lecture, I finally spoke up.
“If you’re that good, why haven’t you caught anything yet?”
“…You…! You just hit a sore spot!”
Seeing my hand reach for the rod, Da-eun wiggled her fingers menacingly and quickly ran away.
“Just you wait!”
Watching her run off, leaving behind lines that sounded like something from a third-rate villain, I briefly turned my gaze back to Da-eun, who now looked more like a proper swordsman.
Then, I refocused on the bobber swaying in the water.
I’d caught fish before, but I’d never gone fishing. Holding a fishing rod felt very unfamiliar.
It made sense that I didn’t know how to hold it properly, but even so, I instinctively adjusted my grip to find the center of balance, as if it was second nature.
Should I be proud of myself for that?
It wasn’t really something to ponder over.
“It’s better than being clumsy.”
Even getting the posture right is something.
When I first met Da-eun, she couldn’t even hold her stance properly.
I spoke lightly, badmouthing Da-eun as smoothly as the water flowed.
No, it’s not badmouthing if it’s true.
As I remained lost in thought, listening to Da-eun’s occasional grunts, the sound of the waves hitting the boat, and the wind as background music, I felt like I could understand why some people liked fishing.
It’s like stepping away from the world and enjoying a moment of relaxation.
Well, I understood it, but I didn’t particularly want to take it up as a hobby.
I’d rather use this time to swing my sword once more or take a nap.
Sploosh!
“…?”
I was spacing out when the bobber suddenly plunged deep into the water.
Watching the bobber disappear into the dark blue waters—
“Huh.”
It wasn’t until I felt the heavy weight through the fishing rod that I realized a fish had bitten.
“Oh, it’s biting.”
Sensing the commotion, Da-eun quickly approached.
“What, what?! Did you catch something?!”
“Seems like it.”
“…You sure? You’re not talking about me, right?”
Suspiciously narrowing her eyes, Da-eun only withdrew her suspicion after I showed her the trembling fishing rod.
“Sorry. You were so calm, I thought you were joking.”
“It’s just a fish. No need to make a big deal out of it.”
“But… don’t you feel anything, like the thrill of the catch?”
“…Not really?”
The clash of swords is much more intense, isn’t it?
I tilted my head and asked, and Da-eun let out a deep sigh.
“That’s not what I meant… Ugh, let’s just catch the fish first. Can you feel the fish struggling?”
“Yeah.”
“When it’s resisting hard, let the line out a little, and when it weakens, pull it back. You repeat this process to tire it out. Got it?”
“Yeah… I don’t know.”
“…Do you get it or not?”
“I don’t know.”
I think I can just pull it in.
Crreeeak!
“Kyaaa! Kana!”
As I tried applying some force as a test, the rod suddenly bent sharply and made an ominous creaking sound as if it was about to snap at any moment.
“Oooh…”
“It’s not ‘oooh’! It almost broke!”
“But it didn’t. Do you want to catch it, Joanie?”
“No! You have to catch it yourself! I can’t steal Kana’s first ever catch.”
“First ever…?”
Personally, I was thinking, ‘Is this something worth commemorating?’ but since Da-eun was adamantly refusing, I had no choice.
I don’t like this slow and careful approach.
Hmm.
Alright, let’s do it this way.
With that thought, the dark brown fishing rod slowly turned a light shade of pink.
After confirming that even the submerged fishing line was infused with mana, I pulled back on the rod.
Splaash!
With a loud splash, a pitch-black fish burst out of the water and shot up into the air.
Thud!
The fish fell onto the deck, splashing water everywhere as it followed the arc of the rod I swung.
The creature, forcibly yanked out of its habitat, struggled desperately to return to its home, but the high railing denied it that chance.
Leaving it like this seemed a bit cruel, though.
It was thrashing around so vigorously that it looked like it could circle the entire deck at least once if left alone.
I should probably calm it down.
‘So… I think it went something like this.’
Recalling what I’d seen before, I clenched my fist and lightly tapped the fish on its head.
Thwack!
“Oops.”
…I misjudged my strength.
I meant to give it a light tap, but the moment I heard the sound, I knew what would happen to the fish.
Crack.
The fish’s head caved in, molding perfectly to the shape of my fist.
Even though my fist isn’t that big, the tiny dent I left in its vital spot was enough to snatch its life away.
I briefly mourned for the fish, which went limp as if it had never been thrashing around in the first place.
“…I don’t even know where to begin.”
Used mana just to catch a fish?
Or silenced a fish with a single punch?
Da-eun, who’d been watching me, mumbled in disbelief.
Leaving aside the former, she could probably do the latter herself, so why make such a big deal?
“What’s this fish called?”
“Isn’t it obviously a monster?”
“So, its name is ‘Monster’? That’s interesting~”
“…It’s not a fish; it’s a monster.”
“…Aha?”
What a ridiculous conversation.
Only then did Da-eun understand what I meant and scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“I thought its name was ‘Monster.’ Don’t they have names?”
“Only the stronger ones that haven’t been hunted for a long time. Not this one, though.”
Just because they’re the same species biologically doesn’t mean monsters look the same once they become one.
If you were to give each and every monster you saw a name, you’d never finish.
“…So we can’t eat it?”
“We can eat it.”
“Wow! Then let’s—”
“Only once. You only live once, after all.”
“….”
“I’m joking.”
“…Are you sure?”
“Yeah. If it comes to that, we have Celine, so no matter how painful it is, we won’t die.”
“That means we can’t eat it!”
Did she already forget why we ended up cooking back at Artisha’s residence?
She was horrified at the thought of eating monster meat back then, so why is she now drooling over this?
Da-eun’s shoulders drooped.
“I just wanted to show you the fun of eating a fish you caught yourself….”
“What a strange thing to get attached to.”
So that’s why she was being so stubborn?
“If that’s the case, you didn’t have to show me. I already know, though I don’t find it that enjoyable.”
“…Eh? But you said you’ve never fished before….”
“I’ve never fished, but you don’t have to catch fish only with a fishing rod.”
I know another way.
I swung my sword lightly towards the sea.
A gentle splash rose, and soon, a fish with its head cleanly sliced off floated to the surface.
“Like this.”
“…That’s not romantic at all!”
“You’re still catching and eating it, right?”
“It’s different! Totally different!”
I went through the trouble to show her, but for some reason, Da-eun looked even gloomier than before.
…Why?
—
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