Chapter 91

"Congratulations, Rina! That's great!"

"Hey, c-could you stop hugging me? It's hot, Ulrika-senpai..."

"Second bow skill... Congratulations, Rina. You did a great job. Your efforts have finally paid off. ...Ah, maybe I should pray to Hydora for the first time in a while. Anyway, um... Congratulations."

"S-Sheena-senpai, it's cramped. It's tight."

"...Piercing shot. It's a good offensive skill. It suits Rina, who shoots accurately."

"Y-Yeah, thanks... Nastasha-senpai, it's uncomfortable when you press it like that. And it makes me sad."

The members of Artemis, who had heard the commotion, came to this shore, and Rina was being jostled around.

Rina, you're loved. The way you're being jostled shows how well you're treated in this party. But I'm a bit envious of the one Nastasha is jostling. I want to be in the middle too...

"Um... everyone. It looks like she's suffering. Maybe it's time to... and if possible, I'd like to..."

"O-Oh, sorry. Gorilianna-senpai."

"Congratulations, Rina."

"....Hehe."

But really, it's great.

Rina has been worried about not having any offensive skills for a long time. It's like she lacks the ability to deal with large monsters. From now on, Rina might start to actively participate as an attacker.

If that's the case, I hope she continues to be cautious and careful as she has been. Just because she has a strong skill doesn't mean she can be careless. Her firepower has increased, but her health and defense haven't.

"It's been a while since I learned a new skill, but this doesn't feel like the 'Voice of the Goddess'..."

"According to the Sangreal Holy Kingdom, the words that directly appear in your head are the voice of the gods. ...Well, I'd like to see how this skill works..."

At that, Sheena and the others finally turned to me.

"...You've caught quite a large prey."

"I've never seen a fish like this before."

"I know the name from the encyclopedia. This is a Hytail. I think it's a type of monster. Rina, if you hadn't shot it, it might have been dangerous."

After the fight, I checked the fishing line. The already thin line had become even thinner, and it had also become longer. It was quite a surprise that it held up to the pull, but it was also scary to think that it might have broken if it had been a little more.

"Well..."

For now, I laid the Hytail on the ground and placed some firewood underneath it.

It looked like a scene from Tsukiji. The size was like a large tuna.

The problem was that it wasn't frozen like in Tsukiji.

"I want to clean it before it spoils. But even if we clean it, we can't consume it all by ourselves."

"That's true... I don't know how much of it is edible..."

"Ah, there's a hole in its head, so it's already been bled."

"Right. It was a good shot."

I don't know much about river fish, but this one seems to be from the sea. I think a lot of parts are edible. Maybe 20% or 30% will be discarded... but there will still be plenty of meat left.

"Let's take it to the old man at the management building and show off. We can share some with him. He doesn't need vegetables, but it's better than wasting the fish."

"...That's true. It's also a good opportunity to promote Artemis."

"I'll remove the organs here."

"Can you cool the fish, Nastasha?"

Ah, right. Nastasha is a water mage. She can probably cool the fish. That's great. Freeze it. Even if it's frozen, we can still cut it up.

"...I can cool it, but it will use magic power. Is it okay if I let the boat's power source rest?"

"Yes. I'll row. Please."

"Understood. Mongrel, can you handle the organs first? It's better to do it before cooling."

"Sure."

Given the size, I'll use the Sword Breaker to cut it up.

I grabbed the large tail, lifted it, and made a deep cut from the Hytail's anus, then pulled the blade down.

The Hytail's organs fell out. Gorilianna moved away and said she would dig a hole to bury them. That's very helpful.

"...This is the stomach, Rina. If you're interested, you can look inside."

"Sure. Is there something that catches your attention?"

"I'm curious about its diet. The encyclopedia says it's herbivorous, but it had a bite on a goblin's liver. Let's see what it usually eats."

"Mongrel, did you use such bait to fish?"

"Ugh, a goblin's liver... That's quite exotic."

After removing all the organs, I washed the empty stomach in the lake.

While doing this, Rina dissected the stomach and examined its contents.

"Ugh, it smells like algae. There are also crabs and shrimp-like things. And some shellfish... I don't think it eats only plants."

"Right... No fish, huh? Fish are different from cows and pigs..."

It seems that to grow this big, it can't just eat plants. If it doesn't eat fish, it might be targeting creatures at the bottom of the lake. ...The lake is quite large. Even though it's a closed environment, one Hytail might not have had trouble finding food.

If they had migrated in groups and multiplied in the lake, the creatures that serve as food might have been depleted and gone extinct.

"Freeze."

After dissection and cleaning, Nastasha quickly froze the Hytail. The surface turned white and solid, forming a cool fish statue.

Water magic is really convenient. With water generation and freezing spells, life would be easy.

"...I used a lot of magic power. I'll rest here. Please deliver it to the management building."

"Sure, thanks. I'll go deliver it. Rina, as the main one who caught it, you should come too."

"Sure."

We got back on the boat and headed to the management building.

The old man who rents the boats was playing Moonboard with some other old men. A peaceful retirement life.

However, the calm conversation was immediately disrupted by our appearance. It's natural to be surprised when a group on a boat brings a fish of a size that shouldn't be in the lake.

A triumphant return. We've caught a big one.

"Wow, such a monster was in the lake! I've never seen anything like this!"

"What kind of fish is this? A monster?"

"It's called a Hytail. I was having trouble catching it, but Rina here shot it with a bow."

"N-No, it was more difficult for Mongrel-senpai than me."

"That's amazing! Guild members can catch fish these days, huh?"

Well, I think I'm the only one who targets fish. Fishing is a hobby, after all. In the real world, nets are still the way to go.

"It can be cooked in various ways. We can't eat it all, so please take some."

"Is that okay? Thank you."

"It's supposed to be delicious, so please eat it before it spoils."

We placed the frozen Hytail on the workbench and cut off its head with a Bastard Sword. The old men were surprised by the unexpected sharpness.

The scales were already removed, so next was a bold filleting. I cut along the spine with the sword, using brute force. It was easier because it was partially frozen.

A lot of meat was left on the bones, but there was plenty. I wanted to prioritize the usability of the fillets.

"I'll take this much."

"Can I eat it all? I'll take this much, thank you!"

"I haven't had fresh fish in years. I'll take a little, thanks."

"Thanks! Really, eat it before it spoils. While it's fresh."

"Sure, sure. We have a good topic now. Thanks, guild member."

The roughly cut fillets were distributed to the four old men present.

Even so, the individual portions were quite large, but they would probably be consumed by their families. No one would eat it all alone.

"...We got more vegetables again."

"Food is multiplying. We could build a house and live here."

"The waterfowl might go extinct first."

Indeed. We might have just caused the extinction of Hytails from the lake.

There are limits to relying on the resources here.

We got back on the boat and returned to the shore. It seemed that the Artemis members were no longer in the mood for hunting today. They were excited and restless about how to celebrate Rina's achievement.

Of course. Today is a day to celebrate Rina. Acquiring a skill is a rare event in life. It's a real event, more than a birthday.

"Hey, Mongrel. What are you going to make next?"

Well, as a celebration, Artemis is making some kind of luxurious meat dish with waterfowl... but Ulrika seems to be very concerned about the fate of this Hytail.

But honestly, I'm also troubled by this.

"Ah... Since we butchered it roughly, I'll cut the meat to cover that. I'll fillet the other half and cut it into steaks."

"Steaks?"

"Cutting it into pieces that are easy to cook. Want to try a taste test with the fillets? I don't really know how it will taste until I try it."

"Really? I want to try it!"

"Me too, me too!"

While Gorilianna and Sheena are cooking over there, Ulrika, are you not going to help? Well, it's fine. I want to hear the opinions of the people in this world.

First, I'll grill the Hytail fillets and taste them. After that... if there's time, I'll try a more adventurous dish.

If it's the fish described in the encyclopedia. No, from the thin, reddish flesh, I think this is it.

It might satisfy some of my desires for fish dishes.