Chapter 67

After completing the planned relocation of people and the transportation of the Zunana grass, I immediately began preparations to exterminate the Zanacoca, the small herbivorous fish that had been ravaging the Numeza.

I obtained permission from Merxia and headed to the site.

The work site was... a lake.

Not an island, but an inland one.

The objective was to catch fish.

"Is this place okay?"

"It's fine. By the way, how do you plan to catch them alive?"

The guide and supervisor was a fisherman who usually caught fish in the lake.

"I'll scoop them up with magic. Here I go... now."

I created a net-like structure with magic and secured the fish.

Lifting the fish was easy, but it took some effort to figure out a way to let only the water fall through.

"Wow... that's amazing. Magic is really convenient."

As I pulled up the net, about a hundred fish—Eratana—came up.

I made sure to keep some water inside so they wouldn't die.

I cooled the water to a comfortable temperature with magic to prevent the fish from getting burned... oh.

What should I do?

I completely forgot about how to transport the fish alive.

I can't just put them in an item box like food and call it a day.

"Is there something like an aquarium? I need to transport the fish."

"An aquarium? What's that? We don't have anything like that."

In that case...

"Could we fill a boat with water and use it as a mobile aquarium?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"DESYONE"

It didn't work.

Why not? Even without a boat, I can move on water.

I could move the boat to the island and dry it out afterward.

...I don't expect them to understand, so I won't try to persuade them.

"Is there any other way to transport live fish...? An item box won't work."

Maybe I could wrap them in wet cloths and drip some recovery potion on them...?

Would that potion work on fish?

While thinking this, I tried storing the fish in the item box just in case.

"What should I do...? Huh?"

I noticed the fish had disappeared from my hand.

Looking at the item window, I saw the Eratana.

Are they alive?

"Wow, they're alive..."

I took them out.

The fish were alive and well, swimming around energetically in the large, magically created aquarium.

So, living creatures can be stored in the item box.

Thinking about it, the things I usually store should have bacteria and other microscopic living organisms on them.

If I can store those, it's not surprising that I can store living creatures.

If I ever encounter an invincible monster, I might try this.

...I'd rather not test it with a sub-dragon, maybe I should test it with a regular monster first.

"I've found a way. I'll go catch some."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

"Sure. Thanks."

With the item box, I ran around the aquarium for about five minutes and secured fifty fish.

I had been given permission to catch fifty fish.

I returned to the island with them.

Now it's time to use the fish.

Of course, the purpose of using the fish is...

"Go, Eratana!"

"Wow!"

Release.

There's no other way.

You see, this Eratana is a fish I ate in the past, and it looks exactly like a black bass.

There's no better fish for controlling the nuisance small fish without damaging the water plants.

In Japan, it's so problematic that releasing it is banned, and in some places, even returning caught fish to the water is prohibited. It's truly a "forbidden ultimate fish weapon."

Its performance was as expected.

As soon as they were released into the water, they seemed to shout, "Hya-ha! Fresh fish meat!" and started devouring the Zanacoca.

When I took them out of the item box, they were a bit sluggish, but the long-named potion might have worked.

They started thrashing around with incredible energy right after I used it.

...When the Eratana started eating each other about an hour after finishing the Zanacoca, everyone was quite taken aback.

Their voracious appetite was as expected, but cannibalism... well.

Maybe they were too energetic after being transported in the item box and the effect of the potion.

I don't think they usually eat this much...

"More than I expected... I didn't know Eratana could be used like this."

Don't underestimate the scientific knowledge of Earthlings...

Well, in Japan, this use is banned, and they failed to control it.

"Well, it seems a few strong ones survived. If the problem recurs, these guys will take care of it. They're good guardians for the Numeza."

"Guardians fighting each other... what's the point?"

The result was a bit different from what I imagined, but I don't mind.

If any eggs are left, these guys will eat them all.

"By the way, Merxia, is it okay for you to be here? How's the magic item sales and the Eternal Power Super Something Recovery Potion sales going?"

I forgot the name.

It's because the researchers, who lack any naming sense, keep adding random names each time they improve it.

"I think it was the Eternal Power Hyper Ultimate Extreme Recovery Potion, wasn't it?"

An employee corrected me from the side.

I can't tell if it's right or not.

"It's the 'Eternal Energy Ultimate Hyper Enhanced Recovery Potion.' ...The name doesn't matter, but they also asked me to bring the extraction liquid. Sales are going well. We've shifted production of Catherine's magic items to more profitable magic armor. So far, it's going smoothly."

"Good to hear. How about the grocery store? And what's this magic armor like?"

It's treated like an afterthought.

It was supposed to be the main department of the guild.

"The butcher shop is doing well. Compared to other businesses, it's too small in scale and has become a place to train and educate staff..."

"Ah, yeah. Can't be helped."

"The magic armor is armor with detailed magical enhancements throughout. It allows warriors to use their unused magic power to enhance their defense with light equipment. It's highly valued, but extremely difficult to make..."

"Can Catherine make it?"

"Perhaps because she can't use regular magic, she's exceptionally good at detailed work. She says her daily work pace has slightly decreased recently, but she's producing at an incredible rate and generating huge profits with her exceptional magic power."

"How much per day?"

"About 100,000 tel per day. She's making fifty times more than her peers."

In Japanese yen... that's about 1 million yen per day.

She's a monster, or maybe something is wrong.

Her peers would probably complain that it's unfair and against the rules.

"It seems there's no problem even if I leave it alone... Is the food storage facility in the warehouse almost complete?"

"It should be finished tomorrow."

To store large amounts of monster meat before it's dried, such facilities are necessary.

The butcher shop always demands big equipment and personnel.

They're useless.

"It's a bit of a hassle, even though it's a small business."

"Even if the profit is small, it's useful in other ways... at least for securing and training staff."

Merxia is being treated like a training facility...

At least it's profitable.

"You don't need a store for that... Anyway, if I don't need to bring monsters, it should be fine to go out a bit. I wanted to visit other frontline cities."

"Other frontline cities? Is there something interesting there?"

"Not really, but I only know Broken and Desibattle, and I want to see other places. I thought the capital might be interesting, but I'd probably get bored quickly without monsters."

The capital seems to have different norms and would be a hassle.

In that sense, I can move more freely in frontline cities.

I want to see other guilds and types of monsters.

"So, it's a kind of sightseeing? If I'm not there, the store will have problems..."

They rely on me for transportation...

"Well, it's more like sightseeing. I plan to return in a short time, and with the food storage facility, we should be fine for a while! So, do you have any recommended frontline cities?"

"If so... well, for the uniqueness of the monsters, Minatonia might be a good choice. I haven't been there, but it's rare to have a place where you fight aquatic monsters."

"Is there a frontline city where they fight aquatic monsters? I feel like they should just leave them alone. Do aquatic monsters attack the land?"

"...Well, they do. Fish and shrimp apparently attack the land."

What is that...

"I don't understand, but it sounds interesting. How do I get there?"

"Um... like this... and this..."

The next day.

After quickly preparing to ensure the guild could function without me, I was about to leave the city, bid farewell by the guild members.

"Remember, when the anchor's reaction disappears, please come back. It would be great if you could return within ten days. And if you find anything good for business, that would be even better."

The kind-hearted CEO, Merxia, sent me off with kind words.

I might build a transport ship to ensure things run smoothly without me.

In any case, I left Fotoren and set off for Minatonia.

I traveled at near-supersonic speed about 100 meters above the ground, dodging birds and almost hitting mountains, but the scenery was beautiful.

Remember, don't release black bass in real life.

You'll get caught...