Chapter 52

Today’s request is for "Trant Fish scales." I thought it was just the scales, but apparently, the meat isn’t popular. It seems edible, though, so I really want to try it.

Since there’s a lake, the monsters and the items that can be collected are quite different. The Adventurers' Guild here seems to be in good shape so far. However, I felt uncomfortable being looked at with pity. I wanted to say, "It’s a magic bag I bought from the guild!" but I held back. It’s probably better if unnecessary people don’t come around. Still, how far has the rumor spread!?

"Hey, can we really catch it with this?"

Rada twirled the delicate fishing rod while speaking. We decided to take on a safe request today, so Rada came along. There’s no need to worry about monsters in the town, and there should be medicinal herbs growing near the lake, so we won’t be bored.

"The staff said so, but—"

I understand what you mean. The rod we borrowed from the guild is just a thin, flexible stick that looks like bamboo with a string tied to it. Oh, and it has a fishing hook. We’re supposed to gather our own worms for bait. The Trant Fish is supposed to be a monster, though.

"Wow, it’s big!"

"Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be this big either."

We walked through the town, and the lake spread out before us. It’s indeed large; you can’t even see the other side. The wind is causing some waves, and there are islands floating here and there.

"Hmm, those are Lelcaturtles, right?"

Each of those floating islands is a turtle monster. According to a book I read at the guild, their locations change daily, so using them to determine your position is dangerous. Even when I look closely, they don’t seem to be moving, and I can’t see their heads or anything. I wonder if you can ride them. The book didn’t mention whether they are gentle or aggressive.

Oh, right, I have an identification skill.

...It doesn’t work. Maybe they’re too far away.

"Reit, where are we going to fish?"

"Well, it seems we can fish anywhere near the lake, as long as it’s not too close to a boat. Let’s find some bait first."

The book didn’t specify the best spots for fishing.

The three of us flipped stones to find bait. Both Rada and Kukushin seem fine with worms, but I don’t want to touch them... So I secretly collected some pill bugs. I don’t know if they’ll work.

"Ah, Rada, look at this."

I noticed some herbs growing nearby. They have jagged, thorn-like leaves and drooping, distinctive flowers.

"Oh! It’s Usamitoge Grass! It’s used for magic recovery potions!"

Rada’s face lit up as she quickly came over to examine it from all angles.

"Wow, it looks like this. How do you collect it?"

"We need the pollen, but it’s hard to collect just the pollen, so we take the whole flower."

I gently tore the flower and placed it, along with the petals, into an empty bottle. I have plenty of small bottles for potions, collection bottles, and collection bags in my magic bag. They’re unbreakable, which is convenient. If you don’t have a bottle, you can wrap it in a fine mesh cloth to prevent the pollen from falling out.

"I see. When the master gave me the bottle, it was already filled with just the pollen."

"Can you tell the difference when it’s still growing?"

"Umm... I studied, but..."

"Does the skill not cover that?"

"I can tell once it’s in the form of an ingredient. I can feel how much to put in to make a potion."

"So, you can make it even if you’re bad at calculations?"

"Ugh..."

It was strange. Despite being a merchant aspirant, Rada is terrible at math. In this world, there are only copper and silver coins, and there’s no concept of 5000 gold being equivalent to a certain number of silver coins. Yet, she struggles with it. I always wondered how she could measure things, but she doesn’t actually measure. She just pours in the ingredients until her skill tells her to stop. I remember my grandmother didn’t use scales either.

We repeated the process of collecting herbs and gathering bait, and finally, we started fishing!

Plop...

Hmm. Can we really catch anything with this? The rod is about 2 meters long, and of course, there’s no reel, so we can’t cast it far. The line is fixed, so if something bites, we just pull it up.

"Oh, something’s biting!"

Kukushin shouted and pulled up the rod with a jerk. A long, wriggling fish was hooked, but it wasn’t the target monster. Kukushin looked at me with a proud expression, and I applauded.

"Ah, Tornon... It’s poisonous..."

Kukushin’s mood dropped when he saw the identification result. Sorry, but since this isn’t a monster, it doesn’t have a magic stone, and it’s not edible, we’ll have to let it go.

Kukushin gently released the fish back into the lake. The surface of the lake sparkled even more than usual! If a beautiful woman came and said, "Thank you for letting the fish go," what would we do? It’s a poisonous fish, though.

We resumed fishing. Rada and Kukushin started getting bites. They caught some edible fish. We haven’t caught the target yet, but at least we’re not coming back empty-handed. However, I haven’t gotten a single bite. The pill bugs are gone, though.

I yawned. Maybe I’ll let the two of them handle it and go collect more herbs. I can’t think of any fishing cheats. Come to think of it, in my previous life, I only went fishing twice at a pond. I don’t know anything about the equipment or techniques.

Suddenly, the rod was yanked. I braced myself and pulled up... Snap! The resistance disappeared with a light sound, and I fell backward.

"Reit, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, I’m fine."

So, you don’t need to come over. I waved my hand at Kukushin. By the way, Rada is struggling with a fish she caught. The fish is wriggling, and she’s chasing it around, left and right...

Still, I looked at the broken end of the line. It’s supposed to be strong enough to catch a Trant Fish, a monster.

Well, there’s nothing I can do about a broken rod. We don’t have a spare, and I don’t have a suitable stick to replace it. This must mean I’m not supposed to fish. Alright, I’ll go collect herbs. I’ll gather a lot for Rada.

Oh, they’re in the water too. I saw them in the guild’s encyclopedia. They look like something you’d find in a goldfish bowl.

I peered into the water. The water is clear, and I can see deep into it. My face was reflected on the surface... and suddenly, I was staring into the wide-open eyes of a stranger.