Everyone else, Anne included, had caught a fish. Samya, a beastfolk native of the Black Forest, showed off her skill—she was the only one who’d caught three fish almost immediately. As for me...
I groaned. “I’m the only one with zilch. Ugh...”
My shoulders slumped with disappointment. I didn’t think I let my feelings show too much (I was so desperate to catch something), and I didn’t think I was exuding a murderous aura either, but every time I thought I had a tug, my bait was skillfully stolen, leaving me with a goose egg on the end of my hook. I’m just gonna keep telling myself that I’m up against really smart fish. Just me. That’s how I’ll cope.
And if that were the case, then fishing was just a battle of endurance. If we kept fishing at this pace, we’d each have a fish and then some, even if I caught nothing at all. I asked Samya if we were overfishing—she flashed an expression that implied, There goes Eizo, worrying about weird stuff again.
“Even if we fished up this entire area, we should be fine,” Samya answered.
Since she sounded so firm and sure of herself, I continued fishing all by myself, refusing to throw in the towel. Everyone else took a few breaks or played around with my daughters. I don’t need to stubbornly stick with it. Yet, contrary to my thoughts, I cast my line for the umpteenth time today.
“Hrmmm...” I groaned as I chowed down on my lunch.
Krul rubbed her snout against my cheek, allowing me to feel her warmth through her flexible, slightly stiff scales.
“Good girl,” I said.
I petted her head—I knew that she was worried about me in her own way. In fact, Lucy was surprisingly glued to my side as she sat down, and Hayate was seated right in front of me. Maribel caught more fish after her initial catch, and she desperately conveyed her delight to the ladies using the least amount of words possible.
Eureka! An idea suddenly hit me.
Yeah, this could be it. Maybe I’ll test it out once I’m done eating.
“Nice! Good going!” I said.
“Kulululu.”
A fishing pole rested in Krul’s jaws. She tugged upward, and the tip of the pole splashed out of the water—at the end was a large, lively fish.
“Kululu!”
When she saw the fish splashing around on the riverbank, she raised her voice joyfully. I’d given up on fishing myself, but I wanted my daughters to have some fun too. I mirrored what Rike had done for Maribel and tried to help Krul. When I saw my beloved daughter smile happily, I knew that I had made the right choice.
I may not be able to catch anything myself, but if my daughters can enjoy their time here, I have no qualms.
I really don’t! Seriously! No regrets.
I helped Lucy and Hayate out as well—my two daughters managed to catch huge trout pretty quickly, and they also cried out, delighted.
They all did the same thing, yet all three of them fished in their own ways. Was it a personality difference or a species one? No matter the case, it was an interesting observation to make. Krul tended to let the river do all the work—she allowed the flow of the water to drag her line around and didn’t do much else. Only when she felt a tug on her pole did she brace herself. Lucy, on the other hand, took the pole and just ran with it (honestly, it was a bit tough to keep up with her). At times, she’d go against the flow of the water, and she was an expert at knowing when she had prey on the hook. Maybe those are her wolfish instincts. While Hayate let the river do most of the work, she occasionally tugged at the pole and controlled the bait’s motions. She was also the best when it came to creating tension in the line and setting her hook. Sure, each of them had their own way of fishing, but what shocked me the most was that they all understood the basic concepts of fishing.
Was it because Krul and Hayate were draconic, and Lucy was a magical beast wolf? I honestly didn’t know, but for future reference, I thought it was best if I knew just how much and how well they understood their situation. In the worst case, I would someday have to ditch our cabin and flee. But for now, I’ll just devote my time to enjoying a leisurely day out with my daughters.
I flung the fishing line quite far and allowed Krul to do the rest.
Ultimately, I rolled my fishing dice and came up snake eyes. Nothing at all. But as long as my daughters had fun, that’s good enough for me. Yep.
After we returned home, and before making dinner, I cut open some of the fish we’d caught and placed them in salt water. Since we had quite a bit, I wanted to hang them up to dry and preserve the meat. As spring rolled around and the weather became warmer, I knew that this sort of food wouldn’t keep forever. However, my forge was relatively dry, so they’d last for a good while.
If it dried too much, it’d resemble a dish called salmon toba, a type of dried fish that was seasoned well. To eat it, you peeled flakes of meat from the skin. It paired perfectly with alcohol but wasn’t quite enough for a full meal.
We should probably eat all the fish before they go bad or dry out too much.
For dinner, I grilled our freshly caught fish with some salt. Aside from Maribel, I left my daughters’ portions unseasoned. I added soup and bread to round out the fish—though the soup used the same recipe as usual, Lidy had put her heart and soul into raising the (elven) vegetables and herbs. This might not have seemed impressive, but these ingredients elevated the soup’s flavor tremendously. All in all, the food was simple but delicious.
It was hard to come across this kind of meal outside the forest, even if you went looking for it. In a way, this dinner was quite lavish. Also, since we’d just had a little party, no one drank tonight—it wasn’t like I restricted anyone though, because alcohol wouldn’t affect them the next day. (Anne hated to wake up early, but that had nothing to do with drinking.) I didn’t drink daily because I couldn’t hold my liquor well, and everyone else usually held themselves back. Rike would drink once or twice a week, and some family members joined her—usually Helen. But surprisingly, the other person most likely to drink with Rike was Lidy.
“I would drink quite often when I lived in the elven forest,” Lidy admitted.
And her claim was backed up by fact—she probably drank the most after Rike. Do dwarves and elves just have a higher alcohol tolerance? I sorta thought that they were more resistant to poisons, so maybe it checks out... Anne and Diana were next in line in terms of alcohol consumption, followed by Samya. According to the Samya, she just hadn’t gotten many opportunities to drink during her life before the forge. And that’s fair. If we calculate her age from her birth, she technically turns six this year...
“But I like alcohol! It’s good!” Samya insisted strongly. Diana refrained from scolding Samya, though she wanted to at times because Samya was still so young.
“I had to attend all sorts of events as the imperial princess,” Anne reasoned. “So, yeah, I’ve had to learn to drink.”
“Same goes for me, though I didn’t have to attend them as often as Her Highness,” Diana said.
As an imperial princess and the sister of a count, Anna and Diana were high-ranking nobles. Since the ability to hold your drink highly depends on the person, I guess they’ve mastered the art of how to drink and savor liquor. I had very low alcohol tolerance. Usually I was unable to pace myself well and would be out like a light in no time. I was envious of their classy skills.
As we drank, we indulged in fatty, grilled fish. We smacked our lips in satisfaction, getting into a good-natured debate over who had caught the tastiest one. And in this happy atmosphere, our leisurely holiday drew to a close.
⌗⌗⌗
The next morning, I went to fetch some water as part of my routine. The lake water was cold year-round, but there were still some minute temperature fluctuations. Now that winter had passed over us, the water no longer seemed icy and biting. As I trekked back carrying water (there was a jug around Krul’s neck as well), a loud flapping sound reached my ears. Not many birds in the forest flapped their wings so loudly; most of them had owllike wings that allowed for silent flight. Smaller birds, left with no other choice, would beat their tiny wings as fast as they could, emitting adorable little flip-flaps.
But this loud flapping didn’t belong to any birds in this forest. I looked up and spotted a familiar creature.
“Arashi!” I cried.
She was a wyvern that stayed at Camilo’s. When Arashi heard my voice, she flew straight to me. I set the water jug on the ground and held out my arm—she skillfully perched on top.
“You’re such a good girl,” I said, stroking her head.
“Kree! Kree!” she called out happily.
She acted as our carrier pigeon—or carrier wyvern, rather. She would periodically deliver a newspaper detailing recent events that’d occurred within the city or capital. But today wasn’t the usual delivery day. Which means she’s here to send me some other info.
“Pardon me, my lady,” I said.
I removed the small tube strapped around her leg and took out a piece of paper.
It read, “If you’ve finished my request, head straight to the capital.”