Preparations for the fishing tournament had begun, and gathered in the student council room were all the big hitters—the members of the student council, the SEEC program’s teacher, Julius, and the man in charge of the island’s security, Santeri Bandler.
“Thus, I was hoping to hold a fishing tournament in order to bring the students closer together while fostering their education,” said Mia, glancing at Julius.
He nodded. “Thank you, Your Highness. I am sure the opportunity to learn about nature while having so much fun will be a great asset for them.”
Having earned Julius’s approval, Mia continued. “I was also hoping that all of you would help plan and carry out the tournament.”
Saint-Noel Academy had never held a fishing tournament before, which meant there was plenty they needed to prepare—starting with procuring fishing poles and bait. Plus, since this was technically a competition, there was a need to discuss the rules as well.
“While this is a fishing tournament, I think it would be best if we refrained from making it too competitive.”
The other members of the student council nodded in agreement. “I agree. Even if it does defeat the point of a tournament, it would be best for the students if they could focus on enjoying themselves rather than catching the biggest fish,” said Abel, sporting a gentle smile.
Mia now had Abel’s support too! “While it can be fun to compete, I want the focus to be on catching fish together and eating what we’ve caught.”
They’d play together, eat a tasty meal together, and laugh together—that was Mia’s go-to method of diplomacy. Everyone just wants to relax when they have a full stomach! Orania seems to be avoiding me, but if I fill her up and make her sleepy, she’ll forget all about that! Mia was absolutely certain of this.
“That means we’ll need an experienced fisherman who can identify which fish are edible and which are not, but we’ll do the cooking ourselves, and...”
Someone raised their hand before Mia could finish.
“What is it, Keithwood?”
Keithwood, Sion’s vassal, almost never spoke in place of his master, and Mia was awfully interested in finding out what he was going to say. Met with her gaze, he cleared his throat. “Rather than doing it ourselves, wouldn’t it be best to have professional chefs cook these fish for us?”
“Huh? But don’t you know how much fun it is to cook together?”
“Y-Yes, I do. Of course I do.” For a moment, Keithwood’s eyes were trained far off into the distance, his mouth shut closed as if biting down on his tongue. But shortly, he shook his head. “However, Your Highness... I believe you are forgetting something important.”
“My, and what is that?”
Keithwood looked at her with absolute conviction. “The best part of fishing is getting to eat the fish you caught yourself.”
“I see...” Mia folded her arms and mulled over his words. After a moment of silence, she accepted the truth behind them and nodded. “So?”
“In other words, there is a decent possibility we’ll ruin those fish if we’re the ones who cook them. Perhaps failure isn’t so disappointing when you cook with ingredients that have been gathered for you...but that’s not so much the case when cooking fish you’ve caught yourself.”
“So you’re saying that there’s a decent chance we’ll end up ruining the fruits of our labor?”
“Yes. We can’t afford to ruin these fish, so I believe it would be best to have a professional prepare them instead.”
“Hmm, that’s quite the convincing argument.” Mia glanced at Rafina.
She nodded. “We can have the academy’s chefs prepare them, but we may need to hire a few more for the job as well...”
Mia looked back at Keithwood. “Thank you. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. You really have been a great help.”
“Not at all. I’m just glad I could be of service,” he said, so deeply satisfied his eyes were clamped shut. His clenched fist trembled in absolute...joy? Mia watched him curiously.
Then suddenly, someone else raised their voice. “Won’t fishing be quite dangerous?” Santeri Bandler, the man in charge of the island’s security, spoke with a stern scowl. “It would be disastrous should a student happen to fall in the lake. I’m sure there are many here who do not know how to swim.”
This earned a scowl of Mia’s own. He was right. “Yes, very few nobles know how to swim.”
But then, what could they do? Limiting participants to those in the SEEC program would be doable, but I doubt Orania would accept such an invitation. That was the very reason Mia had decided to make this a school-wide event in the first place. But just as Mia was about to truly start to worry...
“Good grief. I suppose I have no other choice,” said Santeri, shrugging his shoulders. “I, Santeri Bandler, shall make full use of my countless years of experience and find a fishing spot that will be safe and suitable for you fishing novices!” He looked awfully proud of himself.
That’s right. Just as there were horse maniacs in the Equestrian Kingdom—ahem, Tearmoon—there were another breed of maniacs in Ganudos Port Country and Saint-Noel Island. Santeri “Angler” was a fish maniac on par with the enthusiasts from seaside nations far and wide!