“How did it come to this? Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
A voice rang out from deep within her ears. It was her own, a memory from her lonely days at the academy on the previous timeline...
It was the morning of the fishing tournament, and Mia started her day wide awake—something terribly uncommon for her.
She yawned. “I really do need to teach Orania a lesson, don’t I?” She folded her arms, staying firmly within the covers. “This can’t be easily conveyed with words alone, but if she hears my warning and chooses not to heed it, that’s her choice. The blame is on her! But if I don’t say anything, then...the blame is on me! She might literally kick my butt if I’m not careful! Let’s do this!”
With a rousing cry, Mia leaped out of bed.
After getting dressed and enjoying a relaxing breakfast, Mia returned to her room to wake up Bel. Then, she and Anne headed off to the grounds of the fishing tournament. The sky was perfectly blue, and the sun’s bright rays shone down on them from above. It was warm out, as if summer had returned for just a day.
No, that wasn’t quite right. Summer had been chilly this year, with few days as warm as this one. Still, the weather was nearly perfect.
“There’s not a single cloud in the sky... It’s almost too hot.”
“You’re right, milady. Take this,” said Anne, offering her a brand-new hat.
“Thank you, and you be careful too, Anne. It really is quite scorching out here.” Mia looked to the harbor—the grounds for this fishing tournament—as she placed her new hat on her head. “But moons, how odd...”
This had been Mia’s brainchild, but Santeri and the other fish maniacs had done all the work, and they had carried out their duties excellently—almost too excellently. It was hard to put exactly what Mia was feeling into words, but...it was as if a snowball had been pushed down a snowy mountain, tumbling down and down, picking up more snow as it went and growing into something large and terrifying.
“This really is odd! It’s like they’re throwing a whole festival!”
Stalls and shops lined the harbor, and the passion and enthusiasm they oozed even surpassed that at both the swordsmanship and horsemanship tournaments!
“This is much more...grand...than I was originally planning...” Mia had imagined a small, close-knit gathering—not this. “We’re just holding some academy event! Why’s everyone so excited?”
That’s when something caught her eye. It was a banner, and plastered on it were the words “Saint-Noel Academy’s First Annual Fishing Tournament.”
“First annual?” Mia’s head started to spin. First? Annual? If there’s a first, then there has to be a second! Is that what they’re planning?! That’s not what I envisioned at all!
Mia could tell very obnoxious things lay in her future.
Enlisting the fish maniacs had been a mistake. Just like asking Equestris to host a horsemanship tournament would result in something head-spinningly grand, asking the fishermen of Noelige Lake or Ganudos to host a fishing tournament would result in something...equally terrifying. Unfortunately, Mia was only realizing this now.
“Step right up and compete to catch the biggest fish! The winner will get an ink rubbing as proof of their victory! Then, we’ll be cooking the fish right over here!” came an awfully cheery voice from one of the stalls.
“A contest to catch the biggest fish? Is that what he said?” Mia wondered aloud.
The first man’s neighbor spoke next. “Noelige Lake boasts a diverse population of fish! Prizes will be awarded based on whoever catches the rarest!”
“And they’re holding a contest to catch the rarest fish over there... That means the list they’ve displayed must be the one Orania wrote up...”
The third voice she heard came from right next to her. “And whoever manages to catch the King of Noelige Lake will win a portrait of Holy Lady Rafina! Wait, Lady Rafina?! You came to watch? And you’re going to the back? Why do you need to—?”
The lion of Rafina bared her fangs right at the end, but anyways...
“I believe I told them there was no need to compete.”
Apparently, competition was an inherent part of events like this, just as war was an inherent part of human nature. Mia couldn’t help but lament this sad truth.
“The atmosphere here is electric, huh?”
Mia turned around to find Santeri, who was already dressed in his fishing clothes. He wore an old, worn-out fishing basket on his hip.
“Oh, Santeri... That’s quite the interesting getup.”
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Wasn’t he supposed to be a lifeguard? His job was to keep the students from falling into the water!
“Oh, this? I was just hoping to do some night fishing myself once all the fun of the day is over. I wanted to be ready to heed fishing’s call whenever!” he said with a chuckle. Apparently, the fish maniac blood running through his veins was boiling.
“I’m amazed by the enthusiasm here. It really is much more than I was expecting. But I get the sense that the people of the island and the teachers are much more excited than the students...” muttered Mia.
Santeri responded with a vigorous nod. “You’re right. There’s even a legend that the dukes of Belluga descended from fishermen.”
“That’s right! Fishing really has always played a central role in Belluga’s history then.”
Just as the Equestrian Kingdom believed in one creation myth, Belluga had one of its own. While Equestris believed themselves to be the descendants of a shepherd, the first lord of Belluga was said to be a fisherman of Noelige Lake.
“It has. It’s why the main doctrines of the Central Orthodox Church are based on the initials of fish. They’ve always been quite treasured in Belluga,” responded Santeri with a kind smile. “Duke Orleans Belluga is quite fond of them himself. Not only does he love eating seafood, he even once commissioned a portrait of his daughter in the form of the legendary mermaid in hopes of bringing his two greatest passions tog—”
“May I have a moment, Santeri?” Rafina had appeared out of nowhere.
Mia gulped. “M-Miss Rafina?”
She glanced at Mia, wearing her usual cool grin. “Oh, Mia! Shall we go fishing together later? I’ve never gone before, so I’m rather excited to try my hand at it.” Then, her tone changed. “I’ll be borrowing Santeri for a moment. Good luck on your opening speech! I can’t wait to hear it.”
Then, she yanked Santeri’s arm and dragged him off into the distance.