Chapter 131: Setting Sail
Led by the man who introduced himself as Mognov, I boarded a small ship docked at the harbor. It was a vessel of about ten meters in length, a modest size for a boat.
At the rear, a screw propeller powered by a Magic Stone served as its engine. Many of the ships lined up in the harbor lacked sails, and it seemed that those without sails were quite common.
“Wow, to be a C Rank Adventurer at your age is impressive,” Mognov remarked.
I leaned over the side of the ship, gazing at the surface of the sea as we picked up speed. It appeared that the seabed was deepening as we ventured further out.
“Haha, I often find myself in troublesome situations because of it,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Ha ha ha! Well, you do look like a child,” Mognov said without a hint of malice. His straightforward nature was rather endearing.
“Yeah, I don’t really feel like an adult, to be honest.”
In Japan, high school students are still considered children. Here, it seems that one becomes an adult at fifteen, but just because the environment has changed doesn’t mean I can suddenly declare, ‘Alright, I’m an adult now.’ Still, I believe I’ve managed to stand on my own, and having gotten married, I think I’ll gradually adapt.
“Well, it’s not easy to suddenly feel like an adult overnight,” Mognov said, his gaze drifting off as if lost in thought.
“That aside, I think we’re far enough out now that we won’t be affected by any monsters,” he added, suddenly looking towards the shore. He then stopped the ship’s engine and dropped anchor.
“Understood.”
Rio and I quickly set our fishing lines. Nil peeked over our shoulders, but it was unlikely we’d catch anything right away. I wasn’t even sure if dried meat was a suitable bait… but then again, there was a fisherman right there; I could just ask him.
“Hmm? Ah, around here, fish will pretty much eat anything, so dried meat should work just fine,” Mognov replied.
“That’s a relief to hear.”
“Ha ha, well, I hope you catch something!”
With a wry smile, Mognov cast his line, using a proper fishing rod that was clearly made for serious fishing, complete with a reel to target fish at the seabed.
“Hmm. I’d like to aim for something a bit further out,” I said.
“Ah ha ha! You should have gotten a proper fishing rod in town!” Rio teased.
“Well, that’s true. But commercial fishing rods don’t really have the strength—”
Just then, I felt a tug on my fishing rod.
“Oh, did I catch something?”
“Really?”
It was putting up quite a fight, but the special rod and line were sturdy enough to handle it. Slowly, I reeled it in, revealing a fish about thirty centimeters long. It had sharp teeth and reflected a bluish hue, with a distinctive red stripe running down its center.
“Yes!”
“Oh, I got one too!”
“Ha ha ha! Looks like you’ve both had some luck already!”
As I pulled the fish onto the deck, I removed the line. I didn’t know what kind of fish it was, but it seemed lively. I left the wriggling fish aside to re-bait my hook and cast my line again. Rio’s catch looked similar, though slightly smaller.
“Hey, hey! You need to secure the fish right after you catch it, or it’ll escape!” Mognov warned.
“Eh? …Oh no!”
At Mognov’s words, I turned to see the fish leap out of my grasp and vanish over the side of the boat.
“Oh no!”
“Ha ha ha! Looking at that fishing rod, it’s clear you two are novices at this!”
“Ah ha ha, you noticed?”
“Of course! With a rod like that, it’s obvious.”
I responded with a wry smile, and he shrugged in disbelief.
“Well, I suppose I’ll teach you how to properly secure a fish.”
“Is that alright?”
“Well, it’ll cost you extra.”
I thought he was a good guy for offering to help, and I asked him about it. He grinned mischievously in response. I hadn’t learned how to prepare fish from my mentor, so I was grateful for the opportunity.
“Alright, I’ll take you up on that.”
“Leave it to me. For the right price, I can even teach you how to prepare various types of fish.”
“Really?!”
“Ha ha, of course!”
“Then please teach me a lot later!”
Rio exclaimed happily, stowing her caught fish into her Dimensional Box.
“Oh wow, a Dimensional Box? You’ve got something rare there. But if you just toss it in there, it’ll lose its freshness and die, you know?”
“It’s a time-stopping Dimensional Box, so it’s fine.”
“…Huh!?”
For a moment, Mognov seemed stunned by my words, his mouth agape in shock. He looked like he was about to start moving again, so I quickly re-baited my hook and resumed fishing.
“Oh right, I also have some chunks of meat…”
I pulled out a piece of raw meat from the Dimensional Box, cut it into a suitable size, and hooked it onto my line.
“Isn’t that a bit too big?”
“Wouldn’t it be fun to catch something big?”
“Hehe, that might be true. I think I’ll give it a try too.”
As I watched the chunk of meat drift in the water, Mognov finally seemed to recover and called out to me.
“A time-stopping… is that so? You’ve got some incredible magic at your disposal… Ha ha ha! But still, if you use such a large bait to catch a big fish, your line might snap!”
“Ha ha! I think it’ll be fine.”
“Huh?”
I answered confidently to Mognov, who looked skeptical. After all, it was made from Metal Spider Thread.