Rowboat on Lake Zahia
After getting off the carriage, we had to walk for a while.
Halperia generally has gentle terrain, but this area has some steep slopes. My handmade boots can handle these paths easily, but walking here in cheap shoes would probably be tougher than a light hike in the modern world.
“Mongrel-san, isn’t that heavy?”
“Not at all. In fact, I’ll even carry some of your luggage for you—for a fee. 50 jellies per bag.”
“Whoa, stingy much?”
“I can carry my own stuff just fine.”
A little further up the slope, and we’d reach the lake. I was looking forward to it.
“…Hmph. 50 jellies it is.”
“You serious?”
Just as I was getting excited, Natasha handed me some coins along with her luggage.
To me, it looked like a light load. So even carrying something this small is a pain for you, huh?
“Happy to be of service as your pack mule. Hehehe…”
“Good. It’s nice and light.”
“Natasha-senpai…”
But hey, if I’m getting paid, I’ll gladly do it. As a professional…
When we finally crested the hill, we caught our first glimpse of Lake Zahia.
It was a winding lake surrounded by towering trees. Much bigger than I’d imagined—definitely not just a pond.
This looked like a perfect spot for fishing…!
“Just from this vantage point, I can see quite a few waterfowl. Reed ducks, maybe?”
“Nice, nice! It’s been a while since I hunted reed ducks… Oh, fletch ducks too!”
“Seriously? Those have great feathers for fletching. I’d love to bag a few.”
I was genuinely impressed by the view, but Artemis’s archers were already hyped up spotting their targets. Hunters, huh? Since I’m basically useless at hunting birds, it didn’t really get me fired up…
Curious about Natasha and Gorilliana, I turned to see them already starting down the slope.
“We’ll borrow boats. Without them, hunting waterfowl would be impossible.”
“The boats don’t seem popular, so I doubt we’ll have trouble getting one…”
Apparently, there was some kind of lakeside management building ahead.
Boats, huh? Fishing from a boat wouldn’t be bad. Though I’m not too keen on trusting the dubious craftsmanship of this world’s vessels. Call it prejudice, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we sank within an hour.
“Ah, yeah, sure. Lately, those birds have been makin’ a right racket. Give ’em a good scare for me, would ya? Oh, and if you bag any reed ducks, mind sharin’ some? If you’re stayin’ a few days, just birds’d get dull, yeah? Got plenty of other ingredients here—take ’em in exchange.”
In the management building sat a man in his sixties, idly puffing on a corncob pipe.
A few houses dotted the lakeside entrance, and he was one of the locals. Made a living with a small farm and renting out boats. There were unfinished boat frames outside, so he must’ve been a part-time shipwright too.
“Sure, thanks. If we bag any reed ducks, we’ll bring some by.”
“Appreciate it. Oh, the boats are out back—pick whichever you like. Just don’t take the far left one, it’s junk. Sink on ya. Heh heh heh.”
Yeah, real funny, old man. How about scrapping that death trap already?
“Alright.”
Gorilliana and I hauled the boats to the pier and launched them.
They were standard two-person rowboats with paired oars. Nothing fancy.
The old man said the left one was junk, but honestly, the others weren’t much better. They all looked ancient—like they’d start sinking after two hours on the water.
“There are a few beaches and piers around the lake. We should head to one of those spots. The shoreline near the houses probably doesn’t have much game…”
“Hey, now that we’ve got the boats out… couldn’t we just walk to those spots?”
“The paths aren’t well-maintained… Plus, Mongrel-san, your fishing rod would get caught on branches and be a pain, right?”
“Oh, yeah, good point.”
The lakeshore was thick with wilderness. No way we’d have a comfortable walk.
And yeah, the rod would just be a hassle.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Let’s take the boats for now. We’ll need to get to the far shore anyway.”
“Got it. Uh, how should we split up?”
“Ooh, I’ll ride with Gorilliana-san! Rowing seems easier that way!”
“I’ll take Sheena. Raina, you’re with Mongrel.”
“Ah, r-right.”
“Rowboats, huh? These look pretty beat-up—better not crash ’em.”
“Nobody wants to pay for damages. Everyone, be careful.”
And so, I ended up sharing a boat with Raina.
We stowed our gear in the middle and sat facing each other. Felt almost like a couple on a date. Well, if this were Inokashira Park’s duck boats, maybe. But right now, it was just a guy prepped for camping and a girl with a bow—zero romance here.
“Why didn’t you bring a bow, Mongrel-senpai…?”
“Ah, well, I thought about it. Just couldn’t fit it with all the other gear.”
“Practice is important, y’know…”
I took the oars while Raina handled navigation. She seemed to be eyeing any chance to snipe waterfowl from the boat, but apparently, no dumb birds were close enough yet. She had her bow but hadn’t even drawn an arrow.
“Wait, this is a lake, right? What if you drop an arrow in the water?”
“These float, senpai. We’re using lightweight heads today.”
“Oh, right. Wooden shafts.”
“But searching for one arrow in a big lake’s a pain, so ideally, you don’t miss. Lose too many, and you’re in the red.”
“Arrows aren’t cheap either. Makes waterfowl hunting kinda iffy, profit-wise.”
Paddling around searching for a tiny floating arrow… no thanks. In this life, rowing’s no sweat for me, but my past self would’ve hated it.
“Raina, we’re going ahead!”
“Wah—”
“Hey, no fair! That’s cheating!”
“Efficient use of resources.”
As I was rowing away, Sheena and Natasha zipped past us effortlessly.
Looked like Natasha was using some kind of water magic by dipping her staff in the lake. Fantasy-powered propulsion, huh? Cheaters…
After navigating the winding lake, we found three decent spots. Allegedly. I couldn’t really tell.
A tiny island near the center. These spots are great. It even had a rickety pier for easy docking. Perfect vantage point for sniping.
A cleared shoreline at the far end, with posts and ropes for mooring. Looked comfortable.
A secluded sandy beach hidden from the management building. Just drag the boat ashore. Fewer trees made it ideal for camping. Probably less human activity meant more birds, too.
“Sheena-senpai took the island. Good position for her—she can snipe anything from there.”
“Where to, Raina? I’ll row us there.”
“Hmm… Mongrel-senpai’s setting up a tarp again, right? Then we should base ourselves somewhere good for hunting.”
“Sweet. Let’s go for the shoreline spot.”
“Got it… Oh, could you set up the tarp farther inland? Don’t wanna spook the birds.”
“Right, gotta account for that. Be easier if they just charged at us like monsters.”
Though getting swarmed like in that old movie The Birds would be terrifying.
Even if I could handle them with a sword, horror’s still horror.
We moored at the shore and unloaded. This was our campsite.
The water was crazy clean, so we’d just use that. A quick boil would make it perfectly safe. Crystal clear and refreshing.
“You’re fishing, right, Mongrel-senpai?”
“Yep. Wanna join, Raina?”
“I’d love to, but… if I lose more gear, it’d be…”
“Still hung up on last time? Don’t sweat it. Water was shallow—couldn’t be helped. This time, we’ll be fine. Go for it. I’ve got spares.”
I’d packed extra lures, hooks, sinkers, floats, and line. Even if we lost some, no big deal. This time, I was gonna fish like crazy. If I got a bite, I’d even strike a pose mid-air like some kinda genocide cutter. That’s how pumped I was.
“…Then, um, when there’s nothing nearby, can I give it a shot?”
“Sure thing. Let’s reel in a big one together. The lake’s ancient guardian or something.”
“A guardian? Like, this big?”
Raina gestured about 40 centimeters. Pfft. Kids these days got no ambition!
“A guardian’s more like… this!”
“There’s fish that big!?”
“Probably! Lakes always have some old-timer lurking in the depths. We’ll yank him up, then grill, steam, or fry him. Sounds good, right?”
“So good…”
Honestly, I just wanted Raina to feel that zing when a fish bites.
Shrimp and crab are fun, but nothing beats a proper fish.
“Birds and fish… tonight’s dinner’s gonna be a feast.”
“We haven’t caught a single thing yet… heheh…”
I get it. The anticipation’s the best part.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
