Hunting on the Lake, Dedication Beneath the Surface
For now, I decided to try bait fishing using river insects while collecting large stones from the waterside.
I’d drop the line near the shore and just leave it there. Rather than casting far out, fishing closer to shore tends to be more productive.
While waiting, I built a fire pit, placed an iron plate on top, and assembled the chimney. The usual camping setup. Honestly, I don’t need a chimney in this season, but I brought it mainly to avoid getting hit by smoke and sparks. Plus, it provides stable heat. That’s important too.
“Well, this should do.”
I set up the usual triangular tent, then extended an additional tarp from the pole at the apex for extra coverage. Like a front vestibule tarp.
Since Artemis plans to stay at this lake for at least two days, I made it more luxurious than usual this time.
When you do this kind of camping, you gradually end up eating nothing but meat and it gets boring… Even if it’s delicious, constantly eating the same meat is honestly tough. If I had a cooler box, I could bring fresh ingredients and add more variety. But that would basically be regular camping.
“But waterfowl, huh. I know about pheasant hunting, but I wonder what bow hunting is like.”
In my mind, bird hunting means using a shotgun. You do various things to startle the birds into the sky, then blast away with the shotgun. The fragile birds get hit by one of the small pellets and fall. That’s the method.
When it comes to waterfowl, that means ducks, but I suppose they hunt them in a similar way.
In my previous life, an old acquaintance would occasionally share duck meat he’d hunted himself, but I have strong memories of the unpleasant experience of biting down on pellets mixed in with the meat. The meat that time was tough too… No, actually, it was tough because of my poor cooking skills.
While thinking about such things and pruning branches from nearby trees with my bastard sword, I heard a booming impact sound from somewhere far away.
“Oh…?”
It came from the lake’s direction. …Ah, probably a skill. Either Ulrika’s Power Shot, or someone else’s skill.
They might have already taken something down despite just arriving. …It’s not impossible. Everyone here is skilled.
By the way, Raina is currently stepping into the nearby thicket, searching for a shooting position.
In the end, this kind of hunting apparently requires humans to carefully hide themselves while aiming at prey.
In other words, well, being with me probably makes it hard to hunt successfully. Sorry about that. But conversely, if I could drive them toward her, I might be somewhat useful… or not? I don’t really know.
“Gyeh!”
“Oh, that’s a good scream.”
Having finished setting up and with time to spare, I was trying my hand at lure casting while also doing bait fishing.
Then, around the fifth cast, I heard a bird’s scream from a relatively nearby location.
The waterfowl that had probably been hanging around together took flight with a flapping of wings, escaping toward the distant water surface. Looking toward where the escaped waterfowl had been, I saw a single Reed Duck floating there with an arrow sprouting from its belly. …Apparently Raina had cleanly taken it down.
It’s a bit far from shore. I’ll have to use the boat to retrieve it. Better get ready.
When I set down my rod, Raina returned from the thicket with a satisfied expression.
“Mongrel-senpai, I hit it!”
“Oh, I saw. Well done. Where did you shoot from?”
“From deep in the reeds over there. As expected, waterfowl are easy because you can predict where the arrow will fall.”
“Is that how it works? So what now? Should I go retrieve it by boat?”
“Yeah. The ducks that were nearby all flew away, so we should probably retrieve it. Could you do that?”
“Sure, leave it to me. You can try the lure casting while I’m gone.”
“Yay!”
I left the fishing rod with Raina and rowed the boat out to retrieve the unfortunate Reed Duck.
The Reed Duck was floating on the water, already dead. The arrow had magnificently pierced from the back through to the upper chest area, caught and stopped by the fletching.
She hit it from behind, huh. The target area is small, but I wonder if it’s not that difficult.
“Senpai, senpai, Mongrel-senpai! This doesn’t get tangled like before!”
“I see, is it easier to handle?”
“Yes! It’s quite fun!”
When I returned to shore, Raina was cheerfully casting her rod.
The action of casting far out and reeling back in seemed to please her. Well, whether you can enjoy that endless repetition is what determines your aptitude for this fishing thing… Enjoy the freshness you feel now while you can…
Now then, should I pluck some feathers? This work becomes troublesome if you don’t do it right after death. Due to rigor mortis or something, the feathers become harder to pull out.
“Speaking of which, there was a loud sound earlier. I wonder whose skill that was.”
“Ah, probably Ulrika-senpai’s. She probably used Power Shot with a fragmenting arrow.”
“Fragmenting arrow?”
“It’s an arrow that uses a specially made brittle arrowhead. Ulrika-senpai’s technique apparently puts strain on the arrowhead. So she deliberately uses arrowheads that break apart easily, scattering multiple fragments to hunt. It doesn’t have much power, but it can take down birds. If there’s a dense flock, she might be able to get several birds at once.”
Hey, that’s basically a shotgun blast.
Power Shot is scary – I didn’t know it could be used that way.
Even though it requires specialized equipment, being able to use it differently seems convenient.
“I’ll throw a few more times then go back to the bow. It looks like what the senpai are driving this way is coming.”
“Right. Since Raina’s main weapon is that, you should focus on the bow… Ha, hah… achoo!”
“Ah, did feathers get in your nose?”
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Damn, these fluffy, annoying feathers.
After that, I mainly fished while Raina hunted.
According to Raina, the waterfowl currently on the lake have low vigilance and are surprisingly easy to take down. While I hadn’t caught a single fish, she’d already taken down two more birds. Damn, am I going to lose to Raina in fishing results again? I’d like to catch something myself for once.
“Mongrel-senpai, do you think fish would bite if we used Reed Duck or something as bait?”
“Birds as bait… Actually, that might work.”
“Really?”
Raina is now resuming lure fishing. She’s already got three birds after all. She seems to have leeway. I’m envious.
“I’m not sure about regular meat, but around the liver area might get bites. Fish tend to like things with strong smells.”
“Huh.”
“If we have plenty of waterfowl, it wouldn’t be bad to try. The lake’s master might normally eat that kind of thing.”
“…So far there doesn’t seem to be a master, let alone any commoners.”
“Don’t say that. They’re just shy.”
Maybe it’s because the timing is awkward. I should probably hold out until evening when activity picks up… but there are no lights in this world. It goes from evening feeding time straight to pitch black, which makes cooking and everything else troublesome.
A little while later, when the sun had climbed to its zenith.
Gorilliana, rowing the small boat as majestically as an Argonaut, and Ulrika riding with her came toward our shore.
“Yoo-hoo! Look, look at this! Ta-da!”
“Ah, Ulrika-senpai… Wow, you really took down a lot!”
“Hehe. Well, yeah. I should have brought more fragmenting arrows. I ran out of arrowheads, so I’m done for today.”
Ulrika triumphantly held up a long wire with five waterfowl strung together like a rosary. Hey now, that’s eight birds total already. We won’t be able to eat all this meat. What are we going to do?
“Ah, Mongrel-san, is that fishing? That’s fishing, right?”
“…Ah, this is… what Raina-san was talking about…”
“Nothing’s biting so far though… Want to try?”
“Yes, yes! Gorilliana-san, want to try too?”
“Y-yes. I’d like to try.”
I lent rods to both of them, and beginner fishing lessons began.
That said, fishing exists in this world to some extent. Both of them knew roughly what it was about, so it wasn’t too difficult. Though the reel handling is a bit unique.
“Ah… Mongrel-san’s rod really is completely different from the ones I’ve seen before… the length, and the stiffness too…”
“Regular ones don’t bend much at the tip. But this rod isn’t weak. It’s a rod that uses flexibility to catch fish.”
“But the important fish aren’t biting…”
“No no, this is just the beginning. We’ve barely started.”
Ulrika was casting the lure as far as possible and happily reeling it back in.
Gorilliana-san, on the other hand, was enjoying bait fishing quite calmly despite her appearance. Her demeanor is gentle too, so she might be the type who likes to enjoy things at a relaxed pace. Though she looks like she’d spear marlin or something…
“I wonder what Sheena is doing. Still hunting?”
“Ah, the leader is on the small island, so who knows. She might still be able to target prey.”
“Sheena-san… hardly ever misses an arrow.”
“Where are you two planning to camp? This side has level ground and it’s spacious, so there’s still room.”
The tent is pitched toward the back, and since we won’t hunt at night, there’s space available in front.
I’d understand if they said they didn’t want to stay near me, but I think it’s convenient. If monsters appear, it’s easier to deal with them as a group.
“Um… won’t it be cramped? Is it okay?”
“It’s fine. This time the tent setup is kind of luxurious. Look at that.”
“Eh? …Whoa, it’s true! Amazing, it’s somehow expanded from before!”
“…A tent. So that’s what it is… I see…”
Busy bunch, getting interested in fishing then drawn to the tent…
“Oh, ohh? Wait, this… no, there’s no mistake! Something’s hooked!”
While I was exasperated, Raina called out.
Looking at the rod tip… I could see it being pulled toward the water. There’s no mistake. It’s a hit!
“Alright, Raina! Keep the rod up like that!”
“L-like this?! Won’t the line snap?! Shouldn’t I point it straight toward the water surface…!”
“No, that’s the opposite. It’s better to raise it and let the rod tip bend. Now slowly reel it in!”
“What what?! Raina, did you catch something?!”
“…It’s true, it’s pulling…!”
“Hngh…!”
Cranking the large-diameter reel without bearings with a grinding sound, handling the rod against the fish that occasionally tried to escape sideways… For a first-timer, Raina was doing very well, gradually closing the distance to her prey.
“Th-this is heavy! It’s definitely a big one…! A master! Not a commoner!”
“Oh, a master came! A master came for the river insects!”
…But given that Raina can steadily reel in line with her arm strength and this handmade reel’s stiffness, I’m getting a sense of the size of what’s hooked.
I understand, I understand, Raina. You think you’ve got something really huge on the line, right?
“Soon… it’ll surface! …Wait, huh?!”
When she pulled up the lure with a splash, what was flopping there was… an ordinary Rust Fish of about 20 cm or less.
Definitely not master size. Well, it’s not too small either. It’s a fine catch.
“Eh?! The pull felt really heavy though!”
“Ahahaha, but you caught it! Amazing, amazing!”
“Congratulations, Raina-san…!”
“That’s right, Raina, well done. We’ve proven there are fish in this lake. …Ah, it was foul-hooked. No, it did take the hook in its mouth… so it was trying to peck at the lure… maybe this one’s surprisingly aggressive.”
“Mmm… such a small thing but so strong…”
Raina seemed a bit disappointed by the size of the fish she caught, but this was undoubtedly Raina’s first catch.
It’s an ugly-looking Rustfish, but it’s also good that it’s properly edible. It wouldn’t be exciting if your first catch was a bluegill or puffer fish. Being able to eat your very first self-caught fish, even if small, is a good thing.
“But it was fun, right?”
“…Yes!”
Raina answered with a good smile, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
…Well, since I haven’t caught anything, this can’t end as a nice story here!
At this rate, I’m still far from satisfied…!
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