The Beginning of the Dismantling Show
“Raina, congrats—! So happy for you—!”
“W-Wait, c-could you please stop clinging to me? It’s hot, Ulrika-senpai…”
“Your second bow skill… Truly, congratulations, Raina. You’ve worked hard. All your efforts have finally borne fruit… Ah, perhaps I should offer a prayer to Hydrao after so long. Anyway, well… Truly, congratulations.”
“S-Sheena-senpai too… It’s cramped… Can’t breathe…”
“…A piercing shot. A fine offensive skill. Perfect for someone as precise as you, Raina.”
“Th-Thanks… Natasha-senpai, you’re squeezing too hard… Also, it’s making me kinda sad…”
Hearing the commotion, the rest of Artemis rushed over to the shore, and Raina found herself smothered in their affection.
Man, you’re loved, Raina. The way you’re getting squished shows just how well you’re treated in this party. Though, I’m kinda jealous of the one Natasha’s doing to you. I wanna get sandwiched in there too, peh…
“Um… Everyone. She looks like she’s struggling. Maybe it’s time to… Also, if possible, could I also—”
“Whoa—! T-Thanks, Gorilliana-senpai…”
“Congratulations… Raina-san.”
“…Ehehe.”
But really, I’m genuinely happy for her.
Raina’s been bothered for a long time by her lack of offensive skills. She lacked finishing power—couldn’t properly fight large monsters. Maybe now she’ll take on a more active role as an attacker?
If so, I hope she doesn’t get reckless and stays as cautious as before. Just because she got a strong skill doesn’t mean she can let her guard down—she’ll still die just as easily. Higher firepower doesn’t mean her stamina or defense improved.
“It’s been a while since I learned a skill, but… this still doesn’t feel like the ‘Voice of the Goddess.'”
“According to the Sunglaire Holy Kingdom, those words that appear directly in your mind are the voice of God… Anyway, I’d like to test the skill’s usability…”
Only after saying that did Sheena and the others finally turn toward me.
“…That’s quite the catch you’ve made.”
“I’ve never seen a fish like this before.”
“I know its name from an encyclopedia. This is a High Tail, some kind of monster fish, I think. Man, if Raina hadn’t shot it, things might’ve gotten dicey.”
After everything was over, I checked the fishing line—somehow, the already thin line had been worn down to half its original thickness. And yet, it had stretched in length. Terrifying, really. It’s impressive that it held up against that struggle, but the fact that it nearly snapped is horrifying… Sky Forest Spider silk isn’t something to overestimate.
“Alright…”
For now, I laid out firewood on the ground and placed the High Tail on top.
It looks like a scene straight out of a fish market. The size is practically that of a proper tuna.
The problem is that, unlike market fish, this thing isn’t frozen.
“I want to butcher it before it spoils. But even if we do, there’s no way we can finish this thing on our own.”
“True… Though I don’t know how much of it is edible…”
“Oh, hey, it’s already bled out—there’s a hole in its head.”
“Yup. Got a clean shot.”
I don’t know about river fish, but this one’s probably from the sea. Feels like we can eat a lot of its parts. Maybe 20-30% will go to waste… but even then, there’ll still be too much meat.
“For now, let’s take it to the old man at the management building and brag a little. We’ll share some while we’re at it. I don’t need more vegetables, but better than wasting good fish.”
“…Agreed. It’ll also be a good chance to spread Artemis’ name.”
“Mind if I gut it here first?”
“Sure. Natasha, can you chill the fish?”
Oh, right. Natasha’s a water mage. Then she can probably freeze it. Nice, nice. Freeze it solid. Even if it’s frozen, we can still butcher it.
“…I can chill it, but it’ll use mana. You’ll have to do without me as the boat’s motor. Fine with that?”
“Yes. I’ll row. Please go ahead.”
“Understood. Mongrel, handle the gutting first. It’ll be easier to freeze after.”
“Got it.”
Well, given its size, I’ll dismantle it with my Sword Breaker.
Grabbing its huge tail, I lift it and drive my blade deep into the High Tail’s vent, then slice downward.
The entrails spill out in a sloshy mess. Gorilliana-san steps away, saying she’ll dig a hole to bury them. Much appreciated.
“…This is the stomach. Raina, if you’re curious, want to check its contents?”
“Sure. Something bothering you?”
“Just wondering about its diet. The encyclopedia said it’s herbivorous, but it went straight for the goblin liver. Let’s see what it usually eats.”
“Mongrel, you used that as bait?”
“Ugh, goblin liver… Disgusting taste, huh…”
After clearing out the innards, I rinse the hollowed belly in the lake.
Meanwhile, Raina dissects the stomach and examines what’s inside.
“Ugh, smells like algae… There’s also crab and shrimp-like stuff… Some shellfish too… Definitely not just plants.”
“Yeah… No fish, huh? Man, fish guts are something else… Not like cows or pigs…”
Seems like once something grows this big, it can’t sustain itself on modest plant diets alone.
The absence of fish in its stomach suggests it was hunting lake-bottom creatures. The lake’s pretty big, after all. Even if it’s a closed environment, one High Tail probably wouldn’t struggle to find enough food.
If these things migrated upstream in swarms and overran the lake, though, they might’ve wiped out their prey entirely.
“Freeze.”
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With the gutting and cleaning done, Natasha flash-freezes the High Tail to preserve freshness. The surface crackles white as it hardens, turning the fish into a chilly statue.
Water magic really is convenient. With water generation and ice magic alone, you’d never have to worry about food spoilage.
“…That took a lot of mana. I’ll rest here. Delivering it to the management building is on you.”
“Yeah, you saved us. Alright, let’s go drop it off. Raina, you’re coming too—you’re the one who landed the kill.”
“Got it.”
We board the boat and head back to the management building.
The old man who rents out boats is outside playing moonboard with some elderly friends. Living the leisurely retired life, huh?
But their relaxed chatter quickly turns to murmurs of shock as we arrive—a group on a boat carrying a fish so massive it shouldn’t even fit in the lake.
A triumphant return! We got a big one—!
“Whoa—! So this was in the lake?! Never seen anything like it!”
“What kinda fish is this? A monster?”
“Apparently, it’s called a High Tail. I was struggling to reel it in when Raina here took it down with an arrow.”
“N-No way. Mongrel-senpai did most of the work…”
“That’s amazing! Guildfolk these days even hunt fish, huh?”
Well, I’m probably the only one actively fishing. It’s more of a hobby. The real pros use nets, no contest.
“Supposedly, you can grill or boil it. Too much for us, so feel free to take some.”
“Really? That’s too kind!”
“Just eat it before it goes bad.”
I place the frozen High Tail on a workbench and, with a swing of my bastard sword, lop off its head. The old men flinch at the unexpectedly clean cut.
Since the scales are already off, I move on to a rough butchering—slicing along the spine, then hacking through with brute force. It takes a few strikes, but the half-frozen state makes it easier.
A fair bit of meat sticks to the bones, but quantity isn’t an issue here. A little waste is nothing compared to getting usable cuts.
“We’ll take this much.”
“Can we even finish this? Thanks a lot!”
“It’s been years since I had fresh fish that wasn’t dried. Here, take this—it’s not much.”
“Whoa, thanks! Seriously, eat it while it’s fresh.”
“Yeah, yeah. Gives us something to talk about. Thanks, guildfolk.”
The roughly divided cuts are distributed among the four elderly men present.
Even these portions are sizable, but they’ll be shared among households. No one’s eating this alone.
“…We got more vegetables again.”
“At this rate, our food supply’s endless. We could build a house and live here.”
“The waterfowl might go extinct first.”
True. Right now, the High Tail might’ve just disappeared from the lake entirely.
Relying solely on this place’s resources has its limits, though.
We board the boat and return to shore. By now, the Artemis crew seems to have lost any hunting momentum—too busy fussing over how to celebrate Raina.
Makes sense. Let them spoil Raina today. Learning a skill isn’t something that happens often in life—rarer than a birthday.
“Hey, hey, Mongrel-san! What are you making next?”
As for the celebration, the Artemis girls seem to be preparing some fancy waterfowl dish… but Ulrika can’t stop wondering about the High Tail’s fate.
Though honestly, I’m still figuring that out myself.
“Ah… For now, since I butchered it roughly, I’ll slice the meat into fillets—maybe even portion the other half.”
“Fillets?”
“Cutting it for cooking, I guess. Wanna try grilling some scrap pieces first? I don’t really know how it’ll taste either.”
“Seriously?! I wanna try!”
“Me too, me too!”
While Gorilliana-san and Sheena are busy cooking over there, Ulrika, shouldn’t you be helping? Ah, whatever. I do want to hear what people in this world think of the taste.
First, grill a piece of High Tail meat for sampling. Then… if there’s time, maybe attempt something more ambitious.
If the encyclopedia’s right… No, judging by this pale reddish meat, I’m pretty sure—
This might just be the fish that fulfills some of my culinary cravings.
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