Luna was the one who took down the shantak bird, but it’s pretty big, so I’m keeping it in my storage magic.
This means it will still be fresh when I bring it out later, and we can even take it to the divine beast people’s village.
“Funfunfun. And Luna’s gonna brag to Tiltue too.”
Luna says while happily humming.
They get along because their mental ages are pretty close. Now that I think about it, when I went out hunting with Tiltue, she said something about bragging to Luna too.
As I think about how adorable it must be to see them brag to each other, I turn my head towards Xellos and Merlin, who look completely spent.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes…”
“W-we are, thanks to you…”
They aren’t looking at Luna with terror on their faces anymore, but instead they look a little sick.
It’s probably magic energy intoxication, because Luna unabashed the power she’s usually holding back.
They have the same symptoms Reina had before.
Maybe it’s because she’s getting used to it after experiencing it many times since coming to this island, but I feel like Reina doesn’t look too bothered anymore even if she witnesses that sudden rush of power. Maybe it’s something peculiar of mages.
“Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on our surroundings. That should prevent any monster from getting close.”
I say, and the two respond with weak nods, before going back to their tents.
Elga looks a little worried.
“Hey hey, are those two gonna be all right?”
“Yes. Reina got used to it too, so they’ll probably be fine.”
“Well, we’ll try to be careful too… But you should probably look after them, if they’re weak.”
“Well, they are the fifth and sixth strongest mages in the continent, so…”
Then again, on this island it really doesn’t matter how strong they were on the continent.
In actuality, when Reina goes away from the tent, it’s always with me or Luna. This island is dangerous, whether you’re one of the seven great mages or not.
“By the way, is that shantak Luna took down earlier dangerous?”
“Well, I guess. It’s about mid or high tier on this island, like the emperor boar.”
“I see…”
It sounds like there are monsters that are even more dangerous. I’m really starting to worry about those two having their own places.
Honestly, I think my sense of personal danger that normal humans have is broken.
The reason is simple. This body that won’t get hurt even if it’s attacked.
I wouldn’t worry if it was just me, but if I don’t start to understand what’s dangerous, I’m going to get someone in trouble eventually.
Xellos and Merlin are regular people, at least when it comes to having that sense of danger, and being left on this dangerous island and spending their days here has got to be stressful.
Stress in itself is dangerous. Even if it doesn’t hurt the body, once it starts hurting the mind, the person might fall into a state from which they can’t come back.
I just met them, and I wouldn’t even call them acquaintances, but we might be able to get along. And if we can cooperate, that’s what I want to do.
“…Let’s talk to Reina about it later.”
“Yes. It’s not like I really care what happens to them, but if you two are gonna start feeling responsible, I can at least help.”
“Yes, thanks Elga.”
“Sure.”
Elga doesn’t say a lot, but he’s looking out for us.
He kind of feels like an older brother, and I end up relying on him without even thinking.
That said, I’m an independent guy too. I can’t just rely on other people, I have to get it together.
“Luna will help too.”
“I see… Thanks Luna.”
“Hehehe.”
I pat her soft fox ears, and she happily laughs. Would it be like this if I had a daughter or a sister?
“Anyway, how about we fish while they rest?”
“Oh, good idea. Hold on a second.”
Elga then starts looking around with sharp eyes, and then digs into the ground at an incredible speed.
He has small beings in his hands that look like worms, and Luna stares at that bait.
“This should do it.”
“…”
“Hey Luna, this is fish bait, so don’t go eatin’ it.”
“I-I know!”
“Do you? Anyway, we can just use branches for the rods. The trick is to find flexible ones.”
I could’ve used a rod I borrowed from Reina and taken out bait from my storage magic, but it’s strangely interesting to hear Elga carefully explain everything, so I’m going with a handmade rod.
How about this one? And this one? I show all sorts of branches to Elga, but he keeps telling me to get a better one.
“Hey hey Elga, what about this one?”
“Oh, that one’s nice. I think you could fish out a sea dragon with that one!”
“Fufufu.”
Luna is looking at me with a smug look on her face. I guess that’s her rod then.
“Elga, I was thinking about fishing small fish in this river…”
“Too soft! If a troublemaker like you’s gonna fish, you’re gonna drag out somethin’ weird for sure! And you need a rod that’s not gonna lose to it!”
“…That’s kind of harsh.”
It’s not like I’m going out of my way to attract trouble…
“Mister, mister.”
“Yes? Are you going to console me, Luna?”
“Luna’s found her fishing rod already? What about you?”
“Guh…”
Luna shows off her branch again, and I drop my shoulders while trying once again to find a branch that won’t snap to a sea dragon.
I will however say one thing.
“What’s even a branch that can handle a sea dragon!?”
I pick up dozens of branches until one finally gets a passing grade from Elga. And then we sit on top of some rocks and start fishing.
Elga got the lines and hooks here and there to finish our rods, so everything is handmade, and it’s actually exciting to be fishing with a tool I made myself.
“Nothing’s bitin’.”
“Nothing.”
But sadly, I’m the only one excited about that, as the other two quickly start sounding bored.
It’s too bad. I’m enjoying this peaceful time.
Maybe it’s because my life was so busy in my old world, but hearing the wind blow through the trees and the river flowing is really relaxing.
“This is the best part of fishing.”
“Is it now… I wanna pull them out one after the other.”
“Luna too.”
“Hn…”
They could probably do it if they tried.
That said, if I really tried, I could probably see precisely how the fish move in the river, find where there are a lot of them, and throw down the bait there.
But I feel like that would be blasphemy towards fishing.
“Let’s just relax and have fun.”
“Eh…”
Luna looks like she’s already bored with this.
From her point of view, it must look like not doing something interesting is a waste of us hanging out together.
“All right then…”
I purposefully strengthen my senses to see where the living beings in the river are moving.
And then, I feel them gathering in the shade of a rock not too far from here.
“Over there.”
I point, and Luna takes off running to that spot without saying a word, before casting her lure again.
It doesn’t take long for something to bite.
“Ah! I got one!”
It’s a small fish that looks like a sweetfish.
She’s excited about catching her first fish, and comes to report her catch with a happy look on her face.
“That’s great.”
“Yes! And I’m gonna fish more! Fufufu, Luna’s not losing to Elga!”
“Is that right… Hey Arata, I’m fishin’ there too!”
“That’s fine. I’ll wait over here.”
Luna’s provocation works, and Elga moves to that spot too, leaving me here by myself.
It doesn’t look like anything’s going to bite, but this is fun in its own way.
According to a Chinese anecdote, a Japanese person that likes fishing is called a taikenbou, and I kind of feel like that’s me right now.
“Oh…?”
And as I think about that, I feel something pulling.
I guess I got one. It’s a pretty deep river, so I can’t see what it is yet, but it feels big.
“Fufufu, I’ll brag about it to Luna later.”
Earlier I got the feeling that there are only small fish in that spot.
That means I’m going to fish something bigger than them.
“Soryah!”
It’s not struggling too much, but it feels pretty big. I pull it as hard as I can, thinking this might turn into a good story.
And then it draws an arc over my head and falls behind me.
“Fuguh…”
“…Fugu?”
Are there puffer fish in the river? No, when I turn around, I see a girl with longer ears than humans and silver hair, passed out.
It looks like instead of a sea dragon, I caught something that looks like an elf…
What is Elga going to say when he sees this? What do I do? Should I release her… I don’t think I should.
And then…
“Nice going Arata.”
“Good job mister!”
They sound impressed.
“No…”
I’m about to say it wasn’t on purpose, but they won’t believe me.
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