I really wanted to give Jayden some sort of reward.
Of course, excluding the brotherly tirades. After all, I wouldn’t have to think of something to give since he’s bound to receive it anyway. Ignoring it would mean I couldn’t ask him for anything else in the future.
Hmm, thinking about it, there’s really no need to give him anything. It’s already reserved for him, but more than that, if we’re nitpicking, the credit goes to the fish that Jayden caught first.
I don’t know what kind it is, but it’s definitely different from the one Lucas caught. From the looks of its whiskers, they both seem to be catfish, but this world has magical beasts roaming around carelessly, so perhaps this fish isn’t just any regular fish.
Anyway, since both are dark brown with whiskers, I’ll tentatively consider them catfish. However, the fish Lucas caught was fatter on the sides, while Jayden’s was longer in the front and back.
Naturally, Jayden’s fish was much longer.
“Hey, no matter how you look at it, mine has more meat, right? Cooking it up would feed at least two people!” Jayden puffed out his chest in protest.
I’m not sure if it would actually taste good, though. Some fish are so bony and smelly that I wouldn’t even know how to eat them.
“Lucas, you seem to be misunderstanding. The length of a fish caught by fishing is the measure used to compare.”
That sounds right. In fishing shows I’ve watched before, they only measured the length, not the weight.
“So if you catch something long like an eel, does that mean it’s superior to catching other fish?”
Well, not exactly.
To be precise, it means measuring the lengths of the same species for comparison. If it’s one species, that’s the larger one, and if it’s another species, then that’s the larger one… Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone here who could compare in such a manner.
“What are you two fighting over something so trivial?” Bella said, looking dumbfounded.
I wasn’t too bothered.
At least Jayden caught a fish, which made the atmosphere cheerful. That alone was worth the effort of “catching.”
“Ah!?”
While Lucas and Jayden were at it, Claire suddenly shouted.
“Wait, look at this!”
The gazes of the two fighters shifted.
At the end of their line—
A fishing rod bent almost to the breaking point. The line taut like it was about to snap.
It was obvious to anyone that what lay beyond was a fish far larger than what Lucas and Jayden had caught. A massive shadow could be seen on the clear surface of the lake. A shadow hooked on the tiny bobber, struggling to break free, looked ferocious.
My instincts screamed.
That must be similar to the beasts that roam around in the realm of ‘Gado.’
Before I knew it, Alice was also pulling on the fishing rod.
“Wait!”
I rushed over to the two and said, “If you pull like that, it’ll break! Lower it a bit…”
Instead of adjusting the bend on the rod, we basically leaned back.
To be precise, we tried to pull back.
But since the ground was all soft mud, our three feet got dragged towards the lake.
Should we just let go? I pondered for a moment, when a thick hand suddenly grasped the fishing rod tightly.
“……”
For a moment, we three forgot to pull and looked up at the Emperor.
He was holding onto the rod just enough for us to manage, not letting it pull us into the lake.
Guess it’s the experience from all those years in politics that gave him that instinct.
Yeah, if you caught it here, it’s basically stealing.
Heave-ho, heave-ho! Claire, Alice, and I began to lean back in sync.
Since we were holding the fishing rod at the end, it was obviously impossible for us to pull out the fish with our hands. It would also be tough to scoop it up with a net.
“Hey, can I help a bit?” Lucas shouted.
“Are you just going to stand there doing nothing!?” Claire yelled back.
Lucas grabbed the harpoon he had prepared in advance and hurled it towards the head of the fish.
The harpoon flew straight and struck the fish’s head, which had just slightly surfaced from the water.
BANG! At that moment, there was a loud cracking noise and the sound of the fish convulsing, all at once. Then, the fish at the end of the line toppled over, exposing its white belly and stretching out.
“……”
The Emperor discreetly let go of the rod he was holding.
Claire glanced up at him and slowly tugged on the fishing rod.
That harpoon was thrown so powerfully, combined with its weight, that the fish was incredibly heavy. Even though it was dead, we still had to be careful not to snap the line while pulling it up.
What we caught was markedly different from the whippy catfish Lucas and Jayden had caught.
I think I know what this is. It’s a carp.
But its color was unusual. It sparkled like silver, almost like a saury…
“……Is it okay to catch this?”
Only after we extracted it did Alice mumble.
Right.
This world doesn’t really have laws like animal protection or endangered species legislation.
But because of the sheer size and majesty of this fish, it had an air about it that screamed “sacred” and felt wrong to catch.
“Uh… well, no one’s warned us, so it should be fine, right?”
Lucas said.
“Is there anyone to warn us?”
When Alice questioned, Lucas fell silent.
“……Well, I suppose it’s alright since it’s caught with the future Emperor. I guess that settles it… The victor is decided. Lucas, Jayden, sadly, no matter how many you two catch, you won’t beat what Claire caught.”
Bella, who had come closer to examine the fish, said with a smile.
Lucas and Jayden slumped their shoulders.
…Well, I can’t blame them.
I couldn’t help but chuckle and look towards the Emperor.
He was staring at us from a slight distance.
His gaze seemed to be observing us, as if he was witnessing something fascinating.
As if he never thought he’d see a scene like this.
That’s what Father said.
The Emperor’s gaze locked with mine.
What should I do? Should I just look away as if nothing happened?
After a moment of contemplation, I shrugged in the Emperor’s direction.
The Emperor just stared at me.
Well, it’s not like we were ignoring each other, so…
That settled it.
*
The Lake’s Owner.
When we presented the fish we caught, the elderly steward who had been managing the mansion for decades lit up with excitement.
Given the atmosphere that screamed “You shouldn’t have caught that!”, the caretaker then asked us if we would be taxidermy-ing it.
Our gazes turned towards Claire.
She thought for a moment before shaking her head.
“Umm… It feels a bit embarrassing to keep it as a taxidermy.”
If that was the last one of its kind in the lake, then turning it into a taxidermy would leave evidence that would mark her as the one who caused the extinction of that species.
To eliminate that evidence, Claire wanted to get rid of it by eating it.
However, there was really no need to worry about that.
“Though it’s called the owner of the lake, it’s not the only one in that vast lake. It may be the largest of the bunch, but if it were truly in danger of disappearing, there would be more anglers who’d be catching it.”
Besides, he said not many people fish in the lake. Since the whole lake was owned by the Empire, there was no chance of overfishing by outsiders.
“Well then, isn’t it all the more reason to feel free to eat it?”
After hearing this, Claire said as such, and ultimately, that ‘Owner of the Lake’ became our meal. Fortunately, they said it tastes delicious. If it hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of catching it.
In exchange, we took a photo with Claire holding the fish.
It was so big and long that Alice and I had to support its head and tail from either side.
The camera was that expensive one Claire always carried around.
While the staff prepared the meal, we returned to the lakeside to set up a bonfire.
After Claire caught that big one, she also managed to catch a few more. Bella and Damien each caught two, and Lucas and Jayden also reeled in two more.
Alice and I were satisfied with just one each.
And on top of that, the Emperor added a pretty sizable fish.
The owner of the lake was a fine ingredient, so the staff decided to cook it with care, but the rest of the fish we caught were simply going to be grilled over an open flame.
If it tastes bad, then… well, it can’t be helped.
“But, do you know how to clean it?”
“I learned how.”
Excluding the fact that we’re royalty, the fish and meat sold in industrialized Korea are usually already cleaned.
Many people wouldn’t know how to clean fish even if they were taught to sneak in and cook.
I picked up a suitably small fish and sat down—
Then, I looked up at the Emperor again.
“……Ha.”
After a small sigh, I grabbed another fish.
I walked over to where the Emperor was and held out the fish with its tail in front of his face.
“……Huh?”
The Emperor made a sound of surprise.
“What are you just standing there watching for?”
I said.
“Don’t expect a free meal, help me clean this. Since you’re here, think about contributing a little!”
“……”
Only after hearing my words did the Emperor pick up the fish I was offering.
He looked incredibly awkward, unlike when he held a knife.
I tugged on the Emperor’s sleeve with my empty hand as I walked towards the place where the kids were.
Everyone was looking over here with slightly dazed expressions.
…Well, after all, this was the objective we started with. Let’s steel ourselves.
I let out a tiny breath and made that resolve.
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