CH 55.1

It’s late autumn, the leaves are falling, the wind is getting colder as days pass by, and the clothing stores in the city are gradually starting to stock more and more winter clothes.

Even the water I use to wash my face in the morning is getting colder and colder. It’s already harsh in my hand and it’s annoying me day after day.

Of course, if I were to go outside and get splashed by water at this time of the year, I would probably catch a cold.

The water, the cold surface of the water, was splashing up to my little feet.

「Uwaaaaaa!」

「Idiot! Kakra! Get up! Get up! Or else you’re going get dragged!」

「Why are fish so strong!」

「Probably because you’re fighting them head-on!」

I had come on a reservation-only nabe with my fellow postal workers. We are currently fishing for ingredients and were about to be dragged by the bamboo which line is at the water of the pool.

I thought it would be easy since even Poto, who’s smaller than me, managed to catch one!

The hook got stuck on my clothes and I couldn’t get it off. After that, the line was tangled in my leg and I couldn’t stand up….

As I was grieving, wondering if I’m going to be dragged to the pool, I was suddenly pulled up, along with the entire bamboo pole, and made to stand on the ground.

「Are you alright? You’ll catch a cold if you lie down outside like that.」

I look up to see a gentle face smiling at me.

It was the centaur Pickles-san, the ace of the adventurers.

As I stood there, staring at her face, a famous person with whom I had no contact with, I was tapped on the shoulder from the side.

「…..th……is….」

I turned to the person who tapped and told me that, I saw Vongo-san, a birdkin and Pickles-san’s partner, she swung her fingers from side to side.

「Vongo-chan says, if the fish is pulling, run to the other side. You have to swing around to weaken them.」

「O-okay〜」

As expected of a famous duo, with just those syllables, they were able to transmit that many words.

「Thank you very much! I’ll try it!」

「Okay, then, good luck.」

Pickles-san handed me the bamboo and I ran right along the pool before I got pulled down again.

Soon, I felt the direction change so I pulled to the other side.

I’m not good at things that need power but I’m great in terms of running.

I felt like being pulled, so I ran to the other side.

I get pulled again, so I run in the opposite direction again.

After repeating this over and over again, more and more people began to gather.

「Isn’t that Kakra the idaten? What is she doing?」

「She’s fishing.」

「Why is she fishing while running?」

「Because she was almost dragged into the pool earlier.」

「I see. I heard master was also dragged the other day.」

It’s a little embarrassing but this is the only thing I can do.

What matters is whether or not I can catch fish.

「Ah! Kakra! Isn’t the fish getting weaker?」

「A little more, just a little more」

「Hang in there!」

「Whoahhhh!」

It is true that the pulling power seems to be getting weaker.

After making a big circle around the pool, I immediately ran in the direction away from the pool.

「Fununununu….」

「You can do it!」

「Catch it!」

Earlier, I was almost dragged into the pull but this time, I feel like I can pull it up.

I knew it was getting weak so I’ll pull it up now!

Shaking the fish from side to side, I pulled it little by little and made a forward stance.

「It’s still struggling!?」

「It’s its last struggle!」

「Hang in there a little longer!」

Then, I quickly pulled the pole upward!

I was able to raise a big gehageha from the water of the pool. It was indeed the last struggle of that fish.

「Hooray～!」

「Took you long enough」

「Haa haa, haa. With this, all of us in the postal service caught a fish.」

As we were talking about gehageha, we heard a small splash.

I looked at the pool and saw Pickles-san, who had helped me earlier, holding a bamboo pole.

Pickles-san, who had been staring at the surface of the water, waved her arm effortlessly and a big gehageha flew high into the sky…..

What about my life and death struggle just now?

Is being stronger better than being faster….?

No, thinking about it, Pickles-san is also so fast that she was banned from the sports meet….

She’s a centaur after all.

Let’s not think about it anymore.

-0-

「This is more expensive than gehageha, right?」

「I’ve been told that I must absolutely not tell anyone about it.」

「I’ve never tasted it before. I wonder if it tastes good.」

Having left the gehageha in the kitchen, we went to the mushroom farm next to the swimming pool.

Our goal today is to take shiitake mushrooms here and eat them in a nabe with gehageha and meat.

It needs a lot of preparation so we have to make reservations.

We’ve been making reservations since before the sports meet and we finally got our turn today.

It’s a very popular thing to do on your holiday.