CH 111.1

Chapter 111.1

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10:00

After finishing my daily routine of taking care of the animals and training, I decided to go fishing in the river. I loaded the empty bathtub, a bucket for the fish and a shovel into the wagon. I also brought some food like dried meat and bread along with a water dagger bottle with me. 

As for the fishing gear, I had bought them because I had taken fishing as a hobby back then. I still kept my fishing gear in the farming tool shed. I planned on using them to fish today. The set came with a reel, weight and several hooks. It was a cheap item that only cost me 10,000 yen. 

I had seen plenty of earthworms while tending on the field so I’d procure the fishing bait locally. Monster might come attacking me too so I donned on my fighting gear just in case. 

Now then, let’s get going. 

I held Ash in my arms and put him onto the wagon. Rocinante (my horse) was neighing, snorting at me. We then departed for the river with the clacking sound of Rocinante (my horse)’s feet accompanying us. 

I yawned as we slowly went through the quiet and peaceful meadow. After a while, we finally reached the river. I couldn’t see any sign of the monster as far as my eyes could see. 

The river was located in the middle of nature so it was very beautiful. The water was crystal clear, I could even see the fish swimming vividly. 

I dug the surrounding area with a shovel to procure the needed earthworms for fishing. I hooked the earthworm, connected the hook with the string and dangled the rod into the river. On the other side, Ash was chasing after the fluttering butterfly. He hopped and skipped as the butterfly flew leisurely to avoid being caught. 

I was basking in the sun while listening to the sound of the river flowing. Realizing that I’d end up falling asleep at this rate, I munched on some dried meat. It helped in stimulating my brain a little. 

While I was chewing on dried meat, Ash came sitting up straight next to me. I gave him a piece of dried meat after making him do the ‘hand’ command. 

A strange bug that resembled a dragonfly perched on the edge of the rod but because the rod suddenly got pulled, that strange bug immediately flew away. I rolled the reel and pulled the rod. I successfully caught delicious looking fish that looked similar to sweetfish. I filled the bucket with the water from the river and threw the… Sweetfish-ish in. 

I was torn between cutting it into 3 parts and eating it as sashimi or just went wild and grilled it over the bonfire with salt. I could feel the drool accumulating in my mouth because of how excited I was at the thought. 

Let’s keep the rhythm going and continue catching more fish steadily. 

After fishing for about 3 hours, I was able to catch 20 sweetfish-ish. I was aware this must not be a sweetfish, it must be some other kind of fish. I appraised the sweetfish-ish. 

【Tucarus: A very delicious fish that lives in the clear stream. There’s no harmful parasites in the habitat of this fish so it is safe for human consumption and can be eaten raw too.】

It seemed this fish was edible.

Tucarus, huh? What a strange name for a fish. 

17:00

When I arrived home, I saw Margo, Sarasa and Juno were coming to visit me. Their wagon was loaded with various kinds of food and alcohol. I was really grateful for it. 

I slightly raised my hand and greeted them then I decided to prepare some sweetfish while waiting for the bathtub water to become hot. 

First, I shaved the tree branches with a knife and then skewered the fresh tucarus through it. I rubbed grated garlic and salt all over the fish so I could grill them over the bonfire later. I’d start grilling after I finished taking a bath. 

Next, I chopped off the head of the live tucarus, washed the internal organs over running water then I cut them into 3 parts to eat as a sashimi. I was glad I already had the experience of fishing in the mountain stream when I was living in the rural Hokkaido. I knew how to prepare and cook sweetfish by myself thanks to it. 

I put some salt over the sashimi and ate it. As I thought, I really wanted to have soy sauce. Maybe I could make it myself?

18:00

Sarasa insisted that she wanted to get into the tub together with Ash so I relented and then after she was finished, the three of us went into the tub. 

This sweetfish-ish fish, tucarus, was really delicious. Even if I ate it raw or grilled it, this fish tasted exquisite. It was a good pair with ale too. 

Margo, Sarasa and Juno had the same shocked face when they ate tucarus sashimi. In the end, the night continued on into a merry drinking party just like usual. 

Sarasa hand fed Margo a piece of tucarus sashimi. I felt like my mouth was going to become coarse from seeing this overly sweet lovey dovey scene before me. I glanced at Juno. He had the expression of a dead fish. I offered him more tucarus sashimi to lift his spirit up. 

And so, the fun night continued on.