Chapter 35
Kirio Drug’s Day Off
Our store takes a regular day off once a week, and most of these days off often end by just lazing around all day .
However, it’s different today .
“Master, over here, Master, over here!”
We’re in the usual forest .
Noela is pulling me by the hand .
“Hold on, hold on; you don’t need to be in such a hurry . ”
Mina is next to us, smiling warmly .
In her hands is the lunch she made this morning, packed into a basket .
What Noela is talking about seems to be a lake a little further within the forest, and the plan is to go there to take it easy today .
I didn’t know that such a place existed until now, but it seems that Noela had previously found it while I was fully concentrated on harvesting medicinal plants .
“You’ve even brought a fishing pole along haven’t you, Reiji-san?”
“Yeah, when I went to buy this, that general goods store uncle gave it to me . ”
As always, that person never lets me pay .
I feel a little guilty that it’s like this every single time ; if I catch anything I’ll give it to him as thanks .
Noela is collecting things like caterpillars stuck to leaves and whatnot, sticking them in bottles .
“I,is that … going to be the bait? I am the one who asked you to gather it but…”
“It is! They’ll bite! Mina gather too!”
When she thrust the bottle out, Mina trembled .
“I,I,I,I … w,will refrain… . I’m afraid of … squirming things .
Yeah, I totally understand that feeling, Mina .
I can deal with one by itself, but when I see 10 or 20 squirming in a jar, even I’ll be disgusted .
After walking a little more, we came to a peaceful lake in a clearing in the forest .
“Master, Mina, here . ”
Mina spread out the picnic blanket at a suitable spot .
“Heeeh~, this is a really refreshing place, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, the breeze feels good too; this is quite the hidden spot . ”
The lake is also quite clear and pretty .
“Lost of monsters, beasts, around . Be careful . ”
Ugh . For real?
Then of course this place is hidden .
I suppose there will also be monsters and beasts coming to drink water too .
If a battle breaks out, I can only rely on Miss Noela .
After relaxing my back and taking a drink of the tea Mina had included, I promptly made the preparations for fishing .
“Let’s get ready too, Noelsan . ”
“Ru-”
Get ready?
Noela put on a small backpack and hid together with Mina in the shade .
What is it?
Ah, I get it … it’s surely the bathroom .
As I’m a gentleman, naturally I won’t peek into the shade or try to listen in .
I took the first of the caterpillar-chans that Noela had resolutely gathered and stuck it onto the hook, then cast the line .
… …
… … … …
… … … … … …
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There isn’t the slightest response .
Well, fishing is just like this, isn’t it?
Ping!
Hm? I think this sound is…?
I look at myself with the Appraisal Skill .
[Skill: Appraisal * Drug Discovery * Cultivation Ace
Fish Shadow Confirmation Sonar –
Ooh!
It feels like this will be pretty useful when fishing!
Just like with using the Appraisal Skill, when I look at the lake with intent, I could see a lot of fish shadows that weren’t visible at all .
Fufun, with this I’ll be able to fish without casting the lure into useless places .
I moved to a suitable spot and waited for a fish to take the bait .
“Reiji-sn . ”
“Master-”
I turned at the voices of my two poster girls, and there they were wearing swimsuits .
Noela has a onepiece swimsuit .
Mina has a bikini with a pareo wrapped around, giving a mature feeling .
“Master, Master! Suits me? Suits me?”
Noela ran over to me, tail wagging, and spun around to show me .
“Yeah, it suits you . When did you buy them?”
“Well, previously when we went to San Rogulo . … W,what do you think about mine, Reiji-san?”
“Yeah, I think Mina’s is great too . “
Ehehe, Mina laughed in embarrassment .
Wasn’t there a sandy beach near San Rogulo?
If there was, the two of them might have gone swimming in the see .
Splash, splash; Mina and Noela began to splash each other with water in the shallows .
“Noelsan, it’s cold ~ . Nn, here-”
“Habyu!? … Noela, won’t forgive…”
“Hiya!? Why did you get serious all of a sudden~?”
Watching the two in their swimsuits having fun playing around is a good thing .
Pulling back the pole, an empty fishhook dangled before my eyes .
Seems like just the bait was taken while I was watching the two .
After that, it didn’t matter how many times I repeated it, only the bait was eaten .
I wanted to bring back fish for the General store uncle and Rena and her father at the bar though…
Is it not that easy to catch something for a fishing novice like me?
“… . Interesting . Alright, I’ll show you what happens when a pharmacist gets serious . ”
Abandoning the pole, I entered the forest .
I have a complete seat of pharmaceutical tools in my bad, so I’ll use it to make bait that fish go straight for .
My idea for the drug is an arrangement of the attractant I made for Lilika before .
[Big Catch-kun: A gel-type medicine that contains a pheromone that is intensely effective on a fish’s sense of smell . ”
Like the explanation says, there’s a thick substance within the bottle .
I stuck it on the original bait and,
“There-”
I dropped it down on the lake .
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And then .
Multitudes of dark fish shadows approached the lure immediately .
However, they spun around and fled .
How weird; right when I tilted my head, a gigantic shadow suddenly appeared .
Oh . Wouldn’t this be the lord of the lake!?
As I was getting excited, pull; a strong shock ran up the pole .
It’s here it’s here it’s here-!
“Reiji-san, does it seem like you’ll catch anything?”
“Right now-! I’m catching something right now!”
As it pulled and I pulled repeatedly, eventually the lord of the lake’s pulling power weakened .
“Ra—-aaaaa!
When I pulled with all my might, the lord flew from the water’s surface and, crash; it tumbled on the ground .
“Owie~~ . Sticking a hook in it is so horrible…”
What did I fish up?
Saying it bluntly, I fished up a girl .
From the lake .
Owowowow; the girl extracted the hook that was stuck in the corner of her mouth and tossed it away .
“Rerere,Reiji-san fished up a girllll-!?”
“Master, how did you fish?”
“Mina and Noela, calm down . I don’t really get it myself . The lord … I don’t really know that, huh . But she came flying out of the lake . ”
Growl; the girl pressed her stomach as it made that strange noise .
“I thought it was my first meal in a while and ate it … for there to be a hook… is this bullying… . ?”
“Um-, excuse me-?”
“Ah-! It’s you isn’t it, the horrible person who used a hook to fish me up!”
“Rather than me fishing you up, it’s more like you came and got yourself caught … I wanted to catch fish, you know . ”
My bad, my bad; I apologized, but the girl who was sitting there glared at me with a pout .
“I’m the pharmacist Reiji . And you?”
“I(boku) am Vivi . I’m the spirit of this lake . It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a conversation with a human . ”
The girl who calls herself Vivi has pretty sky-blue hair done up .
A spirit, huh…?
But staying underwater all the time isn’t something a human can imitate, so she might be the real thing .
Mina tilted her head in wonder .
“Does a fantasy-like existence like a spirit really exist?”
“What is a ghost saying?”
Growl; Vivi’s stomach sounded again and she muttered absentmindedly, “So hungry…”
The girls and I exchanged glasses .
“We just so happened to have brought a lunch, would you like to eat together with us?”
“Is that alright? Treating a spirit like me to a meal…?”
“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s fine . ”
“But being joined by a stranger like me will turn your fun lunchtime into an unpleasant time… . ”
“It won’t, it won’t!”
“A . I understand… You’ll act like you’re being my friend and then badmouth me a ton afterwards-”
“No we won’t!”
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This spirit is as negative as shit .
“Is fine, come . ”
Noela took her by the hand and led her to the picnic blanket .
Mina and I followed behind, with the lunch Mina made this morning in hand .
What was made and provided was a lot of different types of sandwiches .
Chomp chomp; Noela is eating with her usual gusto .
Chew chew; the spirit Vivi is also moving her small mouth and eating in silence .
“What do spirits normally eat?”
“… Up until now humans have given me offerings, but recently that hasn’t been happening so I’ve been going hungry . ”
When I asked about the details, it seems that Vivi was deified as a great spirit a very long time ago .
And so it seems she had the lifestyle of eating offerings .
Currently this has been reduced greatly .
There are a lot of monsters and beasts, so I suppose there isn’t anyone who would purposefully brave the dangers to bring offerings .
“I’m such an embarrassment of a spirit, you’ll be laughing at me later anyway…”
“We won’t laugh . Do you not eat fish?”
“I can’t catch th … my mistake . I don’t eat friends . ”
I heard your true feelings .
“Then do you want to try fishing with us? I also have [Big Catch-kun] too . ”
I cut off a robust-looking branch for a pole .
Next I used the string and hook I brought and completed it .
“Haaaa… . ”
The spirit let out a strange voice .
She seemed to be moved by seeing the caterpillars wiggling inside the bottle .
Oh yeah, this spirit was fished up with these caterpillars…
“Reiji-kun, c,can I pinch just one of them?”
“Just what kind of remote tribe are you from? No way, no way . Because you’re going to fish with this . ”
Sticking the bait with the gel-type Big Catch-kun on, I threw the hook into the lake .
“Here . Take this . If something bites, give it a pull okay?”
“Why are you being so nice?”
“I wonder . ”
“To show me so much favor, your motive must be to take advantage of me later, definitely…”
Slump; Vivi is depressed again . 。
Although I don’t intend to demand repayment at all…
Pull pull; Vivi’s pole gives a large shudder .
“Fuwawawawa, Rerere,Reiji-kun, there’s a huge pull!”
“It’s your friend’s resistance with all its might . ”
“Hah, ha, ha … . I don’t have anyone like that… . ”
“Is this the time to be depressed!? A fish bit, so fish it up!”
Bracing her feet on the spot and looking like she’s trying with all her might, so I encircled Vivi from behind and grasped the pole .
“We’re pulling on three!”
“Eh? Eh? What, what!?”
“One, two, – three!”
Matching my call, Vivi pulled with all her might .
Splash; a fish flew from the water’s surface, flying this way from the force of being fished up .
Fwooooooosh – slap!
A 40 cm fish hit Vivi directly in the face .
“Fubeh-!?”
… … D,don’t worry about it .
“Reiji-kun, I caught it . ”
What remained on Vivi’s face after the fish hit it was a smile .
“Let’s catch another . ”
Nearby is the NoelMina team, casting my pole and reeling it in, casting and reeling over and over again .
Mina is fishing . Noela removes the hook, sticks the bait on, then smears Big Catch-kun on . Mina casts off again .
It’s endless, and they’re already showing off some splendid cooperation .
There are around 20 fish flapping at their feet .
I,isn’t it a massive hauuuul!?
“I won’t lose to you guys, Reiji-san!”
Mina said playfully, and Noela also nodded in agreement .
“We’re not losing either, Vivi . ”
“Y – yeah!”
“Do you have any lake spirit power that will make fishing easier?”
“Haha… do you really think I would have that kind of power…?
“Then, don’t worry about it . If that’s how it is, I’ll use my Skill…”
“Ah, ah, ah Reiji-kun, don’t abandon me… Please…”
The unlucky spirit + me pair were unable to catch up, and in the end we caught 23 .
The poster girls pair caught 26 .
“We won, Noelsan”
“Ru-ru- ♪”
This is more than enough as gifts for the general goods store and Rabbit Hall .
I made a bit of a fish-tank, bringing back only what I need .
“Vivi, I’m going to give you this fish-tank with the rest . ”
“Eh – why?”
For some reason Vivi looked uneasy with a downcast face .
“Why… because we don’t need them . And you were hungry, right? When you’re hungry, you can eat . ”
“… . Humans always want something in return for doing this kind of thing . Everyone leaves offerings and asks me for things I can’t do … like making it rain or hiding the sun… even though I’m not a god… I can’t do what I can’t do … . I can’t,, I can’t, so please don’t come to this lake anymore . I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please stop defiling the lake … Even though it’s not my fault…”
Aah… . she’s negative because that stuff happened .
“I’m not wishing for something in return . ”
“…”
“If we’re friends, it’s fine to give and receive, right? I’m not interested in a relationship only based on self-interest either . ”
I grasped Vivi’s hand .
“Reiji-kun and I are… friends?
“Noela too . ”
Squeeze; Noela added her hand, and Mina added hers to .
“Please be friends with me too . We had fun together today, it was enjoyable . ”
“See?”
Drip drip; Vivi began to cry .
“Thank you… come again… I’ll be waiting…”
And so we made friends with the seemingly unfortunate lake spirit, Vivi .