Chapter 162 – The Witch and the Black Knight (39)

Rėad​ ö​ｎ &K;ɑ&t;Ｒe​ad​ingĆa​ｆｅ

Annoying. Annoying. So damn annoying.

I’d been stewing in irritation for the past hour, glaring at my motionless fishing rod on the deck of a boat I’d cobbled together with magic-reinforced logs.

Sure, it wasn’t unusual to go an hour without a single bite while fishing, but…

“I see. So this is fishing. It really does require patience. For the first time, romance feels easier in comparison.”

The problem was Edel, who was nonchalantly hauling in fish after fish right beside me.

I’d only shown him once, and now every time he cast his line, something leaped out of the water.

Not just any fish tuna the size of his forearm, and even a stray shark that had somehow wandered into these waters. At this rate, he’d probably catch a whale next.

Meanwhile, I hadn’t even managed to hook a minnow, left to stare hopelessly at my rod…

Why? Why is it only biting for him?!

Edel, a complete beginner, was reeling them in effortlessly, so why not meeeeeee—?!

“Estelle, having any luck?”

“…Are you mocking me? Hmph. I’m concentrating, so don’t disturb me.”

Casually strolling over with yet another catch, Edel looked unbearably smug.

Just you wait.

I’d show him by catching a whale—something even a shark wouldn’t dare challenge.

Channeling my frustration into aggressive reeling, Edel wisely retreated to his spot like a scolded dog.

“Estelle, I’ll give this one to you.”

“……”

He carefully placed a tuna beside me, watching my reaction.

From a fisherman’s perspective, this was practically a declaration of war, but of course, Edel wouldn’t know that.

I was the one who’d insisted on teaching him, yet here I was, sulking instead of praising his success. I must’ve looked ridiculous.

What should I even say?

Maybe change the mood with food?

“Edel… you hungry? Wanna take a break and eat?”

“Perfect timing. I was just getting hungry. Which fish are we having?”

He bit the bait without hesitation.

Even if fishing was a bust, at least you’re easy to reel in, Edel.

I wasn’t sure if I should be touched or just call him simple-minded, but at least the awkward tension dissipated instantly.

“How about the tuna you gave me? It’s fresh and fatty—should be delicious.”

Slicing open the belly in one smooth motion, a cascade of glistening roe spilled onto the deck. No wonder it had felt so plump—it was spawning season.

“Can we eat that too?”

“Of course. Packed with nutrients. Beginner’s luck, I guess?”

“Was it luck? All the ones I caught were plump like this. I thought that was normal.”

His utterly clueless response nearly made me lose my composure, but… something far more sinister slithered into my mind.

All of them were plump? Wait… could it be…?

I tossed aside the tuna and inspected Edel’s catches.

Every. Single. One.

Their bellies were swollen, bursting with roe the moment I made the slightest incision. Some didn’t even need cutting—a mere poke sent them convulsing, ejecting eggs like they were begging to be fertilized.

Even the ones not in spawning season were puffing up their bellies, fluttering their fins at Edel like desperate suitors.

“……”

For some reason, all I could see were horny females trying to seduce him.

“Edel, you—!”

“What’s wrong? Isn’t roe a good thing?”

It is! It is, but…!

I pressed a hand to my forehead, at a loss for words.

What the hell is up with him?

Is he secretly an incubus or something?!

Does he emit some kind of pheromone that makes anything female throw itself at him?!

Next thing you know, he’ll be catching sirens too!

Sure, Edel had that animalistic charm, but this was ridiculous. The only explanation for why none of the fish bit my line while swarming his was that they were literally throwing themselves at him.

It sounded absurd even to me, but… now that I thought about it, back in Venetia, women would stop and stare at him like lovestruck idiots…

And let’s not forget Vempir had tried to claim him too.

If I didn’t guard Edel properly, a second or third Emily might pop up to ruin his pure love.

Just like these fish, they’d be scheming to get into his harem by any means necessary.

Right. This is all for Edel’s love life.

With that justification, I mercilessly exploded every fish that dared puff up its belly at him.

“Is that… also a way to prepare them?”

“No. They’d gone bad.”

“Ah. What a waste.”

Only after clearing the fishy carnage did my frayed nerves settle.

“Estelle, can we eat this one? It seems pretty fresh.”

While I’d been busy, Edel had already caught another. His excited voice grated on my ears.

Let me guess—another one in forced spawning mode?

But since he seemed hungry, I reluctantly turned to prepare sashimi—

Flap. Flap.

A shimmering, azure tailfin thrashed vividly.

Above the waist—where fish scales shouldn’t give way to smooth, human skin—a siren writhed in Edel’s grip.

Her hair, the same crystalline blue as her fins, clung damply to his shoulder like a lover’s embrace. Jewel-like eyes locked onto him with feverish intensity.

She looked about fifteen in human years.

Her slender arms coiled around his neck in a bridal carry, her bare chest pressed shamelessly against him. Flushed and panting, she parted her lips like a lovestruck maiden.

“Can we eat sirens too?”

“It’s spoiled. Toss it. Now.”

“But I just caught it. Wouldn’t it be fine if we cooked it properly? I’m sure you could make it delicious.”

Edel saw her as nothing but food, but the siren had other plans.

Gasping, she rubbed her underdeveloped chest against him, her tiny jaws straining to leave a mating mark on his neck—just like the lore said sirens did when claiming mates.

“Man. Me. Make. Babies.”

And then, in broken speech, she outright demanded copulation.

A second Emily—no, a worse menace, was trying to ruin Edel’s pure love.

Even if this siren wasn’t his type.

Even if he only saw her as ingredients.

I couldn’t let this stand.

“GET OFF HIM!!!!”

I summoned Triceratops, its ominous aura swirling.

Any normal creature would’ve fled in terror, but the siren only clung tighter, burying herself in Edel’s arms and shooting him a pleading look.

This… this little—!

Now I looked like the villainess trying to tear apart their “love”.

As if to mock me, the sea itself revolted.

Calm waves turned violent, the warm breeze morphing into a gale that rocked the boat. Storm clouds blotted out the sky, lightning cracking like my fraying patience.

Trapped in Edel’s arms, the siren left me no room to cast magic or swing Triceratops, leaving me stomping in frustration.

“Edel, you—!”

Despite my protests, he still hadn’t shoved her away. A tiny spark of resentment flared.

“Estelle.”

His voice cut through the thunder, calm as ever.

His usual indifferent gaze softened into a reassuring smile.

“You’re right. It does seem spoiled. The stench is unbearable. Probably tastes terrible too.”

Then, gripping her hair, he peeled her off like a piece of rotten fish.

“Eek—! Maaaan!!”

With a mighty heave, he yeeted her into the horizon.

I said throw her away, but did you have to yeet her by the hair?!

Hehehe. Serves her right.

A tiny pang of guilt surfaced, but as the siren vanished, Triceratops’s mana faded, reverting to a normal broom.

“Perhaps you should calm down now. I apologize for not considering your feelings.”

“W-Who’s angry?! I’m completely fine!!”

I hid Triceratops behind my back, feigning innocence.

“The weather. Isn’t it because you’re upset?”

“What about it? I didn’t do this!”

Finally regaining my senses, I surveyed our surroundings.

Sure, the sky had darkened when I summoned Triceratops, but my anger alone couldn’t manipulate the weather.

“Wait. Unless…”

This felt familiar. Like that one time in Aria Chronicle 2, when the field boss Kraken appeared—

“GROOAAARR!!!”

—Right on cue.

Massive tentacles erupted from the depths.

A gargantuan eye, split into jagged segments, rolled wildly atop a towering limb as the Kraken emerged like a storm given flesh.

“Why?! The Kraken should be—!”

Sealed away with the Witch of the Sea!

A violent current cut me off, nearly capsizing us.

Even with magic stabilizing the boat, one swipe from those tentacles would send us to the abyss.

“Edel, let’s teleport back—!”

The Kraken wasn’t supposed to awaken for another 200 years.

This wasn’t right.

I reached for Edel, but his crimson eyes burned with the same fervor as when we’d first met—fixed solely on the Kraken.

The gaze of a warrior who’d found worthy prey.

“Edel, you’re not seriously thinking of fighting—”

“Estelle. Can we eat that? Wait here. I’ll bring back something really fresh this time!”

Not fighting—catching it?!

“You need a sword, not a fishing rod—!!!”

I didn’t doubt he could win, but charging in barehanded was suicide.

Before I could stop him, he’d already cloaked himself in demonic energy and leaped at the Kraken.

And then—

GULP.

In one swift motion, the Kraken swallowed him whole.

As if it had been waiting for this moment, its colossal form vanished beneath the waves.

“Edel?! EDEL!?!?”

The sea fell eerily calm.

Only my desperate scream echoed across the now-empty waters.