Ch.280October’s Dungeon, and Community Work (3)

“Well, well, shall we head to the fishing spot?”

I immediately grabbed my fishing rod and headed toward the sea.

“Don’t you need other equipment?”

Mika asked me.

“This is enough.”

I held up the lure I bought online. It was a modern lure that even simulated subtle movements.

“Huh? Aren’t you going to use bait like worms or crickets?”

Madoka said with a slightly disappointed expression.

“We don’t need that for this kind of sea fishing.”

I shrugged.

Though some people say using good bait helps catch more black bass in river fishing… in my experience, it didn’t make much difference.

‘Ah… those were the days.’

I once had a fishing buddy who put A-grade beef tenderloin on his hook, hoping to catch something decent. He was absolutely crazy. But what he caught was just average. Most fish could be caught with lures anyway.

“Aww… I wanted to try putting insects or worms on fishing hooks.”

Madoka said with a dejected look.

“Madoka… you have unexpected interests.”

I found it surprising. Judging by her appearance, I thought she would hate that sort of thing.

“I’ll pass. Insects? No way.”

Mika made a disgusted face. Yeah, that’s the normal reaction.

——-

Anyway, we headed to the night fishing spot.

“Oh!! We meet again!”

An extremely familiar face greeted me.

It was that stingray guy from before. The man who spent his own money to build an aquarium just for stingrays.

“So you run a fishing spot too.”

I said, looking around. This was different from the game. In the game, the fishing spot was run by a different NPC… had something changed because of my involvement?

“I’m just doing this as a hobby. This land belongs to me anyway.”

The stingray man said with a smile.

This guy… he was definitely rich. Wealthy enough to build an aquarium with his personal funds. Eccentric, but wealthy.

Anyway.

“Hohoho. Different women from last time. You’re quite the playboy, aren’t you?”

He chuckled while wearing his stingray mask.

“Ah… it’s a harem situation.”

I smiled and hugged Mika and Madoka close.

“That’s very stingray-like of you!! Male stingrays are quite fond of females!! They have three reproductive organs!! They’re famous for never stopping mating even when they’re about to die. When you catch stingrays or skates, you’ll witness the spectacular sight of them continuing to mate even while being caught…”

The stingray man seized the opportunity to continue his explanation.

“Um… how much is the fee?”

I asked the stingray man.

“Ah! It’s 1,000 yen per hour. But if you book three hours, it’s only 2,000 yen! What would you like?”

The stingray man said with a smile.

“Just one hour, please.”

I replied.

In my strictly personal opinion, fishing was all about luck. On bad days, nothing would bite no matter what you did, and on good days, you could catch fish even if you were fishing with your feet. Often, what you achieved in one hour was the same as what you’d get in three.

“Hohoho. Enjoy your fishing.”

The stingray man opened the door for us.

——–

The fishing spot was filled with silence. Since some people were openly smoking, I headed for a corner spot out of consideration for Madoka and Mika.

‘Phew… that was close.’

Smelling cigarettes after so long, I almost approached them saying, ‘Just one puff…’

Anyway… the person I needed to build a relationship with was fishing in the corner. Right near where I sat.

An old man with a long beard sat quietly with his fishing rod cast. This was the person I needed to connect with—the fishing old man.

I sat down nearby.

“Big brother!! Can we eat what we catch as sashimi?!”

Madoka seemed excited about that prospect.

“No, we have to release them. Besides, these are black bass. They don’t taste good anyway.”

I explained.

Yes, black bass were fish that had no use other than for fishing. They tasted terrible.

However, the feeling of catching them was excellent. They were aggressive eaters, biting at anything from lures to hooks. Plus, their movements were vigorous, making their bites easy to detect. They were perfect for fishing.

Because of that, humans—being homo ludens at heart—bred black bass extensively for fun, and now these fish were devouring other decent fish and actively destroying the marine ecosystem. Damn it… I’m really sorry.

“In other words… they’re like women who are fun to date but not great to marry.”

I said. Is that comparison accurate?

“Wow… that’s the worst analogy I’ve ever heard.”

Mika gave me a withering look.

“And right in front of me are two women who are both great to date and marry.”

I immediately put my arm around Mika’s waist.

“Hmph… really.”

Though she tried to sound grumpy, the corners of Mika’s mouth twitched upward. She’s so easy to appease.

“Besides, we have to release what we catch. Those are the rules.”

I explained.

“Aww… this is different from the fishing I dreamed of.”

Madoka looked deflated.

“Later… let’s go fishing somewhere proper. Like at a beach.”

I patted Madoka’s head.

“Just the two of us?”

Madoka immediately jumped at the chance for a private date.

“Yeah, just the two of us.”

I said with a smile. My other girlfriends might not like it… but whatever.

“Yay!!”

Seeing Madoka bouncing with joy in my arms, what could I do?

Tug-tug!

Just then, I felt a subtle bite on my line. Normally, I would have missed it. But perhaps due to my recent sword training, my sense of touch had become more sensitive.

‘I need to make an impressive catch here.’

The old man wouldn’t react unless the player showed some fishing skill. I needed to make a good impression.

Splash-!!

I immediately lifted my fishing rod.

Whirrrr-!!

Water splashed everywhere.

“Wow!! It must be huge!!”

Madoka shouted excitedly.

“You can do it, Shota!!”

Mika abandoned her cool gyaru persona and started cheering for me with her whole body.

The key was to release the line slightly when it got too taut. Otherwise, it would break.

“Ah… but if you loosen the line, it’ll escape!”

Madoka immediately offered her advice. Normally, I’d smack someone for backseat fishing… but Madoka was cute, so it was fine.

But humans have more stamina than fish. In a prolonged battle, the fish eventually gets pulled in.

Whirrrr-!

I repeated the motion of reeling in when the fish’s strength waned.

“Heave-ho!!”

Then, I pulled up the fishing rod as if performing a suplex into the air.

Whoosh-!!

From the water… a giant blue marlin emerged. Sharp teeth, stupid-looking eyes, a pointed nose. Yes, a perfect blue marlin. Let’s not ask why a blue marlin was living in a river. This is an otaku story after all. Such things are best overlooked for atmosphere.

“No way!! That’s…!!”

“The ruler of the river!!”

People shouted loudly. Everyone at the fishing spot gathered around me.

Flop-! Flop-!

The blue marlin on the ground thrashed with tremendous force. Gradually, it became calmer. It had accepted its defeat.

‘Damn… why is this happening now?’

The community event completion condition had already appeared.

“………..!”

The old man beside me looked at me with a surprised expression.

——–

Yes, this was the old man’s story. The old man and his friend greatly enjoyed fishing. Their goal was to catch the ruler of the river sleeping in Emoshita’s waters. However, war broke out tragically, and both the old man and his friend were drafted to participate.

The old man barely survived, but his friend died during an operation. Since then, the old man has tried to fulfill his friend’s wish by attempting to catch the ruler of the river every day at the fishing spot.

During the community event, you’re supposed to catch various fish assigned by the old man, eventually leading to the final task of catching the river’s ruler… but I just caught it now.

———-

Damn. The normal quest progression got messed up. If this had been a game made by Todoki Hawado, it would have crashed immediately. I was already mentally pressing the console button.

How to salvage this? As I was thinking, options quickly appeared in my mind.

‘Reincarnated Hero’s Persuasiveness’

Thanks to that trait, the optimal choice appeared.

“Grandpa, take this. Normally, I should release it, but… I’ll give it to you.”

I immediately said to the old man.

“What…”

The old man looked at me.

“This is your life’s goal, right? Taking this blue marlin and properly paying respects to your friend.”

I just delivered the dialogue according to the option.

“How did you…!”

The old man stared at me.

“Let’s just say I’m another friend of your friend.”

I deliberately spoke in a meaningful tone.

Otaku story special feature) If you say anything mysteriously, people tend to accept it. Squinting your eyes doubles the effect!

“He… worried about you until his dying moment on the battlefield. And… he died in peace knowing that you survived.”

I said, lifting the blue marlin and handing it to the old man.

“So there’s no need to grieve more than necessary.”

I concluded the story.

“I see… so that’s how it was…”

The old man, with tears in his eyes, accepted the blue marlin.

Ding-!!

A message notification immediately appeared on my status screen.

‘Community with Fishing Old Man MAX’

‘Recipe for Psychorobo <Moby Dick> has been unlocked.’

Okay. The community event was completed successfully. Fortunately, there was no Todoki Hawado ending.

“Young man, I don’t know who you are…”

Just then, the old man handed something to me.

“I always repay my debts. And my grudges too.”

The old man offered me something.

It was a necklace. A necklace made from a bullet casing.

“This is a lucky charm I’ve carried all my life. Take it.”

The old man handed me the bullet casing necklace.

Well… no reason to refuse. I accepted the necklace.

‘A necklace made from a bullet casing. The old man called it his lucky charm. It gives an inexplicable sense of comfort.’

According to the status screen description, it was just a miscellaneous item. I thought about feeding it to Pinocchio later tonight when we went to the dungeon.

———-

“Alright… we still have time, so let’s catch a few more.”

I shrugged my shoulders at the thought.

“Yeah! Let’s catch lots!! Should I learn fishing too?”

Mika seemed to have developed an interest in fishing. Going on a fishing trip with Mika wouldn’t be bad. We could go fishing whenever we got writer’s block. Ah, that already sounds charming.

However, Madoka started yawning.

“Big brother, I’m bored.”

Madoka said, snuggling against me.

Yeah, it’s hard for a child to appreciate the joy of fishing. I smiled wryly and picked Madoka up. Then I left the fishing spot. I’d already received the community reward anyway. My job was done.

I headed straight home, planning to prepare for the October dungeon.

When I got home, Eri silently pulled me to the bathroom.

“Shota. You smell like fish.”

Eri said to me.

Ah… probably from touching the blue marlin. Can’t be helped. I washed my hands thoroughly as Eri instructed.

Now it was really time to tackle the October dungeon.