Ch.325325 – The Big Shot’s Fishing 2

<325 – The Big Shot’s Fishing 2>

Sing was left speechless at the sight of the fishing spot created inside the Training Tower.

‘How many people and resources were mobilized overnight?’

The area of the island that had been devastated after being swept away by the cruise ship was restored, and some parts were filled with freshwater where fish could live.

The fishing spot was connected to the first floor of the tower, with water pooled in excavated sections of the otherwise intact floor.

Splash

The water temperature felt by dipping a finger, and the taste of water sensed by lightly licking it with his tongue, were all different.

Looking closely, the bottoms of fishing spots ranging from pond to lake size were equipped with all kinds of stones, from heat-generating rocks to ice-cold stones that lowered water temperature.

In an area where a considerable amount of metal appeared to have been used, Jona was wiping his legs with a towel received from a maid, his face worn with fatigue as he emerged from the water.

As he lowered his formal trousers that had been rolled up, Sing struggled to speak to him.

“What is all this?”

“As you can see, it’s a fishing spot. The Chairman and the young lady wish to enjoy a new hobby.”

“I didn’t ask because I don’t know. How could such an… impossible scale of fishing spot be created in just one day? And it’s not just any random water they’ve poured in.”

Just then, a fish jumped out of the water with a splash as if asking “Did you call me?”

Sing made eye contact with it.

He caught the steel spines the fish generated and shot from its scales with his scabbard.

It was a vicious fish that could have easily taken down an ordinary angler with that surprise attack.

“Thornfish. A fish that grows in the Iron Lake, also known as the spine fish. It was caught overnight at the Chairman’s request, who is serious about his collection activities.”

Not only Jona, but other butlers were also throwing electric fish into lakes while wearing rubber boots and trembling, or releasing flame fish into boiling hot springs as smoke hissed from their hands.

It would be no exaggeration to say they had caught rare fish from all over the world, creating a scene that was nothing short of eerie.

The Foundation could travel anywhere in the world overnight if they wanted.

They could even collect resources and build environments from those places.

What if this were applied to <Base Building>?

Or to the <Assassination> of key figures in important positions in various countries?

“This is a rare opportunity. How about enjoying it together?”

“I don’t have the luxury to…”

As Sing was about to express his refusal, Jona clapped his hands with a sharp sound that instantly cleared Sing’s mind.

The noise struck his brain directly, so intense that it made his body stagger for a moment.

“No luxury? Isn’t that statement itself a luxury?”

“What do you know to interfere?”

“You want to help the young lady. Isn’t that why you remain despite fearing the Foundation? Yet you refuse opportunities to become stronger by setting conditions. Are you that strong already?”

“…!”

“Because you feel uncomfortable. Because harming life is distasteful. Because you want to protect nature. You can make any excuse. But what you lose in return is an opportunity for growth.”

Jona knows.

“The young lady’s collection has a clear purpose. The same goes for the Chairman. Think about how rare an opportunity it is to participate in that activity, to use the fishing spot that the Foundation’s butlers prepared all night.”

Such opportunities cannot be created even for a thousand gold coins.

Manpower and resources, space-moving equipment and facility usage opportunities.

All these services enjoyed in a single day inside the tower.

Even a thousand gold coins, no, ten thousand gold coins would be insufficient.

Not to mention the knowledge of ecology needed to create appropriate environments for each fish to stay alive until “fishing” is successful and collection judgment is received, and the knowledge required for live capture.

Even at this moment, the tower’s facilities were constantly trying to restore the terrain and return to their original form.

It was a facility as fleeting as summer snow that could disappear at any moment if the butlers couldn’t maintain the fishing spot.

“…My thinking was shallow. I have no right to such arrogance. I express my gratitude for your guidance.”

* *

Oknodie had quite a talent for fishing.

“Hyah!”

She was strong.

This was fundamentally advantageous in a power struggle with fish.

If the fishing rod was sturdy and durable enough, she could overwhelm the fish’s strength in one go through sheer force.

Drrrr!

Her skill at manipulating the reel, releasing and pulling it at the right speed while countering the fish’s movements in all directions, was quite remarkable.

She skillfully broke the fierce resistance of rare fish as if she had spent years fishing at sea on a boat.

There was a sense of <experience> that was on a different level from freshwater fishing specialists who only caught easy fish while sitting at fishing spots.

“Have you had fishing experience somewhere before?”

To the Chairman’s question, which arose from the same doubt, Oknodie laughed it off.

“How could that be possible…?”

The Chairman’s murmur implied that Oknodie had no fishing experience.

Was her suspicious and ambiguous attitude, which was evident everywhere, no exception even at the Foundation, even with the Chairman who had fed and raised her?

From Sing’s perspective, who had thought the Chairman was the source of all suspicion, this made her appear even more suspicious.

“Sing, the float is moving!”

“…This time I’ll catch it for sure.”

Instead of roughly pulling back against the fishing line that was being dragged away at tremendous speed as if pierced by an arrow, he gently pulled it in a circular motion as if deflecting an attack.

Learning from the lesson of losing three fishing lines, he blocked the first dash, and the fish that flew up into the air following the reeling motion shot its spines.

—Ting ting ting.

The spiny fish made a sudden acceleration, taking advantage of the moment when Sing’s hand on the fishing rod was reduced to one as he used his scabbard to block the spines.

Reading the timing as if facing a swordsman, Sing stepped on the fishing rod with his foot instead of his hand to supplement the lacking strength.

‘Using just the strength of arms and legs would lose stability and instantly drop the fishing rod.’

Recalling the five fishing rods he had lost to the fish, he fixed his entire body like a sword stuck in the ground, raising mana.

With unwavering, powerful stopping force, he prevented losing the fishing rod and blocked the surprise attack.

Now was the chance, with the spiny fish’s strength depleted.

Whirrrr!

The spiny fish was dragged above the water surface, this time according to Sing’s will rather than the fish’s.

Before its spines could spread, Sing dropped the fishing rod and executed <Iaido>, his sword strike cutting off the fish’s spine projection organ.

Thud thud roll roll.

Making a sound as if he had caught a steel ornament rather than a fish, the spiny fish lost its means of resistance and after floundering about, died with a sword pierced through its gills.

“Wow. You caught it on your 12th try! Congratulations.”

Clap clap clap.

Oknodie’s applause was embarrassing.

“Are you mocking me?”

“Of course not.”

“You caught yours on the first try.”

“Well, I have the knack for it!”

“Didn’t you say this was your first time fishing too?”

“I meant the knack for swordsmanship!”

“…”

She was evading.

Though it felt like an excuse, it wasn’t entirely false.

Indeed, without sufficient speed, power, and precision in his iaido technique, it would have been impossible to catch the spiny fish with that pull just now.

If he had missed the timing, it would have gone back into the water to gather strength, resist, and shoot spines again.

In a prolonged battle, the angler might tire first or be taken down by the fish’s spine projection.

“Fishing is quite challenging. I honestly underestimated it.”

“Hehe. But it’s fun, right? And the collection effect is good too.”

“What changed with that one just now?”

“Hmm~ Projectile blocking probability increased by 5%? You’ll be better at deflecting flying daggers or arrows!”

Indeed, having this experience would make him less likely to fall for the same trick, so he would be better at deflecting them.

Though he felt aversion to the attitude of describing the strength gained through experience as if it were a reward bestowed by someone.

Oknodie, who had been catching all kinds of fish with ease while he struggled with the spiny fish.

Her collection basket was already filled with fish numbering in the hundreds.

A sufficient number to feel a sense of achievement.

But compared to her bright expression when they started, Oknodie’s face showed a clear decrease in excitement, enjoyment, and fun.

The Chairman glanced at Oknodie’s face and saw through her psychology.

“It’s because it’s easy hunting.”

“Huh?”

“If someone were to call only the act of finishing off game that others have driven to them ‘hunting,’ lazy nobles would recall only convenient and pleasant memories and agree. But true hunters would deny it. They’d say that entertainment and hunting are different. In fact, this isn’t ordinary fishing either.”

“I’m sorry. I should have enjoyed it more!”

“No, I should apologize to my daughter who tried to enjoy it for the sake of this papa’s face. I should have understood your desire for fresh fishing.”

“It can’t be helped. We can’t leave the tower right now. It’s amazing that we even got to experience this!”

That’s true.

Sing also recalled how miraculous the experience created by the Chairman’s power had been.

But the Chairman’s fishing contained a deeper philosophy despite it being his first experience too.

“Though this is my first time enjoying fishing, I’ve fully grasped its essence. To perceive the intentions of an opponent hidden underwater and deceive them to reel them in according to one’s will.”

“!!”

“Quite a good hobby we’ve found. Papa thinks this hobby is quite excellent.”

Was fishing… such a dangerous activity?

Sing felt as if he had done something perilous, like inserting and turning a key in a shackle attached to a bear’s ankle.

Looking at Oknodie’s surprised eyes, he suddenly realized.

A frightening child.

An eerie child.

If he had only looked at her with such eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to read Oknodie’s true intention hidden below the surface of her heart, beneath the emotion of surprise.

It was tinged with the color of ‘difficulty.’

He saw evidence revealing that Oknodie herself was clearly conscious of the fact that the direction in which she viewed the world was different from the Chairman’s—something that would never have occurred to her if her perspective aligned with the Chairman’s.

The two were fishing.

Not for fish, but casting bait and lines toward each other’s hearts.

Sing could now properly recognize what kind of fishing spot he had participated in.