A Shared Catch
"Next is this one... Please make Crime and Punishment, Oppa..."
"Sure. I'll make it for you."
"Wow...!"
I'm glad we've gotten close.
Lisa and Abel—who could be considered both his boss and colleague at work—had clearly grown very close.
Blessed with a memory that allowed him to quickly memorize braille and exceptional carving skills, Abel had gifted Lisa several braille books in just a few days.
Thanks to this, Lisa, who was now able to read many more books on her own, had grown close enough to call Abel "Oppa" and sit on his lap while reading.
It was a change that had occurred in a matter of days.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Senior Anes? It's not mealtime yet.
Hearing the knock from the library door, Abel gently set Lisa down from his lap and walked toward the entrance.
Creeeak...
"Abel."
"...Head Butler?"
The visitor was not Anes, but Sebas, the silver-bearded Head Butler.
What brings him here?
He wondered briefly, then—
"...!"
Abel's eyes widened as a memory flashed through his mind.
"The Duke is calling for you."
The second day of the week.
It was the day of his scheduled mountain cave fishing trip with Duke Drynain.
"Change into this."
Sebas, who had led Abel away, immediately handed him a set of black cloth clothes.
They were the same color as his butler uniform, but the fabric was loose-fitting, and it came with a matching leather vest.
He prepared this because we're fishing in the mountains...!
"It's fine. I am a butler, so I will go as I am."
Abel, whose sense of responsibility as a butler was growing, spoke to Sebas, feeling that he shouldn't be the only one receiving such special treatment.
"Hmm? The Duke himself ordered you to wear this."
"Pardon? The Duke did?"
Since it was a gift from Duke Drynain, the master of the house, Abel, a mere low-ranking servant, had no right to refuse.
He immediately changed into the clothes...
What is this outfit?
Abel smoothed down the fabric, a look of surprise on his face.
The material was incredibly soft, and it was extremely easy to move in.
Even at a glance, it was clear the garments were made from the highest quality materials.
"Oh! Abel, you're here! Have you been well?! Hahaha!"
When he dressed and headed to what could be called the castle's back gate, Sir Alfonso, the knight who had accompanied him on his first journey to the Valencia territory, was waiting.
Is this... a trip instead of just fishing?
Nearby, he saw a baggage wagon with three knights sitting on it, and a caravan carriage.
Though it was called luxurious, it differed from the carriages nobles usually rode; it had no roof, allowing the passengers to feel the wind as they rode.
"The Lord will be here soon... Oh! There he comes."
Alfonso cut himself off and pointed behind Abel.
Turning his head, Abel saw a man walking confidently through the castle gates alone.
A spear...?
The silhouette of the long, light-blue-haired man carrying a long shaft over his shoulder.
It was a sight truly fitting of the Spear King...
No, wait. It's a fishing rod.
The long "spear" slung over his shoulder was actually a curved fishing rod.
"..."
Duke Drynain, still walking with a freezing expression, was dressed completely differently from how he had appeared in the castle's Grand Hall.
He wore loose-fitting navy cloth pants for ease of movement, and a brown vest with numerous pockets over his shirt.
He even wore a bucket hat on his head.
He looked entirely different from the man who had sat on the icy throne in a light-blue coat adorned with metal plates.
"Let's go."
Duke Drynain uttered just that single word upon his arrival.
At his command, the knights sprang into action.
Seeing two knights take their seats on the driver's bench of the rough baggage wagon, Abel went to climb into the back cargo area.
"No. You come over here."
However, Duke Drynain, who had boarded the back of the open-topped carriage ahead, frowned and pointed.
What? He wants me to ride there? Next to the Duke?
Abel looked bewildered as Drynain pointed to the seat opposite him—directly facing the Duke.
"Abel! Hurry up and get in! We can't leave without you!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Urged on by the booming voice of Knight Captain Alfonso, who was sitting on the driver's seat of the Duke's carriage, Abel scrambled aboard.
Rumble...
As expected of a high-class carriage, there was barely any rattling as they moved, save for a faint vibration.
Gulp...
But Abel found himself wishing for some bumpy rattling instead.
"..."
Duke Drynain sat in silence, his face expressionless, lost in thought.
His features were so flawlessly handsome they seemed sculpted from stone, a perfect nobleman.
It's suffocating...
But the reality that he was a living person—and a high-ranking superior—made Abel walk on eggshells.
Slide.
Just then, Drynain reached out and handed Abel a black fishing rod that had been leaning against the corner of the carriage.
"This is...?"
"The rod you'll be using today."
Taking the rod, Abel bowed his head in gratitude before examining the instrument in his hands.
High-grade hardwood... and an artifact reel to wind the line?
Was mountain cave fishing really such an expensive hobby?
The materials of the rod he held looked as though they cost more than what a typical noble family's knight would spend to forge a magic sword.
"It's a fine rod. Though, of course, it doesn't compare to my Blue Shark."
Duke Drynain said this as he casually lifted the blue metallic rod resting beside him.
"Forged from the rare metal Blue Mithril by dwarven masters in the Alpha Kingdom's finest workshop. The reel that controls the line was also meticulously crafted using pressure magic from the Blue Magic Tower..."
As it turned out, Abel didn't need to worry about any awkward silence during the journey.
"You might think the difference in our gear is unfair, but if you've done mountain cave fishing before, you'd know, wouldn't you? While durability and grip vary, catching the fish ultimately comes down to one's own skill..."
Throughout the entire ride, Duke Drynain talked without pause, boasting about his gear and lecturing on the true spirit of a mountain cave fisherman.
"Your Grace, shall we pitch the tents here?"
When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, Knight Captain Alfonso and the accompanying knights began setting up the tents and clearing a spot for a campfire.
"We're heading up."
As Abel stepped forward to help them, Duke Drynain caught him by the shoulder and led him up the mountain path.
Squish...
Feeling the soft, damp earth beneath his newly issued boots, Abel realized something.
This mountain... it's incredibly humid.
He realized that the mountain they were climbing was a very special place.
Thinking about it, the terrain surrounding noble estates was usually flattened and cleared using explosive magic and mana stone bombs.
This was especially true for high-ranking nobles, and Valencia, the central capital of the Valstein Duchy, was flat all around, save for a few hills.
Yet, this tall mountain stood prominently right behind the lord's castle.
It had been preserved intentionally, and the forest had been cultivated rather than cleared.
It was the Duke's private fishing ground.
Abel was astounded by the sheer extravagance of maintaining an entire mountain and purchasing such expensive gear just for a hobby.
Step, step.
They continued their ascent.
Whoosh—
When they reached the windy summit, Drynain turned around to look at Abel.
As expected of a warrior who had awakened his Mana Road, he hadn't shed a single drop of sweat.
"Phew... Haa..."
Abel, whose condition was barely different from having no Mana Road at all, and who also limped, was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.
It wasn't that Duke Drynain had walked fast.
In fact, he had refrained from using mana and matched Abel's pace.
It was simply that the mountain was exceptionally steep.
"The first step of mountain cave fishing. Finding the cave."
Duke Drynain spoke briefly, looking at Abel with an expectant gaze that said, You can do it, right?
He wants me to find it...
Abel felt as though this were a test from the Duke.
"I'll find it right away."
Wiping away his sweat—
He knelt down.
He pressed both palms flat against the dirt.
Hum...
Abel began to circulate mana through his damaged Mana Road.
Though his pathways were crippled, the technique he was using didn't require enough mana to strain the inner walls of his Mana Road.
It was the Vein Finding technique.
Before Seraphina awakened her divine healing ability, all medical treatments in Magia Bell had been handled by the scholar Danke.
Having studied medicine and surgical techniques in the Beast Kingdom, Danke had once taught Abel how to find blood vessels to use during first aid.
Buzz—
Adapting that technique, Abel used a minute amount of mana to scan the surrounding earth.
Soon, he located a spot where the soil was unusually soft, forming a straight line down to a water-filled cavern.
"I found a few spots."
"What...?!"
At Abel's words as he looked up, Duke Drynain showed a rare expression of sheer astonishment.
He just touched the ground and found them?
Wasn't scouting for a mountain cave fishing spot supposed to involve blindly poking the ground with iron skewers and digging up soft patches of dirt?
"If you are lying... I will be quite displeased."
Though he didn't release his mana pressure, the Duke pressed him with a stern face.
"There are... two spots nearby."
Despite his nervousness, Abel looked at Drynain with absolute certainty in his eyes.
He doesn't seem to be lying...
Yet, having fished in these mountains for years, Drynain couldn't bring himself to believe it so easily.
"Let us go to these spots first."
"Yes, sir!"
They walked over to the location Abel had identified.
"Here, and here."
Finding even one would have been suspicious, yet Abel pointed to two spots right next to each other.
"..."
With a look of utter disbelief, Drynain pulled out the iron skewer he had brought.
Thud!
If it truly was a spot, channeling mana to create vibrations would pierce straight through to the water vein in an instant.
Rumble—!!
The Spear King's fierce mana surged downward, destroying the soft soil and carving a narrow, straight shaft deep into the heart of the mountain.
Splash!
Sensing the dirt falling into the subterranean water through his mana, Drynain's blue eyes widened.
"It's a spot!"
He blurted out, looking at Abel in surprise.
It really is. Surely not the one next to it as well?
Thud!
Rumble—!!!
Once again, a deep shaft was cleared for the fishing line.
"Well, I'll be!"
Drynain couldn't close his mouth, clapping Abel on the shoulder as he gasped in astonishment.
Whirrr...
Everything went smoothly after that.
The two sat down, lowered their lines, and began their mountain cave fishing.
"Now that I think about it, you looked like you'd never seen a rod like this before."
"Yes, that's true."
"Hmm. Then how did you fish?"
"I... I just wrapped the line around my finger and lowered it..."
"What?! Without a rod?"
They conversed about fishing.
"Earthworms...? You can't catch anything with those. The caves are damp and home to all kinds of insects. Fish raised on those insects would never bite a common earthworm."
"That's true! But if you grind up a herb called Flua grass and coat the earthworm in it, the cave eels absolutely love it..."
"Haha! To think such a bait existed!"
Duke Drynain nodded as he learned from Abel's fishing knowledge.
Splash, splash!
"Haha! Abel, look at this! It's a stone eel!"
"Wow, it's huge! Oh, I caught a silver carp too."
"Oh! Silver carp is a true delicacy if you clean it and fillet the meat!"
Before they knew it, the Duke and the apprentice butler forgot their difference in status, becoming fishing buddies and sharing a wonderful time.
Taut—!!
Suddenly, Duke Drynain's fishing line stretched tighter than it had all day.
"Tch...!"
A vein throbbed on Duke Drynain's smooth forehead—a man who wouldn't even flinch when facing a giant magic beast.
"Your Grace, what's wrong?!"
"It's massive...! Damn it, this is a monster!"
It was only natural for Drynain, an awakened warrior, to be flustered.
He was a master of martial arts and mana combat.
However, if he infused the mountain cave fishing line with mana, the tension from the fish's pull would cause the line to scrape against the stone walls and snap instantly.
"It keeps pulling...!! At this rate, the line will rub against the wall and...!!!"
Only a fisherman's pure technique could be used here. Even an awakened master was no exception.
Grab!
Abel, standing beside him, grabbed the rod as well.
"I'll control the reel and adjust the line! Your Grace, focus on the rod!"
"I leave it to you!"
The two men wrestled with the rod together.
Whirrr—!!
Abel's manual dexterity, honed through carving and woodworking, allowed him to release and wind the reel with miraculous precision, preventing the line from scraping the stone walls.
"Haaah—!!!"
Drynain let out a final, desperate shout as if fighting a life-or-death battle, pulling the rod back the moment he saw an opening.
Thud, thud—!!
The sound of a massive fish bumping against the dirt walls echoed as it was hauled up.
Splash—whoosh—!!
A long, silver-gleaming fish soared into the air.
Swish—!! Grab—!!
Now that it was out of the cave, Drynain would not let it escape. He swung his mana-infused rod, wrapping the line around the fish and snatching it into his grasp.
Flap, flap, flap—!!
In his hands, a fanged fish covered in iron-like scales thrashed wildly.
"We got it—!! It's an Armored Cutlassfish, the legendary catch of mountain cave fishing!! Hahaha! I've never caught one of these before! Abel, look at this! It's massive—!!"
"Wow... I've never seen anything like this either, Your Grace."
"Right?! This is a legendary catch!! Hahaha!"
Drynain laughed like a madman with his arm slung over Abel's shoulder, while Abel gave him a thumbs-up in response.
"I can't just let this go! Hold onto it for a second. I'm going down the mountain to get a recording stone."
"A recording stone?"
"We have to take a picture of this! This might be the catch of my lifetime! I'll have a massive painting made and hang it at the castle entrance—got it?! I'll be right back!"
Boom—!!
The moment he handed the Armored Cutlassfish to Abel, Drynain exploded his mana like a bullet and leaped down the mountain, practically flying.
"..."
Abel stared blankly in the direction the Duke had gone, then looked down at the blinking eyes of the cutlassfish.
"I suppose making my savior's father happy counts as repaying my debt...?"
Gasp—
The cutlassfish opened and closed its mouth, as if in agreement.