Chapter 99: The Baby Creature
As Elaina pulled the fishing rod out of the water, she finally got to see what she just caught on her line. But instead of a fish, it was a baby with so characteristics of a fish currently biting on her fishing line.
"What the...a baby?!"
Elaina imdiately grabbed the baby from the line and put her on the boat. She also made an effort to carefully remove the bobber from the baby’s mouth before the hook under the bobber would not tear even a little bit of her gums or even her mouth.
She panicked at first when she thought this was a real human baby, but when she got a close look, she realized that the baby was not a human baby but a baby of another species. But because they looked closely resembling one, she was confused at first.
"[A rfolk? How co they are here? Shouldn’t they be at the area ]" the chatbox of the Goddess of Taming appeared before Elaina.
"Aren’t the rfolk so beings like the rmaids and rn?’ Elaina asked.
"[They are closely related but they differ as rfolk resembles more on humans than being on a fish. Their features are more humanlike compared to rmaid who needed a specific spell to turn their tails into feet that allow them to beco humans, while rfolk don’t need anything like that as they already have feet on their own. The only thing that differentiates them from humans is that they can breathe underwater and they can swim like a rmaid without the need for a tail. Their hands and feet are both webbed as well like the ducks and frogs allowing them to swiftly move underwater without difficulties. They also grow so fins and even scales once they grow older as well.]" the Goddess of Taming explained.
Elaina was about to ask more when she saw the baby grab a few of the fish she had caught earlier and swallow them in her mouth.
"No, no! Don’t..." Before she can even stop the baby, the fish she caught earlier are imdiately swallowed by the baby and disappear. In short, every catch she had since earlier has now gone down the drain.
"[I forgot to say that the primary food of the rfolk is fish. So if they are hungry, they will not hesitate to devour the fishes in the vicinity to sustain their hunger.]"
"Wait...I have not caught any fish since the ti I caught the fifth fish. Then after a while, the next one I caught was this kid...then does that an it was this baby’s fault that I didn’t catch any fish after? And now all of the fishes I caught are also gone as well..." Elaina felt like she was about to faint just by realizing all of it.
"BURP" the baby burped before laying down on the boat and started to close its eyes and sleep.
"[Well, we can’t do anything about that. Guess you will have to catch fish again to recover your losses.]"
Elaina sighed. Although she is not mad at the baby, she is a bit disappointed as to why she ate all of the fish she has caught. Elaina pulls out her little shirt that she keeps inside her little inventory and puts them on the baby to cover her from the heat of the sun.
"Ha...guess I will just catch more fish again. I hope that I get to recover a bit from this."
Elaina did manage to catch a large fish after that but it was her only catch after a few more attempts of trying. After the contest, Elaina completely lost on the contest as all of her fish were gone but thankfully, she didn’t have to show up embarrassed that she got no catch. She managed to catch a big fish. But since so fishern also got bigger fish than hers with the addition of a few smaller fishes, the result is inevitable and Elaina lost.
One thing is different though and Elaina got so warning that she shouldn’t have brought a baby with her while she was fishing. Elaina apologized and gave a reasoning that she only did it because there would be no one who would watch over the kid.
Thankfully for Elaina, it was a minor warning since they were worried for the baby. And Elaina sighed in relief that the people didn’t recognize that the baby was not human especially since she wrapped the baby’s body with her clothing to cover her noticeable difference.
When Elaina returned to the spot they were in, Julia and Princess Margaux were also back and were currently drying themselves with their towels. They saw Elaina approaching but they stopped halfway the mont they caught a glimpse of the baby in Elaina’s hands.
"S-sis! Did you just give birth while you were fishing?!"
"What are you saying? That is a little bit disturbing and you should know that I shouldn’t be giving birth to a kid yet since they have yet to enter their maturity stage just yet! Also, this isn’t my kid...I-" Elaina stopped midway as she realized that she may sound stupid if she said that she got this baby by fishing.
"Eh? Miss Elaina...don’t tell
this baby is sothing you fished instead of a fish. I saw your catches that you have passed to the judges and it was a big fish but that’s it. I was expecting you to get more fish since you fish almost every day and was a bit disappointed that you only got one fish."
"..." Elaina is speechless. Princess Margaux has already guessed it right.
"Haha, that was a joke Miss Elaina...don’t get serious all of a...sudden..." Princess Margaux laughed a bit to show that she was just joking but her laugh turned dry as she saw Elaina was not laughing at all and starting to sweat bullets.
"...Wait...Sis...are you serious?"
Elaina started to sweat profusely as she couldn’t say it directly. But Julia who knows Elaina more than she could, can already tell.
"Princess, do you think it is fine for us to go back early? I think we needed to discuss this matter seriously back at ho where no one will know our conversation."
Princess Margaux nodded. "Yeah. I agree. I needed to have my questions answered first."
In the end, the three left the beach earlier than they should have due to the baby and quickly returned ho. This matter is sothing that they cannot just share with other people and this is sothing they might need to keep a secret from anyone.
The three quickly returned to the farmhouse. Elaina thanked both Zaza and Shardu. Shardu didn’t imdiately return to the doghouse and instead went inside the house with Zaza. Based on how the two are now close to each other, it seed the two did get a bit of unity with each other.
But that was not the pressing matter. After they arrived, Elaina instructed Julia to grab the little basin they had and fill it with water. Princess Margaux looked at the baby as Elaina slowly unwrapped the baby from the clothes that she wrapped on the baby.
"Eh? Webbed hands? And feet as well! Aren’t these scales as well?"
Elaina didn’t say anything and when Julia arrived with the basin in her hands, she imdiately put down the baby into the basin of water.
"Sis...so you are serious that this baby was actually what you fished earlier..." Julia couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked at the baby.
"Yeah. This little rascal ate my potential catch underwater and also ate what I caught before I caught her in line before sleeping on the boat. I was a little pissed since those fishes were sothing I needed for the contest but I couldn’t fully get angry at the innocent thing. But I also couldn’t throw it back underwater. Seeing that this is still a baby and it does bite on the bobber, there is a chance it will go and bite on other contestants’ bobbers and catch her instead."
"Right. After all, catching sothing like this will be sothing extraordinary as well," Princess Margaux nodded in agreent.
"But I can’t bring myself to do that. And I don’t want this baby to be caught and placed sowhere where she will be remaining captive by humans in the end. I don’t want that to happen to this baby at all. I am an upcoming mother as well and I don’t want those kinds of fate to happen to my future son or daughter as well."
"So you wrapped her with clothing and decided to bring her back with you?" Julia tilted her head.
"Yes. I will give her back to her rightful mother and father once we know who they are. It is necessary to hand her back."
"Hmm, I wonder who is her parents though? How co they just left the baby to swim alone and be caught by soone fishing?"
The three shrugged not knowing that the mother of the baby that Elaina brought back ho had just arrived back at the cove carrying food for her baby that is nowhere in the cove by now.
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