“A hundred, huh? That’s not exactly cheap.”
Leon was a little tempted by the price, but only a little.
Like Willy had said, this was his first fish. Selling it would feel like a waste, but releasing it was even less of an option—who would spit out at already in their mouth? The best thing to do was to eat it.
Once it was in his stomach, wouldn’t that count as a romantic way to rember it? After all, they’d be united as one.
“What a twisted thought.”
Shaking his head to cut off his wild imagination, Leon turned to Willy. “Guess I’ll respect tradition and eat it. But with one this big, I doubt I can finish it alone. And I have zero experience cooking sea fish. Willy, how about we share it?”
“Sure. But I’m not much of a cook either. Actually, we could take it to Gus. He’d never waste such good ingredients. As long as we save him a portion, he won’t even charge us for the prep. Sotis I bring fish to him—he loves it.” Willy grinned.
“Should we go now? If it’s out of the sea too long, this Halibut might start stinking.” Leon glanced at the fish in his hands, now barely breathing.
“It’s fine.” Willy took the Halibut and tossed it into a water tank. To Leon’s surprise, the basin-sized tank sohow swallowed the much longer fish whole—and even stranger, once inside, the Halibut shrank from nearly half Leon’s height to a palm-sized miniature.
“Amazing, isn’t it? This is the Willy family’s secret fishing chest. My grandfather’s grandfather learned the craft from the rmaids,” Willy said with obvious pride.
“Incredible.”
Leon’s praise was genuine. He’d thought himself special, but it seed Willy had his own unique skills too. Pelican Town really did hide many talents.
“But making one of these is a real hassle. Otherwise, I’d make you one right now. Still, if you can gather the materials, I could help you assemble it,” Willy offered, not treating Leon like an outsider. Even for this family heirloom, he was willing to help.
“What materials do I need?” Leon was intrigued. Sure, his System Backpack could store live fish the sa way, but mystical tools like this always fascinated him.
“You’ll need Cave Jelly, Sea Jelly, and River Jelly—each from fishing in their respective waters. Jelly is the water’s essence, with special properties. Don’t you dare toss it as trash if you reel so in. You’ll also need two Aquamarines, five Rainbow Shells, a Pearl, and two Iridium Ingots. The rest I can provide, but you’ll have to gather these yourself.”
“You’re telling
all this and you’re not worried I’ll just steal the design?” Leon was touched by Willy’s openness and teased him to lighten the mood.
“Hahaha, even without the rest of the materials, you couldn’t make one. The crafting techniques alone are beyond you—unless you can get close with the rmaids.” Willy laughed.
“rmaids, huh? Never even seen one. Don’t know if they’re really that pretty,” Leon said, shrugging.
“Oh, they are. If you want to see them, co to the pier on the nights of December 15th to 17th each winter. That’s when we have the Night Market Festival here in Pelican Town. Ships from everywhere dock here, and the rmaids show up too. Watch the rmaid Show and you’ll see for yourself. And I promise you—their singing will stay with you for life.”
Leon smiled. “Then I’ll be sure to show up.” He rembered the festival but hadn’t expected it to exist here as well. If rmaids could publicly perform, then this world must be pretty accepting of supernatural beings.
“Shall we keep going? I still need about a dozen Anchovies. You’re not busy, right?” Willy asked after their chat.
“Nope. I’m planning to fish all day,” Leon replied.
“Great, let’s get to it.”
The two stood on the pier, fishing side by side.
Maybe it was luck at first, but Leon landed a fish soon after casting. After that, though, patience beca the na of the ga.
Leon didn’t mind. If fishing were that easy—casting and catching right away—the market would’ve collapsed long ago. For real harvests, large-scale ocean fishing was the way to go.
But it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm. That mont when the fish took the bait was addictive—the struggle as it pulled against him, the splash as it broke the surface, and the thrill of landing it all brought a rush of excitent.
No wonder anglers kept coming back, even after catching nothing all day. The fun was addictive.
They did have catches, but nothing like the first Halibut. Most were Anchovies and Sardines, barely the length of chopsticks. Fun enough, but too small to put up much of a fight.
Leon kept one Sardine for his backpack, for a collection quest. Willy didn’t notice—he was busy wrestling a Herring.
Leon cast again, idly flicking the line, hoping for another Halibut, but the bobber stayed still for ages.
“I’m about done. It’s almost noon. Let’s reel in and get lunch,” Willy said. Thanks to Leon’s help, he’d filled his order for twenty Anchovies—six from Leon. In Leon’s box were four Sardines and one modest Halibut. Willy made sure to keep track of which were Leon’s.
“Alright.”
Leon nodded and began reeling in, looking forward to tasting his Halibut at the Starfruit Saloon. But halfway in, he felt resistance. It wasn’t like a fish tugging—just heavy, with no fight.
“I think I snagged sothing on the bottom.”
After a few pulls, Leon admitted the hook had caught on sothing immovable.
“No problem. Just rock the rod side to side, see if it cos loose. If not, cut the line—the hook’s cheap.” Willy wasn’t surprised. Snags were part of fishing, with all sorts of things lying under the water.
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