A fishing rod that appeared to have no craftsmanship whatsoever was completed by tying a fishing line to a cane.
Luke insisted that it was enough, but Shirud didn’t think so at all.
“Are you really saying that you can fish with that?”
“Haha, I’m serious.”
“…”
With a look that still expressed disbelief, Shirud glared at Luke, who chuckled and said,
“You seem to doubt me. How about we make a bet?”
“A bet? What kind of bet?”
“It’s simple. Whoever catches a bigger fish wins. The winner gets to choose a reward… You can decide what that will be.”
“Hmm… The loser grants a wish to the winner?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Just exclude anything criminal or anything the other person cannot bear.”
“…Alright.”
Shirud began to look at his makeshift fishing rod with more enthusiasm.
But that wouldn’t change the size of the fish caught on the hook.
Whose fish was bigger would purely be a matter of luck.
And Luke wanted to confirm that luck again this time.
This was an extension of the card game that had happened in Beriton in the past.
After returning to Aires, he had made a few bets experimentally, but the strange odds from that time never appeared again.
Perhaps it only works when done sincerely.
So now, he was quite serious.
Luke smiled.
Suddenly, he remembered how often he used to bet with Kail.
And every time, Kail had a face like Shirud’s and would struggle.
That sight was so amusing that Luke asked Shirud.
“Shirud, if you win, what wish will you make?”
“W-what! It’s a secret!”
“Haha, now I’m even more curious.”
“Then, what about you?”
“Hmm… Let’s see.”
Since Luke hadn’t thought of anything in particular ahead of time, he scratched his chin as if in contemplation.
It felt a bit excessive to want something grand from a child…
“How about a simple kiss on the cheek?”
“What?!”
Shirud looked at Luke, thoroughly flustered by those words.
“What, what? Are you serious?”
Shirud was Luke’s direct disciple, raised from the first circle by him and known beyond the mentor-disciple relationship, almost like family.
Thus, to Luke, Shirud was hardly different from a grandson.
Luke had casually made the remark, wanting to feel again like the children of the village who would affectionately call him “Grandfather Chief!” and kiss his cheek.
And it didn’t require any special money or effort.
It seemed like a simple wish with no issue…
“Do you dislike that? Well, in that case, I can’t help it. Hmm, what should I wish for instead?”
“No, no! It’s not that… That would be fine. No, that’s not it. Um, so…”
Shirud was almost rambling as he spoke.
But seeing Shirud in shock, Luke wondered if this appearance caused a strong rejection, shaking his head.
“Alright. I’ll think of something else then. Forget what I just said. Hmm…”
“No! It’s not that! Yes!”
Shirud was confused.
Whether he hoped for it or not, he honestly didn’t even know himself.
‘A kiss from a girl if she wins? What does that even mean?’
Shirud was left speechless.
Just a moment ago, Luke’s words echoed repeatedly in his mind.
The word ‘kiss’ was stuck in his brain, refusing to leave.
Thus, he couldn’t help but think about the circumstances that led Luke to say those words.
‘Maybe, Luke likes me…?’
Could it be that what he just said was a confession to him?
A bold confession disguised as a bet.
But, due to his strange reaction, perhaps he thought he had been rejected and was trying to act nonchalant about it?
If so, now he needed to reaffirm…
Shirud barely calmed his pounding heart and muttered softly.
“If that’s the case for you…”
At that moment, Luke shouted.
“Oh! I’ve caught something! Look, doesn’t this prove that you can fish with this?”
“Uh, what?”
Shirud was taken aback, his words interrupted, while Luke smiled brightly as if it was no big deal and pulled up his fishing rod—no, his cane.
The fishing line tied to the end was taut, pulling something from beneath the sea.
And what was caught on the rod was…
“A fish’s head?”
It was the head of a fish that had evidently been left behind after being eaten.
Having caught something resembling food waste, Luke’s expression immediately hardened.
It wasn’t a form that would appear beautiful and cute to a girl…
“Oh, too bad. If it had the body, it probably would’ve been quite large.”
“…”
“Hey, don’t be like that. Even just the head is big enough. If it had the body, it would have been so heavy that you definitely couldn’t have pulled it up. And I could catch something smaller too.”
“…”
But Luke’s expression remained seriously dark.
The reason wasn’t simply that he felt he might lose the bet.
The real reason was that the form of the fish appeared very familiar to him.
Luke muttered almost hypnotically.
“Baraong…”
“Hmm? What did you just say?”
Looking at the fish’s corpse, Luke contemplated.
‘The horn that summons waves is broken. Was it hunted? Judging by the bite marks and shape… It seems it was torn apart with overwhelming biting power. It resisted until the very end.’
It had been dead for about two hours, judging by the signs of decay.
At that time, Luke was having a meal while building sandcastles on the beach.
Luke was stunned with the flow of events that seemed connected.
‘Could it be that the waves then were the aftermath of this resistance?’
If so, the situation became serious.
‘Baraong’ was a named one-horned whale.
It held a quite high rank in the marine ecosystem.
However, if such a creature was torn apart so helplessly…
‘That means there’s a top predator nearby in this sea.’
Judging by the shape of the cut and the degree of decay, the most likely suspect was Tigalodon.
Tigalodon is like a battleship on the ocean, with a hard exoskeleton and sharp teeth.
If a Tigalodon plunged at full power, even a small ship would be instantly destroyed, and a small sailing vessel would shake under the impact.
Why such a sea monster appeared so close to the land was unknown.
“Oh my god.”
Luke pressed his forehead at his speculation.
It was already a miracle that no casualties had occurred until now.
Feeling uneasy, Luke stood up immediately and told Shirud.
“Shirud, the bet is off. It seems dangerous to fish here any longer.”
But to Shirud, who didn’t understand the context, it looked like someone who didn’t want to lose a bet making excuses.
“What? What do you mean? There can’t be anything dangerous in this sea. Are you saying that just because you want to win the bet?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m telling you it’s really dangerous. Get away from the water quickly.”
But seeing Luke’s serious expression, Shirud tried to stand up, as if he couldn’t ignore the situation.
If only he hadn’t felt the heavy tug on the fishing rod.
“Oh, fine. Just a moment. Something bit me. Whoa, this feels kind of big!”
“…What?”
Luke didn’t expect to pull something up that quickly, looking quite startled.
Shirud pulled the fishing rod with all his strength.
“Ha!”
And with a splashing noise, a black shape leapt out from the seaside.
In that instant, Shirud saw.
A massive body, a solid shell, and sharp teeth more akin to something that had been crudely set in a huge mouth…
There was no way it was a fish that he could catch.
It was unmistakable that it was something that had leaped on its own, not something that had been caught.
“Ah.”
Shirud felt death in that moment.
As soon as he looked at that giant mouth, he lost all thought.
He was frozen, simply made stiff by that horrific sight.
However.
“Get down!”
He felt a force pushing him away.
It was Luke.
“Wagh!”
With a crash, Luke shoved Shirud out of the way while simultaneously jamming his cane into its mouth.
But Luke’s body was too light to divert the force of that movement.
Eventually, both Luke and Tigalodon plunged into the sea.
On the other hand, thanks to Luke’s help, Shirud found his elbow grazed against the ground but suffered no other injuries.
“What, what was that just now?”
Caught in an unreal situation, Shirud pondered for a moment.
Wondering if what he just saw was actually real.
Then he came to a realization.
Luke had saved him from that monstrous fish.
“Did Luke just save me?”
Once he uttered it, he began to understand.
Luke had indeed rescued him, and that’s how he found himself lying here now.
Then all he had to do was quietly watch as Luke emerged from the sea again.
Luke was amazing at everything, and surely, he would come back from the water casually and say something.
“Looks like I caught quite a big fish, Shirud.”
Of course, he would.
But… why wasn’t he up yet?
At that moment, Shirud felt an uneasy feeling.
“Could it be…?”
What if Luke had been eaten in his place and was helpless, with no plan?
‘No way, that can’t be…!’
Shirud hurriedly crawled closer to the shore and shouted toward the sea.
“Luke! What are you doing! Get out quickly!”
You know magic better than I do, you’re stronger, and you’re smarter!
So, there’s no way you would be taken down by a monster like that!
So you shouldn’t be able to die from this!
Shirud was now scared.
What if Luke died like his father…?
At that moment, something white began to rise from the sea.
“Puhah!”
“L-Luke! You’re alive!”
Fortunately, Luke appeared to be completely unharmed!
Shirud felt a lightness in his heart at last.
Really, why did he worry?
But something felt off about Luke’s swimming style.
He was thrashing his arms wildly and gulping down a lot of water, looking almost like someone who was drowning…
“Shirud, help me, I—gah, I can’t swim…! Puhah!”
“What, what? Are you serious?”
It seemed Luke had something he couldn’t do after all.
