When Solid returned, the first thing he witnessed was Luke and Shirud, bloodied and clinging together in a state where the seawater had flooded the area, turning it into a sea of water.
It was a shocking sight, but Solid, with the composure befitting a 3rd Circle mage, first checked the condition of the children’s bodies.
“Are you hurt? Is there anywhere that’s painful?”
“I’m okay…”
“I’m sorry, I left you alone for too long.”
“…”
It seemed that Shirud had suffered a mental shock, but fortunately, there didn’t appear to be any major injuries.
The splattered blood likely came from the enormous fish lying on the ground over there, exposed with its belly up.
While he felt somewhat relieved, it was still impossible for Solid to deduce what exactly had happened here, so he had no choice but to hear the whole story directly.
“What on earth happened here?”
At Solid’s question, Luke briefly glanced at Shirud’s expression.
It didn’t seem like Shirud could explain properly, so Luke stepped forward and said, “Well, you see…”
——-
“So, you two teamed up to catch that giant fish, right?”
“That’s right.”
Luke nodded cheerfully in response to Solid’s question.
But it was hard to believe.
Of course, Solid would have accepted it if it were a fish of ‘normal size.’
But that fish was far from it.
An enormous fish that easily seemed to exceed three meters.
Could a mere 10-year-old and 11-year-old combine their efforts to catch a fish that was so large it would be difficult for even an adult to lift it? That question lingered in his mind.
No matter how positively he thought about it, physically it was absolutely impossible.
The creature looked so fearsome that it could almost be considered a monster rather than just a fish.
With sharp, rough teeth that would haunt one’s dreams and soaked in blood.
It was hard to understand how a little girl could have that bright expression after witnessing such a terrifying sight.
Moreover, there was no fishing gear at all to catch something like this.
“How on earth did you do it? If you tried to catch something like this, your fishing rod would have broken.”
When Solid asked, Luke shook his head and replied.
“We didn’t catch it with a fishing rod. We used magic.”
“You used magic?”
“Yes. As you know, Shirud is a 3rd Circle mage, and I am now at the 4th Circle.”
“Is that really true? A 4th Circle?”
“Of course. If you want to confirm, you can touch my chest. I’ll allow it just this once.”
“Uh, uh! Don’t do that. I’ll believe you for now.”
As Luke spoke and moved to present his chest to Solid, who was drying off with a towel, Solid was flustered and waved her hands, retreating.
Solid was also a well-known politician.
Moreover, one who prides himself on being quite upright.
So, the idea of touching the chest of a young girl was, of course, unacceptable both socially and morally.
Thus, Solid glanced around in fear, worried that someone might have overheard them, but fortunately, since this fishing spot was private property, he was grateful that no one was around.
He sighed and said, “You must never mention this to adults, or it will be a big problem…”
“Um… understood.”
Luke nodded as if he got it.
He had thought that Shirud was a calm and composed child when he visited her in the hospital, but seeing her again now, it was hard to believe how troublesome her personality could be.
Watching all this, Shirud also looked horrified.
‘Well, no matter how mature she may seem, a child is still a child. It’s not possible to expect them to be mature in every aspect…’
And looking back at the enormous fish’s carcass, it would be impossible to explain it otherwise.
The 3rd Circle fundamentally enhances overall physical abilities.
Thanks to that, he could still actively participate in politics and enjoy leisure despite his age.
But now, a 4th Circle…
From the 4th Circle onwards, it was still not exactly understood what kind of effects occurred.
This was because the samples were extremely scarce.
After all, simply moving up to 3rd Circle required significant effort.
Even in the past Luke came from, 3rd Circle was only just beginning to be seen as a foundational level where one could be treated as a mage, which is why more than 80% of those who possessed a circle couldn’t even reach 3rd Circle.
Even in those times when circle magic was actively researched and supported, the distribution of mages at the 3rd Circle was limited, and so the numbers of those with circles in modern times, who mostly eliminate them, must have decreased even further.
However, since the results were absolutely incomprehensible from a common-sense perspective, Solid didn’t give much thought to what the 4th Circle might entail.
No matter how amazing the 4th Circle was, there was no way one could easily catch such a fish just because they were at that circle level.
Hence, Solid could only ask Shirud for confirmation.
“Is what he said true?”
“… Yes.”
“If that’s the case, what kind of magic did you use?”
It was still hard to understand that a 10-year-old caught such a gigantic fish with magic.
To explain, Luke conjured the most basic spell, ‘Mana Wire,’ at his fingertips.
With the circle modified to fit his body, the stabilization provided by manipulating Shirud’s circle allowed for this level of operation without overloading Luke’s circle.
And that magic was a form that Solid was relatively familiar with.
“That’s… ‘Mana Wire,’ isn’t it?”
The spell was simple enough that even he could easily use it now.
To a 3rd Circle mage, a basic 1st Circle spell like Mana Wire was simple enough not to require any complex procedures, so Solid could cast even a simple Mana Wire if he set his mind to it.
“Yeah, I used this. I caught the fish with it and slammed it into the ground.”
“You used Mana Wire like that? Wouldn’t it be lacking in hardness?”
However, Mana Wire was generally only created as a pastime for bored hands.
The principle involved spreading mana thinly for transmission, which resulted in a significant reduction in physical strength.
“Normally, yes. But by rearranging the distribution like this, I can achieve considerable hardness.”
Luke nodded knowingly and waved his fingers to change the arrangement of the Mana Wire.
Then, the previously invisible, immaterial mana began to take shape and glow a brilliant blue.
The quality of the Mana Wire changed enough that Solid could feel it clearly.
“As you can see, you can touch it directly now.”
“Goodness, really. I’ve never thought of rearranging things like this before. How did you figure this out? Did someone teach you?”
“Um. I just thought it would work, so I tried, and it did.”
“Hah… Is that so?”
Solid looked at the dazzling blue thread in amazement.
The fact that he had not been taught this application of mana management and discovered it himself was incredible.
Nonetheless, Solid felt that it was impressive, but he couldn’t easily gauge how astonishing the talent was.
After all, he hadn’t thought deeply about circle magic.
Perhaps it was because she had many opportunities to think and experiment since she engraved the 3rd Circle at such a young age.
Usually, old folks like himself could only manage to stay at the 3rd Circle in their later years, and by that age, they usually had countless other concerns or lacked the mental capacity or creativity to think of anything new.
If that were the case, it couldn’t be denied that this little girl had an overwhelming advantage in the realms of circles and magic compared to him.
Luke smiled at the sight of Solid nodding in understanding.
Shirud, however, seemed to have a headache seeing Luke smile like that.
“Hah…”
Solid sighed while looking down at the children.
So, did they really just catch a fish while betting on who could catch a larger one?
“Well, if you’re not hurt, that’s all that matters….”
Solid said as if he were dreaming.
It was truly a scene that resembled a dream.
Even after rubbing his eyes, the enormous fish was still there.
How could such a fish exist in this seaside area?
Solid mumbled to himself.
“However, I’ve never seen a fish that large in my fishing life. I can’t even figure out what kind of fish it is.”
Hearing those words, Luke perked up his ears and replied.
“You don’t know? That’s called a Tigalodon.”
Solid shook his head and said, “Tigalodon? That can’t be right.”
“Hmm? Why are you so sure?”
“Because the Tigalodon went extinct 300 years ago. There couldn’t possibly be any remaining individuals. But if that really is a Tigalodon, it would cause quite a stir! Hahaha.”
“What? What did you say?”
Luke froze, stopping even the motion of drying himself with the towel and looked at Shirud.
Shirud, too, seemed equally surprised, halting in the middle of changing clothes as she met Luke’s eyes.
And Luke shouted quietly.
“Is that true? The Tigalodon went extinct 300 years ago?”
“How would I know such a thing? I just heard the name Tigalodon for the first time today! Are you confusing it with some other fish?”
“N-no way…!”
Luke looked back once more at the large carcass left behind, but it still very much looked like a Tigalodon.
‘It really is a Tigalodon…!’
“Is that right?”
“It seems so…”
“Then what do we do!”
As Shirud and Luke fidgeted simultaneously, Solid mumbled.
“Hmm, first, we need to call someone to confirm what kind of fish this is. There’s no way we can just throw such a large thing back into the sea…”
“Can’t we just dispose of it?”
“We can’t, if such a large carcass gets washed up on the shore, that would cause a nuisance. Plus, I can’t help but be curious about what kind of fish it is. It’s something you both caught together too.”
Upon hearing this, Luke regretted that they hadn’t properly disposed of the Tigalodon’s carcass.
Shirud eagerly asked Luke, “You must have some kind of plan, right? Tell me!”
“What are we supposed to do? If we have to face punishment, then we must accept it…”
“What? What did you say?”
“Don’t worry; we’re just kids; we won’t receive such serious punishment. Besides, it was self-defense.”
“I-is that so?”
Luke nodded once, thinking deeply.
He couldn’t help but wonder if he should be happy that they wouldn’t be punished because they were kids.
