Chapter 8: Kirio Drugs’ Day Off

Chapter 8:
Kirio Drugs’ Day Off

 

KIRIO DRUGS closed once a week, and on that day, I usually relaxed. Today was different, however.

According to Noela, there was a lake deep within the woods, and she’d suggested that we hang out there. I had no idea that lake even existed. Apparently, Noela had discovered it last time we were in the woods, while I was gathering herbs.

“Master, over here!” Noela yanked my hand. We were in the usual forest.

“Hold up! Don’t pull!”

Next to Noela and I, Mina smiled happily. She held a basket of food for today’s lunch—she’d been preparing it all morning.

“I didn’t know you had a fishing rod, Mr. Reiji,” Mina said.

“Yup. I tried to buy it, but Alf gave it to me instead.”

As usual, the general store manager had refused to let me spend money. I honestly felt guilty about it. If I managed to catch something good today, I’d offer it to him.

Noela was collecting caterpillars and bugs off leaves and storing them in a bottle.

“A-are those for bait?” I asked. “I know I asked you to grab some, but…”

“Bait! Bite, bite! Collect too, Mina!” Noela presented Mina with the bottle.

Mina panicked. “I-I’ll pass, thank you! Creepy-crawlies scare me.”

Yeah, I totally get that, Mina. I could handle one caterpillar, but when I saw twenty wiggling in Noela’s bottle, it rattled me.

After we’d walked for a bit, the forest cleared up, and we came across a quiet lake’s clear, clean water.

“Master! Mina! Here!” Noela exclaimed.

Mina spread our picnic blanket out. “Wow. This place really is peaceful.”

“Yeah. There’s a nice breeze, too,” I agreed. “It’s quite the secret spot.”

“Lots of monsters around,” warned Noela. “Careful.”

Gah! For real? The creatures must’ve used this as their watering hole. No wonder this place was still a secret. If we got into a battle, I’d have no choice but to leave things to Noela.

I sat on the picnic blanket and sipped the tea Mina poured me before preparing to fish.

“Let’s get ready too, Noela,” Mina suggested.

“Garroo!”

Ready for what? Noela put on her backpack and followed Mina behind some trees. Ah, I see. Bathroom break.

Since I was a gentleman, I didn’t attempt to peek or listen to the sounds of nature. I took Caterpillar Number One out of Noela’s bottle, baiting the fishhook before tossing it into the lake.

Yeah, this is what fishing is usually like. Nice and quiet.

Something dinged.

Hrm? If I remember correctly, that sound means…

I hastily checked my identification skill.

 

Skills: Identification, Medicine Making, Cultivation Ace, <NEW> Sonar (confirms fish locations).

 

Whoa, cool! That should be super useful!

When I focused on the lake, I saw lots of fish shadows that I couldn’t have spotted before. Heh heh! With this, I can avoid fishing in spots where I won’t have any luck. I moved to a different position, waiting for the fish.

“Mr. Reiji!”

“Master!”

My two counter girls called out to me. I turned around only to see them both in bathing suits. Noela wore a one-piece, while Mina wore a bikini with a pareu tied around her waist like a skirt. Definitely risqué.

“Master! Master! Look good?” Noela rushed up, wagging her tail, and then spun in a circle for me.

“Yeah, you look great! When did you buy these?”

“Back when we visited San Logro,” Mina replied.

Right, there was a beach near San Logro. They must’ve wanted to swim in the ocean.

“Um, how do I look?”

“You look great, Mina.”

She laughed shyly.

Later, the pair splashed water at each other.

“Eek! It’s so cold! Take this, Noela!”

“Gah! Must get revenge…!”

“Gosh! Why are you getting worked up?”

Frankly, I didn’t mind sitting here watching Mina and Noela enjoy themselves in their swimsuits. I pulled my fishing line up, only to find my hook empty. Something must’ve gotten the bait while I was focused on the ladies.

Casting my line several times, I was met with the same results; something kept eating the bait without me noticing.

Man, I’d really like to take some fish back to Alf and the Rabbit Tavern staff. I’d apparently underestimated how tough fishing was, since I was a total novice.

“Hunh…fine. Time for this pharmacist to go all out.”

I pulled my line back and walked into the woods. My medicine-making kit was in my bag, so I grabbed it and got to work, creating a spin on the animal lure I’d crafted for Ririka a while back.

 

Explosive Mr. Fisher: Pheromone gel. Powerfully attractive to fish senses.

 

I put the substance on my baited fishhook. “There we go.”

I tossed my line into the lake, and immediately, black shadows drew close. However, they soon fled.

What’s going on? I tilted my head, only to see a huge shadow approach my hook. Ah! That must be the biggest catch in the lake! Exhilarated, I gripped the rod tightly, feeling a powerful force pull at it. Here we go!

“How’s it looking, Mr. Reiji?” Mina called.

“Great!”

My back-and-forth pull with the enormous fish continued. I felt it weaken. “Take this!”

I pulled with all my strength, yanking it out of the water and onto the ground.

“Owie! What’s the deal with putting a hook on that thing? How rude.”

I’d hooked…a girl. From the lake. What? The beautiful, blue-haired young woman pulled the hook from the side of her mouth and spat it out.

“M-Mr. Reiji! You caught a girl?!” Mina cried.

“Where you get her, Master?!”

“Both of you calm down. I’m just as confused as you are. She’s obviously not some big, hungry fish…but she did come out of the lake.”

Rumble.

I heard a strange sound and looked over to see the girl holding her stomach. “It’s been so long since I had a proper meal, and then it had a hook in it? Am I being tortured?”

“Um, excuse me,” I said.

“Ah! You’re the awful human who caught me!”

“I’d argue that you got yourself caught. I just wanted to hook some fish. Sorry.”

I apologized profusely, but the girl lounging on the shore glared.

“I’m Reiji the pharmacist,” I continued. “And you are…?”

“Vivi, the spirit of this lake. It’s been a long time since I last spoke to a human.”

A spirit, eh? I decided Vivi might be the real deal, since humans couldn’t exactly stay underwater the way she had.

Mina tilted her head, puzzled. “Lake spirits are real? I always thought they were fantasy creatures.”

“Fantasy creatures? You’re a ghost, Mina.”

Vivi’s stomach rumbled again. “I’m hungry.”

Mina, Noela, and I exchanged glances.

“Um, we brought our lunch,” I told Vivi. “Care to join us?”

“Are you sure it’s all right for a lake spirit to have some?”

“Of course.”

“But you don’t even know me. Won’t I interrupt your pleasant meal? I don’t want things to be awkward.”

“It won’t be awkward at all.” This lake spirit had such a negative attitude.

“All right. Are you sure you’re not just acting generous? Are you going to insult me like crazy behind my—”

“We’re not!”

“It fine.” Noela took the lake spirit’s hand. “Come.”

She led Vivi to the picnic blanket. Mina and I followed, and Mina served the sandwiches she’d made that morning. As usual, Noela dug right in. Vivi also ate quickly, her small mouth chewing quietly.

“What do lake spirits normally eat?” I asked.

“Humans used to bring me food. But lately, I’ve really been starving.”

I asked for details. Vivi explained that, a long time ago, she’d been worshipped as a spirit and gotten by on offerings. Nowadays, those were few and far between. Not many people braved the dangerous lake just to worship Vivi, since there were so many monsters and beasts around the shore.

“I’m sure you’ll just laugh about how pathetic I am later,” she muttered.

“We won’t,” I insisted. “Have you considered eating fish?”

“I don’t eat friends. Er…no, that’s not quite true. I…I just can’t catch them!” Vivi blurted out.

“Would you like to try fishing with me? I just made something that’ll help—I call it Explosive Mr. Fisher.” I cut a sturdy-looking branch and turned it into an impromptu fishing rod with some extra line.

“Aah…!” Vivi let out a bizarre gasp as she stared at the bait wiggling in Noela’s bottle. “C-could I maybe eat one of those, Mr. Reiji?”

Right. I forgot that I hooked her because she went for my bait. “What are you, a carp or something? We’re using these to catch fish.”

I applied some Explosive Mr. Fisher to the bait and cast my line into the lake. “Look. They’re coming for it.”

“Why are you being so kind to me?” Just like that, Vivi’s mood soured again.

“Good question.”

“Are you winning me over so that I’ll be easy pickings later on? I knew it!”

I honestly don’t have an ulterior motive.

Suddenly, something pulled at Vivi’s rod with wild strength.

“Wh-whoa! Th-this feels big, Mr. Reiji!”

“Looks like your ‘friend’ is resisting with all its might.”

“Ha ha…uh, I don’t have any friends.”

“Save the pity party for later!” I cried. “You’ve got a big one on your line. Pull it up!”

Vivi was clearly struggling to dig her feet into the ground and hold the fishing rod. I circled behind her and grabbed it. “On three!”

“Huh? What?!”

“One…two…three!” We pulled as hard as we could, lifting the fish above the water’s surface. It came flying toward us.

Ka-thunk! Swoosh! Thwack!

The forty-centimeter fish smacked Vivi right in the face. “Bleh!”

M-my bad.

“I caught one, Mr. Reiji!” Despite the fish outline across her cheeks, Vivi smiled happily.

“Let’s catch another.”

Nearby, Noela and Mina teamed up to use my rod, catching and casting repeatedly. Noela baited the hooks and applied Explosive Mr. Fisher, then Mina handled fishing, tossing the line into the lake.

What looked like about twenty fish flopped near their feet. H-holy crap! They’re actually one hell of a team.

“We’re not gonna lose to you, Mr. Reiji!” Mina smiled. Noela nodded next to her.

“Time to step up our game, Vivi.”

“O-okay!”

“Can your lake-spirit powers make hooking fish easier?”

“Ha ha ha! Do you really think I have powers like that?” Vivi looked nervous. “But, uh…please don’t ditch me, Mr. Reiji.”

“All right, fine,” I grunted. “In that case, we’ll use my skills.”

Ultimately, Vivi and I never got it together and didn’t manage to catch up. We caught twenty-three fish total, while Mina and Noela managed a whopping twenty-six.

“We win, Noela!”

“Garrooooo!”

The girls, Vivi, and I had caught more than enough fish to give the staff at the general store and the Rabbit Tavern. I grabbed the fish we’d take back with us and then made a small tank for the rest. “You can have the leftover fish, Vivi.”

For some reason, she looked thunderstruck. “Huh? But why?”

“What do you mean? We don’t need them, and you were hungry, right? Whenever you’re peckish, have some fish.”

“This is what humans always do,” Vivi sighed. “They leave offerings but then ask the impossible of me! ‘Make it rain.’ ‘Get rid of the sun.’ I-I’m not a goddess! I’m sorry! It’s not my fault! Please, don’t dirty my lake anymore!”

Ah. So, that’s why she’s so negative.

“I don’t want anything from you,” I told Vivi.

She frowned.

“I hate cold, calculated relationships like that,” I insisted. “When you’re friends with someone, it’s okay to just give and take without looking to gain.”

“You mean, we’re friends…?”

I took Vivi’s hand.

“Me too!” Noela put her hand on top of ours.

Mina followed suit. “I’d also love to be your friend, Vivi! I had lots of fun hanging out today.”

“See?” I said.

Tears rolled down Vivi’s cheeks. “Thank you so much. Please visit again! I’ll be waiting.”

That’s how we befriended the unfortunate lake spirit, Vivi.