The so-called ‘Breathing Sea’ was, quite literally, a world submerged in water.

There was no one there except Gio. The water had filled up to such a high level that even the sun appeared to be trapped in it, and the traces of humans, such as houses made of bricks or fences, were all submerged as well.

Among them, Gio was sitting on the edge of a cliff.

“I have no idea how to fish in the water.”

“Kuuuuruk.”

“Honey, stop drinking seawater. Your body is growing too big, and the fish are running away.”

Underwater creatures were abundant everywhere.

A creature that resembled a huge hermit crab moved clumsily, crossing the red roofs with its companions, and a gentle-looking snake, which seemed to be a water snake, shot out of the sand and kept hiding again.

There were also large groups of whales drifting in the high water skies, and a pair of colorful seahorses swaying as if they were singing, as well as fish hiding between seaweed growing between bricks…

“Am I really bad at fishing?”

“ ”

“I guess a fishing rod is useless in this situation.”

“ ”

“A landing net? That’s not bad either.”

Though he was admiring the dreamlike scenery, he hadn’t caught a single fish.

“I’m not even that good at swimming.”

Gio’s world, Giovanni’s world, was very closely related to the sea, so 90% of humanity was skilled in swimming. However, Giovanni was among the 5% who were particularly bad at it.

“When I first met Aria, I was dropped into the sea, and that’s how our connection started. Personally, I can’t say Aria was a good person, but she was still a diligent student.”

“ ”

“I’m at peace because Father doesn’t blame Aria.”

Gio, who had a special kind smile, soon wore an embarrassed expression.

“But… how am I supposed to catch fish?”

Giovanni wasn’t good at swimming, and Seojio was good at swimming but had never caught fish this way.

No matter which skill was put to use, it seemed impossible to catch a fish that looked agile just by watching it.

“……”

“ ”

“Huh?”

At the mention of something, Gio turned to look at the sun god, who pointed directly at Honey. Under the spotlight, like an actor on stage, Honey was shimmering, glowing brightly. It wasn’t some divine revelation.

“Honey?”

“…….”

“Honey, can you catch it?”

“…Kkung…”

“Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

Gio tilted his head, thinking that Honey was probably expressing “I can do it, but I don’t really want to.” If it was simply that Honey didn’t want to work, Gio wouldn’t insist, but interpreting this wasn’t easy either, as it didn’t seem like a dislike of labor itself.

“Why doesn’t he want to do it?”

“Kkungkkungkkung…”

“……??”

Seeing the awkward father-son interaction, the sun god subtly revealed the truth.

“ ”

“……”

“ ”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Gio realize his bird wasn’t ordinary.

Well, of course, a living bird in the shape of a bird would never be ordinary, but anyway, Honey possessed far more intense potential than Gio had anticipated.

“Our child can evolve?”

“…….”

“Sun god.”

Honey was quite capable.

“To catch fish, it must evolve, but does it not want to show that form right now…? Really? Oh, my goodness, that’s both amazing «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» and ridiculous. You really have a belief in keeping that cute appearance, huh?”

His child clearly had a prince complex.

“Even though you’re acting so cute and adorable, the only one you can conquer is your father, right? I think I said that 30 minutes ago. What are you doing being so cutely helpless like this?”

“ ”

“Sorry, I was a bit out of line. But, Father, don’t you think our grandson is adorable?”

The sun god just smiled. It seemed like the family was in great harmony.

Although Gio didn’t receive a clear explanation, he decided to be satisfied with this. The most important thing now was to unite everyone in this hopeless situation and catch some fish to prepare a meal.

“…Hmm…”

Not wanting to force labor, Gio simply spoke about their reality.

“Honey.”

“Kkung.”

“Dad can’t swim.”

“…Kkung?”

“So I can’t catch any fish.”

“…….”

“If you really don’t want to, it’s fine, but if you don’t catch the fish, we’ll all have to starve. And if you still refuse, I’ll have to cook the sausages we didn’t finish from last time.”

At these words, Honey’s pupils seemed to shake. Gio wasn’t sure where the pupils were in that water-like bird’s eyes, but it was clear that Honey was shocked by their reality and was shivering.

Gio nodded solemnly, like a judge passing a sentence.

“Yeah, we’re in a situation where we have to eat the same menu repeatedly.”

It was a miserable reality that was hard for a gourmet and a glutton like them to accept.

“Still, if you don’t want to, I’ll do my best to prepare fried sausages, sausage fried rice, and sausage soup for today’s lunch.”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

In this odd standoff, the sun god was taken aback. He too thought that fried sausages, sausage fried rice, and sausage soup were a bit much.

The sun god, who had grown accustomed to the meals Gio had prepared, anxiously watched the situation.

“…Kku…”

The winner was Gio.

“Kkuruk.”

But there was a condition.

“Do you want me to close my eyes?”

“Kkuk.”

“I can love my child no matter what form they take. Why is that?”

“Kkuk.”

“Ah, puberty has arrived.”

Although parents are the ones who see their children, everyone has secrets they wish to hide. Even though Gio hadn’t had a child or been married, he knew that protecting a child’s private space was important.

Gio nodded with his eyes closed.

“You don’t want to show me your evolved form, huh? I’m really curious, but if you feel better by me keeping my eyes closed… I can do that…”

“Kkuruk.”

“Puberty really isn’t easy.”

There was a loud splashing sound and the sea water was stirred. After a while, Gio heard another noise.

“Kkungkururuk.”

“……?”

“Already?”

“Can I open my eyes now, son?”

“Kkuruk.”

“Okay.”

And Gio saw.

“Oh.”

Honey, now swollen from the seawater, had about thirty fish caught inside its body.

“Impressive.”

“Kkurukkuruk.”

“Just like a wonderful pig.”

“…….”

“It was a compliment.”

Since Gio had been watching Honey grow bigger ever since they arrived at the Breathing Sea, this wasn’t Honey’s “evolved” form.

“Probably, Honey swallowed the fish in its evolved form and then returned to its original state.”

Anyway, it was funny and delightful.

“Pig…”

“Kkung.”

“A pig with fish inside…”

“Kkungkkungkkung.”

“Nice.”

Gio smiled widely with his characteristic cheerful smile.

“Now this is reassuring.”

Gio had big hands.

Back at the cabin, Gio immediately began cleaning the fish.

“Exactly 33.”

This was the number that meant Gio’s hands would be quite busy, but he decided not to mind.

Showing weakness in front of only 33 fish was a huge disgrace for him, a pig recognized by his grandmother.

“Fortunately, they’re all edible, so I can clean them without worry.”

“Kkurururuk.”

“Honey, spit one out.”

“Kkuk.”

Thwip.

Even now, Honey, still large, spat out a fish.

“……”

Gio, who staggered to catch the fish, felt dizzy for a moment.

‘What kind of challenge have I gotten myself into?’

Anyway, it was time to clean seafood, and even though food in this painted world didn’t spoil, it was uncertain whether the already dead fish would still get a foul smell as time passed.

Gio poked the first fish’s forehead with a skewer and sent it off to the sea palace.

“Mm.”

He was proud of his swift, skilled technique, like a martial arts assassin.

“The joy of cutting freshly caught fish on the boat is unmatched.”

Remembering the past, Gio worked quickly with his hands.

He cut off the wings, scraped off the scales, then carefully inserted the knife to remove the innards without breaking them.

“The fact that there’s almost no foul smell from the entrails shows just how fresh it is. Now, after removing the guts, next…”

“Kkungrurururu.”

“Honey, if you keep eating only the entrails, one day you’ll smell as bad as them.”

Where did that bad habit of snatching entrails from the cooking father come from?

‘…And yet, the way it melts and separates items is always fascinating.’

Birds who enjoy decorating themselves while consuming something.

Honey, who liked jewels, wasn’t much different, but when it came to food, it quickly melted inside Honey’s body.

More accurately, it wasn’t so much melting, but the nutrients entering Honey’s body were replaced by water. The food it swallowed gradually turned transparent, shimmering, and then disappeared from view.

“……”

Whose child is this, born so entertaining?

‘So interesting.’

Seeing Honey eat made it obvious that it was indeed Gio’s child. Even breathing seemed like an excellent form of content for him.

“Hmm…”

“Kkung?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on how long this will take.”

If the fish had been pre-cleaned and sold in a store, Gio would have happily bought them, but cleaning live fish was quite labor-intensive.

“Let’s continue.”

After removing the innards and clearing the belly, the fish, like humans, needed all the blood from their ribs scraped out. Gio diligently cleaned the inside and continued dismantling the fish.

“……”

“……”

And then he discovered something surprising.

“…Is this really salmon?”

“Kkuruk?”

“No, it’s not exactly salmon.”

But the flesh inside was very unusual.

“The texture is like white fish, but the color is orange like salmon or trout.”

When sliced like sashimi, the flesh was soft and easily crumbled with just a little pressure.

But it was also round and chewy, like white fish such as flounder or sea bream.

“……”

“Well.”

“……”

It also tasted similar to salmon. It had a fresh watermelon-like taste, so it might be more like trout.

‘The texture is much firmer and chewier though…’

It felt very strange.

Even in a fantasy world, encountering something that overlapped with elements he knew was still a bit amusing.

“Hmm…”

“Kkung?”

“...It’s delicious, so it’s fine.”

The softness of the flesh made cleaning it quick.

“I’ll slice some for sashimi, and the rest I’ll clean and fry whole.”

“Kkuruk?”

“It’s tastier than I expected. After all, no food fried in oil could ever taste bad. Honey, don’t worry and just wait for the fried fish.”

“Kkururur…”

“It’s even better with spicy sauce.”

“Kkungkkungkkung…!!!”

“Do you really have to hate it that dramatically? There are plenty of fish left, but don’t you want to make at least one spicy fried fish for your dad, son?”

And with that, Gio finished all the cooking, half collapsing.

“……”

“Kkururung.”

“It was a record-breaking day.”

The conclusion was that thirty-three fish was too much.

Repetitive labor drained Gio’s energy.