The Underground Lake

 

Alto firmly stated that he didn’t want a harem.

Well, I understand.

Somehow it’s unpleasant, isn’t it?

 

Even if we did have a harem, none of us have any charm at all.

Despite the graphics making everyone relatively good-looking.

Rather, if someone could look at those who were just trapped them with such a gaze, I think that person must be quite something.

Even their flags would break.

 

「In the first place, I…. no, never mind.」

 

What were you about to say?

Oh well, nevermind.

 

「Anyway, isn’t one of them proudly declared themselves a nekama!」

「Shut up! It’s not like I want to look like this either!」

 

The main reason was because of my real-life sisters.

My real-life older sister seems to be involved too, but she’s currently not in a place I can pursue.

That real-life little sister just goes『Heheh…』with that face of hers.

If she causes any more trouble, I’ll throw her off a bridge.

 

「So, what was the nickname Yamikage got?」

「The Grim Reaper. Also the Ban Monitor. I was told in a serious whisper that if anyone misbehaved in front of her, she would force them to log out.」

「That’s the kind of nickname she would love.」

 

The Grim Reaper, Yamikage!

She’d definitely love that.

Though she would hate it if the meaning behind it was for making players mysteriously disappear.

She was so terrified on the ghost ship after all.

It just looks like the management is trying to scare Yamikage.

It’s good her nickname wasn’t something like The Management Plaything.

Well, that’s mostly because of me, I guess.

 

「Yesterday, Yamikage barged into my store. I thought about somehow driving her away since I didn’t want to get involved in any trouble, but she cried that she had no one else to turn to, so I had no choice but to let her stay the night, and this is the result.」

 

Whoa… Yamikage situation is really serious.

If I’d called everyone we needed to the island in order, this is what would have happened… My bad, Yamikage.

Next time, I’ll be sure to call you too.

A little mischievous part of me wants to scare her a bit more, but I don’t actually intend to go that far.

But still, Alto did let Yamikage stay the night and all, so he’s got some good points.

 

「So, the fact that you all called me here… it’s quite an inconvenience, but I assume there’s something going on?」

「It’s good that you get to the point quickly, Merchant of Death Alto-kun.」

 

The craftsman and the merchant glared at each other a bit as they resumed their discussion.

I understand the situation with Yamikage, but there’s no way we could have called someone else right after calling Alto.

For now, all we can do is do what needs to be done.

Romina and I explained to Alto about managing the Peckles and using the shop.

 

「I see. So it’s a commission for pioneering work… It does seem right up my alley.」

「Will you do it?」

「I have to if I want to leave this island. I do feel like I went a bit overboard, and the frontline team seems to have stagnated. Kizuna-kun has been bringing good business opportunities, and there is the stowaway case. I’ll cooperate.」

 

And so, Alto agreed to help with the pioneering work.

By passing all the troublesome Peckle-related tasks onto him, we can now do what we want.

 

「For starters, regarding the management of these NPC characters Peckles…」

 

Alto looked over the Peckle Counter I handed him.

 

「Hmm… It seems good to divide them into shifts.」

「But isn’t that what I was already doing?」

「Knowing you, it was probably sloppy.」

「No, that’s not…」

「Does the stress value that builds up differ for each individual Peckle?」

「Onii-chan, you’ve got patience but you don’t do things meticulously.」

 

Tsumugi came at me with that follow-up.

Noisy brat.

I do understand about shifts, but compiling them individually is too much of a hassle.

On top of that, since this game doesn’t have any walkthroughs, I have to figure everything out myself.

 

「For now, I’ll take over managing the Peckles from Kizuna-kun.」

「I’m leaving it to you, Alto.」

「…I want you to understand that this is something Kizuna-kun should have been doing.」

「I’m going to start fishing to solve the Peckles food problem.」

 

He’s probably going to say something, but the lack of food is a fact.

I want to push through with momentum.

 

「It does look like you’re just completely pushing work onto me, though?」

「That’s not it. Securing food is an important job too.」

「…Well, it is true that the food situation is worrisome. To be honest, it would be reckless to construct a castle in this situation. The Peckles experience points, production, and food simply don’t balance out, so someone had to secure it for the future.」

 

Yeah, fishing is essential.

Alto let out a sigh.

 

「The materials obtainable from the dungeon are also tempting. It’s not wrong to aim for the lowest floor possible. So, leave the management of the Peckles to me, and everyone can work on their own tasks. I’ll look after the Peckles my way.」

 

And so, we left the management of the Peckles to Alto, and everyone resumed their respective tasks.

I took Shouko and Tsumugi with me, not to challenge the dungeon, but to head straight to the Underground Lake using the elevator.

 

「Alright Shouko and Tsumugi, I’m leaving the exploring to you two. I’ll go and secure food for the Peckles.」

「Got it! Leave it to us!」

「Have a good trip. We’ll dive in and gather as many materials as we can.」

 

And so, we arrived at the Underground Lake right away.

 

「Woah…」

 

Looking up, the cavern ceiling had a stalactite-like atmosphere, with beautiful water gently welling up.

Moreover, the water underneath was faintly glowing, what would you call it? It was quite fantastical.

The water glowed in various shades of color.

The largest lake seemed to be quite deep.

If I had swimming skills, I could probably free-dive in it.

 

「Alright, let’s go fishing!」

 

I took out my fishing rod and cast.

A few minutes later, the rod bent sharply.

 

「Fish!」

 

Despite no one else being in the Underground Lake, I raised my voice.

Nice. I’ve wanted to shout loudly like that.

And the fish I caught was…

 

「A crucian carp.」

 

It’s quite small, isn’t it? Easy to catch.

So regular fish can be caught here.

I thought something stranger might be caught, but…

As I was thinking that while fiddling with the lures and lines…

 

「Oh?」

 

The fishing rod bent sharply with a jerk.

I reeled it in.

It had a good strong tug. Stronger than a carp!

 

「Oh! An arowana!」

 

I’ve never caught an arowana before.

So they cover fish like this too!

I wonder what else can be caught – with that in mind, I settled in at the Underground Lake as if living there, dedicating myself to fishing.

 

It’s good that it’s in the dungeon.

No matter how much I fish, only one day will pass.

That’s why I had Romina and Sheryl make a camp kit for me.

I’ll fish as much as I can!

The result.

I got a pretty good grasp of the fish that can be caught in the Underground Lake.

 

Crucian carp
Carp
Arowana
Gar Pike
Piranha

 

Other than those, for some game-like reason, non-existent fish like Vampire Fish and Ghost Fish could also be caught.

Crabs could also randomly be caught sometimes.

Or rather… there were fishing-derived skills like Net Fishing and Crab Trapping.

Maybe I’ll learn them next time… Netting feels a bit like cheating though.

Spearfishing for hunting also feels a bit like cheating to me…

But the fish that can be caught lack any sense of consistency.

I guess I shouldn’t worry about that too much.

In any case, I’m going to fish to my heart’s content!

 

†

 

Since I’m bored, I thought I’d keep a journal.

I don’t know how many days I’ll be staying, but since I have the time, I want to stay as long as possible.

 

Estimated Fishing Day 1.

Pretty much covered all the fish that can be caught.

Had three meals, slept when I got sleepy, and decided to count that as one day. Set up camp early to rest.

Sometimes Peckles get caught while fishing.

Well, with the lack of manpower, any that show up are helpful.

By the way, I might like this map.

It’s somehow relaxing.

It’s quiet and fantastical, so it seems good for fishing while lost in thought.

 

Estimated Fishing Day 2.

Experimented with fishing gear.

Wondered what would be most efficient while waiting with my line in the water, and considered cooking methods for the caught fish.

 

I had thought the back of the Underground Lake was just a wall, but upon closer inspection, the terrain is shaped like a gourd.

However, due to the rocks, or rather walls, it’s impossible to go around.

Anticipating something like this might happen, I row there in the boat I previously bought from Sheryl.

I thought it was a safe area, but if monsters happen to appear… in that case, I suppose it would be best to retreat quickly.

 

Reached the area on the other side of the Underground Lake.

It doesn’t seem too different.

I’ll fish here too.

 

Estimated Fishing Day 3.

Remembering that crucian carp and carp taste better if you clean off the mud first, then fry them, so move away from just sashimi or grilled fish.

I used to eat it as sashimi, but it tasted even better.

Well, since it’s the Underground Lake, the water is probably clean, so there’s no muddiness.

It could just be because it’s a game though. It’s a matter of mindset.

 

Rather, I don’t know how to cook arowana and gar pike.

I can butcher them, but they taste bad raw.

The Ghost Fish just phases through blades for some reason, so I can’t butcher it. It melts when I try grilling it.

Seems like a special butchering knife is needed.

I can butcher the Vampire Fish, but they’re extremely bloody smelling, and it turns to ash when grilled over a fire.

Definitely not for eating. There might be some way to cook it, but it’s difficult with just the items I have now.