I'm in my hut, staring at the water, and swinging my rod up and down in the water. Then, a few moments later, it's hard to move up and down again, and I feel a slight pull on my rod.

　And then there was a slight pull on my rod.

"Oh, I think I just felt a thump.

That's the pull.

What?

You're out of here.

　I hurriedly pulled it up, but as Thor had said, the bait on the tip of the needle was gone.

　The bracken seemed to have eaten it comfortably.

'You've hit harder than I thought, haven't you?

You're a skinny little fish.

But I feel like it's a dead giveaway.

　I've missed my prey, but I know the feeling. As soon as the next one came, I would pull it up.

　With that kind of enthusiasm, I put the bait on the tip of my hook and dropped it into the water again.

　I didn't change the depth of the line.

　I dropped the line into the water in the same way, and waited.

I dropped the line into the water and waited.　I got it!

Congratulations, Lady Elinora!

You caught a nice big one!

　Sister Elinora, sitting across from me, had fished out a bristletooth with great skill.

　She noticed me looking at her and gave me a scowl.

　I'm a little pissed off, so I want to catch some too.

　It's a good idea to catch a lot of them, or else there will be less chance of avoiding the practice when there is an event like this in the future.

　When I repeated the luring motion with enthusiasm, I felt a slight pull on my rod and bent.

　I was convinced it was a hit, so I immediately pulled out.

"Okay, I'll catch--aaaahhhhhhhhh!　I got caught in the ice!

　I could see a bracken that had been pulled up to the very edge of the water. I was sure I could see it, but it was caught in the ice and came off the hook.

　I thought I had caught it for sure, and it was a big shock to see it escape.

I had to move my rod because the bracken was running, too.

　Asmo gives me advice in a gentle voice tone, but I don't know what the word "run" means.

'What do you mean by running?'

It means swim and frolic.

Oh, you want me to pull up to it.

　It seemed to fit when I said that, and Asmo nodded his head.

　That's true too. I'm sure you're not alone. You have to do everything you can to pull it out too.

　It's the time to fish, you must not let your guard down.

　With this in mind, we were waiting for the bracken.

"Here it comes!

　In the meantime, Erinola caught a lot of bracken.

　She has wild instincts and reflexes, and fishing for bracken seems to be a very good match for her.

　While I was watching her, I felt a pull on my fishing rod.

　I felt heavier than before. It might be a bigger fish.

　With a faint hope, I moved my rod as the bracken flailed, and pulled it up.

I caught it!　And both of them at the same time!

　Two of the five needle tips had bracken on them.

　No wonder the pull was a little strong.

　I had missed two fish earlier, but I got them back as a result.

　Fishing is good to take it easy, but it's better to catch a fish like this, isn't it?

I was very happy to catch two fish.

That was a good raise.

　Both Thor and Asmo were very happy with this result.

　Normally, when they open their mouths, they are full of hateful words, but they don't seem to have the nastiness to snipe at beginners in bracken fishing.

'What's each Erinora sister doing with one fish?

Just wait and see. I'll catch five fish at once.

　When I said to provoke her, Sister Elinora replied with an understandable twitch of her temples.

''Heh, you can't lose to Al and the others!　Now let's see who can catch the most fish!

I like it.

　Inspired by me and my sister Erinora's words, a competition to see who could catch more bracken began.

　So far, I've been more of a leisurely fisherman, but I figured this kind of fishing wasn't so bad once in a while.



　◆



Boy, girl, I think we should go home.

　Bartolo's voice at the entrance of the Kamakura, signaling the end of our competition.

　Our concentration may have been broken, but there was an air of relief in the room.

'How much did you guys catch?

　As I say this, everyone starts counting the bracken they've caught.

"I'm eight,

I'm nine.

I've got seven.

That's five.

　Thor, sister Emma, Sheila, and Asmo, in turn, describe their fishing results.

　The rest of us are me and Sister Elinora.

　Sister Elinora's expression is spare. That doesn't mean she's outnumbered Thor and his friends as much as I am.

　In other words, it's a one-man race between me and Elinora.

"What about Al?

　After a short standoff, Sister Elinora asks shortly.

'Ten of them.'

　The moment I told her that, Sister Elinora smiled fearlessly.

　No way.........!

Eleven.

　All of us except me marveled at Sister Elinora with a coy smile on her face.

''Eh!　We lost one!

I'm sorry, but Al lost.

　I'm pissed off at sister Elinora for reiterating a fact that I know.

'It's only one of them and it's a big deal.

That one is the most important one.

　Gulp, trivial differences are meaningless in the world of competition. Win or lose, that's what's important, so Elinora sister's words are a completely legitimate argument.

　I was even more frustrated because I knew that.

　Although you've regained it by simultaneous fishing, it's still a big catch that you let slip through your fingers, isn't it?



　I'm not sure.



I'm home.

Welcome back. Did you catch a lot of bracken?

　When I came back to the mansion after leaving Thor and the others, Mother Erna greeted me at the door.

'Yes, I caught enough for everyone to eat properly,'

　Me and my sister Elinora caught twenty-one fish. And Bartolo had a terrifying catch of twenty-two fish alone.

　Even if me and my sister Erinora had caught more fish than him. As expected of a native of snow country, he seemed to have a knack for bracken fishing.

I'm glad to hear that. I'll tell Nord.

　Knowing that she had caught enough bracken, Mother Erna smiled with satisfaction and turned back to the living room.

　Of course, his wife, Mother Erna, knew that Father Nord was a big fan of his food and seemed genuinely pleased to see so many bracken on the table.

　As usual, Erna's mother is a bit of a sweetheart when it comes to her Nordic father.

''Well, let's get ready for dinner right away, shall we?

Can I help you with that?

Oh, yeah, that's good. That's good for us.

　I caught the fish myself. I want to be involved in cooking.

　Catching the fish myself and cooking it myself. That's part of the fun of fishing.

I'll go to the bathroom first, okay?

　Elinora's sister didn't seem to have the slightest interest in cooking for herself, so she said that and disappeared into her room.

　Well, it's almost never the case that Elinora's sister helps with the cooking, so it's all planned. It's not particularly surprising. In fact, it's more of a problem for me to be told that I'm going to help.

　Me and Bartolo decided to move to the kitchen with the basket of bracken in it.