"Don't listen to me," Ei said, sitting on a deck chair and rolling up his sleeves as he adjusted the fishing line. "When I was young, I once fished by the river with a straight hook and no bait, a story that was later written down as a famous idiom!"
"That's clearly the story of Taigong Wang," Baobhan Sith deadpanned.
"It's more than that," he continued enthusiastically. "I'm a master fisherman in JRPGs; I've collected every fish in the in-game encyclopedia for any game that has fishing!"
"This is reality!" she countered.
In front of them was a wide, fast-flowing river. The water was turbulent and shimmered under the bright sun, as if crushed gold were running through the river.
"Three, two, one..."
Ei, Baobhan Sith, and Barghest counted to three and simultaneously cast their lines into the river.
[You begin fishing.]
[Please perform a Luck check.]
A single die rolls.
[The result of the check is B. Due to your current Luck rank, the check failed.]
[You seem to feel the fishing rod sink, but when you pull it up, you find the bait has already been eaten by the fish.]
[You did not catch any fish.]
Damn it! The cold must have lowered his attribute rank, otherwise he would have succeeded. Ei frowned and re-baited the hook, which only held traces of food residue.
"You're just a small-fry, you can't even catch a fish~~" Baobhan Sith's beautiful, refined face curled into a look of disdain. She elegantly covered her mouth, intentionally striking the exaggerated pose of a standard villainous young lady.
That detestable brat! Why does she love to show off at moments like this?
"Let me, the mistress, show you how it's done."
"Simulation, I want to see the dice she rolls!" Ei quickly addressed the text description. "Give that brat a Critical Failure!"
[Baobhan Sith performs a Luck check.]
[The result of the check is E. The check is a Critical Success!]
[Baobhan Sith feels the fishing rod sink. Something seems to have taken the bait.]
[She reels the line in fiercely and discovers she has caught an unopened shoebox. She opens the box and is delighted to find a pair of intricately made white high heels inside.]
"Wow!" Baobhan Sith's beautiful eyes instantly lit up. She smiled radiantly, like a child who had just received a gift. She held up the pair of high heels with a smug expression to show him.
"See? I knew I could catch something good!"
That's not something you're supposed to catch! How did you even do that?! Are you a troll from an internet fishing forum?!
"I am satisfied. It's fine if we don't catch anything else..." Baobhan Sith sighed happily, clutching the high heels to her chest.
"Don't be satisfied! We haven't eaten yet!" he exclaimed. "Why did you catch that?"
"Perhaps someone upstream accidentally dropped a shoebox containing shoes, and it washed all the way down here," Barghest suggested.
"That's a bit too forced of an explanation..." Ei grumbled.
"Wait, I think something is on my hook too..." Barghest suddenly said. Her eyes narrowed in seriousness, and she began to reel the line in quickly.
"..."
Ei had a subtle premonition and immediately checked the text simulation.
[Barghest performs a Luck check.]
[The result of the check is E. The check is a Critical Success!]
[When she reels in the line, she finds a pair of rings hooked on the end.]
"..."
Barghest stared thoughtfully at the pair of rings she had just caught. Her face immediately turned scarlet.
Why did you catch something else, too? What on earth is in this river? Ei thought.
"I am satisfied..." Barghest said softly, tightly gripping the pair of rings.
Are you two done yet?! What are you satisfied with?! We haven't caught a single fish! My stomach is only filled with emptiness!
A moment later, his mobile chat group reacted again.
G-ko: "Everyone, I suddenly acquired a pair of rings just now. Is this fate? On the first day I met the man I am interested in, I received a pair of rings. Should I gather my courage and confess to him?"
G-ko: "I... I haven't prepared myself psychologically, but the atmosphere has been set up for this..."
"..." Ei thought. There is no atmosphere right now! Go catch a fish! The boy you like is only thinking about eating, and only a doughnut-shaped ring would impress him.
[Next, you continue fishing for a while.]
[Your luck seems to be very good, and fish are frequently biting.]
"Oh my, it's wild salmon." Baobhan Sith put the hooked fish into the bucket as she reeled in. "As expected of me, I can do it whenever I want. We'll have salmon sashimi tonight." She flashed a bright, smug smile.
"Wow, that's amazing..." Barghest said, looking genuinely impressed.
"'Wow, that's amazing' isn't enough to cover this," Ei couldn't help but complain. "Why can she catch seafood from a river? How did she do that?"
"It's not that strange. I just caught a Boston Lobster." Barghest smiled. "It has high nutritional value. I can cook it for Ei-kun tonight."
"Not only is it seafood, but the place of origin is different! Why can you catch an international lobster in this river? What is hidden beneath this river? Transfer gates to different Lostbelts?"
He refused to believe this absurdity and decided to try again himself. The river was so bizarre that he wouldn't be surprised if he caught something even stranger.
[Please perform a Luck check.]
[The result of the check is E. The check is a Critical Success!]
[You feel your hook catch onto something. The object immediately begins struggling fiercely, resisting being pulled up.]
Holy crap, a big one is on the hook!
The rod began to bend and sink violently, indicating the object was heavy and a rare catch. Ei quickly reeled the line in, trying to pull the fish up.
[The fish seems to be extremely heavy, and its desire to struggle is very strong. Not only can you not pull it up, but you are also starting to be pulled down yourself.]
"Hold on, Ei, I'm coming to help you!" Barghest said sharply, then strode forward and helped him grab the fishing rod.
With Barghest's assistance, Ei immediately felt the tension ease significantly. However, two soft masses were pressing tightly against his back—a sensation that was both soft and surprisingly elastic.
It took Ei three seconds to realize that those were the girl's breasts!