007. The Fish’s Gratitude
[Information: Destruction of Boss Monster ‘Cursed Gate Fishman Legion Commander’ confirmed.]
[Combat Situation ended.]
[Complete destruction of the ‘Cursed Fishman’ Gate confirmed.]
“Bubble... Haa.”
The battle,
no, the hunt,
ended in an instant.
There were no ugly Fishmen left where Daldal had passed.
There was no Boss Monster commanding them either.
All that remained were countless bubbles.
And...
“Sooho! Did you see?! I did good!”
One incredibly cute and incredibly strong otter.
And one person he called Sooho.
“Bubble! You did amazingly well, Daldal. You were incredibly cool!”
Apparently thrilled by the praise, Daldal twisted his body around like seaweed while dancing.
Have you ever seen an unbelievably cute otter doing a seaweed dance underwater?
You have not?
What a shame...
He was this cute.
What were you supposed to do about it?
[Information: Combat Situation ended. Partner Combat Preparation released.]
“Woooow...”
White light left Daldal’s body as he happily danced.
Soon, he returned to his original appearance.
“I’m back.”
Now an ordinarily adorable otter again, Daldal approached and wrapped his long body around my neck.
“I wanted to keep having super fun with Sooho like that.”
“Bubble! Haha. I like you just fine like this too. Hm? Daldal, look over there. What’s that?”
“Peet-peet?”
I pointed toward something faintly sparkling where the Cursed Gate Fishman Legion Commander had turned into ash and disappeared.
With Daldal still wrapped around my neck, I slowly swam toward the light.
[Information: Reward Item from defeating Boss Monster discovered.]
Oh!
Of course.
Getting an item after winning a battle was practically a universal rule.
[Would you like to open the Item?]
What will come out?
Hoping it would be something useful for rebuilding the fish farm, I carefully reached toward the tiny glowing point of light.
[Item opened!]
[Item: Fishman Legion Commander’s Snorkel]
Rank: S-
Special breathing equipment used by Fishmen living in the cursed sea beyond a Gate to adapt to Earth’s oceans.
Automatically filters and separates oxygen and other gases required for breathing from seawater, allowing the wearer to breathe naturally underwater just as they would in their original environment.
Its special design also allows smooth communication underwater.
Permanent Effect.
Permanently bound to the acquirer.
[Would you like to acquire the Item?]
I vaguely remembered seeing some strange equipment in the mouths of those ugly Fishmen earlier.
Was that this breathing device?
More importantly,
did this mean I would no longer need an oxygen tank no matter how long I stayed underwater?
Still half doubtful, I tapped the Item Acquisition button.
“Bubble?!”
At that moment, I felt something invisible wrap around my body.
At the same time, the oxygen tank and breathing equipment I had been wearing were suddenly thrown off!
“Whoa!?”
I hurriedly grabbed the oxygen tank and equipment before they sank and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I immediately realized something.
I could breathe even though there was nothing in my mouth.
More accurately, something so comfortable that I could barely feel it had naturally attached itself around my mouth.
I took a deep breath.
Fresh air filled my lungs.
Then I slowly breathed out.
The air filling my lungs naturally escaped, forming huge bubbles that floated toward the surface.
“Wow!”
Watching me, Daldal apparently wanted to make some too.
He quickly swam to the surface, inhaled a huge amount of air, then came back down.
“Hwoong!”
He used all his strength to blow out bubbles...
“Hahaha. You made a lot of them!”
“Sooho, don’t tease meee.”
Countless bubbles rose upward.
But they were tiny.
Just as tiny as his small, innocent eyes.
[Information: The Dragon Palace Rockfish school is attempting to express its gratitude.]
While Daldal and I were happily playing with bubbles, the Status Window appeared again.
“Sooho!”
Daldal, who had been playing with one of my large bubbles like a balloon, pointed somewhere.
The rainbow-colored Dragon Palace Rockfish that had been hiding deep inside their habitat were approaching us.
The tiny fry that had successfully survived birth and dispersal were with them.
[Information: Dragon Palace Rockfish school is delivering an Item to Tamer Yang Suho. Acquire now.]
An item?
Daldal and I stared blankly as a large Dragon Palace Rockfish approached with something in its mouth.
Tap.
The rockfish dropped it into my palm.
It was a rainbow-colored shining bead.
It looked almost like a pearl...?
[Item Information: Mother Dragon Palace Rockfish’s Lullaby]
Rank: B+
Provides farmed Dragon Palace Rockfish living in Earth’s environment with a sense of comfort as if they were in their own home.
Also greatly increases the probability that new life will settle successfully.
Permanent Effect.
Permanently bound to the acquirer.
Wow, this is good too.
I had obtained an Item that seemed extremely useful for creating a new generation of Dragon Palace Rockfish.
As I stared at the shining bead for a while, it disappeared somewhere with a whoosh.
[Item has been stored in Inventory. View.]
When I checked the Inventory through the Status Window, the ‘Mother Dragon Palace Rockfish’s Lullaby’ was safely stored inside.
Happily accepting the gift, I waved toward the Dragon Palace Rockfish school to thank them.
As if waving back, the Dragon Palace Rockfish fluttered their pectoral fins.
Then they slowly returned to their habitat between the giant rocks with their newly born young.
“Sooho.”
Daldal, who had been watching while gently floating through the water, called me.
“Thank you for fighting with me to protect the sea.”
Then he rubbed his cheek against mine.
“You were the one who fought well, Daldal. Honestly, I just watched you fight.”
“No! I could fight really hard because of Sooho! The sea was hurting... but I didn’t have power... Because of Sooho, I protected it! I’m happy!”
Whenever Daldal felt happy, he danced in a way that reminded me of seaweed swaying in the waves.
Watching his long body wiggle around was incredibly entertaining.
“Huh?”
Daldal and I had been lazily floating through the seawater while doing the seaweed dance together.
Then the necklace Daldal had given me before we entered this sea began flashing.
“Sooho. I think we need to go back onto land now.”
“Hm? Really?”
“When the Dragon Palace’s blessing loses its power, we’ll return to the normal sea. The normal sea is probably super cold.”
Ah.
So that was why.
Even though I had been underwater for quite a while, it had not felt cold at all.
The temperature actually felt perfect.
It had been because of the Dragon Palace’s blessing.
The seasons of the sea changed around two months later than on land.
Since it was now early spring, around the time March changed into April, the sea was still basically in the middle of late winter.
Winter seawater was extremely cold.
If someone carelessly stayed submerged for ten or twenty minutes, they could even die from hypothermia.
“Yeah. Let’s go back.”
We decided to leave the fantastic Dragon King’s Sea and slowly began swimming upward.
“Sooho. Look over there.”
While we slowly ascended, Daldal called me.
I looked toward where he was pointing.
“Hahaha.”
The Dragon Palace Rockfish and many other fish were seeing us off.
Several days after returning from the Dragon King’s Sea.
Back at the fish farm, I immediately installed the Mother Dragon Palace Rockfish’s Lullaby inside the broodstock tank, where mother fish preparing to give birth were gathered, and quietly began observing them.
“I hope this works.”
The broodstock had been uncomfortable in their unfamiliar environment for some time.
But thanks to the Item, they soon looked much calmer.
And not long afterward,
“It’s starting.”
The mother Dragon Palace Rockfish began giving birth.
Almost exactly like what I had seen in the ocean, the mother finished giving birth and used her pectoral fins to push the babies resting on the bottom upward.
The young regained their energy after reaching the oxygen-rich surface.
Then they gathered around their mother and began freely swimming through the large tank.
“Actually seeing something like this with my own eyes is making me emotional.”
Peep, peep? Peep?
[Translation: Lord Suho. Are you perhaps crying right now?]
“Hm? Who’s crying? I’m not crying. Seawater splashed out of the tank and ran down my face.”
Peep...
[Translation: Doesn’t look like that...]
After checking the condition of the newborn fish and seeing them properly adapt, I felt much more relieved.
Peep, peep.
[Translation: Lord Suho. I am beginning to feel hungry.]
Time passed quickly while I repaired the radiator that maintained the water temperature and applied concrete to cracked tanks so they would be ready for the future.
Daldal, who had been blankly staring into the tank beside me while I worked, began pestering me.
This little guy...
Ever since our first meal together, he had completely fallen in love with the food I made.
Now he had practically stopped jumping into the sea to catch his own fish.
“Really? Then should we go catch something together?”
Peep, peep!
[Translation: I am extremely excitement.]
What should we get for dinner today?
After thinking about it, I headed toward the sea to look for another spring visitor that could be found near our fish farm.
Peep, peep?
[Translation: What is that thing?]
Daldal showed interest in the basket on my back and the object inside it.
“This? It’s called a bitchang, usually called a hera. It’s a tool used to pry shellfish like abalone, small abalone, and sea snails off rocks.”
Peep?
[Translation: Pry off?]
“Yeah. I’ll show you. There are lots of delicious shellfish and sea snails in spring.”
Along the edge of the small beach in front of the fish farm were countless rocks of various sizes.
And inside these untouched little gaps between the rocks lived countless small shellfish and sea snails without a worry in the world.
“These are called goose barnacles.”
Using the bitchang, I tapped loose a strange creature shaped like a turtle’s front leg.
It was hard to imagine it as food just by looking at it, but it tasted amazing when steamed.
Peep!
[Translation: There is something here. It is Suho.]
Daldal called to me while I was busy collecting goose barnacles.
“Whoa. That’s huge. Daldal, you’re good at finding things.”
An abalone almost as large as a human palm was casually crawling over a rock covered in seaweed and algae without any sense of danger.
My hands were getting a little cold.
But this was absolutely worth it.
I dipped my arm into the shallow water and quickly pried off several abalones with the bitchang.
I also collected sea snails, sea hares, turban shells, and anything else I found.
Before I knew it, the basket had become heavy.
“Good. It’s only the two of us, so there’s no need to get greedy. Let’s head back.”
Peet, peet!
[Translation: A great harvest!]
After a satisfying harvest, we returned home.
“All right. Just wait a little.”
Peeeeep...
[Translation: Patience low...]
I made Daldal wait beside me and started cleaning the goose barnacles, abalone, and other seafood.
I removed the hard shells of the goose barnacles, leaving only their pale pink flesh.
Using a short knife or spoon, abalone could easily be separated from its hard shell.
I put the innards aside separately and threw away the teeth, since they were not edible.
I also removed the bitter-tasting organs from the sea hare.
Once the seafood was cleaned, steaming each type for a short amount of time according to the proper method made it taste even better than simply boiling it.
The steamed seafood caught from the sea in front of my house was finished.
Sniff, sniff...
Daldal hesitated a little before touching the unfamiliar food.
Nom.
Then he gathered his courage and placed a lightly steaming goose barnacle into his mouth.
Peep!?
[Translation: The savory flavor, sweetness, and texture of the flesh are excellent!?]
“See? It’s delicious, right? Mmm, as expected. Spring seafood tastes special.”
I wrapped perfectly steamed abalone in wild rock seaweed I had collected while gathering abalone.
It was heavenly.
By the time we finished eating and fed the Dragon Palace Rockfish, the sun was already beginning to set.
“I completely lost track of time.”
When even the stars began appearing, Daldal sat beside me near the campfire and started nodding off.
Watching him,
I found myself thinking once again that returning home had been the right choice.
Meanwhile,
in the dark night sky,
a huge and threatening existence was silently flying above Yang Suho.
“......”
Its purpose was unknown.
But it was obvious what its sharp beak and cold eyes were staring at.
Grind.
One small otter slept peacefully beside Yang Suho.
From hundreds of meters above,
the existence stared at that tiny otter and ground its beak.
