Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thors Stone

Shall we have our lunch here?

Yes, its about time. We cant be sure well encounter a place like this later on after all. Elna agreed.

Well, it is true that there will be no other suitable rest spots after this one for quite a while. This place was a large clearing near the road. It was probably cleared out specifically for use by travelers like us.

Are we going to take a break now, Alan? Cleria inquired.

Yes, thats right. Lets have lunch here.

Now then, whatll we have for lunch? I guess Ill use the bread we got from Verse. Lets eat them while theyre still soft and fluffy. Ill grill some bacon and use them as a sandwich filling, along with some crisp lettuce-looking veggies, sliced tomatoes, and mayonnaise. I managed to procure some mayo from Verse before we departed after all. I also managed to get some ketchup and the sauce I co-developed with him as well.

As I was preparing for lunch, the five Gray Hounds, that were now just several hundred meters away from us, started moving in earnest. It looks like theyve finally noticed us.

There are five Gray Hounds approaching us. How about you use them as targets for spell practice, Selena, Sharon?

The faces of the two, who were currently looking after the horses, brightened considerably after hearing my announcement.

Understood! Well do it! Sharon excitedly exclaimed.

Please leave them to us! Selena followed up.

What about me, Alan? Cleria asked.

Youve already had enough practice before, right, Cleria?

Im still not as good compared to you, Alan. Theres five of them, so please let me join in as well!

Oh alright then. I guess the three of you can do it together. Theyre approaching from that direction.

Selena and Sharon should already know the monsters positions, but Im sure Cleria still had no idea.

After facing the direction the enemies were going to come out from, I, Selena, and Sharon brandished our rifles and took a firing stance, while Cleria and Elna unsheathed their swords.

Gray Hounds leapt out from within the mountains one after another and headed for the clearing aggressively, without any care for potential retaliation.

Flame Arrow spells were cast and headed straight for the Gray Hounds. Selena and Sharon each managed to cast one arrow, while Cleria casted three.

A total of three arrows hit the first one to exit the mountainside. Selena and Sharon prepared to fire off their next spells after the first ones hit the target, but the remaining two arrows from Clerias spell hit the second and third Hounds already. Selena and Sharons arrows ended up finishing off the remaining two instead.

As a result, Cleria got a total of three monsters while Selena and Sharon got two each. It looks like Cleria really does exceed the both of them when it comes to spell control and output. In any case, the three of them managed to bring down five Gray Hounds in a snap.

Selena and Sharon were quite frustrated that Cleria was able to bring down more monsters than them, and Cleria instead looked really happy about it.

Good job, everyone. So youre actually more interested in bringing down Gray Hounds than having lunch huh. You all look really excited, you know.

We then proceeded to collect the magic stones from the Gray Hounds. Cant we do something about this collection process? The act of having to pin down the corpse with my foot while trying not to touch the body as much as possible really feels overly tedious.

In order not to inconvenience other travelers, we dragged the monster corpses toward a cliff near the side of the road and dropped all of them down the valley below.

We used the Water spell to wash our hands clean and proceeded to have our lunch. The bacon and lettuce sandwiches turned out quite well.

After finishing our lunch, we jumped back into the carriage and started off once more. Id like to reach the designated camping area as soon as possible.

We did manage to reach the campsite at about four oclock in the afternoon without encountering any more problems along the way.

Lets pitch our camp near that river over there. We can easily reach that place via carriage; its relatively spacious and even offers a good view of the surroundings, so it seems fairly safe.

Yes, that does seem to be the case. Let us do so then. Elna expressed her agreement.

Of course, Ive already confirmed the overall layout of that area beforehand. I checked an overhead view of the entire area taken by the drone flying in stealth right above us. The riverside was really suited for camping, and the river was fairly wide as well. It also had a spot that looked perfect for fishing. I want to try fishing there by all means.

First, we divided the work among ourselves and proceeded to pitch our camp. Cleria, Sharon, and Selena were in charge of settling down and securing the horses. I and Elna were in charge of pitching the tents.

The tents were well designed, so after teaching Elna how to set them up, everything went smoothly. There were a total of three tents that can house two people each. We had them ready after just a short while.

Great. Now, whats left is just preparing dinner. That said, lets get to fishing. It was a really nice way to procure some food.

Im thinking of going fishing over there for a bit. I probably wont take long, so you girls are all free to do your own stuff in the meantime.

I took the bag with the fishing gear inside and headed for the river. Everyone else actually followed after me.

Hm? I thought I said youre free to do what you want, girls?

I want to observe you while you fish. Cleria replied.

Thats right. Im also quite interested. Elna followed up.

Okay then.

When I reached the bank of the river, I started preparing the fishing gear. Since I had no live bait, I decided to use the lures instead. I did have a bit of fishing experience, so I managed to prepare everything without any problems.

These reels were not the electronic type, but the manual type instead. I guess these were owned by someone very particular with his or her fishing preferences. Great. Were all set. I chose a lure that looked like a small fish.

This fake bait will be used to attract the fish in the river by throwing it on the water. Once the fish takes the fake bait as prey and bites at it, their mouths will be stuck to this hook, and then Ill be able to pull them out of the water. Thats basically how this tool works.

Amazing! This thread is made out of some sort of transparent material! Cleria exclaimed.

Well, if it wasnt transparent, the fish would easily notice it after all.

Um, I feel thats actually not the real reason for using such transparent material. Elna countered.

It was getting dark already. Lets go ahead and start.

I tossed the lure out. It flew quite a distance. My fishing experience came in handy after all. After tossing it out two more times, I finally felt something pull at the line.

Here it comes!

This ones pretty tough. But a normal fish wont be able to snap this fishing line at all. If I remember correctly, this type of line can handle fishes weighing up to fifty kilos. Its the same with the rod. Theres no problem even if I wound it with some force.

I finally managed to fish one up.

Amazing! You really caught one! Cleria exclaimed in glee.

This is how fishing goes, Cleria.

I ended up fishing a pretty large trout. It was a bit smaller than the fish Cleria and I caught during our time in that makeshift camp, but it wasnt bad.

Alan, I want to try as well! Cleria requested.

Me too!

It looks like everyone was interested in trying fishing out. But I also want to continue fishing as well.

It looks like I need to prepare all three rods then.

I set everything up and gave them a simple lecture regarding how to throw the lures.

If you press this spot on the reel, the fishing line will be held in place. If you release it, the line will come out. You need to raise your arms at this angle, and then bring them down with a snap. Once you do so, the lure will fly out to the water. If you want to stop the line from lengthening further once youve thrown the lure inside the water, you can just press here again to hold it in place once more.

When I had them try for themselves, it seems like everyone has managed to somehow get a knack for it. After two to three practice throws, they were able to successfully land the lure at a good place on the water. Everyone sure learns fast.