After breakfast, we went to check the traps that Haruka and the others had set yesterday.

How many traps did you set in total?
"Three small and three large box-shaped ones, and three baskets, for a total of nine.

　We were so engrossed in the fishing that we didn't get a good look at them, but they seemed to have been set in a certain range.

We didn't know where to put them.
I put them in a few different places. ......
Let's try the big box first.

　Halka and the others took me to a place where a long, narrow box, about 1.5 meters long and 30 centimeters wide, was submerged. The box had a number of holes drilled in its sides to allow water to drain out.

　The box was set in a place not too far from the riverside, deep enough to somehow sink below the surface of the water, and some stones were placed on top of it as weights.

　As you can see from its size, the target seems to be a Great Salamander.

Let's get it up.

　Toya said, removing the stones and lifting the box, but immediately shook his head.

It looks empty.

　We all looked into the box, but it was still empty. There's nothing in it.

There's no food left. Maybe it was washed away.
What did they use?
Orc meat.

　That's a lot of meat.
　Some of it was thrown in without being properly dismembered, so there's no waste if we use the parts we don't eat.

It's a river creature, so fish would be better, right?
No, I think they eat pretty much anything, those creatures.
Well, let's see what we got today. Next, next.

　The second one was a little farther downstream.
　Toya lifted it again, this time with a grin, and brought it straight to him, carefully opening the lid.

...... That's a catfish. And two of them.
They're huge, man.

　Two catfishes, each thicker than my arm and almost a meter long, lay there shuffling about. They looked like they were about to be lifted out of the water, but they stayed still in the box and didn't move much.

They're not the Great Salamanders, but they can eat catfish, can't they?

"Yes. Yes, but you have to remove the mud. I've heard that catfish is often used for fried white fish in convenience store lunch boxes.

Oh, really?

Yes. I heard that the taste depends on the environment in which it is raised, but I'm sure it will taste good in this river.

Okay, let's get this one out of the mud next to the sponges.

　We filled the tub with water, moved the catfish into it, and headed for the trap that was further downstream.

That's the last of the big traps.
"The big salamander is at ....... Oh?　Is this a hit?

　"This is the last of the big traps," Toya said as he tried to lift the box, then changed the way he held it and carried it over.

It's heavier than before. Maybe we should be careful.

　When I looked inside through the hole in the side of the box, I saw the same slimy face I saw yesterday. That's what I saw yesterday.

You can catch it. ....... I didn't think it would work, but...
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.　I wasn't sure.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

　It seems that Natsuki took the lead in making the trap. She was not so sure, though, since she only knew how to do it, but had never tried it before.

I don't want you to get away, so let's just freeze you.

　Unlike the catfish, the Great Salamander had legs, so Haruka cast a spell on it while it was still in the box and froze it to a crisp. The Great Salamander then goes straight into the magic bag.

　It was over a meter in size, so she could get a good price for it.

I'm going to have to do this again.
I know. Hundreds of thousands of yen just to set it up for one night, I shudder!

　Yuki is smiling while saying she's shaking.
　Of course, we were smiling, too. I like the fact that it's not life-threatening and doesn't take much effort!

Now let's pull up the small box.
This one is for fish. ...... To be frank, it's for eels!
Eels!　--But there's no soy sauce, right?

　It's the way it's cooked and the sauce that makes eel so good.
　I don't want to eat eel dishes like the eel in jelly that I hear about in England.

I don't want to eat the eel jelly dish that is rumored to be available in England. ......, in case I can get it someday!

　Apparently, Natsuki doesn't know how to cook eels well except for kabayaki.
　I've heard of eating shirayaki with wasabi and soy sauce, but this is also soy sauce after all.

Let's go and check first. It's like a raccoon without a catch, right?
"That's right. It's not too late to worry about it after we get it.

　I found a small box of traps in shallow water.


　It's about the same length, but it's less than 15 centimeters on each side, so it looks even longer and narrower.

"Oh, it looks like there's something in it.

　This time I collected it. When I lifted it up, it was a little heavy.
　I couldn't tell if it was eel or not, but it seemed to have something in it.
　I took it back to the riverbank and turned it over in the tub that had been prepared for it. .......

It's an eel!

　A huge eel came out of the box.
　It seemed to be about a size thicker and 20 to 30% longer than the eel I had imagined.

　Well, I rarely have a chance to see a real eel. Well, I remember seeing one swimming in a tank at a sushi restaurant. It was very thin and short.

Natsuki, are you sure it's an eel?
"It's probably an eel, and the help page says so. I don't know if it tastes like Japanese eel, though.

　Oh, I see. Eels don't always taste good, do they?

"Hmm?　Are there different kinds of eels?

　It was Natsuki who answered Toya's question.

"Yes. In Japan, Japanese eels and European eels are used for kabayaki. There are many other types of eels, but they are not edible or very tasty. ......

I see. But this eel is at least edible. The appraisal says it's edible.

That's good news. Let's see if it's good or not when we eat it at .......

　Then we collected the other two boxes and got two more eels, which, like the catfish, were left for a while to drain.

"Finally, the basket. There are three of them. I've set them up in three places, one shallow, one deep, and one in between. ......

These are for crabs and shrimps.
"Oh!　Can you catch them?

I don't know if we'll be able to catch anything with edible flesh, but even small crabs can be used for broth, so they won't go to waste.

　I'm so excited about crabs!
　I've never had the chance to eat much of anything like that.

The first one is ...... Oh!
Yes!　Crab!

　There were more than ten crabs in the basket, each a little larger than the palm of your hand, even at a quick glance.
　They were quite heavy.

The size of the crabs is about the same as a blue crab, but the shape is similar to a blue crab. Is it edible?
"Its name is 'Barei Crab' and it is edible.

　Yes!　It would be a disaster if we couldn't eat it.

Well then, we've got to get this. Let's put it in a barrel.

　The barrels used for making dried meat were in the magic bag, so we filled it with clean water and put the crabs in. A few small fish were also in the bag, but I released them. Good luck and grow up. Next time you come fishing.

It's going better than I expected. I thought I'd only be able to catch a few, if not all of them.

That's right. We're amateurs after all.

I guess no one's coming to catch it. It's too dangerous. If the word gets out that it's as good as the Great Salamander, rich people will start asking for it.

Okay, let's keep it a secret!
No objections!

　Toya immediately agreed with my words. Yuki nodded her head in agreement.
　But Natsuki smiled at us.

But Natsuki smiled at us and said, "It doesn't mean the Valley Crab is still good.　It might just be that they're not being caught because they're not tasty.

　If that's the case, I'll be very disappointed.
　It's a crab that's worth eating.

"Next, we'll put the basket in the middle depth. How about this?

　This time, Haruka jumped to a rock in the middle of the river, pulled the rope tied to the rock, and pulled up the basket.

　It was hard to see from the riverbank, but it seemed to contain something, and Haruka came back with the basket with a smile.

It's a king prawn, apparently. Toya, can we eat these too?
"Well, ...... is edible.

　I looked into the basket and saw a large number of translucent shrimp jumping around. They are not very big, only about 10 centimeters, but there are a lot of them.

　I moved them to a barrel filled with water and then to the last basket.
　The rope tied to the basket was tied to a tree on the opposite bank.



　I'm gonna have to pull you up with it.

Pretty heavy, huh?
It's weighted. It's pretty deep.

　It's probably more than five meters deep.
　The rope is not very thick and the basket itself does not look very strong, so we pull it up slowly and carefully.

　If it were made of metal, you could pull it out easily, but it looks like it was made by modifying a wooden basket, and the strength of this trap seems to be quite delicate.

...... Wow.

　When the basket came to the surface of the water, it was filled with a lot of shrimp-like things.

　They looked more like crayfish. However, they were about 20 centimeters in size, with hard-looking shells, dark brown in color, and not reddish like the American crayfish.

A 'shell shrimp'. It's also edible.
They're shrimp, so they're probably tasty, but when they're all gathered together like this, they don't look good on ......, do they?
"No, but they're shrimp.　They'll be good!
I hope so.

　Back on the other side of the river, we put this in the barrel too.
　It's overcrowded, but now that it's back in the water, it doesn't move much and stays put.

But the fish are good, and we can catch a lot in the basket. It's a pretty good fishery here.
"And conveniently, we can eat everything.

　Catfish, crabs, and two kinds of shrimp. Lucky for us, he says, they're all edible.

No, that's not surprising. Even in Japan, if you dredge the river and catch all the creatures, you can eat most of them. Whether they are tasty or not, they are edible.

That's right. We can eat carp, crucian carp, longsnout fish, loach, crawfish, black bass and bluegill. Turtles seem to be tougher.

　But then, shocking information came out from Natsuki.

Actually, I heard that you can eat green turtles and leatherback turtles.　I've never eaten them, though.
Really?
It's true.

　Seriously.

　I'm not sure what to make of this.　I'm sure it will be .......

　But, since you're going to eat the sponges, ...... no, ...... well, I don't want to eat them as much as possible. The appearance is important. People and food. Even if the inside of the food is good, it's useless if you can't get people to eat it.

　I guess it's better for the ingredients.