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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. I vaguely remember seeing them… somewhere… I have no idea how they ended up here.”
With a flick of Arwen’s wrist, a rift opened in space, revealing a swirling darkness. She rummaged through it, then pulled out two ornate fishing rods.
As far as I knew, that space connected to Arwen’s territory. Or rather, her castle, somewhere in the far north, beyond the Nord Mountains where I’d met the blue dragon.
Anyway, in my mind, it was now officially a dragon’s lair.
‘See? She just pulled fishing rods out of thin air. It’s a dragon’s lair. Or Doraemon’s pocket.’
“Well, now we have fishing rods… I’ve never fished before.”
“Me neither. And we don’t have bait… whatever. We can just… contemplate life, like true fishermen.”
We set off, armed with nothing but fishing rods.
A glance at Arwen’s face revealed a hopeful smile.
‘It’s a date.’
We weren’t here for the fish. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to kill time.
I still hadn’t fully adapted to this world. In my past life, men were expected to plan dates.
Here, it was the women’s responsibility.
“Wait. Attire is important.”
Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation, which made me nervous.
She reached into her pocket dimension and handed me something.
“Clothes?”
“You need the appropriate attire.”
A vintage-style t-shirt and shorts, a straw hat, and sandals.
A summer outfit.
She pulled out a similar outfit for herself, a sundress and a straw hat, then disappeared into the cabin, poking her head out a moment later.
“Don’t peek.”
*These clothes are temperature-regulated. They’re all-season.*
I swallowed my comment and changed into the clothes.
She was excited, I wasn’t going to ruin it for her.
She seemed to be looking forward to this.
We hadn’t been on a proper date lately. It was too much trouble to constantly maintain the invisibility spell.
‘I should make more of an effort.’
I finished changing, and the door creaked open.
Her violet eyes, framed by the straw hat, were the first thing I saw.
Her skin was pale, untouched by the sun. She wore a simple sundress and sandals.
“This is… new. Do I look alright?”
“Uh… y-yes. You look… beautiful.”
“Good.”
She smiled, covering her mouth with her hand.
I thought I’d seen her in every possible outfit, but I was wrong.
It was a brief moment, but powerful enough to make me stutter.
I’d seen her naked, but sometimes, clothes were more alluring.
She looked like she’d stepped out of an anime.
“I made the right decision marrying you.”
“Don’t flatter me. It won’t get you anywhere.”
“I’m serious.”
“Eep…”
She blushed, fanning her face.
I shook my head, snapping out of my daze.
If this was intentional, she was a genius.
A dating genius.
Marriage was supposed to be the culmination of a relationship, a commitment made after building trust and understanding.
But our relationship wasn’t like that.
Thanks to the regression, we’d skipped all the steps and gone straight to marriage.
Anyway, my point was…
“You… took my breath away.”
Silence.
Arwen didn’t say anything.
We’d been married for a year, the honeymoon period long over, but it felt like we were… dating again.
If this was her plan, she was a genius.
I put my arm around her shoulder.
She flinched slightly, as if a jolt of electricity had passed through her, but I dismissed it as a natural reaction to the sudden shift in mood.
We set off, armed with our fishing rods.
No one came to this part of the forest, not even hunters, so we didn’t have to worry about being seen.
And even if we encountered monsters, we were the ones they should be afraid of.
We found a spot by a quiet stream and cast our lines.
“Is this how you catch fish?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only fished once, a long time ago. I just remember waiting.”
“It doesn’t seem to be working.”
“We don’t have bait. The fish aren’t stupid.”
Arwen looked disappointed, so I led her to a shady spot under a tree.
I’d lied about being a fishing king.
I’d only fished once, as a child, in my past life. And I hadn’t caught anything. I’d just gotten my hook snagged on a rock.
*Will we even catch anything without bait?*
We sat down on a picnic blanket Arwen had produced from somewhere. As I cast my line, my rod twitched.
“Huh?”
“What?”
I reeled it in, feeling a satisfying weight. It was a big one.
I channeled my magic to enhance my strength, and pulled.
A large carp emerged from the water.
“I caught one!”
I was surprised. I hadn’t even used bait.
It was a huge fish, at least 70cm long.
How had I caught it without bait?
Arwen, her eyes wide with admiration, produced a magically refrigerated box, and I put the carp inside. I cast my line again, and the carp was just the beginning.
Fish of all shapes and sizes, some I didn’t even recognize, started biting, one after another.
Meanwhile, Arwen’s rod remained motionless.
She’d been clapping and cheering at first, but her enthusiasm waned with each fish I caught.
I could tell she was about to snap, so I was about to reel in my line when it twitched again.
Another one.
I reeled it in, under her disapproving gaze, and another fish, foolish enough to bite a bare hook, met its end.
Arwen’s rod was still silent.
Silence.
“Well… no one’s good at everything at first. Or maybe the fish are just stupid and like my hook,” I said.
“You were good from the beginning.”
“I’m… naturally talented!”
“I really hate that about you…”
Arwen finally snapped, burying her face in her knees.
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