Following the old fisherman who introduced himself as Mognov, we boarded a boat docked at the port. It was a small vessel, about ten meters long.

The boat was powered by a screw propeller at the rear, which ran on a magic stone acting as a battery. Many of the boats at the port lacked sails, suggesting that this was a common propulsion method.

"Whoa, becoming a C-rank adventurer at your age is pretty impressive."

Leaning over the side of the accelerating boat, I gazed at the sea. The further we moved offshore, the deeper the ocean floor became.

"Haha, yeah, but it also means we get into a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Gahaha! Well, you do look like kids."

Mognov made the remark without any malice, just stating the obvious. Honestly, his easygoing and straightforward personality was quite likable.

"Haha, well, I don’t exactly feel like an adult yet."

In Japan, high school students are still considered kids. In this world, adulthood starts at fifteen, but just because the environment changed didn’t mean I’d suddenly feel like an adult. Still, we had become independent, and we were even married. I figured we’d get used to it with time.

"Yeah, it’s not like you just wake up one day and suddenly feel like an adult."

Mognov said this while staring off into the distance, lost in thought.

"Anyway, by now, we should be far enough that the monster repellent won’t affect us."

He glanced toward the shore, then stopped the boat’s engine and dropped anchor.

"Got it."

Rio and I immediately cast our lines into the water. Nir leaned over from behind us, curiously watching the ocean’s surface. Of course, there was no guarantee we’d get a bite right away. In fact, we weren’t even sure if dried meat made for good bait. Wait, why not just ask the fisherman right here?

"Hm? Oh, the fish around here will eat pretty much anything. Dried meat should work just fine."

"That’s a relief to hear."

"Haha, well, let’s hope you actually catch something."

Chuckling, Mognov cast his own line. As expected from a fisherman, his rod was the real deal—equipped with a reel and designed to reach the ocean floor.

"Hmm, I wish I could cast farther out."

"Haha, you should’ve bought a proper fishing rod in town."

"Yeah, I know. But store-bought rods aren’t exactly—"

Just as I was chatting idly with Rio, I felt a tug on my line.

"Oh, did I get something?"

"Huh? Really?"

It was putting up a decent fight, but my custom-made rod and thread weren’t about to snap so easily. Slowly reeling it in, I pulled up a fish about thirty centimeters long.

It had sharp teeth, a shiny blue body, and a single red stripe running down the middle.

"Alright!"

"Oh, I got one too!"

"Gahaha! Looks like you two are off to a great start!"

After reeling it onto the boat, I removed the hook. I had no idea what kind of fish it was, but it looked fresh and lively. As it flopped around, I quickly rebaited my hook and cast my line back into the sea.

Rio’s fish seemed to be of the same species, though hers was slightly smaller.

"Hey, you gotta kill the fish right away, or it’ll escape!"

"Huh? …Ah!"

At Mognov’s words, I turned just in time to see my fish make a mighty leap—straight over the side of the boat and back into the ocean.

"Ah…"

"Gahaha! Judging by that rod, I take it you two are complete amateurs?"

"Haha, you can tell?"

"Of course! Just look at that clunky excuse for a fishing rod!"

He shook his head, exasperated.

"Well, can’t be helped. I’ll teach you how to properly kill a fish."

"Really?"

"Sure, but it’ll cost ya."

For a second, I thought he was just a nice guy, but then he smirked and made his expectations clear. Still, I’d never learned how to clean fish from my mentor, so I was more than happy to pay.

"Alright, I’d appreciate that."

"Leave it to me! For the right price, I’ll even teach you how to clean different kinds of fish!"

"Seriously?"

"Gahaha! Of course!"

"Then please teach me as much as you can later!"

Rio beamed with excitement as she stored her fish inside her dimensional storage.

"Whoa, a dimensional storage, huh? You’re carrying some rare stuff. But won’t the fish die in there and lose its freshness?"

"It’s a time-stopping dimensional storage, so it’s fine."

"…Huh!?"

Mognov’s jaw dropped. He was so stunned that he froze in place, so I just rebaited my hook and resumed fishing.

"Oh yeah, I had some raw meat too…"

Reaching into my storage, I pulled out a chunk of meat from some creature, cut it into smaller pieces, and hooked one onto my line.

"Isn’t that a bit too big?"

"Wouldn’t it be fun if we hooked something huge?"

"Fufu, maybe. In that case, I’ll try it too."

As we watched the large chunk of meat drift through the water, Mognov finally snapped out of his daze.

"Time-stopping…? That’s some insane magic you’ve got there… Gahahaha! But listen, if you hook a big one with bait that size, your line’s gonna snap!"

"Haha, I think we’ll be fine."

"Huh?"

I confidently answered Mognov’s skeptical look.

After all, our line was made from metal spider silk.