"Today's haul isn't bad, but I don't think I bought any cooking tools, so there's no way to cook and eat these..."
"Easy! Just grab some firewood, light it up, roast them right here, eat, and head back when you're done."
"We're not allowed to start a fire in the Forbidden Forest."
Hilia shook her head and took stock of today's catch, stowing them all in the fish bag—including that Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish.
"Why not give them all to Mr. Oston!"
Hilia made up her mind.
She packed up, tied the fish bag onto her Flying Broom, and left.
Rose glanced thoughtfully back at the Forbidden Forest Lake, set the magic puppet to follow Hilia, then returned to Hilia's mindscape.
Soon after, Hilia landed outside Oston's little cabin.
Oston didn't seem to be home—the door was firmly shut, and there was no sign of him outside.
Hilia stepped up to the door and knocked.
"Mr. Oston, are you in?"
No answer.
Hilia suddenly noticed a button next to the door. Next to it was written: "If I'm not home, please press this button ↓"
Hilia pressed it, and Oston's voice came through the button.
"Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Hilia sat down on the outdoor chair, tipped all the fish out of the fish bag.
She looked around, tore off a giant leaf from a nearby tree—something like a banana leaf—spread it on the ground, and arranged the fish neatly.
Before catching the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish, Hilia had managed five fish in total, none too big—largest maybe five pounds. Only the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish was over two meters, roughly twenty to thirty pounds.
The Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish was a vivid blue all over, its head like a lizard, with a long slender body. Hilia had knocked it out cold, but it wasn't dead yet.
"Mr. Rose, how should I handle this Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish?"
"Wait for Oston to handle it. Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish meat boosts Spiritual Power. Keep half for yourself, give Oston the other half, so next time you can come back."
"Alright."
Not long after, Oston flew down from the sky.
He saw Hilia and smiled, "Oh, it's you, kid."
He glanced at the fish on the leaf and exclaimed, "Is that a Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish? Did you catch it in the forbidden area?"
Hilia handed over her permit card, "Nope, I caught it in the allowed fishing zone."
Oston took the card, checked its record, and saw that Hilia hadn't fished outside the permitted zone.
How did that Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish wind up here and get hooked?
Oston was puzzled, "Can I see your bait? What did you use to catch it?"
Hilia opened her backpack and showed him her bait.
Just regular bait, with a bit of dragon-lizard blood mixed in to attract magical creatures.
But the dragon-lizard blood was really faint—wouldn't spread far. That concentration couldn't even attract magical fish, let alone anything bigger. Not even dogs would bother.
And still, the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish got hooked.
"Could it be caused by sect activity?" he muttered to himself, then shook his head.
I'll try fishing tomorrow, Oston thought.
"Mr. Oston, I'm giving you all these fish. Could you help process the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish? I want its bones to make my magic puppet's spine."
Hilia's voice snapped Oston out of his thoughts. He nodded, "Of course, no problem."
Being a seasoned fishing pro, Oston was an expert at cleaning all kinds of fish, especially ones sold in markets.
He got up, went inside, came back out with a boning knife, and in a flash was done with the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish, separating meat and bones completely.
Then he picked up the fish bones and, after a few swipes with the boning knife, separated all the bones into segments.
"If you're using the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish's bones to make a magic puppet's spine, you'll need to add runes to each bone. For the connections and polishing, just ask your school mentor for help."
"Thank you, Mr. Oston!" Hilia happily gathered up the bones and handed the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish meat to Oston. "All the meat is yours."
Oston shook his head, smiling, "The meat is very beneficial for you—not so much for me. The other fish are enough. You keep this one."
"No way—since you helped me, you should have these."
"Cut the crap—if I say I don't want it, I don't want it. If you still want to come fish, take it with you."
Seeing Oston's stern face, Hilia obediently packed it up.
"By the way, for the next five days, don't come fishing. There's evidence of sect pollution near the school—they may be sneaking into the Forbidden Forest. Wait till the school finishes checking everywhere, then you can come back."
"Sect? Is it the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association?" Hilia asked curiously.
"Maybe."
Oston didn't say much more, packed up the fish from the leaf, and waved Hilia off.
Hilia tied the Blue-Scaled Lizard Fish meat and bones onto her Flying Broom, then wobbled her way back to the dorms.
Back in the dorm, Hilia cautiously looked at Rose and said softly, "Mr. Rose, Oston earlier mentioned the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association. Maybe they're after you."
"After me?" Rose was puzzled.
"Yeah—among the twelve sects registered by the Holy Court, all believe in Evil Gods. Only a few believe in you; the rest worship fake Evil Gods. But if they learn you've arrived, they'll take action."
"So the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association worships me too?"
"Nope—they worship the deep sea... Roster."
Rose slowly popped up a question mark.
"?"
What the hell is Roster?
"The Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association claims Evil Gods aren't human, but monsters from the deep sea called Roster. These creatures are like tentacle monsters, full of eyes and tentacles, sleeping in the depths. Their main goal is to awaken the nonexistent Roster and bring the deep sea to Star Fall Continent."
Rose: "???"
Roster?
This damn Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association—are they really just riffing off my name for their Evil God?
Making me into a tentacle monster, huh?
You're basically begging to die.
"They usually don't show up in Huijin City. But earlier Oston said there are signs of the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association near the school... Could they have found your trail and are after you?"
Rose rolled his eyes, "A sect that dares to mess with their god's name like that—how could they face the real Evil God?"
The Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association probably got scared while setting up, thinking they might actually summon me, so twisted my name and turned me into a deep-sea tentacle monster, just to avoid the real Evil God.
And the other sects who truly worship the Evil God haven't managed to summon any. This new doctrine, though, wins over heretics fast, making them grow bigger and bigger.
This kind of sect can't be allowed to keep going!
"Tomorrow after lunch, walk around the school wall—I'll check if there are any heretics."