The sun was beginning its descent westward.
By the time Grass Wonder made her way back from Rigil's, it was already three or four in the afternoon.
Seiun Sky's bucket was nearly full, with close to twenty sea fish swimming inside. Even Barbatos had gotten lucky, pulling up a respectable seven.
"Where's Special Week?"
Though she'd more or less expected it, seeing that Special Week was no longer there when she actually returned still left Grass Wonder feeling a little disappointed.
But that kind of disappointment never showed on her face. Her expression remained that same gentle smile.
"Failed her exams, got called in for cram school."
Barbatos shrugged. For the four of them there, all classmates, this outcome was probably something they'd all seen coming a mile away.
She pointed to the fishing rod lying on the ground beside her. "Good timing, actually—Special Week left her rod and stuff. Said it was for you. Don't let it go to waste."
Since they'd rented the rod and the rest of the gear for the whole day, there was no refund if they returned it early.
So Special Week had just left her things behind, figuring Grass Wonder could use them when she showed up.
"Mm."
Grass Wonder gave a soft hum in reply and sat down next to Barbatos.
She was a little curious, wanted to ask how the fishing was going, but as she walked over, looking down from her higher vantage point, she could already see into the buckets beside Barbatos and the others.
King Halo's bucket, in particular, stood in stark contrast to Seiun Sky's—completely empty.
Yeah, better not to ask.
That was just the kind of person Grass Wonder was.
But she hadn't been sitting for long when the surface of the water where King Halo's line disappeared finally began to ripple.
King Halo, who'd been waiting for what felt like forever, seized the moment. She jerked the rod upward, ready to reel in her catch!
"What's this?"
"Huh?"
King Halo let out a soft sound of confusion. The rod hadn't budged when she tried to lift it. "This feeling?! Must be a big one?!"
She controlled the force in her arms, careful not to let the leverage send the big fish flying. But as she pulled harder, the entire rod began to bend, curving like a shrimp.
Even so, that big fish showed no signs of coming up.
The sight made Barbatos and the other two turn their heads.
King Halo kept adding pressure. Just then, a faint creak came from the rod, as if warning her that if she pulled any harder, it would snap right then and there.
"Miss Seiun Sky! Could you come here for a moment!"
In her panic, King Halo even used Seiun Sky's full name, adding the "miss" suffix for good measure.
"This big fish seems too heavy. This rod just can't handle it. I was hoping you could help me figure something out!"
She'd been so confident earlier, but this was actually her first time fishing. First cast, first bite, and now the rod couldn't take the fish's weight—she couldn't even reel it in. It was so frustrating!
"Hmm~?"
Seiun Sky's gaze at King Halo was a bit peculiar.
How could she possibly have hooked a fish too heavy for the rod in this spot? It was clearly just a snag—the hook was stuck on something and wouldn't come out.
After a moment's pause, she offered an explanation.
"Um, actually, you've hooked the Earth."
It was a roundabout way of putting it, but even Barbatos, who had little fishing experience, and Grass Wonder, who'd just arrived, understood the meaning after a brief moment of confusion.
"Hooked the Earth?"
King Halo was taken aback. "Is that so?!"
Then she couldn't help but let out a series of light chuckles. "Indeed! For someone like me, King Halo, even hooking the Earth is no big deal!"
Seeing this, Seiun Sky couldn't help but think to herself, this was the first time she'd ever seen someone so happy after getting their hook snagged.
Barbatos just thought King Halo was impressively optimistic.
--+--
Finally, around four o'clock, Barbatos and the others headed back, buckets in hand.
They returned the two fishing rods and the rest of the gear they'd rented earlier.
Well, King Halo's rod couldn't really be returned. It didn't look too bad on the outside, but internally, it had suffered considerable damage from "hooking the Earth."
Even so, King Halo proudly recounted the whole story to the shop clerk, then paid the full price for the rod.
What surprised Barbatos the most was Grass Wonder. Even though she'd arrived pretty late, she'd still managed to catch a few more fish than he had.
Not as many as Seiun Sky, of course, but to Barbatos, that put her in the expert category.
The difference between her fishing skills and Grass Wonder's was probably like the gap between a G3 and a G1 race. Seiun Sky? She was on a whole other level—legendary angler tier.
Barbatos did a quick count of their haul for the day. "Forty-seven total. Wonder if that's enough for all of us."
It was definitely enough for the four of them—could even last two or three days.
But if you factored in Special Week, who'd been hitting the books like crazy all day, and the possibility of other friends dropping by to snag some grilled fish, they should probably prepare some extra food.
The "other friends" part would only be a small fraction, though.
Special Week was the real wild card!
That was a girl who could go toe-to-toe with Oguri Cap—a legendary bottomless pit of an Uma Musume!
So they left their rods and buckets of fish at the rental shop. The place not only rented out fishing gear but also had grilling equipment they'd need later.
This way, they wouldn't have to carry everything back and forth between the beach and the fresh seafood market.
Luckily, the market wasn't too far. Otherwise, for someone on crutches like King Halo, the walk alone would've been torture.
Aromas were already drifting out from many of the nearby restaurants.
Some of the Uma Musume who hadn't planned on grilling their own food were already settling into restaurants, ready to enjoy their dinners.
And on the way to the market, Barbatos spotted a neat row of familiar figures. It was the members of Spica, including Special Week.
Desks were set up on the sand, looking completely out of place against the beachy surroundings.
Their trainer, Okino, was at the front, using a makeshift blackboard to conduct a rather unorthodox lesson.
Special Week, Vodka, Gold Ship, Daiwa Scarlet, and the others were seated in a row in front of the blackboard, textbooks laid out on their desks.
Three of them were yawning; Gold Ship was cheerfully fiddling with a Rubik's cube.
It was a surreal sight.
"What's going on here?"
Barbatos knew that failing an exam meant getting remedial lessons from your trainer, but holding cram school on the beach? That was a new level of absurd.
Grass Wonder looked at Special Week, yawning in the setting sun, and said, a little uncertainly, "Maybe four of them in Spica failed? Looks like the President got pretty mad about it?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.