When I spotted a rock slightly raised on one side, I slid my stick underneath and lifted it slowly.
Another crab.
It tried to flee, but I blocked its path with the stick, letting it clamp down before lifting it cleanly and dropping it into the bucket.
Clack.
The sound made the nearby children in shock at how effortlessly I caught it.
But I ignored their surprise.
And repeated the same process, flipping stones one by one, moving calmly while the children buzzed with excitement around me.
After an hour, our catches began to slow.
We had almost flipped every stone in the area, and many of the river crabs had already fled deeper into the water.
There were still untouched areas farther away, but we didn't go there.
It was too far from the resting area, and we had already caught more than enough for us to eat for a day.
We didn't even know what dangers might be lurking there.
So better safe than sorry.
Staying here was the better choice.
I looked at our only small wooden bucket.
It was completely full thanks to everyone's hard work, the crabs inside clattering against one another, their claws tapping sharply against the sides.
The two cloth sacks also held some crabs. They weren't even half full, but they were heavy now, tied tightly to keep anything from escaping.
Among the catch were a few large crabs, their shells dark and thick—proof of how lucky the hunt had been for the group.
The children collapsed onto nearby rocks, breathing hard, tired but smiling and grinning widely.
Some wiped mud from their faces.
The Three younger kids compared their catches, arguing over who had found the biggest one.
"I can't believe it… just using a simple catching technique, we caught this many,"
Masha murmured in disbelief.
I set the bucket down and looked around the riverbank.
The excitement slowly faded in my face and turn into tired satisfaction.
"Yeah, thanks to everyone's hard work. Good job, guys."
"No, it's thanks to you too, boss, for teaching us how to catch crabs so easily!"
Troy exclaimed.
"Masha is right, boss. It's all thanks to you. We didn't even know you had this much knowledge."
"No, you're all overpraising me," I said, waving it off. "I just happened to read it in a book and tried it. It worked by luck."
Of course, the truth was that I'd only learned how to catch river crabs a few hours ago.
I had used my one-time search to watch a video back in my apartment before we reached the river.
"Wow… you can read, boss?" one of them asked.
"Did you go to the academy before you became a beggar?"
"That's so cool, boss! Can you teach us how to read too?"
Everyone was shocked.
Books were extremely valuable in this world, and reading was something only the rich could afford or those with access to an academy library.
Even Masha, usually so serious, couldn't hide her surprise. Long ago, she had dreamed of learning to read and becoming a scholar.
If not for her situation, she might never have given up on that dream.
I smiled mysteriously.
"Yes. Not only did I go to an academy, I'm pretty smart too."
I couldn't help but brag a little to these innocent kids.
Even though I wasn't really truly that smart, my knowledge was still far more advanced than this world's.
"I might even teach you a word or two—if you want."
"Really, boss? You can teach us?"
Masha was the first to ask, curiosity shining in her eyes.
The others quickly followed, everyone except Troy, who seemed uninterested.
"Really?"
"Really, boss?"
"Yes—but not now," I said. "In the future. If you all behave well."
"We understand, boss."
Some of them looked disappointed they couldn't learn right away, but they were still happy knowing they'd have the chance someday.
Truthfully, I already planned to teach them from the start—but that would come later, after our situation stabilized.
"So for now, we'll rest for a while before heading back to the resting area."
Everyone nodded, showing how well-behaved they were.
"Okay, boss."
It seemed the children really liked calling me boss.
Even Troy, who usually called me Brother Soren, joined in. But I decided to let it be—hearing it didn't sound bad.
…It actually sounded kind of cool.
After rest enough, we washed ourselves in the river.
I really couldn't stand the smell anymore so I order everyone to bath in the river.
The cold water washed away the dirt and mud, leaving my body feeling light again.
The children laughed as they splashed each other, carefully keeping their clothes from drifting away.
They also washed their only set of clothes and put them on again, planning to let them dry that way.
When we were done, we headed back to the resting area.
It didn't take long to get back.
Ren was already there, lazily sitting in the cart.
Upon seeing the wet Soren and the children, Ren immediately waved and called out.
"Took you a long time to get back. The sun's already high."
"Yeah, we got so busy catching river crabs that we lost track of time."
Ren face seem confused as he asked.
"Crabs? I thought you were going to catch fish?."
Ren knew about crabs too, and he knew how hard they were to catch without proper tools.
"Yeah, we only caught crabs. We don't have the tools for fish, after all."
I showed him the wooden bucket full of river crabs.
Ren's face immediately registered surprise.
He counted the dozens of small crabs inside, some even trying to climb out.
"Wow… you caught so many? From what I know, they're hard to catch without proper tools or traps—but you got a dozen!"
Ren also noticed Troy holding a tied cloth sack on his back, and the twins, Eli and Erza, were each holding a sack as well.
He glanced back at me.
"Is that… also—?"
The sun was burning high in the sky—probably around 8 in the morning.