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“……”

Right now, I have no thoughts at all.

Because I literally have no thoughts.

“……”

And sitting next to me, Zion stares blankly at the movement of the fishing hook, just like I am.

I wonder what Zion is thinking as he watches the fishing hook sway with the flow of the water?

“Are you bored?”

“No, I’m good.”

It feels like it’s been about 30 minutes since we cast the fishing rod.

It hasn’t been that long, but I’m starting to think it’s getting a bit dull.

I’m a rehabilitation expert. Rehabilitation is always done slowly, so I thought I had quite a laid-back personality, yet this boredom of fishing is pretty hard to endure.

“By the way, Teacher, you really suck at fishing.”

Huh? Now that I think about it, I haven’t caught a single fish, have I? That’s why it’s been boring.

Fishing isn’t just about sitting still with the rod; it’s supposed to be about catching fish, right?

“Well… I used to think there wasn’t much skill involved in fishing, but it seems like I’m really not good at it, just as you said, Zion.”

“See? I knew it!”

Zion, smiling and teasing me, seems to find this incredibly amusing.

Does that mean he’s good at fishing? If that’s the case…

“How about you try fishing too, Zion? I’ve got another rod.”

“I don’t fish.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because I’m too good at it, and it gets boring.”

What? He’s saying he’s so good at fishing that it’s boring? Does that even make sense?

When he said he’d never fished before, I thought he was just asking if I was good at it, but was he really confident in his abilities?

“I can’t do it, but you’re good at it…”

“Not liking it?”

“No, it’s just that I don’t quite understand what it means to be good at fishing. So why don’t you give it a try?”

“Sure? If you say so, Teacher Hop, I’ll show you what it means to be good at fishing.”

So now Zion has decided to join me and fish, meaning I had to go back to the cabin and grab the fishing rod.

The cabin is quite far from this spot where we can actually fish since it’s near shallow water.

I stood up to go get the rod, but…

“Where are you going? I was going to show you how to fish from now on.”

“Of course, I’m going to get the fishing rod. We’re fishing, right?”

“A master doesn’t blame their tools. I can demonstrate the difference in skill without them.”

“No… Zion. That saying applies when the tools are bad. Are you saying you’re going to fish without any tools at all?”

“You’ll see.”

Zion, who had been sitting next to me, confidently knelt down, stepped off the chair, and plunged his left hand into the stream, staring at the palm of his hand.

“Zion? Are you serious about using your hands…”

“Shh.”

He put his right hand to his lips, signaling for me to be quiet.

Is he serious? Is he really trying to catch a fish just by dipping his hand in the stream?

But after just a moment of stillness, a fish longer than my hand approached slowly and began to tap its snout against Zion’s fingertips.

“Good boy, thank you for coming.”

Even Zion didn’t immediately grab the fish but instead stroked its head with his hand.

Surprisingly, the fish didn’t swim away; it seemed to enjoy Zion’s gentle touch, blinking its clear eyelids and looking almost like it was smiling.

And when Zion lightly grasped the fish’s tail and lifted it up, the fish forgot to squirm and obediently allowed itself to be pulled up by Zion.

It was as if the fish came willingly to be caught. Can this really be called fishing?

“What the heck…”

“I’m someone who is loved by the world. I’m a hero of this realm. That’s why I don’t fish.”

Zion showed a slightly bitter smile, then placed the caught fish back into the water, releasing its tail.

As soon as Zion let it go, the fish began swimming away from us, and Zion waved goodbye to its retreating figure.

“It feels too bad to eat fish that come to me trusting me like that.”

Feeling sorry for eating the fish that came willingly is such a hero-like sentiment; it’s something I couldn’t even imagine.

“What about the ones I caught?”

“The one you struggled to catch is fine to eat.”

“Are you not sorry for them?”

“Those who were caught by a teacher who is really bad at fishing can pay the price, right?”

“Let’s see if I could even say to the fish I caught, ‘Go ahead and let yourself be eaten since you got caught by me, a bad fisherman.'”

“I’ll be looking forward to it~”

Zion, smiling, teasingly encouraged me to catch something again.

Determined to catch a fish just out of spite, I steeled myself, but no matter how long I waited, there were no signs of fish biting.

“Looks like I’m being hated by this world.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re loved by the world and can fish well, then I must be the opposite…”

“What a ridiculous thing to say! That can’t be true!”

“But how else can I explain this situation?”

“Well, um…”

Zion made a difficult expression, seeming to seek something to say, then eventually turned his gaze away from me.

“See? Just as I thought…”

“Wah! Teacher, look over there!”

“Whoa! What’s with the sudden shout?”

“Over there, over there!”

Zion pointed to where I had cast my fishing hook.

Out of nowhere, a fish was flapping about, causing splashes in the water.

“Oh?”

“Pull it up quickly, Teacher!”

“Okay, okay.”

I followed Zion’s instructions and began to reel in the fish; it seemed to resist for a moment, but then tired out and was easily pulled up.

“Wow…”

“It’s huge! You’re pretty good too, Teacher!”

The fish that emerged was a massive one, over 50 cm long.

It was hefty, plump, and beautiful, shiny enough that in my past life, I would have taken a picture with my phone right away because it was so nice-looking.

“Hehe, I can’t believe there’s actually a fish getting caught by you…”

This fish was so big and impressive that I felt proud to have caught it, but…

“Huh? Teacher Hop?”

After removing the fishing hook from the fish’s mouth, I gently placed it back into the water.

Releasing the fish made Zion look startled.

“Zion.”

“Yes?”

“That was your catch.”

“Did I do that? What do you mean…”

“A fish as gigantic as that wouldn’t just get caught at that perfect timing without your involvement. Didn’t you do something?”

Zion isn’t good at lying. No, he can’t lie at all.

If I pressed him like this, he’d have to reveal the truth quickly.

Did Zion really enable me to catch that fish?

“That can’t be! I can’t control the fish. They just come when I wish for them; I can’t ask them to come be caught by you.”

Zion’s answer was a resounding NO. So that previous fish must indeed have been caught by me.

“So you thought I was going to let it go because it was one that you helped me catch?”

“Something like that.”

“Your pride wouldn’t allow it or something…”

“That’s not it.”

If it were a fish that Zion helped me catch, then it would obviously be off-limits to eat. Because…

“Zion felt bad eating the fish that came to him. But if I ate a fish that Zion helped me catch, Zion would have to feel bad about doing something to me, which I didn’t want.”

“Teacher Hop…”

Zion looked at me with a small smile, possibly feeling a bit touched?

“If that’s the case, you could have just asked before letting it go…”

“Ah.”

I suppose that’s true? Perhaps I should have.

Well, it’s a bit regrettable, but it’s already past. And it wasn’t really a big deal.

“It’s okay. I’ll catch another one.”

“Let’s see about that~”

I re-baited the fishing hook and threw my line back into the stream, sitting back down on the chair.

Will I catch another fish? An endless wait. But that’s what fishing is about, right? If I’m lucky, maybe I will catch another big one like before…

“……”

Suddenly, I feel something soft and heavy pressing against my back.

With a weight pushing on me from behind, my body naturally bent forward, but I braced myself with my waist and stood firm.

Then, Zion’s arms flowed over my shoulders and wrapped around my neck from behind.

Zion had suddenly hugged me from behind.

“Thank you, Teacher Hop.”

“What for?”

“I didn’t expect you to think of me to that extent. You’re worried I’d have to do something I dislike, something most wouldn’t even think about?”

Um… Was what just happened really that significant?

I’m not sure, but if that made Zion happy, then I guess it’s a good thing.

“Nothing much…”

We quietly watched the stream flow, our bodies pressed together for a while.

The sound of clear flowing water, the cool breeze, and the distant chirping of birds…

We didn’t say a word or anything happened, but it was enough for us to simply be there together.

Zion leaning on me, and me supporting Zion, just like always.

As long as we could spend such a time together, we could find joy in it without needing anything more.

***

‘Finally, the moment has come.’

While passing time fishing, I headed down to the waterfall to take a look below, then returned near the cabin to play in the shallow water while dangling my feet in it. Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

In the end, we didn’t catch a single fish, so we filled our stomachs with the ingredients Serin had prepared for dinner and, before it got dark, lit the fire in the fireplace, drying off the wet parts.

“I’ve changed into something else.”

Zion said she was going to change into the pajamas Serin brought, mentioning that she packed some.

Wow, pajamas too? If I look around, I might even find something I can wear, right? I turned my head to check on Zion sitting on the bed, only to be hit by a wave of shock…

“Wha…? Is that really pajamas? It’s not something like underwear?”

“Um, how do I look?”

The outfit Zion wore only had straps on her shoulders, leaving her bare shoulders and collarbone exposed, with a simple structure where a thin fabric descended from her chest to cover her body in a cylindrical way.

The thickness of the fabric was just enough that nothing could be seen through it, and the flickering of the firelight from the fireplace made the silhouette of her delicate body appear to flicker.

“……”

“Teacher Hop?”

It was a scene that left me utterly speechless.

Serin really did prepare such clothes without a care for the effect on others.

How on earth am I supposed to endure this situation…?

 

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