Chapter 45

The ship sailed out from the harbor for about thirty minutes before it left the coastal waters behind and entered the open sea. The scattered islands that had dotted the horizon shrank into tiny specks in the distance.

Theo stopped the boat at a suitable spot and stepped up to the railing. He grabbed a handful of bait and scattered it into the water. After a brief wait, the shadows of fish began to gather beneath the surface.

“Now we can start fishing.”

He pulled out his rod as he spoke, and Blaine quickly rushed to his side to cast his own line.

“Are we staying here the whole time?”

“No. In the open sea, pirate ships roam around, and if you stay in one spot too long, sea monsters show up. Once the bait loses its effect, we’ll move somewhere else.”

“Ah…”

“And I usually stay out here almost all day once I come. If you get bored in the middle, tell me. I’ll take you back to town.”

“All day?”

Blaine’s eyes sparkled. From that moment, he silently swore to himself that no matter what, he would tag along with Theo whenever he went out fishing in the future.

As Theo focused on his rod, Blaine also sat in silence, staring at his float. The only sounds were the crash of the waves and the distant cries of gulls circling in the sky. Then, Blaine’s float dipped under. He hurriedly reeled it in, only to pull up a single anchovy. Blaine glanced at Theo with a disappointed look, wondering if this kind of thing could really make any money.

“…Do you just catch a bunch of fish and sell them?”

Theo, caught off guard by the sudden question, looked at the anchovy dangling from Blaine’s hook and laughed.

“No. I usually sell higher-grade or rare fish.”

“Then what about… this?”

Blaine pointed at his anchovy, and Theo gestured toward the sea.

“You can dry it and sell it, but I usually just throw it away. It only clutters up the inventory.”

Blaine nodded, then tossed the anchovy back without regret and cast his line again.

Unlike Blaine’s rod, which only occasionally twitched, Theo’s rod seemed to get bites almost as soon as he cast. It was probably thanks to his higher fishing tier. But even then, more than half of what he caught had to be thrown away. The higher the tier, the faster the bites and the greater the chance of catching rare fish—but against Theo’s infamous bad luck, all that meant nothing.

Busy but with little to show for it, Theo kept fishing when suddenly Blaine’s float dipped again. Blaine reeled it in, not expecting much.

But with a huge splash, something massive broke the surface and was hauled up. Its enormous body and extraordinary form loomed before them, leaving both Blaine and Theo speechless.

“Wh-what is this?” Blaine stammered.

“Coela… canth…” Theo muttered, dazed.

A coelacanth. Among the rare-grade fish, it was notoriously difficult to catch—a truly extraordinary specimen that even Theo had only managed to land a few times.

“Is it… good?”

“It’s expensive…”

“Expensive?! Then I’ll give it to you, hyung!”

Blaine shouted as he handed over the rod with the coelacanth still thrashing on it. The fish flailed wildly, sending a spray of water all over Theo’s face.

Now drenched, Theo wore an expression like he was trying hard to swallow his irritation. Blaine, startled, hurriedly stored the coelacanth into his Storage, then rushed over to him.

“S-sorry, hyung. Are you okay?”

Blaine reached out a hand, but couldn’t bring himself to actually touch him, his hand hovering awkwardly in the air. Theo glanced at those hesitant fingers before shaking the water from his hair and giving a reluctant nod.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I’m really sorry. I should’ve stored it first before giving it to you…”

“No, I appreciate the thought, but you worked hard to catch it. You don’t have to give it to me.”

“Eh? But still…”

At Theo’s refusal, Blaine’s wolf ears and shoulders drooped noticeably, his disappointment plain to see. He had truly wanted to give the coelacanth to Theo.

It wasn’t like the repayment of a cat—it was more like the loyalty of a big dog. At this point, Theo thought it was a relief he had been the one to save Blaine back in the Jain Forest. If it had been someone rotten, Blaine would’ve been stripped bare by now.

Seeing Blaine so dejected, Theo reached over and lightly tapped his shoulder.

“If you catch another one, then give it to me. I’ll take it that time.”

Blaine’s eyes went wide, and he lit up like an excited child as he quickly cast his line again. Coelacanths weren’t the kind of fish you could just reel in easily. The fact that a complete novice like Blaine had already caught one was practically a miracle. No matter how lucky he was, the chance of pulling up another should’ve been next to none.

Or so Theo thought. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

With a dramatic splash, another massive coelacanth was hauled from the water, thrashing proudly as if to show off its size. Theo’s face went blank with disbelief, while Blaine cheered with unrestrained joy.

“Hyung! I caught another one!”

Theo felt the sheer absurdity of the world crash down on him. What kind of ridiculous luck let someone pull up three coelacanths in the exact same spot?

Blaine, nearly trembling with excitement, handed the latest coelacanth to Theo and eagerly cast again. That made two coelacanths in Theo’s hands now. Meanwhile, Theo let out a weary sigh, rubbing his face dry in frustration. Unlike Blaine, who kept reeling in coelacanth after coelacanth, Theo’s rod was only bringing up red snappers again and again.

Eventually, the bait they had scattered lost its effect, and the swarming fish shadows vanished from beneath the surface. Theo stopped fishing, started the boat, and after sailing for a long while, dropped anchor at a new spot.

As soon as the boat came to a stop, Blaine, who had been waiting by the railing, asked, “Hyung, can I try throwing the bait this time?”

Theo nodded as he pulled out his rod, and Blaine scooped up a handful of bait and scattered it over the water. Beneath the once-still surface, fish shadows began to gather in increasing numbers.

The two of them started fishing again in the new spot, half-expecting another coelacanth to show up. But no more coelacanths appeared. Instead, nearly every catch that came up was a rare-grade fish.

Theo continued fishing with quiet satisfaction. It definitely felt like this was thanks to Blaine’s bait. From now on, he decided, Blaine would be in charge of scattering it.

Before long, the boat was filled to the brim. Theo steered them toward Rakvana to sell their haul.

After docking at the Rakvana harbor, Theo and Blaine stepped into the city. Nilam, the desert region where Rakvana was located, was known for its sapphire-colored sand. At a glance, the capital city itself seemed plain, built in shades of brown and gray. But scattered throughout the city were canals, ponds, and fountains, along with rows of orange trees. And beyond the outer appearance, the houses were built in the traditional riad style—intricate, colorful, and elegant inside.

They passed through a bustling market lined with goods and entered a large square filled with both NPCs and players. Blaine, unfamiliar with Rakvana, looked around wide-eyed, unable to hide his wonder.

“Blaine, this way.”

To keep him from getting lost in the crowd, Theo guided him straight to a trading NPC and began haggling.

Normally, he would’ve had to wrestle over prices for a while, but today the NPC accepted even a slightly higher asking price without complaint. Thanks to the coelacanths, the payout was hefty. Theo couldn’t help but think that it was all thanks to Blaine.

Once the trade was done, Theo dragged the still-distracted Blaine forward and pushed him toward the NPC.

“Your turn. You’ve got a coelacanth too, so make sure you haggle.”

Blaine blinked and nodded before starting his own transaction. It didn’t take long before he turned back to Theo and said,

“All done.”

“Then let’s get something to eat.”

They headed for a small restaurant on the outskirts of Rakvana. Despite being tucked away, the place was bustling with customers.

“I’ll place the order. Grab us a table.”

Theo pointed toward the dining area and walked to the counter, while Blaine nodded quickly and scanned the room. Spotting an empty table by the window, he hurried over to claim it.

A short while later, Theo returned with an armful of dishes. Blaine’s eyes went wide at the sheer amount of food as Theo sat down across from him and set everything on the table.

“You helped me out a lot today, so eat up.”

The table was almost too small to hold everything: handia cookies, braised date-and-lamb, flat peach lipe, lamb tagine, fresh orange juice, assorted skewers, khobz bread, sfenj donuts, and more.

Blaine, staring in awe at the feast, slowly closed his mouth, his expression tightening with worry.

“Sh-shouldn’t we set aside Marco’s share and not touch it?”

Blaine had no idea which dishes were the handia cookies, the braised date-and-lamb, or the flat peach lipe. Worried he might accidentally eat something meant for Marco, he asked cautiously. Theo just pushed the plates toward him and said,

“I’ll buy Marco’s share again before we leave. Don’t worry about it—just eat.”

Only then did Blaine relax and start sampling the dishes one by one. And with every single bite, he let out little sounds of amazement.

As Theo sipped his orange juice and watched Blaine, a strange thought crossed his mind. Blaine looked exactly like someone visiting Rakvana for the first time. The way he marveled at the streets earlier, and now how he treated every dish like it was a new discovery.

“Is this your first time in Rakvana?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Theo finally asked. Blaine nodded casually, as if it were no big deal.

“Yes.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“My old guild told us not to go to Rakvana.”

“…? Why?”

“I don’t know. They just said there was some rule about newbies not being allowed to come here.”

Theo frowned deeply. It didn’t make any sense. A rule that barred only new members from coming to Rakvana? It felt fishy, but there was no way to find out more right now.

The two of them continued chatting idly while polishing off everything on the table. The best part was that no matter how much they ate or drank, they never actually got full.

After clearing the plates, they bought Marco’s share and stepped back out.

“Are we going fishing again now?”

“Well, we’ve earned more than enough today, so we don’t really have to. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep going.”

“Then let’s go again!”

“Was it fun for you?”

“Yes. More than I expected. It’s really easy to focus, and I felt like I got absorbed in it.”

“Good. Then let’s head to the harbor first.”

The two walked side by side toward the harbor. But they didn’t get far before they froze in their tracks.

Someone had just slipped into a narrow alley along the outskirts, a path that led to the village’s back gate. If Theo wasn’t mistaken, that figure was none other than Green from the troublesome Traffic Light Trio.