At any rate, the woman this man longed for was Nephteros. Even if Zagan were to take him under his patronage, Bifrons would one day break through the contract that Zagan had forced on them and aim for her once more. Even if that didn’t happen, he was an outstanding Angelic Knight thrust full force into the dead center of the world of sorcerers. In other words, Zagan would be unable to fully protect him.
Looking at it from the side of the Angelic Knights, they would surely refuse the patronage of an Archdemon. In such a case, it would be troublesome if he didn’t possess the personal strength to survive on his own. If he were to woo Nephteros and she were to fall in love with him, she would definitely lose him one day. All that was left after that was the revenge that Foll desired after losing her father, or the despair Orias felt from losing those she was meant to protect, or the reckless path Kuroka went down upon losing Raphael.
Zagan didn’t want Nephteros—who was already burdened with being Nephy’s clone—to carry even more weight on her shoulders. At the very least, this man had to be able to survive being brushed aside lightly by Zagan without dying. It would be a different story altogether if he wielded a Sacred Sword though.
But, it feels like he doesn’t have a chance at all with Nephteros right now, or she doesn’t really get it at all yet.
As such, it was probably fine for Zagan to at least evaluate whether any potential suitors had the qualifications to court her. Well, he at least had some nerves, so there was some hope for him.
And as this was all going on, Zagan could hear a noisy voice coming from far away.
“Mister Barbatos, you’re like, Mister Zagan’s friend, right!? I saw you a few times at the castle, but this is like the first time we’ve talked, right? Nice to meet’cha!”
“Huh...? Um, sure.”
“Hahahah, Lilith and Kuroka got scooped up right away, so I totally thought I was gonna get stuck all alone! Thanks for hopping aboard with me!”
“... Um, sure... Mm...”
“Let’s like, catch a whole lotta big fish and show Miss Chastille your good side!”
“Huh? Wait a sec. Why do you know... I mean, what’re you saying? Why do I need to show that crybaby...”
Barbatos’ expression was getting even more gloomy as if he didn’t believe any of what he was saying himself.
Seriously, why didn’t this guy just ride with Chastille?
It was the perfect opportunity for him to apologize. He was probably waiting for the opportunity to invite her, and in all his confusion he ended up getting left behind by everyone and got stuck with whoever else was left. Even Zagan could never guess that this egotistical man would be so awkward.
Everyone was off carrying out their own conversations, but after Zagan cleared his throat with a cough everyone quieted down.
“Alright, I’ll explain the rules.”
The windy seas made it difficult to hear people talk under normal conditions, so Zagan used sorcery to carry his voice over to all the boats and began explaining things.
“Did everyone get a fishing rod?”
It was all done on the moment, but Zagan had specially prepared fishing rods distributed to everyone. And after confirming that everyone had one in hand, he continued his explanation.
“These fishing lines are made of dragon hair, and the rods have Celestian carved into them to prevent them from snapping. The hooks have a charm cast on them by an Archdemon, so it’ll be easy to attract beings with abundant mana.”
Naturally, it was made in a way that it would grip into a fish without using anything as bait. Everyone around Zagan was now astir.
“Huh? Wait a minute? Doesn’t that make this a tool on level with the Sacred Swords and Holy Treasures...?”
“Why are dragons, elves, and an Archdemon making something like a fishing rod?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen such squandering of mana and technology...”
Zagan felt like they were all lamenting what he did, but he decided to just ignore them all.
“Anyways, there was an objection to using these things as much as we want because we could run this entire area of the ocean extinct if we kept at it. So everyone is limited to fishing up one big one. I’ll have everyone compete with who can bag the biggest game in one try.”
Zagan looked over to Lilith as he explained this, but she was still covering her face as if a calamity was occurring before her.
“Your terminology is all wrong for fishing... Why are you referring to it as game instead of fish? Just what are you all planning to fish up here?”
“You sure got it tough, huh Lilith? You even gotta, like, worry about the ocean itself.”
“Isn’t this the sirens’ ocean? Why are you talking like it’s none of your business?”
“I mean, I totally ran away from home, sooooo...”
Selphy let out an optimistic laugh, to which Lilith buckled over and pinned down her stomach like she couldn’t take it anymore. So Zagan decided to treat her to some candy or something later out of sympathy.
Next up, Nephteros raised her hand.
“Hey. What do we do if we fish up multiple in one go?”
“Oops, you’re right. Well, in that case we’ll pick the biggest one from the—”
“Wait a minute. Why is there a case where you can fish up multiple at a time? We’re fishing, right!? We’re fishing using fishing rods, right!?”
Lilith was clamoring on the verge of tears, but unfortunately she was the only one present who found this strange.
“I mean, we’re using dragon hair, right? If you just play with it a little you can at least catch up a whole bunch, right?”
Zagan fiddled with his fishing rod like it was nothing at all and it formed a number of hoops while making sounds like it was cutting through the wind.
“Even without that, we’ve got an Archdemon’s hook attached to it. You can punch through a whole bunch of them all at once, right?”
Barbatos swung his fishing rod, and it parted the sea as if ferocious sorcery was fired into it. Even if an Angelic Knight were to swing their rod down, they would likely be able to pierce the very bottom of the ocean.
“I see, so it can be used like that too, huh?”
“We can’t fall behind those damn sorcerers. Let’s do this Richard!”
Even the Angelic Knights, who seemed to have the most common sense among the bunch, began to seriously consider all this.
“...I can’t take it anymore. I want to go back to the land of dreams.”
And Lilith was finally reduced to cradling her knees and burst into tears.
“Is this something to cry over? It’s a waste of your beautiful face. I want to see your smile. Hm?”
“Mistress Gremory....”
She’s been completely tamed...
Zagan felt like he did something quite cruel, but he wasn’t going to stop now.
“As for the prize for the victor... Let’s see... You all seem to have something you desire, so I shall grant one of your wishes. Also, you’re disqualified if your boat capsizes. The same applies if one of you falls in the ocean.”
If he didn’t set the limits now, he felt like someone would get lost before the fishing ended. He was especially wary of the unfortunate pair.
“That’s all. Any questions?”
Zagan took a look at everyone after finishing his explanation. After confirming that nobody had any objections or questions, he yelled out.
“Very well, let the fishing contest begin!”
There were those who wanted their wish granted, those putting on airs, those who were simply hungry, and the fishing contest quietly began with that mixture of expectations.
◇
“Nothing is happening...” Nephy muttered curiously.
Once the fishing contest began, all the boats took some distance from each other, and they were no longer able to hear each other talking.
Well, no matter how amazing a fishing rod was, there was no way she would get a bite the mo
ment she dropped her line in. If that were the case, the contest would end in an instant, so Zagan’s charm wasn’t made to be that powerful.
The boat had fixtures on it for fishing rods, so there wasn’t even a need to hold onto them until they got a bite. What Nephy was saying was perfectly correct, and the other boats were in a similar situation. There were those who were panicking, those who were smiling, letting their imagination run wild in envisioning their victory, and those who were simply taking it easy. What they all had in common was that nobody had caught anything yet.
As such, Zagan nodded with a smile.
“Well, that’s how fishing goes. Having said that, this is also my first time using a rod for it.”
Nephy tilted her head to the side like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Huh? You said that you lured in fish by playing dead... so you were underwater when you did that?”
“Well, that’s how it went.”
“What did you do about breathing?”
“I somehow managed for a few minutes.”
Once in a while he did almost just die like that, but there wasn’t really a need to mention that now.
Frankly, fishing was my final resort when I was dying of starvation, so I only did it when I thought it would be simpler to just drown anyways.
As Zagan vaguely brushed the question aside, Nephy finally let the strength out of her shoulders and smiled.
“So fishing is meant to be time spent just enjoying yourself and relaxing, I see.”
“Exactly. We haven’t been able to just sit back and relax for a while now. This kind of thing isn’t bad once in a while, right?”
“Yes. It’s great.” Nephy answered, and then for some reason, she tightly closed her lips as if tensing up over something. “Um, Master Zagan.”
“What is it?”
“Um... E-Excuse me!”
The boat rocked about gently. Nephy gathered her courage and sat herself down at Zagan’s side.
“N-Nephy?”
She didn’t say anything back at Zagan’s bewilderment, and timidly—yet without any hesitation—leaned against Zagan’s shoulder. As her dainty shoulder came in contact with his boorish arm, both of them shook with a start.
“...”
Nephy said nothing at all as if implying this was taking all of her effort, but her face was so red it felt like it was going to let out steam.
Hnnnngh! To think Nephy would be so assertive!
It surely took a considerable amount of courage just to sit right next to him, and she was even trying her best to bring things even further. A burning sensation welled up within Zagan’s chest. Thinking back to when they first met, Nephy had given up on everything in life because of what had happened to her and didn’t know at all how to interact with others—not that Zagan was any different—and now she was capable of actively making her will apparent like this.
This was surely one of the results of clearly communicating their feelings to each other and becoming lovers.
Lovers! That’s right! We can call ourselves lovers now!
Zagan could feel that both their hearts were beating like drums. There was no way an Archdemon could act timidly after Nephy had mustered her courage like this. Zagan leaned back against Nephy, who was now covering her face in shyness.
Silence.
But, a comfortable one.
The quiet sound of the waves rang out like a metronome.
“The sound of the ocean is beautiful,” Nephy murmured.
“Mm. It’s not bad. Well, it’s not as beautiful as your singing though.”
“...That’s embarrassing, Master Zagan.”
Nephy cast her gaze downwards as her ears once more turned bright red. Her pure white hair came down and tickled Zagan’s arm. The sensation was enough to send him to heaven. Nephy’s outfit had a terrifyingly destructive power all on its own, but Zagan knew that the fact that he was himself half naked made him all the more sensitive.
Huh? Does that mean it’s the same for Nephy?
As that thought passed his mind, he suddenly wanted to try touching Nephy. Her ears and the nape of her neck were already sensitive when she was wearing clothing. In that case, it would be better to avoid them and go for her shoulder... or just go for broke and embrace her by the waist.
No way! That’s going way too fast for me!
He was finally able to look directly at Nephy wearing a swimsuit. His courage would collapse if he didn’t do something a little less nerve-wracking. In that case, maybe her thighs... would be even more lewd, and that led him back into his cycle of agonizing. He was beating himself up over his desire to touch her...
“M-Master Zagan! The rod is shaking!”
It seemed that something had taken the bait. Nephy grabbed the fishing rod in a hurry, but she was unable to properly grip it due to her nervousness. Zagan finally came back to his senses, and wrapped his arms around Nephy and grabbed the fishing rod.
“It’s alright. Just calm down and pull it... Whoa!”
Zagan and Nephy were sitting side by side with their fishing rods cast off the boat. And somehow, he was now hugging her from behind. More specifically, he was gripping the rod over Nephy’s hands.
A sweet scent brushed his nose. Her soft hair tickled not only his cheeks, but his chest and stomach. He even thought it would be great to just throw away the fishing rod and continue hugging her like this.
“Um, um, Master Zagan, what do I do?”
Nephy’s trembling voice brought Zagan back to his senses.
“Oh yeah, let’s see...” After thinking it over a bit, Zagan put on airs as he explained it to her. “It seems to be quite the large one. If we pull it up with brute force, there’s a chance the line will snap. Let’s pull it up gradually.”
Judging from the feedback, it was entirely true that something large had taken a bite, but the fishing line was made from dragon hair. It was tough enough to fish up a small castle without any problems.
Just a little longer... I just want to hold her like this a little longer...
Thinking about it carefully, he hadn’t been able to fully enjoy some time alone with Nephy for quite a while. Surely nobody would complain if he clung to this moment of happiness for just a little bit longer.
Nevertheless, the fishing rod’s limit approached while Nephy spent all her effort on pulling back on it. The rod and line would surely withstand it all, but it was possible for the hook to become detached. It would all be for nothing if Nephy’s first catch were to get away.
“Alright, let’s pull it up together.”
“U-Understood!”
““Puuull!””
Zagan and Nephy pulled back on the fishing rod together and found a golden fish attached to the hook. Or maybe it couldn’t really be called a fish? It had an elongated body like that of a snake, and whiskers like a dragon. Above all else was its size. If one were to unwind it and stretch out its body, it would be about three time’s Zagan’s height.
This won’t fit on the boat, huh?
The fish thrown into the air was far larger than any human. Zagan cast some sorcery to suspend it in midair so that it wouldn’t escape back into the sea.
“I-I did it! Master Zagan! Please look! I managed to fish one up!” Nephy proclaimed in delight.
She was moving about in high spirits while still in his arms, so her skin, hair, and chest were brushing up against Zagan, making him feel like he would go to heaven from the euphoria.
Holy crap, this is the first time I’ve seen Nephy so pleased with herself like this.
Nevertheless, Zagan managed to pull himself together.
“Mm. It was magnificent. Moreover, this here is a divine guardian. It’s quite the big catch, Nephy.”
It was around twenty to thirty kilos. That only amounted to the weight of a child, but the force it exerted when pulling back on the fishing rod was in an entirely different dimension. If not for the special fishing rod, it was quite likely that Zagan a
nd Nephy would have been pulled into the water instead.
Nephy gazed over her first ever catch.
“How beautiful... Is this... a fish?”
The elven village lay deep within the mountains. The first time she saw a fish was likely in the markets in Kianoides, so a divine guardian was likely completely unknown to her.
“It is. An extremely valuable one at that. It’s even quite valuable as a catalyst for sorcery. You don’t see them very often because they live pretty deep down in the ocean. When they do show up in a marketplace, they’ll sell for hundreds of gold coins. This is the biggest one I’ve ever seen myself too.”
Back in his days as a waif, Zagan thought of trying to steal one since they sold for so much, but he had no choice but to give up once he saw that they were even being guarded by armed mercenaries.
The divine guardian was still flopping about within Zagan’s air bubble. The way it did so somehow reminded Zagan of Selphy and made him feel strangely ill at ease, but disregarding that thought, Zagan called out to the judge.
“Foll. Nephy bagged the first game.”
“Nephy! Amazing!”
“...Hmph. You’re good.”
“Heehee. I’m happy as long as you are, Foll.”
Nephy bashfully smiled as Foll and Nephteros praised her so frankly, and Zagan flung the divine familiar over to Foll, who had sparkles in her eyes.
“M-Master Zagan?”
“Hey, wait a—”
Nephy and Nephteros were both bewildered by this act, but Foll opened her mouth wide and chomped down on the divine familiar. She then slurped it in as if it were a noodle.
“Tasty. It’s all smooth when it goes down, yet the mana is so thick. 90 points.”
Foll gave her meal a score in satisfaction. Nobody knew whether this was high or low since it was the first one, but there was no mistake that Nephy’s catch would be the standard everything else would be scored against. Such was the case, but Nephy was trembling in place. Looking closely, she even had tears in her eyes.
“H-Huh...? What’s wrong, Nephy?”
“Sh-Sh-She... ate it...”
It seemed that Nephy wasn’t expected her commemorative first catch to get eaten up all of a sudden. She was trying her best to put on a smile, but was still trembling with tears in her eyes like Chastille would.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 7 (Premium) Page 6
