Ying: I'm Just Playing Fishing Joy

"Everyone in Class B, thank you for your hard work! Now, let's go enjoy the cruise life!"

Inside one of the cruise ship's gathering areas, the members of Class B were listening to Ichinose's speech. After a week of grueling life, they could finally return to the extravagant lifestyle on the cruise ship!

"Ying, come try this! I heard this is a specialty of this cruise ship—the Tuna Family Bucket. It has all sorts of tuna preparations." Hamaguchi brought over a nine-compartment tray filled with various dishes.

"A specialty? I've spent a semester at Kouiku tasting delicacies from all over the world. I shall have to appraise just how 'special' this really is!"

Ying had changed into a suit at some point, wearing a monocle over his right eye and white gloves on both hands.

Ying adjusted his collar and began to examine the dishes Hamaguchi had mentioned.

"Tuna sashimi, sushi, charcoal-grilled... it's quite comprehensive, though I have yet to see if the taste holds up."

Ying sat down elegantly, asked the waiter for a glass of plain water, picked up his chopsticks, and first tasted the tuna sashimi.

The moment the fish touched his tongue, Ying's pupils constricted.

"The texture of the sashimi is silky and cool. The fat melts instantly at body temperature, spreading the ocean's sweetness and a rich umami throughout my mouth without a hint of fishiness. As I chew gently, the muscle fibers of the fish offer a subtle, springy tenderness!"

Next, Ying picked up another piece of sashimi and dipped it in a bit of freshly ground wasabi and soy sauce.

"The slight pungency and salty umami didn't mask the original flavor of the tuna; instead, they highlighted that pure, fresh sweetness. After swallowing, a faint fragrance of fish oil remained on my lips and teeth, making me want to taste the next piece immediately."

"This is truly, absolutely delicious!" Ying put down his chopsticks, stood up, and wore an expression of pure intoxication.

"Next is the salt-grilled tuna." Ying said, beginning to taste it.

"Wha...t!? The charred aroma of the skin and the salty freshness of the sea salt spread between my teeth, mixed with the tender springiness of the fish. The richness of the fat is even more mellow than the sashimi, without a trace of dryness. And the smokiness of the charcoal fire actually blends perfectly into the fish's own sweetness—this is simply, subarashii! (Perfect)"

"And this one, delicious!..."

Under Hamaguchi's "I really can't do anything with this guy" gaze, Ying finished the Tuna Family Bucket, expressing his thoughts with every single bite.

"Thank you for the meal..." Ying finished enjoying the food and elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Is it really as delicious as you say? Why do I feel like it's just okay?" Hamaguchi recalled his own experience; it was good, but certainly not as exaggerated as Ying made it out to be.

"You don't understand; this is gourmet appreciation." Ying said, still wanting more.

"Fine, fine, I don't understand. If you want to eat more, go to the first floor and get some yourself. I'm done." Hamaguchi reminded him.

"Is that so? My thanks." Ying said, walking toward the first floor.

Hamaguchi just sighed silently. Kanzaki saw this and came over to talk to him.

"Even though Ying is like this, he has truly helped Class B a lot."

"Yeah, I know. It was also him who suggested using Shiroba's illness to change the class leader, right?"

"So you noticed, Hamaguchi." Kanzaki smiled slightly and said, "It was indeed him, though it was quite subtle. And he also told us who the leader of Class A was."

"But the members of Class B chose a safe, defensive strategy; otherwise, Class B would have been first this time." Hamaguchi said with a hint of regret.

"What!? You're telling me the tuna that serves as the cruise specialty is gone!?" Ying asked the front desk in the cruise restaurant.

"Yes, because frozen fish doesn't stay fresh after more than a week, and the texture declines. The portion you just ate was the very last one." The receptionist said apologetically.

"Kuso! (Damn it) I only ate three servings! Such fine cuisine must be tasted at least ten times to be considered a trip worth taking! Really, is there truly no other way!"

Ying knelt before the front desk, roaring in supplication. The receptionist smiled helplessly, then suddenly remembered something and said: "If we happen to encounter a fishing boat on our route that has tuna, we might purchase some."

Ying's eyes suddenly lit up, but they dimmed just as quickly. A fishing boat—where was he supposed to find one?

"Come to think of it, the cruise ship just passed a fishing boat, but they weren't selling tuna on that one." The receptionist recalled.

"Look into my eyes and answer me: where is that fishing boat!" Ying suddenly stood up, leaned his entire body over the front desk, and asked excitedly.

"If you go to the back door of the cruise ship's work deck now, you should be able to see it..."

Before the receptionist could finish her sentence, Ying sprinted toward the work deck.

"Uncle! Matte matte! (Wait!)" As soon as Ying arrived, he found several burly men on a fishing boat outside the cruise ship, just about to pull away.

"Yo, what do you need, kid?" A bald sailor asked.

"Can I go out to sea with you? I want to catch fish!" Ying shouted.

The burly men looked at each other's faces, looking a bit troubled: "You're a student, right? Although our fishing boat is much faster than the cruise ship, this isn't exactly according to the rules."

"Don't worry, I've already cleared it with the school." Ying had already sent a message to Sakayanagi Arisu via his terminal, asking for a favor. Although he agreed to buy something for her, he wasn't short on money right now, and Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't possibly drain his wallet dry, could she?

Ying also claimed that he had previously mastered the super electromagnetic fishing cannon and was recognized by industry insiders as the strongest Viking.

Seeing that Ying was so determined and had given his word, the sailors compromised, agreeing to let him catch fish with them for a day before sending him back to the cruise ship.

"First Mate Yamamoto, your fishing skills are nothing more than this. If you can't skillfully master the attack power and range of the fish bubbles, the difficulty of catching fish is not that of a qualified fishing master."

"I have been taught, Byakuya-kun's fishing skills are unrivaled."

The bald man known as First Mate Yamamoto was only equipped with a Level 7 fish bubble, while his opponent, Ying, was already Level 14. The catch value was also a difference of several tens of thousands, and the First Mate couldn't help but admire him in his heart: as expected of the strongest Viking.

"You two, stop playing games, we've arrived!" A sailor shouted.

Ying and First Mate Yamamoto left the fishing master arcade machine in the cabin and walked onto the deck.

They lowered a small boat, with bait tied to both sides to attract the tuna in the sea.

"Stop! There are fish coming over there!" a bearded sailor said.

"Why are they taking so long to get here?" Ying asked.

"I don't know. Some fish are quite clever; they won't just eat a floating corpse like this unless there's something attracting them," the first mate replied.

"Is that so? I see. Ahem..." Ying cleared his throat and stood at the very front of the small boat.

"Little kitty, go fishing, take the rod and the bait. Fishy, fishy, hurry and bite, oh my, oh my, pull it up tight!"

"Uh, kid... even if you sing nursery rhymes, they aren't going to be attracted to us," the crew members said, speechless.

"Not necessarily, just look at what they're doing!" Ying smiled slightly and pointed toward the direction of the tuna.

"Wha...t!?" the crew exclaimed.

"They're gradually moving away; it seems singing really didn't work." Ying began to put on a thoughtful expression, considering what to do next.

"Sigh~, I know you're in a hurry. But if this wave is gone, you can wait for the next one. You won't catch any fish with that rod right now, especially since you don't even have bait," the first mate said, seeing Ying go into the cabin to retrieve a fishing rod.

"Have you never heard the story of the one who wishes to be caught?" Ying said, feigning profoundness, as he began to prepare to cast his line.

"That story is just a lie. How could anyone actually catch a fish like that, let alone a tuna?" the first mate replied.

"The story tells of an Eastern cowboy named Jiang who used a lasso to capture the Dragon King."

Ying immediately cast the line, and the hook precisely snagged the eye of a tuna.

Everyone on the boat: Awesome!

Afterward, the fishing boat returned with a full load. Ying put on a straw hat, draped his clothes over his shoulders, and sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat.

"Kid, you were really lucky just now, hahaha!" the first mate laughed, pointing at a tuna with blood oozing from its right eye.

"It wasn't luck, it was skill," Ying replied calmly.

The crew said nothing, only snickering behind his back. Because, for the rest of the time, Ying kept casting his line trying to catch another one, but never succeeded; in truth, hitting the fish's eye earlier had been pure luck.

Just as he returned to the cruise ship, Ying was summoned to his homeroom teacher's office.

Although Hoshinomiya was smiling, her eyes were cold to the extreme: "Ying-kun, what exactly have you been doing today?"

"I was playing Fishing Master..."