Hoshinomiya-sensei

"You've all worked hard, Class B! Now it's time to enjoy life on the cruise ship!"

Everyone in Class B had gathered in one of the cruise ship's party venues to listen to Ichinose's speech. After a grueling week, they could finally return to the ship's luxurious lifestyle!

"Hurry over and try this, Ying! I hear it's one of the cruise ship's specialties: the Tuna Family Feast. They've prepared tuna in all sorts of ways." Hamaguchi brought over a plate divided into nine sections, each filled with a different dish.

"A specialty? I've spent a whole term at Kouiku and tasted delicacies from all over the world. I'll be the judge of just how special this is!"

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

Ying tugged at his collar and began inspecting the dishes Hamaguchi had brought over.

"Tuna sashimi, sushi, charcoal-grilled tuna... It's quite the spread. Though I can't say how it tastes yet."

Ying took an elegant seat, asked the server for a glass of water, and picked up his chopsticks. He started with the tuna sashimi.

The instant the fish touched Ying's tongue, his pupils shrank.

"The sashimi is smooth and cool, and the fat melts instantly against my body temperature, spreading a clean sweetness from the sea and a rich umami through my mouth. There's not the slightest trace of fishiness or greasiness. With a gentle chew, the texture of the fish is subtly springy and tender!"

Next, Ying picked up another slice of sashimi and dipped it in freshly grated wasabi and soy sauce.

"The mild heat and savory saltiness don't cover up the tuna's natural flavor. Instead, they bring out its pure sweetness. After I swallow, a faint aroma of fish oil lingers on my lips and teeth, making me want to try another slice right away."

"This is truly... delicious!" Ying set down his chopsticks and stood up, his face rapt with delight.

"Next, salt-grilled tuna." As he spoke, Ying began to taste it.

"Wha...t!? The charred aroma of the skin and the savory sea salt mingle with the tender, springy fish, blossoming across my palate. The fat is richer and more mellow than in the sashimi, and not a bit dry. The smoky fragrance of the charcoal has even blended seamlessly with the fish's natural sweetness. This is simply... subarashii! (Perfect!)"

"And this one's delicious too!..."

Under Hamaguchi's helpless gaze, Ying finished the Tuna Family Feast, voicing his impressions with every bite.

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

"Is it really that good? I remember it being pretty ordinary." Hamaguchi recalled how it had tasted to him. It was good, sure, but nowhere near as amazing as Ying made it out to be.

"You wouldn't understand. This is the art of food appreciation," Ying said, still savoring the memory.

"Sure, sure. I don't understand. If you want more, go get some from the first floor. I've had enough." Hamaguchi reminded him.

"Is that so? Thanks." With that, Ying headed for the first floor.

Hamaguchi could only sigh. Kanzaki noticed and came over to talk to him.

"Ying may be like that, but he really has helped Class B a lot."

"Yeah, I know. He was the one who suggested taking advantage of Shiroba's illness to change the class leader, wasn't he?"

"So you noticed, Hamaguchi." Kanzaki smiled faintly. "That was him, though he was subtle about it. He also told us who the leader of Class A was."

"But Class B chose to play it safe and stick to a defensive strategy. Otherwise, we'd have taken first place this time." Hamaguchi sounded a little regretful.

"What!? You're telling me the tuna that's a specialty of this cruise ship is all gone!?" Ying asked the receptionist in the cruise ship's dining hall.

"Yes. Frozen fish starts to lose its freshness and flavor after a week. The serving you just had was the last one." The receptionist apologized.

"Kuso! I only had three servings! To truly enjoy a delicacy like that, you have to taste it at least ten times! Is there really, really nothing you can do?"

Ying knelt in front of the reception desk and pleaded desperately. The receptionist gave an awkward smile, then suddenly remembered something. "If we happen to come across a fishing boat along the way that has tuna on board, we'll buy some."

Ying's eyes lit up, but dimmed again almost immediately. Where was he supposed to find a fishing boat?

"Come to think of it, the cruise ship passed one just a little while ago. But they weren't selling tuna," the receptionist recalled.

"Look me in the eye and tell me: where is that fishing boat?" Ying suddenly stood up and leaned his whole body over the counter, asking excitedly.

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

Before the receptionist could finish speaking, Ying sprinted straight toward the work area.

"Uncle! Matte matte! (Wait!)" When Ying arrived, he saw several burly men aboard a fishing boat outside the cruise ship, just about to set off.

"Hey there, kid. What do you need?" asked a bald sailor.

"Can I go fishing with you? I want to catch some fish!" Ying shouted.

The burly men exchanged glances, looking uncertain. "You're still a student, right? Our boat's much faster than the cruise ship, but I don't think you're allowed to do that."

"Don't worry. I've already gotten permission from the school." Ying had sent a message on his device to Arisu Sakayanagi, asking her to do him a favor. He'd agreed to buy something for her, but he wasn't short on money right now, and Sakayanagi couldn't possibly drain his wallet completely, could she?

Ying also explained that he'd once mastered the super electromagnetic fishing cannon and was widely recognized in the industry as the strongest Viking.

Seeing how determined Ying was and hearing his assurances, the sailors relented. They agreed to take him fishing for a day, then bring him back to the cruise ship.

"First mate Yamamoto, your fishing skills aren't all that impressive. You can't even properly gauge the attack power and range of the fish bubbles or the difficulty of catching each fish. You're no match for a real fishing master."

"I stand corrected. No one can match your fishing skills, Byakuya."

The bald man known as First Mate Yamamoto had only equipped a level-seven fish bubble, while his opponent, Ying, was already at level fourteen. Their catch totals also differed by several thousand. The first mate couldn't help but admire him. As expected of the strongest Viking.

"You two, stop playing games! We're here!" one of the sailors shouted.

Ying and First Mate Yamamoto left the Fishing Master arcade machine in the cabin and went out onto the deck.

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

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

"Why haven't they come over yet?" Ying asked.

"Who knows? Some fish are pretty clever. They won't just eat something floating on the surface like this corpse. Unless there's something to attract them," the first mate replied.

"Is that so? I see. Ahem..." Ying cleared his throat and went to the very front of the little boat.

"Kitty, go fishing, take your rod and bait. Fishies, fishies, take the bait! Heave-ho, heave-ho, reel them in!"

"Uh, kid... Even if you sing a nursery rhyme, you won't attract them." The sailors were at a loss.

"Really? Then look at what they're doing!" Ying smiled faintly and pointed toward the tuna.

"Wha...t!?" the sailors cried.

"They're swimming farther away. Looks like singing really doesn't work." Ying started to look thoughtful, considering what to do next.

"Hey, I know you're in a hurry. But if you miss this school, you can wait for the next one. You won't catch anything by taking out a fishing rod now, especially since you don't even have bait." The first mate saw Ying return to the cabin and come back with a fishing rod.

"Have you ever heard the story of the one who waits patiently for the fish to bite?" Ying said mysteriously as he prepared to cast his line.

"Those stories are all made up. There's no way anyone could actually catch a fish like that, let alone a tuna," the first mate replied.

"The story is about a cowboy named Jiang from the East who used a lasso to catch the Dragon King."

Ying cast his line, and the hook landed perfectly in the eye of a tuna.

Everyone on the boat: "That's f***ing awesome!"

Afterward, the fishing boat returned with a full load. Ying wore a straw hat, draped a coat around himself, and sat cross-legged at the bow.

"Kid, you were really lucky just now! Hahaha!" The first mate pointed to a tuna whose right eye was bleeding and laughed.

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

The sailors said nothing, only snickering behind him. Ying had kept casting his line, trying to catch another fish, but never managed to. That first hook to the eye had just been unbelievably lucky.

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

Hoshinomiya-sensei was smiling, but her eyes were ice-cold. "Ying, what exactly did you do today?"

"I was playing Fishing Master..."