Fish Like Watching Dancing?

"Sea monsters?" Nalant frowned slightly. Because the Berick family estate was not located near the coast, and transportation in this world was extremely inconvenient, his memories contained very little information about the world's oceans.

"Take me to see them!"

Soon, under the guidance of Kenbi Cowdung, Nalant arrived at the seaside.

The coastline of Storm Territory was beautiful, featuring not only rocky reefs but also vast stretches of golden sand.

Standing on a seaside reef and looking out at the miles of coastline where gold and azure intertwined, Nalant's brow furrowed once more.

There really were sea monsters here. Through the appearance of these creatures, Nalant managed to dredge up forgotten knowledge from the original owner's memories, lessons once taught at the noble academy.

They were Mermen—sea monsters only about 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall, with lean, blue-skinned bodies.

These Mermen occupied almost the entire beach, frolicking in the sand or searching for shells and crabs to stave off hunger. The beach was also littered with numerous shacks constructed from branches and shells.

"What a nuisance!"

Now, Nalant finally understood why the serfs were starving despite sitting on such a golden coastline.

Although these Mermen were individually weaker than an adult human, they were numerous; if attacked, they would swarm their assailant.

Anything weaker than them would naturally suffer a crushing defeat, but if the enemy proved stronger, the Mermen knew how to flee into the sea to hide—they were simply a pack of unprincipled hooligans.

"Have you ever tried fishing with a rod near these reefs?" Withdrawing his gaze, Nalant looked toward the low-lying reef clusters at the edge of the beach.

With his current military strength, it was impossible to drive these Mermen away. However, catching fish didn't necessarily require going onto the beach. Although fishing would be more difficult, it was still a way to bridge the food gap.

"Reporting to My Lord, some have tried before, using small worms or black bread as bait. But once the bait was thrown into the sea, it was almost always eaten by the Mermen. They are very fond of food from the land..."

The serf's reply left Nalant feeling thoroughly disheartened. If even the bait was eaten by the monsters, then there was no point in fishing at all!

"Let's go!" Nalant took one last, reluctant look at the azure sea before turning to signal the others to leave. It seemed the sea could only be developed once he had sufficient strength.

"Yes, My Lord!" Quick and the others prepared to crowd around Nalant and depart.

However, just as Quick turned, the hilt of the sword at his waist refracted a sliver of silver light onto Nalant's face.

Nalant squinted as the light hit him, feeling a momentary daze, and then his body suddenly froze.

Wait, fishing doesn't necessarily require bait!

A flash of inspiration struck Nalant's mind as he recalled a method from his past life for fishing without food.

"My Lord, what is the matter?" Vivian nearly collided with her lord's back, stopping just in time to ask with concern.

"I've thought of a way to fish without using food!" Nalant did not hide his discovery.

"Ah? How can you fish without food?" Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Did fish eat iron hooks now?

"Kenbi Cowdung, do you have any fishing rods in your village?" Nalant didn't offer much explanation; he knew such a method existed in his past life, though he wasn't sure if it would work in this world.

"My Lord, there are no fishing rods in the village, but they are very easy to make. I shall go make one right now!" Although Kenbi Cowdung felt the lord was talking nonsense, he dared not neglect the request.

"Good, go make one. Also, do you have a small iron spoon? If you do, bring that as well!"

"I happen to have one at home, My Lord. I will go fetch it immediately." Kenbi Cowdung nodded repeatedly and sprinted toward the village with several other villagers.

Not long after, Kenbi Cowdung returned at a run, carrying a fishing rod in his hand.

The rod was naturally very medieval: a thin, long tree branch tied to a brown hemp rope, with a very crude iron hook fastened to the end.

"This rod..." Nalant felt a bit skeptical.

However, with the guards and serfs all watching him with wide eyes, Nalant had no choice but to bite the bullet and give it a try.

"My Lord, here is the soup spoon!" Kenbi Cowdung handed over a small spoon. Although it was made of iron, it had been polished until it gleamed. Clearly, Kenbi Cowdung valued the spoon highly, as most serfs in this world could only afford wooden ones.

"Very well, I will have someone pay you for the value of the spoon later!" Nalant took it, and before Kenbi Cowdung could react, he snapped the spoon in two.

"Ah!" Kenbi Cowdung felt a pang of heartache, but he quickly covered his mouth the next second.

Ignoring him, Nalant drew his longsword and poked two small holes above the bowl of the spoon.

Once the holes were made, he tied one to the fishing line and attached the hook to the other, leaving only a centimeter of space between the hook and the spoon.

"This is the simplest form of a metal lure! I hope I can use lure fishing in this other world!"

Lure fishing was a method that used artificial bait to mimic small creatures or injured fish, thereby provoking predatory fish to attack.

This method could catch large carnivorous fish without any food, such as the bass or small grouper from his past life.

Nalant had once gone to experience it with friends in his previous life and had actually caught fish.

The silver, gleaming spoon could reflect strong light, thereby attracting fish to strike.

"Let's go, to the reefs over there!"

With the rod and lure ready, Nalant walked directly toward the shore.

"Yes, My Lord!"

Though the group looked at each other, unsure of how their lord intended to fish, they followed obediently.

Nalant said nothing more and stepped onto a low reef that sat only a meter above the water's surface.

Then, with a deft flick of his wrist, he cast the silver spoon and hook seven or eight meters out.

In his past life, lure fishing used a spinning reel, which allowed the bait to be cast much further, but Nalant naturally lacked such equipment here.

As the silver spoon sank into the water, it immediately tumbled about, casting shimmering flashes of silver light that drew a school of fish to linger in the surrounding area.

"This is it!"

Seeing such a scene, Nalant's face lit up with joy.

He then began to twitch the fishing rod up and down without hesitation, making the silver spoon mimic the feeble, struggling movements of an injured little fish.

"..." The guards and serfs broke out in a cold sweat at the sight; was their Lord actually dancing?

Could it be that if one danced for the fish, they would bite the iron hook and deliver themselves up automatically?

"Got you!" However, just as everyone was feeling deeply embarrassed for him, Nalant suddenly let out a shout of surprise.

Whoosh!

Immediately after, everyone heard a sharp whoosh—the sound of the hemp rope on the fishing rod being pulled taut, slicing through the air.

"He actually caught one?" Everyone stared in stunned silence as the fishing rod bent into a deep arch.

Splash! With a flick of Nalant's arm, a sea fish weighing over a pound was hauled up.

"Do fish really like watching people dance?"

With such a large, flopping sea fish laid out before them, it was now the guards and the crowd of serfs' turn to question their reality, some even wondering if this fish was safe to eat, or if consuming it might affect their intelligence.