"Are you sure the net was placed here?" Borkal asked doubtfully. He wondered if he had found the wrong place.
"It should be here …" Claude wasn't sure either. He only remembered Eriksson saying that the net was placed when the water was more than four meters deep. He didn't pay much attention to the surroundings.
"I forgot …" Welikro shrugged. He was rather straightforward.
Eriksson took another careful look at his surroundings before replying with certainty, "This is the place. I'm not mistaken. Anyone familiar with life on the water would remember this place before setting up a net. There's no way I'm mistaken about this …"
"Then … Could it have been taken away by someone else?"
Asked Borkal. If that was the case, it would be a huge loss. That block from the Altronis was worth at least ten thales.
"That shouldn't be possible." Eriksson wasn't too sure either. "The buoy on the net has the Altroni family's emblem on it. Anyone in Whitestag would be able to tell that it belongs to us at first glance.
Also, the interlacing of the ropes used to make the net is unique and is specifically used on the sea. If someone took the net away, they would be discovered very quickly.
Also, the fishermen of Whitestag know the rules and wouldn't take away a net placed by someone else. "
"Didn't you say that quite a few newcomers came to Whitestag in the past half a year? Some of them aren't very well-behaved," said Borkal.
"There are indeed some newcomers who don't know the rules, but they don't have the guts to take away our net. The docks keep a close eye on them and they'll be heavily punished if they break the law.
You know, we're still short of half of the enslaved people this year. The tax officers and the patrolling police are counting on them to fill in the gaps. "
Eriksson wasn't wrong. Whitestag had decided to renovate the main road to the east and expand the town's boundaries next year. However, they lacked the manpower and money to do so, so they turned their attention to the enslaved people, calling it reform through labor.
Any civilian who committed a crime, even the slightest mistake, would be sentenced to at least three months of labor. That way, all they had to do was provide some pig feed and tools to get free labor.
If someone took away the net, he wouldn't be able to make a move. He would be discovered the moment he stepped onto the dock.
Even the black market shops in town weren't willing to spend money to buy the Altronis' nets. This matter would easily reach Captain Altroni's ears, and when that happened, it wouldn't end well for either the seller or the buyer.
"Let's keep looking. Perhaps it just drifted away or was brought to another place by a passing ship," said Welikro.
"That's impossible. There's a pendant at the bottom of the net. How could it float away when it's so heavy?
It's impossible for us to be taken away by a ship. We'll be discovered as soon as we hook onto the ship … "Eriksson muttered.
However, half an hour later, after almost making a big circle, they finally found the blocking net.
"Strange, how did the net end up here? We're already at the lakeside …" Eriksson was perplexed.
This place could be said to be next to the stone sentry post, about a hundred meters away from where the barricade net was placed.
If it wasn't for the red buoy on top of the net, it wouldn't have been easy to spot it.
Welikro frowned the moment he pulled the net. "Why is it so heavy? Did it hook onto some aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake?"
As the net was pulled onto the boat, Welikro suddenly cried out in surprise, "There's a fish! A big fish!"
There really was a big fish, but there was only one and it was already dead.
However, the fish was at least 1.5 meters long. It broke through one of the grids of the net, only to be caught by the one beside it. It couldn't break free no matter how hard it tried. After struggling for a long time, it dragged the net all the way here before dying of exhaustion.
When the fish was pulled onto the boat, Eriksson laughed heartily. "It's actually a blacktiger fish! Such a big one! Haha, no one in town has ever caught a blacktiger fish of this size before …"
Blacktiger fish were a specialty of Lake Balinga. They lived at the bottom of the lake and were extremely difficult to catch. Their meat was tender and tasty, making them a treasure among fishes.
Not to mention, they had a violent temper and would die quickly after being caught by fishermen, making them impossible to breed.
That was yet another huge gift they picked up on their way back.
Nobody expected that a random net would yield such a huge haul.
"Let's put some water in the hold. This blacktiger fish will go stale if left on the deck and exposed to the sun. It's better to put it in the water, even if it's already dead.
We'll reach the docks in another two hours or so. We'll take it out to show those people, "said Eriksson with a wide smile.
Eriksson beamed from ear to ear, probably imagining how he would display his spoils at the docks to blind the spectators.
Claude wasn't in the mood to guess what his companions were thinking. He helped put away the net and tossed the blacktiger fish into the water before deciding to take a nap on the deck.
He had pulled an all-nighter the night before and only now did he feel like dozing off.
He didn't know how much time passed before he was woken up by Borkal. "Claude, wake up. We're here."
When he opened his eyes, he saw Eriksson's private dock not far away. The owner of the fishing boat, Old Sunny, was standing there waving at them.
Eriksson was steering the boat to dock while Welikro was standing at the bow with a pole in hand.
Claude touched his face to wake himself up and realized that he was covered with a blanket.
The moment he got up from the deck, he felt his legs go limp and he almost fell to his knees again. He hurriedly grabbed the side of the boat to steady himself.
He opened his mouth and yawned. "How did we get here so quickly?"
Eriksson smiled. "Not really. You've been sleeping for more than two hours. Wero said you pulled an all-nighter last night and told us not to wake you up. Boa even covered you with a blanket."
"Thanks, brothers." Claude yawned again. "But why do I still feel sleepy?"
Welikro pushed against the wall of the dock with his pole and allowed the fishing boat to sail smoothly across the dock. He lowered the pole and tossed the rope to Sunny, who was on the dock, before turning to Claude with a smile. "You were just scared. You're finally able to react normally now.
I was still wondering why you didn't feel the slightest bit nervous after the battle with the python.
Back when I went hunting with my father and killed a wolf cub for the first time, I was so scared that I couldn't sleep for the entire night. Even in my dreams, I saw the wolf covered in blood and it took me two days to recover.
"It's the same for you. After killing the python, you were in high spirits and only relaxed when we reached the boat. Only then did you sleep peacefully.
However, you probably didn't get enough sleep. That's why you feel so tired.
It's just like how my father always sleeps for more than ten hours every time he comes back.
Why don't you go home and have a good sleep first? We'll take care of things here. "
Claude understood now. That was the sense of security he felt. After killing the python in the first level of the ruins, he was indeed in high spirits, just like Welikro said. He was constantly on tenterhooks, ready to be attacked again at any moment.
That was why he didn't feel like sleeping at all last night. To put it bluntly, he didn't feel safe at all.
Only when he boarded the ship did he relax. Feeling that his safety was guaranteed, he dozed off.
After yawning for the third time, Claude nodded. "Alright, I'll go home first. Help me call a carriage.
I think I'll fall asleep on the way if I walk. "
He picked up his backpack and boarded the carriage, barely managing to keep his eyes open until he reached his house.
The coachman waited for Claude to alight before riding off. Eriksson had already instructed the coachman to collect the money from him as long as he sent Claude to his house.
The sleepy Claude greeted his sister, Angelina, who was downstairs. He didn't notice the traces of tears on his sister's face at all before he staggered up the stairs to his attic and fell headfirst into his bed.
However, he still remembered to stuff his backpack under the bed before he fell asleep.
After an unknown period of time, he was woken up by someone. When he opened his eyes, he saw his mother and the boy.
The boy had already climbed onto the bed and was climbing on top of Claude. Seeing him wake up, his mother asked concernedly, "Claude, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Shaking his head, he hugged the boy in his arms, ignoring his struggles. "I'm fine. I was on night duty last night and didn't sleep at all. That's why I felt really tired during the day."
His mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Come down for dinner then. Your father is looking for you.
Also, you went fishing together. Why did you have to be on night duty alone? Isn't that bullying? "
Claude shook his head with a smile. He didn't want to explain anything to his mother. He grabbed the boy in his arms and kissed him on the cheek before getting up to go downstairs.
"I want to be carried, big brother," said the boy coquettishly.
"Alright, big brother will carry you then." Claude took the boy and put him on his shoulder. "We'll be going downstairs first."
His mother called out worriedly, "Be careful of the door. Don't knock it!"
Claude was well aware of that. When he passed through the door, he squatted down and did it, causing the boy to burst into laughter.
He rushed all the way down the stairs and put the fat boy down in the dining room.
Only Morssen and Arbeit were still seated at the dining table. The sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen told Claude that he would be the last one to eat again.
"Father, did you need something from me?" asked Claude as he sat down and pulled the basket of white bread from the table.
"Thanks to you, dinner is very sumptuous today," said Morssen as he took off his pipe.
It was only then that Claude noticed that the dishes on the table were all familiar to him. There was dried deer meat, boiled potatoes with goat leg bones and fried python meat.
"Huh? Why isn't there any blacktiger fish meat?
Didn't Boa and the others send it over?
That can't be. Such a huge blacktiger fish should be enough for me. Why isn't it here? Did they eat it all? "
"Blacktiger fish, is it?
There's no blacktiger fish. The one you had was bought by the tavern's chef, Pjard, for a high price.
He wanted to buy the python meat and deer meat too, but Boa and the others refused. "
"H-how did you know?" Claude almost choked on his bread.
"You slept the whole afternoon after returning home, yet you didn't know that your friends had caused a sensation in the entire town.
They put the python skin they hunted at the docks and the people who went to see it were packed to the brim. It was a rare sight to see such a huge python.
"And the deer skin … I didn't think you'd get such a huge haul from your fishing trip.
The owners of a few shops in town almost got into a fight because they wanted to buy your python skin and deer skin.
Boa, on the other hand, was quite capable. He held an auction at the docks and sold it for a high price.
"Oh, the deer meat, goat leg and python meat were all sent over by Wero. He said it was your share.
But I'm a little curious. You told me to go fishing. Could it be that these are all caught by you in the water? "
Claude finally understood why his father didn't look so good. He said he was going fishing, but he was actually going hunting. His father thought he was lying.
"I'm sorry, Father. I was worried that you wouldn't let me go, so I said we were going fishing.
However, we also brought our muskets with us. We were planning to hunt while fishing. "Claude admitted his mistakes and was rather sincere in his attitude.
"Who brought the guns?" Morssen asked.
"Wero and Eyk. They used their father's guns.
Actually, I'd really like to have my own gun too. "
Morssen didn't say anything else. He only tapped his fingers on the table as if he was thinking about something.
What Claude found strange was that Arbeit didn't make a single sound that day. It was as if he was mute. His favorite thing to do was to jump out and mock Claude when his father was lecturing him.