After school on Saturday, Claude returned home first and changed into a set of casual clothes. After some thought, he brought a set of underwear and stuffed it into his backpack. After spending the night and day on the ship, who knew if they would have to go into the water or not, so bringing a change of clothes would be a good idea.
He slung his gun over his back and checked what he had to bring before heading down to the docks.
While he was downstairs, he was pestered by his younger brother, Borke. Even the snowhound came to join in the fun.
After spending most of the day playing with the puppy and chubby, Claude finally managed to extricate himself and bid his mother goodbye before calling for a carriage to leave.
When he reached the docks, however, he was rather dumbfounded. "No way, Eriksson. This ship is so full. Do we even have room to stay?"
Eriksson, on the other hand, was very calm as he replied calmly, "No, I only brought two blocking nets and a purse seine.
Don't be fooled by how high they are now. Once we throw them down, there'll be plenty of space for us to play with. "
Claude shook his head with a bitter smile. "You make it sound so simple. These are the blocking nets and seine nets used by your father's Shark of the Red Sea. These nets are too big for the lake.
We were lucky to catch that big blacktiger like last time. You're not thinking of catching another one, are you? That's impossible. "
"It's not my father's blocking nets. Don't worry, I won't make that kind of mistake.
They're from Madam Baelin's house next door. They're all new and they lent them to me for free to try out. That's why I brought so many. "
Claude understood now. Madam Baelin's house near the private docks was a small workshop that specialized in fishing nets and repairing them.
Some time ago, Eriksson had become familiar with the group of aunties who were mending fishing nets.
The fishermen of Whitestag had a custom of soaking a new fishing net in the lake for three days after it was made. One reason was to test its sturdiness, and the other was to give it a fishy smell. That way, the fish in the lake wouldn't be alerted when they were caught.
That was why Eriksson wanted to go night fishing on the lake. Aunty Baelin pulled him over to try out the new fishing net.
If a new net was put into the water, and if there were catches, then this new net would be more favored by the fishermen. They wouldn't have to worry about not being able to sell it, and they could even raise the price …
"Where do I go, then?" Claude asked as he studied the boat.
The body of the small fishing boat was already filled with fishing nets, leaving only the bow and the stern slightly empty.
The space at the bow of the ship was only big enough for one person, and the stern was where the helm was. It was impossible to squeeze everyone at the stern …
"Wait a moment. I'll get Boa to find Uncle Pegg and have him bring a tarp over from the warehouse. When the time comes, you can sit on the tarp," said Eriksson.
It wasn't that people couldn't step on the fishing net, but it was easy for people to fall into the mesh of the fishing net when they walked on it. It was easy to mix up the neatly stacked fishing net, and when that happened, it would be very troublesome to separate it.
Secondly, the material of the fishing net wasn't like the acrylic and nylon from his previous world. Stepping on it would easily cause damage and damage.
Eriksson was rather thoughtful. Laying a tarp over the net would prevent those problems.
"Alright, I'll wait a moment," Claude said, "Only Boa is here. Is Wero not here yet?"
"He should be here soon. His house is the furthest away."
A while later, Borkal came over with a tarp on his back. He was delighted to see Claude. "Come help me! I'm so tired!"
Claude put his gun on the ground and ran over to take it. He grumbled, "Why didn't you ask Eyke to go with you?"
Borkal cursed, "That bastard said he's exhausted from carrying all the fishing nets on the boat and it's inconvenient for him to come up at the stern."
"Are you stupid?!"
Claude took the tarp and put it on his shoulder. "How can he carry so many fishing nets on the boat alone? Someone else is clearly helping him. Did you really believe him?"
At that moment, Welikro came over. Borkal hurriedly shouted, "Don't come over yet. There's a bucket of red worm bait in Uncle Pegg's house. Bring it over."
After finally laying the tarp, everyone boarded the boat. Welikro stuffed the bucket of red worm bait into the gap between the fishing net and the side of the boat.
He then sat on the tarp. Surprisingly, the fishing net under the tarp was rather comfortable to sit on.
"Let's go. It's getting dark," Borkal said to Eriksson, who was untying the mooring ropes at the stern.
Eriksson pointed at the pole at the bow of the boat. "Someone, help me push the boat away.
It's windy today, so there's no need to row.
When we leave the dock, Boa, help me raise the sail to half mast.
Oh, there's a fishskin lantern hanging at the bow. Claude, light it up and hang it on the mast. "
After a while, the small fishing boat finally left the dock.
"It's a little windy at night."
Borkal was now lying on the tarpaulin. "This ship is swaying so much that it doesn't feel sturdy. It feels like it'll capsize at any moment …"
"Shut up!" Eriksson was furious, "Fatty, can't you put it in a nicer way?
We've just set sail and you're already spouting nonsense. Can't you say something nice? "
This was Eriksson's beloved fishing boat, so he couldn't tolerate others gossiping about it. When he heard Borkal say that the boat was about to capsize, he couldn't help but blurt out Borkal's most taboo nickname.
"Why? I'm just talking about my own feelings!
It's not like I'm cursing your ship to capsize. Why are you so cocky? Do you want to quarrel? "said Borkal, not to be outdone.
"Alright, that's enough. Boa, you should pay attention as well. After all, this is the first time this fishing boat has set sail. We have to say something auspicious, understand?"
Claude stopped their argument and asked, "By the way, Eyke, which direction are we going?"
"Northwest. There's a large patch of reeds near Swamp Kemda. There are a lot of waterfowl there. You guys can practice shooting tomorrow morning.
Also, there aren't many fishing boats there, so we can find a good place to cast the net. "
Eriksson looked at the sails and said, "The wind is quite strong at night. It looks like we'll reach our destination in around two hours."
Two more hours … Claude wondered if he should use that time to meditate.
So, he said, "I'll take a nap first. Boa, you go over there."
Borkal moved his body a little unwillingly. "Claude, what's wrong with you lately?
I keep seeing you sleeping. You sleep in class, you sleep in the afternoon, and now you're still sleeping. You're turning into a sleeping baby. "
Ah … That's right. Sleeping in class every day isn't a solution. Someone will notice something amiss sooner or later. Claude immediately went on alert. What should I do?
Could it be that he should stop meditating every night and go to bed earlier?
"I just want to sleep when I'm bored in class. When have I ever wanted to sleep during afternoon sports lessons?"
Claude laughed it off. "Also, I'm sleeping now. I can keep watch for you guys at night and let you guys sleep to your heart's content."
"That's right. Those humanities instructors are like flies buzzing in your ears. Even if you don't want to sleep, you'll still feel sleepy." Welikro felt the same way. He used to sleep on his desk in the morning as well, but now, he had Claude with him.
In the past, Welikro would only take a nap in class occasionally, but now, Claude slept almost every morning.
As for Borkal and Eriksson, they would either read or play games instead of sleeping. A single game of Warbeast Chess could last them the entire morning.
The instructors were more lenient with the slackers at the back of the class. As long as they didn't disturb the class, they wouldn't care.
He had wanted to meditate, but he suddenly realized that it wasn't the right time. He wouldn't be able to sense what was going on in the outside world while he was meditating. Otherwise, he would've noticed so many people pointing at him outside the red brick house that night. He wouldn't have to wait until he woke up from his meditation session to realize that he was being treated as a thief.
Even though Borkal had moved away from him, the boat was only so big and there were fishing nets piled on top of it. It was normal for them to bump into each other.
But if his companions noticed that he wasn't reacting while he was meditating, would they give him first aid or something? Just the thought of it gave him goosebumps.
Should I meditate or not?
Claude fell into a dilemma. As he thought about it, he really fell asleep.
Nobody touched him or gave him first aid. However, he didn't sleep for too long. By the time he woke up, the sky was already filled with stars.
Borkal, on the other hand, was sound asleep and snoring softly.
He rubbed his face and sat up. He saw Welikro at the helm with Eriksson standing beside him.
"How long was I asleep?" asked Claude.
"About an hour," replied Welikro with a muffled voice.
"How much longer until we get there?"
"Soon. Do you see the reeds by the shore?
We need to go a little further, "said Eriksson as he pointed ahead.
The silhouette of the mountains could be seen in the distance. The dark forest at the foot of the mountains should be the reeds Eriksson was talking about.
Even though it didn't seem far, it was a long distance for a small fishing boat.
After another half an hour, Eriksson put down a pendant at the stern to measure the depth of the water. After a while, he said with satisfaction, "Alright, let's do it here.
Claude, wake Boa up. We'll put down the barricade first. Once we're done, we'll go ahead and put down the purse seine. I believe we'll get something good. "
Borkal was still rather dazed when he was woken up. Had it not been for Claude's quick reflexes, he might have fallen into the lake.
Thankfully, that scare woke him up. He helped Claude roll up the tarpaulin and put down the two barricade nets according to Eriksson's instructions.
The two barricade nets were rather large. One was eight meters long and the other ten. However, they were only three meters wide and could be placed at least three meters deep.
After putting down the barricade nets, the fishing boat sailed forward for another ten minutes and began to put down the purse seine.
The purse seine was more than twenty meters long and 2.4 meters wide. It left a long trail in the water.
The boat was finally empty. Eriksson opened one of the cabins and took out a few linen towels. "Let's wash our faces first."
Borkal took the towels and dipped them into the cold water before wringing them dry. As he wiped his face, he asked, "Can we start roasting now?
I'm a little hungry. "
"Hold on for another ten minutes or so. Let's see what we can get from the net first.
Otherwise, if we put everything on the boat, we won't have enough space to put the purse seine. We still have to see if we can get some fish to roast, "said Eriksson.
Welikro didn't hold back and took out a paper bag from the cabin. "Let's have some honey milk bread to fill our stomachs first."
A bag of bread the size of twelve fists was gobbled up by the four of them. Seeing that it was about time, Eriksson ordered for the net to be pulled up.
Pulling up a purse seine required a lot of effort. It wasn't like a barricade net, which only required one end to be pulled up.
When pulling up a purse seine, both ends had to be pulled up to form a circle on the surface of the water. Then, the rope that held the purse seine in place was pulled up.
When the rope was pulled up, the entire purse seine would form a fan shape. That way, the fish within the range of the purse seine wouldn't be able to escape.
It took more than half an hour for the purse seine to be pulled up. However, they didn't get much, only about eight fish.
However, three of them were longtail swordfish that were more than a foot long. They wouldn't be lacking in fish for their roast tonight.