Fishing.
I still had enough money to get by, so it wasn't like I was fishing for food.
I figured I should pick up a hobby, and fishing seemed like the thing to do.
That's when I realized I had no hobbies.
Only now, with some breathing room in my life, did it dawn on me that I had zero hobbies. It stung a little.
So if you're looking for a word that's synonymous with "hobby," fishing it is.
While I was at it, some weird drunk guy started bother ing me.
"Hey there. You're Wof, right?"
"...That's right."
"So how is it? Catching anything?"
"Not at all..."
I gave a wry smile.
The pot I was using as a fish basket had nothing but water in it.
"That rod's not bad—made by Byon, right? What are you using for bait?"
"Just bugs from around here."
"Ah, makes sense. Mind if I see something?"
"What is it?"
"I've got something good for bait. Give it a try."
What he pulled out was a piece of dried meat.
"Meat...?"
"It's good stuff for fish bait."
"Well, sure..."
I pulled back my rod.
The bait bug on my hook was gone.
Must've gotten washed away. It happens all the time, so I didn't think much of it.
I attached a piece of the dried meat he'd given me.
"Not like that. It'll fall off if you do it that way."
"Huh?"
"Like this. Match it to the hook's barb and thread it on."
"Like this?"
"That's right. Otherwise it'll fall off like last time."
He takes a swig from his sake bottle and speaks.
So that's how it was. I'd been attaching the bait wrong.
This hook was a new one I'd bought after the old one broke.
So the way I'd always been doing it didn't work here?
"...Thank you."
"It's nothing worth thanking me for. Here, try it."
"Y-yes."
I swing the rod and cast it into the river. And wait.
"Oh, it just reacted!"
A faint vibration traveled through the rod.
"Not yet. Wait for a big one, then move the rod."
"O-okay."
A big reaction—there!
"Now! Swing the rod the opposite way from the fish!"
"O-okay!"
I don't just yank it up immediately.
I swing the rod against the fish's movement to tire it out.
"Not bad, kid. Might be about time to pull it up."
"Okay."
The fish's momentum is fading.
"Now!"
At the signal, I haul the rod up.
Oof, heavy, but I managed to reel it in with the momentum.
This one's pretty big.
"A giant salamander, huh."
The Japanese name slipped out before I could stop myself.
A slimy, catfish-like creature with limbs attached.
A giant salamander, designated as a natural monument.
Big.
So they exist in this world too. A bit surprising.
Agaro took a sip and said.
"It's a land catfish. A monster."
"A monster...?"
The giant salamander is a monster?
Also, it somehow fit into the jar.
"It's officially classified as a monster, more or less."
"The appearance is certainly monster-like, though."
Even hearing that, I can see why they'd say that.
In fact, even in my past life's memories, there was apparently a history of them being treated as yokai.
"Well, it's a monster, but also not really a monster."
"Which is it?"
"It got classified as a monster based on its looks, right? That kind of thing happens."
"So it's not a monster, then."
"But it's listed in the monster encyclopedia."
"So it's not a monster?"
"Could be."
"'Could be,' he says."
So which is it in the end.
Agaro took a quick sip.
"Either way works, doesn't it? So what are you gonna do with this thing?"
"You're right about that."
Eating the giant salamander would've been going too far, even for me.
"I'm going to release it."
"Huh? What?"
"Let it go."
"Sure."
Agaro didn't really say anything about it.
I released the giant salamander into the river.
The giant salamander dove into the water.
"Thanks for everything."
"Huh? You're done already?"
"Yeah. Fishing is for finding a hobby, not for gathering food."
"A hobby?"
Agaro stared at me blankly.
"I don't have any hobbies. So I've been trying different things."
"Kid. How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"...A life where you're fighting just to survive, and you're looking for hobbies?"
"I mean, I'm fighting just to stay alive, but if that's all there is, it gets pretty lonely, doesn't it?"
"......"
Agaro said nothing and drank.
"So I was thinking maybe I'd pick up a hobby."
"Heh. You're a strange one. But it's not a bad idea. You need some breathing room, or your mind goes feral."
Agaro gave a soft chuckle.
"So, Agaro, do you have any hobbies?"
"Hm? Me? Lemme see... hobby, huh... drinking, I guess."
"...Drinking?"
"Drinking. That's my hobby."
He said it and drank.
A good, hearty swig.