Boom!!!
A loud muffled sound echoed as a huge bulge exploded on the surface of Starfall Lake, sending water splashing into the sky. Plump bass fish rained down from above.
"Hahaha!"
Klee stood on the shore, happily laughing at the bass floating on the lake's surface. Below her, Kazuma Satou wiped the water off his face, glanced silently at the broken half of his fishing rod in his hand, and threw it forcefully to the ground.
Turning around, he stared expressionlessly at Hiroshi, who was snickering nearby, and said, "So this is what you meant by coming to fish, huh?"
Hiroshi helplessly spread his hands, struggling to hold back his laughter as he looked at Kazuma's wet hair plastered to his forehead.
Just moments ago, Hiroshi and his group had arrived at Starfall Lake. The moment Kazuma saw the lake, he excitedly grabbed his fishing rod and rushed forward. Watching the leisurely swimming fish in the water, he shouted, "Today, the great Kazuma will have a bountiful harvest! Oh! Look at these plump big fish and this clear lake water—they must taste delicious!"
"You've eaten them before?" Hiroshi stood some distance from the shore, watching the excited Kazuma by the lakeside. Noticing Klee leading Hinata Gokou up a small hill nearby, he smirked and said, "The fish I used in the dishes I made for you before all came from Starfall Lake. Go for it, Kazuma; we're sure to have a big catch today."
Kazuma's eyes lit up as he stared hungrily at the fish in the lake. Back when he was too poor to afford food, the moments when Hiroshi sent him fish dishes were the happiest times of his day.
Recalling the delicious taste of the fish, Kazuma swallowed hard. Holding his fishing rod aloft, he shouted with enthusiasm and couldn't wait to squat by the shore to start fishing. Not far above, Klee and Hinata peeked out from the small hill.
Leading Hinata to her usual spot, Klee took a small Jumpy Dumpty bomb from her backpack and held it between them.
"Ta-da! Klee's new creation: Jumpy Dumpty—Fish Bomb No. 4!"
Seeing Hinata's curious gaze at the bomb in her hand, Klee beamed and handed it to her. Hands on her hips, she pointed to Starfall Lake below and said, "This is the fourth version Klee developed specifically for fishing. Unlike No. 3, which could cook the fish in the water, Klee reduced the power in No. 4 and added new magical knowledge. It enhances the shock effect while reducing the explosion's power. It can perfectly stun the delicious bass at the moment of explosion, ensuring freshness and making them easy to collect."
After speaking, Klee took the Fish Bomb No. 4 from Hinata's hand and, with a heave-ho, tossed it down.
Hinata watched as the bomb disappeared from sight. Initially at a loss for words due to Klee's explanation, she suddenly realized something and shouted, "Klee, Brother Hiroshi and Kazuma are down there!"
"Eh?" Klee replied, seeing Hinata's alarm. "Klee knows. When Klee and Brother Hiroshi come to Starfall Lake to fish, we always do it like this. It's fine." She waved at Hinata, one hand on her hip, the other held out in front. Estimating the timing, she flashed a proud smile, waved her hand, and shouted, "Boom!!!"
Below, Kazuma was excitedly pulling on his fishing rod, which was bent like a bow as he battled a fish. Limiting his strength to avoid breaking the rod, he suddenly heard a splash nearby, followed by Klee's excited shout from above.
The water surface bulged upward, then spouted like a fountain, finally resembling an exploding water balloon.
Looking at the broken half of his fishing rod, a big fish fell at his feet from the sky, still holding a transparent fishing line in its mouth. Behind him, Hiroshi's laughter echoed continuously.
Wiping the water off his face, Kazuma shook his wet hair, which still stuck to his forehead, and turned to glare at Hiroshi.
Trying hard to suppress his amusement, Hiroshi kept his voice calm, avoiding looking at Kazuma's stubbornly plastered hair, and quickly explained, "You can't blame me! I never said we were here to fish; we came to catch fish."
Staring at Hiroshi, whose mouth kept twitching, Kazuma ran his hand through his wet hair and shouted, "Who catches fish with bombs?!"
"My family does," Hiroshi pointed at himself and proudly replied.
"Aaaaah!" Seeing the shameless Hiroshi, Kazuma shouted and lunged at him. His water-soaked hands flung forward, splashing water all over Hiroshi's face.
Stopping in his tracks and seeing Hiroshi's face covered in water, Kazuma put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Serves you right! Trying to trick me—you didn't see that coming, did you?"
Wiping the water off his face, Hiroshi looked at the smug Kazuma, clenched his fist, and gritted his teeth. "Very well, I accept your challenge!"
By the time Klee brought Hinata to the shore, they saw Hiroshi with a pair of small dragon horns sprouting from his head, riding a wave as he chased Kazuma along the lakeside. Kazuma was shouting about Hiroshi cheating while running away.
With an intrigued expression, Klee held Hinata's hand and ran toward them, shouting, "Brother Hiroshi! Klee wants to play too!"
As the sun set, after a playful afternoon, Hiroshi and his group walked home. The residents of Mondstadt who had been working outside were also heading in groups toward the docks of Cider Lake under the orange glow of the sunset. Happily discussing their day's harvest, they were preparing to take boats home for a hot meal.
Klee was carrying a bass half her size—the biggest fish caught today. She decided to carry it home herself.
Returning the greetings of passersby who saluted him, Hiroshi smiled as he followed behind Klee, who was carefully walking while holding the big fish. Looking at their shadows under the sunset, he felt a surge of contentment. What more could one ask for in such a life?
As the last bit of the sunset disappeared over the horizon, leaving only a residual glow lighting the world, Hiroshi and the others returned to the estate.
In front of the gate, Fischl and Megumin were chatting under a cherry blossom tree not far from the entrance.
Seeing the big fish Klee was holding, Megumin looked at Kazuma and asked, "Did you go fishing today?"
Kazuma's mouth twitched, and he replied, "No, we went bombing fish."
"Oh!!!" Hearing "bombing fish," Megumin's excitement rose. She said to Kazuma, "Then take me next time! My explosion magic is itching to be unleashed!"
"Ah..."
Retracting the karate chop he had just delivered to Megumin's head, Kazuma stared at her sternly and said, "No way! This morning, Captain Jean already asked me to make sure you don't use explosion magic recklessly, especially near Mondstadt."
Holding Megumin's shoulders, Kazuma leaned into her ear and said, "Captain Jean gave me an 80% discount on all the items I purchased this morning because of this. So, Megumin, if you recklessly use explosion magic and Captain Jean comes knocking, and since we're already out of money, we'll have to sell you to her to atone."
"So, do you understand?!" Kazuma shouted at Megumin. Seeing her forehead starting to sweat, he paused as a bad feeling rose in his heart and asked incredulously, "Megumin, you didn't already blow something up near Mondstadt, did you?"
Megumin turned her head away in silence, whistling innocently, refusing to answer the question.
Hiroshi took a step back and whispered to Fischl, "Fischl, what quest did you take today?"
With her index finger under her chin, Fischl thought for a moment and said, "Today, we accepted... ahem. Today, I, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, along with the witch from another world—the Fallen Angel Holy Black Cat—and the Explosion Mage, delivered merciless judgment upon the gathering of evil. At the ancient monsters' holy land, we dealt the final blow. The judgment thunder that tore the sky and the heavenly flames that melted the earth dissolved the monsters' last ambitions. The witch's domain power sent them to the endless abyss."
"Oh, I see," Hiroshi nodded, indicating he understood. In summary, monsters were gathering again in Dadaupa Gorge, so the three of them took a quest to deal with it. Megumin and Fischl attacked from ultra-long range, and Ruri Gokou used her domain to finish up.
Avoiding the two blocking the doorway, Hiroshi planned to go make dinner, leading Klee and Hinata inside.
Fischl watched the three of them leave, glanced back at Megumin and Kazuma, then turned and chased after Hiroshi.
"Wait for me!"