WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 77: The Generous Ink Squid
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[Daily Life] Whoa... The bite is freaking insane. Why is fishing so fun?
Business has been slow lately, so I borrowed a lure and tried fishing for Ink Squid too, you know?
It was seriously so damn fun T_T
I can't believe I lived without knowing this. I've been missing out on half my life.
└ For real, the dopamine rush is crazy lol
└ You fishermen have been enjoying something this fun all to yourselves until now?
└ Man, I'm so hooked it's driving me crazy. Even when I get home, all I can think about is fishing.
└ Screw commissions, I'm just going to fish for the rest of my life T_T
└ No, no. The Do Emperor's Ritual Implement is what's crazy. Fishing normally isn't this fun.
└ Don't lie to me T_T You're trying to keep all the fun for yourselves again.
[Question] Sheesh, everyone's going crazy over fishing lately. Should I go borrow one tomorrow too?
└ ? Lol, you're already too late.
└ Why??
└ The Jolt Jolt Lures are already sold out. Better luck next time.
└ Even if you get on the waiting list tomorrow, it'll take ages.
[Chat] Honestly, it's not just about the money. You guys go out because of the bite, lol.
I don't know what the Do Emperor did to these lures.
But the bite when you catch an Ink Squid is seriously insane T_T
I just got back completely wiped out, and I'm already dying to head out again.
└ For real, everyone's so addicted to the bite that they're out fishing day after day~
└ Whoa... Did the Do Emperor plan even this?
└ Is this all part of some grand plan to restore Cheonghae's seas as quickly as possible??
└ Daaaaamn it, Do Emperor!!! Just how far ahead are you looking?!
* * *
Munch, munch.
Kya. This was seriously good.
What I was eating right now was seasoned raw Ink Squid salad!
The raw Ink Squid had a satisfying crunch beneath the sweet-and-tangy chili sauce. The more I chewed, the more sweetness burst out.
Then a sip of beer.
Kyaaaaaah...!
And then.
Today's highlight, fried Giant Ink Squid!
Khhhh....
Pick out a thick piece, dip it generously in ketchup, and take a big bite.
Crunch...!
Crisp...!
Mmmmmm.
Crispy outside, moist inside.
A rich, savory aroma filled my mouth.
It was too good....
Then I poured myself another cold beer....
Ugh, it's overflowing.
Gulp, gulp.
"Kya...!"
This was heaven~
"Ugh.... Do Emperor, you're such an old man."
"Me? I am an old man."
Su-a, who had been munching on fried squid across from me, frowned like she'd seen something she shouldn't have.
Hey, what's wrong with being an old man?
There's a taste you develop as an adult.
"Just one drink for me...."
"Hey, you've got training later. No way!"
We were on Taegong's boat.
Not the fishing vessel he took out to catch Ink Squid.
This was the yacht he used as his home. It was a little too large to call it a yacht, though.
Basically, Taegong owned two boats. One yacht that served as his house and place to relax, and one fishing vessel for work.
Ever since the commission ended, we'd been staying on this yacht.
Cool sea breezes drifted in through the slightly open window, while cold air from the AC flowed down from the ceiling.
Khhh. A perfect combination.
The yacht was anchored offshore from a secluded beach on one of Cheonghae's islands.
The water was too shallow to bring the yacht right up to shore, so it was moored some distance out at sea.
As expected of the maritime Occult World, there were even places where an entire island was an Occult World zone.
A secret island covered by a Barrier that ordinary people couldn't even see.
Apparently, there was even a big arcade further inland.
That meant Su-a could train openly without worrying about anyone seeing her.
'Come to think of it.'
Man-seon was a great cook. He was also good at handling a boat.
From what I'd heard, this had been Man-seon's job all along.
Taking care of the yacht, driving the boat, even working as a private chef. He provided a sort of all-in-one service.
On the side, he was learning occult fishing from Taegong.
You could call him a jack-of-all-trades.
Well, the Occult World needed people like that too.
Man-seon was currently working under an official commission from No Corp.
The benefits at a big company were the best!
"The ramen's ready!"
Man-seon emerged from the kitchen holding a pot.
It's here, it's here!!
"Eek...!"
Su-a saw the pot and recoiled in horror.
"Why is it that color...? Is that black-bean ramen?"
"Special Ink Squid ink ramen!"
"...Ink? Is that really safe to eat?"
"Haha! You don't need to worry about that."
The ink only erased Spell Formulas when the creature expelled it while it was alive, with Spiritual Power infused into it.
So ink harvested like this couldn't produce that effect.
But!
It was still a highly useful premium ingredient, used for making spiritual medicine and as pigment for drawing Talismans or sorcery diagrams!
Kya. It really gave without holding anything back.
There wasn't a single part to throw away.
"Come on, give it a try! It's rich and delicious."
Man-seon confidently held out a ladle.
"Do Emperor... You try it first...."
Su-a poked my back and pushed me forward.
Seriously, she was such a scaredy-cat.
Slurp.
"Mmm, mmm...!"
Maybe it had milk in it, because the broth was rich and thick like carbonara.
It had a spicy kick from the peperoncino.
The noodles soaked in ink were springy, and each chew brought out a salty, savory flavor.
This was crazy.
"...Good, right?!"
"It is!"
"...! Do Emperor, are you good at cooking too?"
"Ahem. No. I just know ingredients when I see them."
I'd actually seen it in a post.
I hadn't realized it at first, but every time Man-seon cooked, a post with the exact same recipe went up.
I'd ended up finding out Man-seon's username by accident.
'Wow... I'm stuffed.'
What should I do now?
Ding.
[Deposit Notification - Cheonghae Fisheries Cooperative]
'Oh. Another one was hauled in.'
I'd already finished making all the Jolt Jolt Lures for rental that I needed to hand over to the cooperative.
Now, every time one of the distributed lures hauled in an Ink Squid, a set percentage of its market price went straight into my account as commission.
Ding. Ding.
Kya.... Commission contracts really were wonderful.
So lately, I'd been supervising Su-a's special training and fishing in my spare time.
And this, this was seriously way too fun.
Now I understood why everyone had been going wild on Goblin Fire.
My hands kept itching for it.
'Sheesh. Should I go fishing again?'
"Man-seon, how about another round this afternoon?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Do Emperor! I promised Taegong I'd drive his boat this afternoon."
"...He's going out again?"
"Yes! He's been really fired up lately! Haha!"
Tch. What a shame.
You couldn't go trolling without someone to drive the boat, after all.
I was gloomily sipping the rest of my beer when.
Step.
Su-a appeared.
"Mwahaha! I shall show you the results of my training."
"...? Sure."
* * *
We crossed over in an inflatable boat to a quiet white-sand beach.
'She said she was going to change. Why isn't she coming out?'
She'd disappeared behind the rocks ages ago.
"Hey, are you still not done?"
"J-just a minute!"
How many times had she said that now?
She dawdled for quite a while longer before.
Shuffle.
Su-a cautiously stepped out from the shade of the rocks.
"....?"
A swimsuit?
No, she always wore one when she trained, but those had been one-piece swimsuits.
The one she was wearing now was a two-piece with ruffles along the shoulders and waist.
"...."
Su-a stood there staring at me.
She just poked at the sand with her toes.
'...?'
What was this? Why wasn't she coming over?
"...."
"...."
"...! What! I brought it, so I had to wear it at least once!"
"Who said anything? It looks pretty."
"...! Hmph. W-what are you talking about? It's not like I brought it for you to see. Hmph. Honestly."
Maybe she was embarrassed, because Su-a turned her head away.
"So? You said you'd show me the results of your training."
"Hmph, behold!"
Su-a scampered over and brought back a beach ball, then tossed it high into the air.
Then she started swinging the trident in her hand.
A pillar of water shot out of the sea as the ball came down.
Pshaa!
The ball bounced high, and just as it began to fall, another pillar of water shot up and caught it.
Splash! Boing!
Splash! Boing!
Boing, boing, boing, boing.
Su-a's hand movements had become quite natural as she turned the trident's dial and pressed its buttons.
Several pillars of water took turns perfectly juggling the beach ball.
Then, for the finale!
Su-a spun the trident in a wide circle, and a pillar of water bounced the ball this way.
The ball flew in an arc, and Su-a casually caught it with a tap.
Then she looked at me with a very smug expression.
'Kya...!'
Our Su-a was good.
No wonder she was first in line to debut.
She'd been training really hard.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
"Hmph. Don't fall for me. That would be troublesome."
It was a little irritating how she closed her eyes and nodded to herself.
Still, good. She seemed to have mastered the basic controls to a certain extent.
Now there was only one thing left.
"So, what about that? Can you do that now?"
"...!"
The girl who'd been so smug just a moment ago started sneakily avoiding my gaze.
"Hey! Give it a try. That's the most important part. Your debut is right around the corner."
"Ugh...."
Su-a pouted, then gripped her trident again as if she'd given up.
Tap tap tap tap.
She ran across the white sand and threw herself into the sea.
Splash.
After disappearing underwater, she dived deep down.
'Oh! She's doing it, she's doing it.'
Bubble, bubble...
The surface began to churn as though it were swelling up.
Swoosh.
Pushing aside the current, Su-a slowly rose.
Finally.
She stood up!
She was standing on the water!
Water continuously surged up beneath Su-a's feet, holding her small body above the surface.
Her knees trembled, and both arms flailed around.
She still looked a little unstable.
That's right!
The Poseidon Trident was a controller that helped Su-a control water!
I'd built all sorts of functions into its buttons, dials, and swing motions.
When I was making it, a thought occurred to me.
Su-a's ability was to control water, so she'd probably have to fight in aquatic environments like rivers or the sea fairly often.
But underwater, you couldn't see clearly or breathe.
To fight properly, she had to come up to the surface.
But there was no guarantee she'd always have a boat to stand on, was there?
Then she needed to be able to float on the water by herself.
That was why I'd added this function.
The so-called [Water Walking]!
It made water continually rise beneath her feet, allowing her to stand on top of it.
And more than anything.
Just picture the Poseidon Girl striding over the water as she made her entrance.
It sounded cool just imagining it, didn't it?
"All right, next!"
Standing on the water, Su-a swung her trident in a broad arc.
Kwoooosh!
She sent a house-sized wave surging up, then fired a massive blast of water.
'Kya, can she do it perfectly now?'
I was nodding in satisfaction when.
Uh... Uh?
Unable to withstand the recoil from the technique, Su-a staggered violently.
"Eek!"
Splash~!
She plunged headfirst into the seawater.
Well.
Balancing on rising water alone couldn't be easy.
And she had to swing the trident too, so of course it wasn't easy.
'Hmm.... What should I do?'
I was considering it when.
Blub blub....
Su-a had already come back out of the water and cautiously looked my way.
"Fine!"
She grabbed the lid of a Styrofoam box that had been thrown into the corner and jumped back into the sea.
Splash.
Su-a carefully stepped onto it.
Wobble.
'...What is she doing?'
She spread her feet shoulder-width apart, balancing on her toes.
Then she gripped the trident again.
"Hup!"
Kwoooosh!
She sent a house-sized wave surging up, then fired another massive blast of water.
Shwaaaaa...
The spray cleared.
"...."
Su-a was still standing.
Her knees weren't shaking like before, and her arms weren't flailing around either.
"How's that! This works, right!"
Su-a raised her trident and shouted.
'...It does work.'
Well, balancing was much easier when she had something to stand on.
Besides, since she controlled water anyway, she wouldn't need a separate propulsion device.
Still, carrying around something like a surfboard would probably be inconvenient.
It would be cumbersome and heavy.
Vrooom... putt-putt-putt-putt.
Just then, a familiar engine sound came from far away.
Taegong's fishing vessel was returning.
* * *
'As expected... He'd gone out fishing again.'
Taegong was already crouched on the deck, busily cleaning Ink Squid.
Slice, slice.
With a few practiced cuts, the legs came off and the body split open.
The bone, legs, and ink sac.
He sorted each part into containers with ease.
'...Oh?'
Something caught my eye.
A broad, flat bone from inside the body.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd watched them clean the creatures whole from this close.
'So they were a type of cuttlefish.'
Unlike ordinary squid, cuttlefish had large, flat bones inside their bodies.
"Taegong, can I take one of these?"
"The bone? Take as many as you like."
The bone he handed me was about the size of a tabletop.
Wide.
Light.
Hard...?
When I pressed on it, it bent with surprising resilience, almost like vinyl. It was rubbery, if anything, with a springy give.
'Huh. This is what it's like?'
It had seemed incredibly hard when the creature was alive.
But.
The moment I found its Spiritual Power circuit and ran Spiritual Power through it as a test.
Bzzzt.
"...!"
The bone greedily absorbed the Spiritual Power, instantly becoming rigid as a rock.
When I withdrew the Spiritual Power, it became flexible again.
Hard when infused with Spiritual Power.
Wide, light, buoyant, and hard when it absorbed Spiritual Power....
In the distance, Su-a was diligently waving her trident around atop her piece of Styrofoam.
Grin.
Good. I had an idea.
Footnotes:
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