Everyone heard the voice and looked up, only to see a figure descending from the sky, holding up a massive object with both hands.
It was about sixteen meters long, entirely silver-white. The plump, lustrous body of the fish gleamed with a silvery light under the sun, looking like a work of art.
At this moment, looks of shock involuntarily appeared on everyone's faces.
The same thought occurred to all of them in unison.
The Fish King had appeared.
Some in the crowd even began to worship this silver-scaled shuttle, as if they had laid eyes on something sacred.
“No, impossible!”
Finn stared at this fish of the same species as his own, but clearly in a completely different weight class. He muttered in a daze, his face filled with disbelief.
Then, he saw a smiling face pop out from behind the silver-scaled shuttle, waving at him.
“Yo, hello. The Fish King Grand Prix is actually quite fun. If I hadn't joined this competition, I wouldn't have known I had a talent for catching fish. Finn, just as you said, I'm enjoying myself.”
“Enjoying yourself?”
Hearing Xia De's words and seeing his innocent expression, Finn forced a smile that looked worse than crying. Twitching the corners of his mouth, he said, “Th-that's good, then. That's good.”
Right at that moment, the town chief announced the end of the Fish King Grand Prix.
As expected, the championship went to Xia De.
In previous years, there would usually be people who were unsatisfied and demanded a measurement of the fish.
But this year, no one did so, because it was completely unnecessary.
The sixteen-meter-long body of the fish alone was already the largest of the entire event, far longer than the second place.
Afterward, a crowd gathered around Xia De, clamoring with questions, eager to pry out every single detail of how he had caught this silver-scaled shuttle.
Xia De smiled and casually handled the crowd's enthusiastic questions, thinking awkwardly to himself,
Actually, I just grabbed it on a whim.
In a corner where no one was paying attention, Finn, who had remained in a daze ever since Xia De appeared, left with a despondent expression.
As for why no one was paying attention?
It was actually because Xia De had cast a magic spell on him to lower his presence. Otherwise, surely many people would have crowded around Finn, who had also caught a fish over ten meters long.
Xia De had only made one person immune to this stealth magic. He didn't make a special effort to remind her of Finn's dejection, though.
Xia De believed that some things were best left to the individuals involved to take action on.
If outsiders intervened too much, impurities might seep into that sincere affection.
Finn wandered around in low spirits, continuously muttering under his breath.
“That's good, then. It's good as long as he's enjoying himself.”
“It's good as long as he's enjoying himself... good...”
“Good, my ass!!!”
Finally, in an empty area, Finn's emotions erupted. He roared to the heavens, his voice filled with sorrow.
“I went through so much trouble to attract that silver-scaled shuttle with Moon-Lure Grass, yet there was actually an even bigger one! What was the point of me going out in the middle of the night to guard that Moon-Lure Grass? Not only that, but I've been scouting all over Bezerlati Lake these past few days looking for big guys. And after finding it, I had to wrestle with that Tier Three, Rank Five big guy in the water! I almost let that bastard escape, too!”
“After going through untold hardships and preparing for so long, Xia De suddenly burst onto the scene at the very last moment. Gods, why are you treating me like this?!”
After venting his emotions, Finn's mood finally improved a little. He sighed in resignation and said helplessly, “Xia De is indeed my self-proclaimed rival, a genius just like me. He actually snatched my championship at the final moment!”
His gaze fell in Xia De's direction. There was not a shred of hatred in his eyes; instead, they held a trace of gratification. Clearly, he didn't truly mind his plan being disrupted.
“After all, enjoyment and joy are the most important things about the Windmill Festival.
“I'm glad the Windmill Festival could bring you joy, and I hope you will always like it.”
The next second, his face fell, and he said miserably, “Sigh, looks like my promise to Peishan will have to wait until next year to be fulfilled.”
“What important promise needs to be fulfilled?”
A female voice came from beside him, making him shudder all over.
For once, Finn didn't act in his usual erratic manner. Instead, he put on a serious face, scratched his head, and said with a wry smile, “Peishan, when did you get here? I didn't even notice.”
Peishan walked up to his side, rolled her eyes as if in thought, and then said, “Right around ‘Good, my ass!’”
“So right at the very beginning!”
Finn said rather weakly.
After those words, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Neither of them spoke, but both had expressions of conflict on their faces.
“I'm sorry!”
“I'm sorry!”
Both froze at the same time. Finn was the first to speak up, asking, “Why are you saying sorry?”
Peishan said, her spirits somewhat low, “Because you put in so much effort only to end up with a regret, and as your childhood friend, I couldn't help you at all during the process.”
Finn was stunned, then burst out laughing. Ignoring Peishan's embarrassed and angry look as if she wanted to punch him, he said to himself, “Do you still remember the scene of the Wind Harvester bringing the harvest that we saw ten years ago?”
“Of course, I can't forget it. Back then, everyone's face was brimming with happiness.”
“Yeah, everyone was brimming with happiness. Back then, you admired the person who brought happiness, and later told me that you also wanted to become a Wind Harvester to bring harvest and happiness to the people. At that time, I thought to myself, I want to make you happy. Later, you became a member of the guard team, and because of your status, you couldn't participate in the Fish King Grand Prix. But when I heard that the Wind Harvester could transfer the opportunity to inject magic into the great windmill to bring a harvest, I was overjoyed.”
“So you did all this for me, just because of a small remark from when we were kids?”
Peishan covered her mouth, asking in a soft whisper, her voice thick with emotion.
Finn tilted his head, flashing a brilliant smile.
“Of course. After all, I've never cared about anyone else. I only want you to be happy.”
The warm lamplight shone on him, adding a different kind of charm to Finn and making him look incredibly gentle.
Peishan's heart raced. Her mouth parted slightly, and her eyes slowly widened. She felt a strange, inexplicable impulse welling up inside her.
“But I didn't expect my baby Peishan to care about me so much. Since that's the case, how about a kiss!”
The erratic smile returned to Finn's face as he puckered his lips and leaned in close to Peishan.
Smack!
Another fist landed on Finn's head, raising a large bump.
The two fell silent once more.
After a long while, Peishan suddenly spoke.
“The silver-scaled shuttle... when did you find it?”
“A month ago. It managed to escape several times back then.”
“The Moon-Lure Grass... when did you find it?”
“Three months ago. It wasn't ripe yet.”
“When did you start preparing this plan?”
“Ten years ago!”
Suddenly, Finn felt a soft wetness on his cheek. When he turned to look again, this woman, who had maintained the demeanor of a tough big sister from the moment she appeared, for the first time completely revealed the bashfulness of a young woman. With a blushing face, she said, “Shut up. Don't say a word.”
Finn shook his head with a wry smile and said nothing more, quietly strolling down the street with the person beside him.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a lovey-dovey young couple. I suggest you two just get a room.”
Xia De, who had been paying attention to their situation all along, muttered teasingly.
He had specifically set the immunity for her because he wanted to see if she would notice Finn's abnormality. Although he knew Peishan liked Finn, he wanted to know the weight of that affection.
Just as Finn said, he had always been watching Peishan, and he had seen every side of her.
So, Xia De also wanted to know if Peishan would always watch Finn.
This was a test of their feelings, and also an opportunity for Xia De to see if he could rekindle his own expectations for love.
He didn't believe in love, but he could try to believe in it.
“A bit contradictory.”
Xia De didn't know what he was thinking. He slapped his forehead and cast the thoughts to the back of his mind.
“It must be because my strength has increased, so I've started overthinking.”
After clearing his thoughts, Xia De walked toward the town chief and said, “Town Chief, there's something I want to tell you...”
...
The next morning, Xia De submitted the quest to Miss Coco and prepared to leave.
But Miss Coco stopped him.
“Xia De, a prominent figure has requested a commission specifically naming you.”
“Oh? A prominent figure? How big?”
Miss Coco thought for a moment, hesitated, and then pointed her finger at the ground beneath her feet. “As big as the entire Toka City.”
Rate on N.U.
