Hokuou Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi

Stories of the Four Seasons

By the time spring had nearly passed, the snow had mostly melted and the ground was covered with a soft green carpet.

From the signs of summer visiting soon, the villagers also vibrated with joy.

Unlike the dark winter, spring soothed people’s hearts.

Today, we went out fishing.

The lake we did ice fishing sometime ago now also only had bits of ice floating around.

Once the snow melts, the method of transport becomes either walking or hiring horses from a merchant.

The distance to the lake was not too far, so I pulled along a small sleigh for placing luggage with a pulley, going out also for a stroll with the dogs.

Since we were going out fishing after a long time, my head was filled with fish.

If we’re talking about spring fish, then there’s northern pike. It’s a freshwater fish with a cylindrical mouth with spots on its body.

“Pikes are nice in this season~ Would be nice if we could catch some.”

“Right. I miss fish sometimes.”

……How nice, fish is getting yearned for by Sieg.

While thinking such a trivial thing, I proceeded through the lush forest.

About an hour later, we arrived at the lake closest to the village.

“This place is different from the place we visited last time.”

“When it’s spring, everyone visits this lake.”

Here the amount of sunshine is high so it’s not fit for ice fishing.

“Ah, indeed, this place does not have any snow.”

“Right. Only this place has full spring scenery.”

Since we were going to fish, I undid the leashes on the dogs for them to go out and play. They would come back once the whistle is blown, so there was no need to worry.

The lake became quiet now that the dogs were gone. I stared at the lake with Sieg.

“Pretty.”

“Really?”

A clear blue sky with white clouds, along with young leaves were being reflected beautifully on the lake surface.

However, it was a scenery I was used to from a young age so I did not become absentminded from this.

If I stared at Sieg’s profile now, I would get glared at with her raptor-like eyes so I took care to not get found out and took a few steps back.

As to what I was doing, I was going to enjoy Sieglinde’s appearance from behind.

——Nn. Good. Wonderful.

For the traditional clothing to be worn in early spring, I commissioned one in a more feminine design.

The one I made before was more boyish, so I passionately pushed for a skirt like those of the village women that would create a beautiful line from the waist to the hip.

The clothing fits a little tighter than the previous one, so it also contained slits for easier movement. If Sieg crouches, it reveals her thighs.

Still, she has trousers on underneath so I can’t see her bare skin, but it still makes me happy.

I imagined about hugging her by the waist and enjoying the beautiful scenery together, but I saw her roundhouse kick before so I did not rashly do it.

“What is it?”

“Eh!? No, I just thought that the scenery is beautiful!”

“?”

I can’t tell her.

For me to be ogling her waist and hip with perverted eyes.

“Now, now! Let’s go fish——Ahh!”

When I took a few steps back, I tripped on a rock.

I got my just deserts.

◇◇◇

“The bait we’ll be using is, this!”

We’ll be fishing with a fake bait carved from reindeer antler, made in the shape of a small fish.

“Hehh, so this works as well.”

I adequately taught Sieg how to use it and then went to prepare fishing for pikes.

“Pikes are also called ‘the aggresive fish’.”

“What a strong sounding name.”

Though it doesn’t compare to Sieg’s ‘Crimson Eagle’.

Without saying what I thought of in my head, I continued to explain about the pike.

“The teeth are like needles, so it’s very sharp. It can even chew through the fishing lines.”

It hurts quite a bit if it bites. So one has to be careful when catching them.

“Maybe I should make Sieg fish for smaller fish after all.”

I handed her small baits shaped after insects.

Since it would be bad if she gets injured from fishing pikes, I made her fish for smaller fish.

After I explained, we started fishing.

The fake bait is attached to the line then thrown into the lake. Afterwards, the poles is controlled so that it looks like a fish is swimming. All that is left is to wait for fish to bite.

Sieg caught the first fish.

“Ah, a trout.”

When Sieg pulled her pole hard, the fish was flipped out of the water.

After pulling the fish closer, it was caught using a net.

“Great skills.”

“I seem to be in good condition today.”

After that, Sieg caught two more fish.

Soon, it was already time for lunch, even though I could not catch a thing.

“Now then, why don’t we have some food.”

I picked up branches from the area and lit a fire.

I sharpened some branches with a knife and skewered some sausages that I brought from home.

After making about four, I asked Sieg to watch them.

While the sausages were being roasted, I looked over the trout Sieg caught.

“Are you going to roast that as well?”

“No, this is eaten raw.”

The three fish have salt applied to them to remove the smell, and then washed with water that I brought from home.

After that, it’s seasoned with salt and pepper, as well as vinegar and herbs. It’s then left for a while.

After washing my hands in the lake, I took out bread from a bag.

“That, what is it?”

“Hapankorppu~”

Sieg opened her eyes wide at the flat and wide bread. It seemed like it was the first time she saw it.

Hapankorppu is a dry bread that is convenient for going on trips because the volume is not large.

I split the bread into a bite size, then I added thinly sliced cheese and the fish that was just being cooked.

“The sausages seem to be ready as well.”

“Then, let’s eat!”

First, I had a bite of a sausage that Sieg cooked.

With a crisp crunching sound the sausage exploded inside the mouth.

The merchant did say that the spices are strong that there was no need to season it, and indeed the meat juice flowed out plenty. The perfect savoury flavour was unbearable. It felt like it would go well with alcohol.

Maybe we should have had this in the house.

Next, I tried the bread with the fish.

“This is interesting.”

Sieg ate saying that it was interesting.

The bread that is harder than biscuit has bits of crushed berries.

The texture is interesting and the flavour of the berries are good as well.

The fresh fish tasted good as well.

After lunch, we resumed fishing.

An hour later. f𝚛e𝚎𝘄𝒆𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝑒𝚕.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“Haa~~……”

We could not catch a single one, so I lied down on the grass.

I breathed in the nice smell of the grass to soothe myself.

“Sieg, shall we return?”

“No, just a bit more.”

Sieg had already caught about ten fish.

She usually says that we should return quickly when we’re on hunts, but strangely she sticks around longer for fishing.

“Ritz!”

“Hmm? Sieg, did you catch something else?”

“No, Ritz, your pole!”

“Eh?”

When I sat up, the end of the pole was swaying faintly.

When I grabbed the pole, it bent greatly.

“U-Uwa!”

When I pulled in panic, I felt a sure reaction.

“Heavy!”

If I pull too hard, the line will snap. I have to be careful with this.

After playing tug-of-war with the fish for some time, I felt it getting weaker.

When I took the opportunity and pulled hard, I could see a black shadow struggling in the water.

Sieg brought out a stick with a net to catch it.

“Sieg, be careful of the teeth!”

“Alright.”

The caught fish had about the same length as my shin.

It was surprisingly big, that Sieg and I stared in awe.

“To catch such a large fish with a rod I didn’t put much effort into making……”

No one can know what will happen in life.

◇◇◇

Tired from playing, the dogs came back on their own even though I didn’t call them.

With the sunset as a backdrop, we returned home.

We split the caught pike in two to share with Teoporon’s house.

The herb roast made using half the fish was tasty, as expected of a seasonal fish. The fat was great as well.

For dinner, we savoured a meal that we could only taste in spring.