Chapter 9 Fish: Caught!
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I woke to the sound of wet, rhythmic slurping. My lower half felt warm and incredibly good.
Ah, is Charlotte sucking me off again? I felt a wave of cozy heat, and my hand naturally reached out for her. Then, the memories of yesterday rushed back, snapping me wide awake.
”Cha-Charlotte! Sorry about yesterday. I knew it would be a lot for you, but I… I think I went too hard…”
”Smack… It was certainly intense, but… it was so wonderful that I was just thinking I’d like you to do it like that again,” Charlotte said.
She peeped out from the gap in the sheets, looking at me with a mix of shyness and trepidation. As soon as she finished speaking, she ducked back under the covers.
”O-oh, I see. Well, that’s a relief. But why are you hiding?” I asked.
”No, it’s just… I’m so ashamed of the pathetic state I was in. I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you, and yet…”
”Wait, wait. Charlotte, you really need to realize just how much I love you. I only lost control because I’m so crazy about you, and you stayed with me until you literally fainted. There isn’t a single ‘pathetic’ thing about that,” I said firmly.
When I said that, she pouted her lips, grumbling, “But I still wanted to be the one looking after you…” and started giving my member a flurry of little pecking kisses. It was so ticklish it made my hips jump.
”Stop, that tickles!” I laughed.
”Ehehe,” she giggled, finally crawling out to cling to my chest.
I held her back and mused, “So, what should we do today?” Her expression immediately sharpened.
”That’s right! So much has happened I almost forgot… we have to get out of the country. I’m so sorry! I’m supposed to be supporting you, and here I am being useless,” she said, looking completely dejected.
”Hahaha, well, when you have a house this relaxing, I can’t blame you. Honestly, I just remembered it myself,” I replied.
They shared a laugh, but realizing they couldn’t just lounge around all day, they sat down for breakfast. They’d skipped dinner the night before, so they both ate a hearty meal.
With their stomachs full, they finally set off for the neighboring kingdom. To be honest, I really wanted a better way to travel, but since there wasn’t any fuel or power source, I had to get creative.
If only we could fly, I thought. Then, an idea hit me.
I could probably build a human-powered aircraft¹-the kind where you pedal to spin a propeller. I could even build a runway… or better yet, if I could just make something that glided stably, they could just launch off a high ridge.
Using those bat materials, I could make something incredibly light. Bones for the framework, membranes for the wings-the weight-to-strength ratio would be perfect. I was a bit iffy on the metal parts, but I had enough to manage some basic gears and a chain. I just hoped I had enough bat hide to cover it.
”Might as well try it. Sounds fun, anyway,” I muttered.
I chatted with Charlotte about making ‘something handy’ as we walked, using my skills to craft the components on the fly.
I recycled the bat wings I’d used for the carpets back at the house, trial-and-erroring my way through the design. I added some movable sails to help with steering and to act as airbrakes. Once it reached a point where it looked mostly right, I poured every ounce of Mana² into it.
For a human-powered bird, you’d better be high-performance! I prayed.
I felt a massive surge of resistance. That usually meant something was missing or the design was flawed. But based on my experience, if I could just force it through with Mana, the skill would auto-correct the mistakes. The more flaws there are, the more Mana it sucks up; if it’s a total failure, the Mana just bounces back. This time, it felt like it would give if I pushed, so I gave it everything.
I poured in so much Mana I was left gasping for air, but the adjustment seemed to take hold. It didn’t feel a hundred percent finished, though. Charlotte looked worried, so I stopped for a moment and we slowed our pace. Besides, there wasn’t a good drop-off point nearby yet.
As they strolled along, they came across a river.
”Ah, so this is where we are,” I said, spreading the map and pointing.
They hadn’t even covered a tenth of the distance to the border. The estimate Charlotte had given me was based on a horse-drawn carriage on the main roads; traveling cross-country was naturally going to be slower. Plus, neither of us exactly had athlete-level stamina.
”Will we be alright…?” Charlotte asked, her face clouded with anxiety.
”Heh, did you see me yesterday? Even if we take it slow, we’ll be fine. Leave the food, clothes, and roof over our heads to me!” I said.
”Master Ibuki, you’re too wonderful! Please, tell me if there’s anything I can do to help. If you don’t give me chores, I’m going to start sulking, okay?”
She was too cute.
”Alright then, let’s start by teaching you how to cook. I plan on eating your cooking for the rest of my life, so you’ve got a lot to learn, okay?” I asked with a playful, challenging look.
Her face lit up.
”Yes! I can’t wait!” she replied.
”Me neither. I’m looking forward to that future,” I said.
It really would be the best. Waking up to the sound of Charlotte in the kitchen, her turning to me with a smile and saying, “Honey, breakfast is ready!” Just imagining it made me feel like the luckiest guy alive.
After walking a bit longer, we started to flag. By the time our break was over, I felt like my Mana had recharged enough to put the finishing touches on the plane. But the thing just kept swallowing whatever I put into it.
Are you kidding me? There’s still no end in sight?
I started feeling that heavy lethargy again and had to stop.
”Is it difficult?” Charlotte asked, looking concerned.
”Hmm. I mean, it’s technically ‘done.’ I just get the feeling that if I pump more Mana into it, the final result will be way better,” I explained.
”But… is it really possible to fly like a bird without using magic?” she asked.
”Oh, definitely. In my world, people used technology to fly all the way to the moon,” I replied.
”Wait, you’re joking, right?” Charlotte looked up at the sky.
Since she knew about Summoning, she probably understood what stars were.
”You mean… way past the clouds? All the way out there?” she asked, looking totally bewildered.
”It’s true. I’m not an engineer, so I can’t build something like that to prove it, though,” I said with a wry smile.
She huffed. “I didn’t say I didn’t believe you! I was just asking if it was a joke!”
God, she was cute. I teased her a bit more as we had a light snack to wrap up our break. Just having her there turned this grueling escape into something that felt more like a vacation.
They started walking again and soon hit a fairly wide stretch of the river.
”Okay, if the mountain is over there, then we’re about… here?” I pointed to the map.
”It’s… surprisingly far, isn’t it? I’m so sorry, I must have given you the wrong directions,” she said, her anxiety returning.
”Look, I told you to leave it to me. As long as you weren’t trying to trick me, it doesn’t matter if the map is a bit off! If we make a mistake, we just learn from it and move on,” I said.
”Y-Yes…”
She looked at me with sparkling eyes and whispered, “Such a wonderful man…”
Well, if she was going to build me up like that, I’d better play the part.
Her praise gave me a second wind. As we walked toward the riverbank, I started using my **Stone Processing**³ skill.
I constructed a stone mesh across the river that was too fine for any decent-sized fish to pass through. I set it at an angle to funnel them toward the center, leading into a raised, detachable cage that acted like a one-way trap.
Then, I pulled some large boulders out of my inventory and started dropping them into the water with a series of massive splashes. The noise drove the fish downstream in a panic, and they began piling into the cage at an unbelievable rate.
They must have caught nearly a hundred. It was a wide river, but still… maybe I’d hit a migration point.
”Whoa… amazing… I don’t think even a professional fisherman could catch this many this fast!” Charlotte exclaimed.
”Yeah… honestly, that went better than I expected. Well, that’s our food shortage solved for the foreseeable future,” I replied.
I tried to shove the whole lot into my inventory⁴, but it didn’t seem to work while they were still alive. They had to spend some time dispatching them one by one. I made a mental note to check the time-dilation in the inventory later; if it didn’t stop spoilage, these fish wouldn’t last long.
After that, I built a stone bridge to get them to the other side. Since I didn’t want to leave a trail, I dismantled the trap and the bridge afterward, converting them back into raw stone materials. Being by the river meant I could restock my stone supply easily, so I wasn’t worried about running out of materials for my skills anymore.
However, between the airplane, the traps, and the bridge, my Mana was completely tapped out. I felt so sluggish I could barely lift my feet. I’d definitely overdone it.
”Sorry, Charlotte… I need to crash for a bit,” I muttered.
”Of course! Why don’t we call it a day? We have plenty of food, and with the river behind us and no bridge for them to use, we’re definitely safe for now,” she said.
”Yeah, you’re right. I was thinking the same thing. We’re pretty far off the beaten path by now,” I agreed.
Unless we had some crazy wide-range tracking magic, we were far enough out that we could probably live here for a while without being spotted. Looking at the map, there wasn’t a single man-made structure within a twenty-kilometer radius. We’d crossed a major natural barrier, too. I didn’t know how persistent the kingdom’s assassins were, but it would take them a while to scout this far out.
It had only been a day. We were probably just now realizing the first team of assassins wasn’t coming back. It would take them days to reorganize, gather supplies, and launch a real search party. That’s why I’d been able to sleep so soundly the night before.
Still, I wanted to put as much distance between us as possible. If the plane worked, we could make up for a week’s worth of walking in a few hours. There was no point in killing myself on foot if I didn’t have to. We found a nice clearing, and I summoned the house.
”Hehe, I still can’t get over the fact that this is what ‘roughing it’ looks like with you,” Charlotte said, making herself at home.
”Hmm, but if we’re actually going to live in this house, it’s still missing a few things. Some really basic, essential stuff,” I said.
”Eh? Like what?” she asked.
”Well, for starters… we don’t have a fire,” I replied.
”A fire…?” she asked.
I nodded. I’d originally left the town to gather materials in the forest, so I had a basic survival kit-flint and steel with some dry tinder. Primitive, but it worked.
It was fine for a campfire, but if we were going to be living indoors, I wanted something more sophisticated. I explained that I wanted a way to have fire readily available inside the house, and Charlotte nodded in agreement.
To be honest, I really wanted a hot bath, too…
”I wonder if I can use magic to start a fire…” I mused.
”Well, people who can actually use magic are quite rare to begin with…” Charlotte replied.
As the conversation continued, I realized that even being able to use magic just to start a fire made someone a rarity to the common folk. Apparently, professions are usually inherited from one’s parents. Since any commoner born with a magic-oriented class is quickly scouted by noble houses, they vanish from the general population even faster-at least, that was how Charlotte explained it.
There were supposedly a few commoners who could use attack magic, but they were so rare you could count them on one hand. While some non-combat classes could handle basic fire-starting, Charlotte mentioned she had never heard of a Production Class⁵ being able to do it.
”You know, Charlotte,” I said, “in my world, we could start fires like magic without actually having any. As long as I have the materials, I can make those tools myself.”
It was true. If I could trap gas and spark it while releasing a small amount, I’d have a lighter. If I soaked a wick in alcohol and lit it, I’d have a Zippo. I didn’t know where to find gas yet, so I couldn’t make one now, but that wasn’t the only way to get a flame. Electrical heat, friction, concentrated light-as long as you can get a combustible material hot enough to hit its autoignition point, it’ll catch. To keep it simple, I could just make something that sparks highly flammable tinder, similar to what Charlotte was doing.
I was about to activate my skill when she caught my hand.
”Ibuki-sama, why did we decide to take a rest in the first place?” she asked, giving me a flat, weary look.
”Well, fire is useful for a lot of things, isn’t it?”
”It’s not as if I’m incapable, so please, rely on me!” she insisted.
”Right, sorry. In that case, Charlotte, I’d love some salt-grilled fish.”
I used my Processing⁶ skill on some wood in the kitchen to turn it into kindling, then brought out the fish and salt. The place was already stocked with utensils. Since I knew there wasn’t a gas stove, I’d already built a box-style charcoal grill-the kind used for barbecues-complete with a duct to vent the smoke. I figured as long as we had a flame, this would work.
”Hehe, of course. I’ll get right on that for you,” she said with a bright smile.
She looked like a professional as she piled the wood scraps, struck the flint, and expertly blew the spark into a flame in seconds. She moved the fire to the larger branches and roasted the wood. Once the fire was steady, she deftly rubbed in the salt, skewered the fish, and lined them up on the grill.
I watched her with a grin until she told me to go rest, so I behaved and waited at the table. We had the fish she grilled along with some bread I’d stocked up on for an early dinner.
”The salt is perfect! The fish is actually delicious. It’s just a little strange having only bread as a side…”
”True,” she giggled. “Even in the city, this would be a high-class meal. But when the food is this good, you can’t help but wish the pairing was a little better.”
After dinner, the dishes were washed and we took a breather, but I found myself restless. Our official goal was Mana Recovery⁷, and we could have started things up like yesterday, but since we’d agreed to rest, there was an awkward “now what?” vibe between us. I decided to sit down with Charlotte and have her tell me more about this world.
”General common sense” isn’t something you learn overnight. I had my reservations about the “common sense” of a country like that one, but it was still a part of this world. I figured knowing how a nation functioned was worth the effort, so I listened to her story, including her own upbringing.
Because her mother had been a slave, Charlotte had been born into that status. She worked as a servant for her mother’s master until she was twelve, then was bought by a mistress and worked as a menial laborer. When the state called for a slave to be provided, the mistress’s employer stepped up, and Charlotte was the one selected. She mentioned that because she was owned by a woman, she actually had a decent life compared to others.
Because men generally hold the power here, many treat women as mere property. Not everyone is like that, but apparently, it’s normal for a woman and a slave to lead a miserable existence.
As I listened, several stories left me with a lingering sense of disgust. The parts about them being used as “hospitality” for men were particularly foul. Since that was the environment she was born into, it was simply the custom here. She said that because she served a mistress, that kind of “service” happened less than elsewhere-only when the guest was high-ranking and it was unavoidable-but it still made my blood boil.
I did my best to hide it, knowing my anger would only make things harder for Charlotte.
Apparently, this world has a massive female majority. The birth rate is roughly seven girls for every three boys. Combined with the fact that only men go to war and men are executed more frequently for crimes, the gap widens even further. Women labeled as criminals are seen as having too much “utility” to kill, so they usually just end up in slavery.
Right now, a power struggle among the men has broken out, and it sounds like they’re actually trying to reduce the male population. Since this is a world where levels can supplement physical strength, women-who can also serve as a labor force-are seen as more useful.
”I’ve heard the gender ratio is even more lopsided in areas with strong monsters. Since society can function with fewer gentlemen, they have frequent forced conscriptions for men, and the death toll is high.”
The men who survive become desperate, as they can monopolize wealth, honor, and women. In what was essentially a war of attrition, men who didn’t fight were treated like trash. Legal punishments for men were carried out swiftly, often resulting in decapitation. Between the wars and the monster hunts, men were dropping like flies.
”And the population stays stable?” I asked.
”Yes. It’s said that men have a duty to father as many children as their means allow. Many men do nothing and just take the earnings, and I hear many women suffer because of it, but the men who fight to protect the country hold such a superior position that nothing can be changed…”
I wondered if she had known someone like that. Her expression was pained as she continued.
”If a man doesn’t take at least three wives, he’s looked down on as a man of no account. That’s how it is in other countries too, so please keep that in mind, Ibuki-sama.”
”Well, it doesn’t matter if we’re living away from people, but if I’m going to do business in the city, being labeled a deadbeat might be a problem…”
At that, Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. “Yes. Fathering children is a man’s obligation, you know.”
My eyes nearly widened in shock. Seeing my reaction, Charlotte looked down.
”Is it… am I not enough?” she whispered.
”No, it isn’t that. Staying with you isn’t a ‘duty,’ it’s what I want. Wait, that’s not what I mean. Even if you tell me I should be with other girls, I’m perfectly fine with just you, Charlotte. To be honest, I can’t stand the idea of the reverse being true, so I’m not thrilled about it. And if I catch feelings, I won’t be able to just walk away later.”
I had a bitter look on my face, but Charlotte lunged at me with a huge smile and hugged me. She was happy. To her, polygamy was just the way of the world. She was simply, honestly joyful that she was part of my life.
I guess “when in Rome.” If a partner appears who is good for both me and Charlotte, I won’t be stubborn about it.
But I wondered just how extreme the ratio was. I asked her as she clung to my chest, smiling.
”Umm, I heard that by age twenty, there is only about one man for every ten women. They say if a commoner can survive that long, they’ll usually live a long life.”
Good grief. So two out of three men are dead by that age? I didn’t know what the disease rates were like, but that would hit both genders. If the ratio is that skewed, the math is horrifying. Noblemen are probably protected, so for commoners, is it even worse? Either way, those odds are insane. One in three is bad enough, but two? And that’s by the time they’re twenty… it’s terrifying.
My face twitched.
But it made sense. Everyone at the Guild was female, and almost every shopkeeper was a woman. Even the street stalls were mostly run by older women. Now that I thought about it, the vast majority of men I’d seen in this world were soldiers.
Granted, I’d only walked through the city a few times to shop. I was always at the inn with Charlotte unless I was stocking up.
”Wait a second. If men are supposed to marry three women, does that mean every family is packed with kids?”
”No, having three wives is just the recommendation. For slaves, there’s no responsibility involved. Nobles also father children with commoner women as they please… I don’t think it’s common for one woman to have a huge number of children.”
I see. So it was basically state-sanctioned assault. Terrifying.
I thought that, but it seemed many of the women actually wanted to have children, so they didn’t view it with the same horror I did. With those numbers, many women are bound to be left out if they aren’t conventionally beautiful. Those women are celebrated and envied when they manage to conceive. They still recognize that being forced by a stranger is unpleasant, but the fact that it’s dismissed so easily made me realize this world is incredibly casual when it comes to s*x.
As I lay there holding Charlotte and listening to her explain the rules of this world, I was completely overwhelmed by the culture shock.
—
Summary:
Ibuki and Charlotte wake up and continue their journey to the neighboring kingdom. Ibuki experiments with creating a human-powered airplane using bat materials and his Crafter skills, depleting his Mana. They reach a river, catch a massive amount of fish using a stone trap, and cross safely, realizing they need to solve domestic issues like fire within their magical house.
While resting at an inn, Ibuki learns the grim reality of the world’s gender imbalance and social hierarchy from Charlotte. He discovers a society where men are a dwindling minority due to war and harsh laws, leading to normalized polygamy and the mistreatment of women. The chapter ends with Ibuki grappling with the stark cultural differences and the casual nature of s*xual ethics in this new world.
—
Trivia:
- Ibuki is using recycled materials (bat wings) from his own summoned house for the plane.
- Mana consumption increases if the crafting design is flawed as the skill ‘auto-corrects’.
- Living creatures cannot be stored in the Inventory; they must be killed first.
- The assassins are expected to take several days to reorganize before continuing the search.
- Ibuki’s house lacks internal fire and hot water systems despite being modern in appearance.
- Magic aptitude is tied to lineage and status; commoner mages are rare and often taken by nobles.
- The male-to-female birth rate is 3:7, but survival to age 20 drops the ratio to 1:10.
- A man’s worth (kaishou) is judged by his ability to maintain at least three wives.
- Women who are criminals are enslaved rather than executed because they are considered useful labor.
- Polygamy isn’t just a choice but a societal ‘duty’ to maintain the population
—
Character Insight:
Ibuki is moving from survival mode to domestic planning, prioritizing Charlotte’s happiness and skills (cooking). Charlotte is struggling with feelings of inadequacy but finds purpose in serving Ibuki.
Ibuki shows a strong moral compass from his original world, feeling visceral disgust at the exploitation of women. However, he is beginning to accept that he must adapt (‘when in Rome’) while trying to maintain his own integrity. Charlotte reveals her traumatic past as a second-generation slave but shows resilience and genuine affection for Ibuki, finding safety in his unconventional monogamous-leaning attitude.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The title is a direct homage to the Japanese Pokémon catchphrase ‘Getto daze!’ used by Ash Ketchum (Satoshi).
The author uses this chapter to ground the ‘harem’ tropes often found in the genre with a dark, socio-economic explanation involving attrition and demographic collapse.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Charlotte – Short, skinny late-teen slave girl with messy brown hair, feline eyes, and a slender, silky-smooth body—ex-Level 8 farmer turned Level 10, bound to Ibuki. Wears rags with his bat-wing hairband; fiercely loyal, calls herself his wife, fights and guards him devotedly. Key moments: gifted to the state as a servant from age 12, now his clingy companion on dungeon runs, aircraft travels, mana-infusing adventures—blushy, protective, tears up with gratitude.
• Ibuki – Broke high‑schooler from Earth who got tossed into another world with the “Crafter” class he first thought was useless—turns out it’s totally busted. Black‑haired, germaphobic, and low‑key bitter but sharp as hell. Uses Synthesis, Processing, and Inventory skills to survive, craft gear, and haul loot while exploring. Currently a Level 10 otherworlder, wielding a stone axe, traveling the frontier forest with Charlotte, and just trying to stay alive long enough to find a bit of peace.
• Sato – Female upperclassman summoned as the Sage—a Japanese woman grounded and cautious alongside the protagonist. Highly emotional, prone to sobbing while comforting the Saint, she hides fear but seeks mutual support. Exhibits jito-eye (scornful half-closed stare) when annoyed.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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