Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V4 Chapter 66: "He’s Kind of a Big Deal, Isn’t He?" ②

Chapter 66: “He’s Kind of a Big Deal, Isn’t He?” ②

Posei-san was a beloved figure at Mukaijima Port.

Sure, his behavior was a little eccentric, but he was genuinely kind and approachable.

If a family came to fish and couldn’t find a spot, he’d be the first to notice and gladly offer his own.

If a kid looked sad because they couldn’t catch anything, he’d take a fish straight out of his cooler and give it to them—no hesitation.

It was small acts of kindness like these that had steadily made Posei-san more and more popular.

—And his true identity?

Posei-san was the owner of a small, quietly run fishing tackle shop in Mukaijima City.

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“Whoa, whoa… seriously? Aah, well, maybe I’m just imagining things. Whatever! Let’s fish!”

“…Are we really just gonna let this slide?”

Kazuto looked thoroughly confused, but Natsuki just patted him on the shoulder.

“Posei-san being a god or not—it doesn’t matter. That kind of thing won’t change the bond we’ve had with him since we were little.”

“Natsuki-kun…”

“And more importantly—I just had a full-on brawl with Thor, the god of thunder, yesterday.

I’m done with gods for now! No way I’d survive against Poseidon, the god of the sea!”

“You kinda had me getting emotional there for a second, and now I want my feelings back!”

After that little exchange, Natsuki and Kazuto finally started getting their fishing gear ready.

Once everything was set up, they filled a bucket with seawater.

Then, they began mixing bait—lightly thawing out some chum and combining it with black sea bream bait they had bought from the tackle shop earlier.

“…Alright. First up, float fishing. Time to show off a technique I never got to use in the other world!”

“So you really never used it?”

“Of course not! I didn’t wanna eat any of those freaky otherworld fish! You’d have deep-sea monsters swimming around in rivers over there!”

“Okay wow, other worlds sound terrifying.”

With a quick dose of isekai banter out of the way, they scattered the chum properly and got everything ready.

“Let’s make this a battle for lunch, Kazuto!”

“I’m in! What’s the win condition—biggest fish or most fish?”

“I’ll let you choose.”

“Ooh! The isekai hero’s got confidence! Alright, then—biggest one wins!”

And so, the fishing showdown began.

Drawing on his experience in otherworldly battles, Natsuki slowed his breathing.

He stilled his presence.

He kept even his heartbeat to a minimum.

He poured every ounce of focus into catching a fish.

“—Alright! I’ve got a bite!”

“…What?”

But just as Natsuki entered full combat mode, it was Kazuto’s rod that suddenly bent with a strong pull.

“Whoa, that’s a solid bite!”

What came up from the sea was a rockfish about 20 centimeters long.

That’s a pretty good catch for a daytime harbor session.

Perfect size for a tasty simmered dish.

“Sorry about this—looks like I’m on fire today.”

Kazuto carefully unhooked the rockfish and dropped it into his cooler box, flashing Natsuki a smug grin.

(Nghhh… Right. I forgot Kazuto gets super competitive when it comes to fishing.)

But Natsuki wasn’t just anyone—he was a hero from another world.

He couldn’t afford to lose here.

“My real fishing starts now!”

—Three hours later.

“Whew! What a haul!”

Inside Kazuto’s cooler were seven rockfish and two black sea bream, each nearly 40 centimeters long.

Meanwhile, Natsuki’s cooler… was completely empty.

“Man, I’m starving. I think I’ll go with extra toppings on a large beef bowl for lunch.”

“…It would be my honor to pay.”

“Good. I accept your tribute!”

Crushed in both size and quantity, Natsuki dropped to his knees on the seawall and let tears roll down his cheeks.

It was the first loss he’d suffered since returning from the other world.

“That was a fine fishing duel, Nacchan, Kazuchan! Boom!”

“Ah, Posei-san! Hello!”

“Hey there!”

“Mm. Hello to you both. Kazuchan, the sea still loves you, I see.”

“Ahaha, you’re making me blush.”

“…You know, I’m supposed to be the Hero of the Sea.”

“Nacchan, you’re doing a great job at hiding your presence—but you’re totally overdoing it. Relax. Be natural. When you try too hard to erase your presence, it actually feels unnatural to nature itself. Boom!”

“…I see. So I was wrong from the start. It’s a total defeat!”

There had been no need to overthink it.

If he’d just gone with the flow, stayed relaxed, maybe the fish would have naturally come to him.

“Also! I am the sea god Poseidon! Boom! Boom! Poseidoooon!”

“Why are you randomly announcing that now!?”

With absolutely no buildup, Posei-san—no, Poseidon—just dropped the truth out of nowhere, and Natsuki couldn’t help but shout in shock.

“…Mukaijima City has way too many big names. It’s kinda scary.”

Kazuto’s comment… hit way too close to home.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

There’s still one more god coming in this fishing arc!

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