Early TNG Vol. 23 Chapter 2 Part 1

Full title: THE NEW GATE

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

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Chapter 2 - The Lucky Rabbit

The next day, after Druk notified him that Retoneka had awakened without issue, Shin threw himself into the restoration work at full throttle, and once again finished his assigned tasks before noon.

He murmured to himself, a little awed.

“Ordinarily this would take months, and yet it wraps up so easily. I feel my strength most in times like these, more than when I’m fighting monsters.”

The relevant department members sorted parts and documents unearthed from the rubble. Shin didn’t force his help there; his presence would only get in the way.

His team’s role was mainly heavy labor like clearing debris. With several members capable of doing the work of multiple heavy machines alone, it was second nature to them.

But as restoration progressed, there was less they could assist with.

The Black Faction also felt awkward about asking benefactors to keep helping, so they didn’t lean on Shin’s group. They cooperated only within a reasonable scope for both sides.

“Work’s done.”

“Yeah. Let’s grab lunch first, then decide what to do this afternoon.”

With Yuzuha perched on his shoulder, Shin headed to the dining hall for a leisurely meal. It was exactly lunchtime.

Since today’s worksite was near the smithing division, they used the cafeteria attached to the lodging wing.

Inside, he spotted Retoneka at a table near the wall.

He’d heard she’d woken up, but expected her to be resting in her room; he decided to check in.

“Hey—feeling all right? If anything feels off, tell me. I’ve got medicine that fully cures status ailments.”

“No, physically I’ve been fine from the start, so there’s no need to go that far!”

Sensing that Shin’s “potion” was no ordinary brew, Retoneka shook her head flustered.

“If you say so. With mental effects, you never know about aftereffects. If you notice anything strange, speak up immediately. If it eases your mind, think of it as sharing data on post–mental skill effects—knowledge that helps us, too.”

“In that case… understood. But I don’t really feel any change mentally. My head does feel a little clearer, though.”

She said it was like the clarity after sleeping soundly following an all-nighter.

In truth, she had slept through the night until she woke, but she normally slept well anyway; the clarity was likely due to the lifting of the mind control.

“Well, no symptoms is best. Are you jumping back into work right away?”

“No. My masters told me to take two or three days to observe. I think I’m fine, but if our positions were reversed, I wouldn’t let someone return to work either, so I’ll behave and rest.”

She added that she planned to deliberately revisit the memories of the attack.

“Is that wise? Druk and the others will worry.”

“I know, but… when a sudden break drops into your lap, what do you even do? Everyone’s busy with restoration, so it’s hard to go out.”

Feeling guilty about resting while others labored, Retoneka faltered. As a result, Shin decided to act on an idea he’d been mulling over.

“Truth is, we were told to take it easy a bit longer, too. Since we’re at it, want to come along?”

“Are you going far?”

“Under the guise of perimeter patrol, we were talking about taking it easy and doing some fishing. It feels wrong to lounge around while everyone works, so we figured we’d head somewhere with no one around.”

With Armaiz nearby, there was no need to be overly nervous about monsters.

If anything truly dangerous appeared, they would subjugate it; they would stay close enough to keep contact with the island and could return at any time.

For Shin, it was simply a change of pace.

Fishing required no chatter, and the rocking waves would help sort out one’s thoughts.

And, if Retoneka experienced any aftereffects from the mind control, Shin’s group could respond immediately.

They planned the trip starting this afternoon until tomorrow evening, pending Druk’s approval, which he was unlikely to refuse.

“Then, if it’s no trouble, I’d like to join you.”

“Good, that’s settled. I’ll ping the others; give me a minute.”

Though they’d discussed it before, no date had been set.

Shin opened a 【Mind Chat】 to the team, apologized for the short notice, and explained Retoneka’s situation and the short break.

“(I have no issues. I’ll accompany you.)”

“(I’m good to go.)”

“(Kagerou and I will join.)”

“(I’ve got a prior commitment tomorrow—next time.)”

“(I shall abstain this time.)”

“(Mm, I’ve got things I want to do, so I’ll pass.)”

The roll call showed Schnee, Milt, and Tiera with her partner Kagerou would participate; Filma, Shibaid, and Sety would sit this one out.

As for Yuzuha, she silently coiled her tail around Shin’s arm; staking her claim without needing to be asked.

“I’ve cleared it with everyone. I’ll touch base with Druk, then send out the meet-up time and place. We’ll sleep on the boat, so pack for a night out.”

“Understood.”

After finishing their meal, Shin parted from Retoneka for the moment and contacted Druk. Finding him nearby, Shin spoke to him directly, and Druk bowed his head in thanks.

Druk had been looking for some way to do something for Retoneka, but his position meant he couldn’t dote on just one subordinate, and he’d been at a loss—same for the other division heads. With restoration to command, no one had free hands.

With permission secured, Shin messaged the participants. No one had been specially asked to remain on duty, so they agreed to rendezvous in two hours at the pier they had used when touring the ore vein.

Shin messaged Retoneka as well, then decided to head to the pier ahead of the others.

“Since we’re at it, let’s make the ship a little more comfortable.”

Once at the pier, Shin left the magic ship they had used in combat untouched and prepared another one.

He expanded the hull to be a size larger, set private cabins for each crewmember, and upgraded the interior with a bath and kitchen of higher quality.

“For combat, I’ll keep the exterior defense settings high and focus on detection.”

Rather than mounting weapons, it was far faster and more effective for Shin’s group to intercept enemies themselves, so he prioritized early detection, especially outfitting the ship with enhanced sonar-like equipment for undersea surveillance.

“That should do it.”

He manifested the configured vessel.

Its size was closer to a small passenger liner now. If anyone from the Marine Division saw it, they’d come running without a doubt.

“Kuuu~”

Excited by the ship’s size, Yuzuha flicked her tail against Shin’s back. Preparations were complete.

With time left before the rendezvous, Shin boarded the ship to check the interior.

“Everything’s laid out just like the schematics. Same as the game, after all.”

He hadn’t used many magic ships in this world, but their functions and settings matched those of the game.

He’d often built combat vessels back then, so this wasn’t strange to him, but he had almost no experience with ones built for leisure. Curious whether there’d be any differences, he checked carefully, but it seemed there weren’t.

“All that’s left is for everyone to arrive. Maybe I’ll prep some fishing rods.”

Whether they fished or not would be up to them. Shin had a few rods in his Item Box, but since this was an outing, he decided to craft fresh ones.

After a while, the party members gathered. Once everyone was present, they set out.

At the helm, Shin steered, while Retoneka muttered in awe beside him.

“This is amazing… it feels like a house that moves.”

(Considering the interior décor, she’s not wrong.)

Aside from its functions as a ship, the interior was nearly indistinguishable from a home. For someone like Retoneka, who had never seen one, her impression was understandable.

Once away from the island, the ship’s detection system began picking up small monsters and schools of fish.

Enough time had passed since Nuva’s disappearance that mid-sized monsters could have returned, but no such signs appeared. This sea wasn’t usually swimming with large monsters, but the aftereffects of Nuva still lingered.

They sailed until the island was no longer visible and dropped anchor.

It was still a bit early before dusk.

Milt, Tiera, Yuzuha, and Kagerou spent time on deck, while Schnee busied herself in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Only Shin and Retoneka remained on the bridge where the pilot house was located.

“Want to step out onto the deck for a bit?”

“Yes.”

On deck, they saw Tiera peering into the sea. Yuzuha and Kagerou were basking in the sunlight together.

“Huh? Where’s Milt?” Shin asked.

Tiera indicated the water with her eyes.

“She said since the ship stopped, she’d go for a swim, and dove right in.”

“Now that you mention it, I can sense her presence below.”

The ship’s deck stood fairly high above the sea, so one had to focus to notice Milt’s presence beneath them. From the deck, however, no trace of her was visible on the surface.

“Is that safe? It’s not easy to climb back up here.”

“Ah, if it’s her—”

Before Shin could explain to the worried Retoneka, a great splash erupted, and a figure vaulted onto the deck.

“Heh heh heh, caught one!”

Milt brandished her personal spear overhead.

On its tip twitched a fish as large as Milt herself, skewered through a vital point.

“Milt has a contract with a water spirit, so she’s fine. It helps her move through the water.”

“I-I see…”

Retoneka stared, dazed, her expression different from when she had been in the pilot house.

Whether shocked at Milt’s leap from the sea or at the size of her catch—or both—was unclear.

“…It’s big.”

The words she murmured quietly could have referred to the fish, or perhaps to something else pressed taut beneath Milt’s swimsuit. Shin pretended not to hear.

“Hey, Shin! How’s this for a haul? A lord tuna this size—you don’t see it every day!”

Soaked in seawater, Milt strode over proudly, showing off the fish still impaled on her spear.

“What!? Now that I look closely, it really is a Great Tuna. You actually caught that free diving?”

In THE NEW GATE, many creatures replicated—or mimicked—real-world animals and existed across the land as edible resources.

The Great Tuna Milt had speared was one such example, modeled after the real-world tuna.

Due to resource limitations, however, these creatures were classified only in broad categories. Since monsters were always the main focus, foodstuffs often contained details that felt “off” to specialists.

The “Great” designation marked it as a premium-quality tuna, prized for yielding higher cooking scores. It was one of the rarer delicacies among marine ingredients.

“Ordinarily I’d say it was easy prey for me—but honestly, I just cloaked my presence, waited, and it happened to swim right past. No way I could’ve chased it down free diving.”

Though they replicated real animals, many of these resources were clearly boosted to match the heightened abilities of players.

The great tuna was exactly that; its underwater mobility was so absurdly high that even Shin would have struggled to catch up.

“Usually you’re lucky if you hook one. I was planning to go after some myself, but you beat me to it.”

“Since we’ve got the chance, why don’t we see who can land the most before dinner? Loser has to do one thing the winner says, within reason, of course.”

“No unreasonable demands, huh? Then sure.”

Shin accepted Milt’s challenge, trusting she wouldn’t push anything outrageous.

The friendly wager also stirred a bit of nostalgia; he’d done similar things back in the game.

“Tiera, Retoneka, how about you two? I’ve prepared rods for everyone. If you don’t know how, I’ll teach you.”

“Well, since the opportunity’s here, maybe I’ll give it a try. But no betting.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not the type to bully beginners. Though, funny thing—sometimes the newbies catch more than the veterans.”

Tiera wasn’t keen on competing, but that was the charm of fishing; you never knew.

Retoneka also agreed to join in, so Shin and Milt gave them a quick lesson before the contest.

“Did you make this yourself, Shin?”

“Yeah. It’s mostly wood, so it’s a little different from smithing, though.”

As he demonstrated how to bait the hook, Shin flexed the rod.

Crafted from special wood soaked in alchemic solution, the rod boasted both strength and flexibility—enough to deflect a blade without snapping. Paired with spider-type monster silk, it was strong enough to land monstrous fish dozens of times larger than a person, like something straight out of a comic.

“Sure, weapons and armor are fine, but making things like this is fun too. By the way, Retoneka, was smithing the only craft you focused on?”

While teaching, Shin asked the question that had been on his mind.

“No, I did help other departments sometimes. But back then, I was so fixated on weapons that I wasn’t very useful.”

“I get it. When you don’t have much breathing room, your vision narrows.”

Shin knew the feeling—he’d once been consumed by vengeance himself.

“You too, Shin?”

“Even with power, things don’t always work out. I won’t say I truly understand your feelings. But I’m not unaware either. …All right, once you drop the line in the water, the rest is just waiting.”

These rods didn’t have reels, so all they could do was jig them up and down a little.

Shin was no fishing expert anyway; he wasn’t aiming to take it seriously, just to relax.

“Well, guess I’ll start too. Milt, Tiera, ready?”

Milt gave a firm thumbs-up.

“About an hour, right?”

“Yeah. I saw plenty of fish down there, so that should be enough.”

Once Retoneka and Tiera learned the basics, Shin and Milt began their competition.

With 【Clairvoyance】, Shin could see schools of fish moving below, even some species he’d never seen in real life, but that was just part of the world.

“Oh, got one!”

Shin felt a tug and hauled up a fish about fifty cemels long, similar to a jack.

“First blood goes to Shin, huh? Well, here we go—ah, hooked one!”

Milt’s rod bent under the weight of something larger. She pulled up a fish resembling a sea bream, about seventy cemels long.

Soon after, Tiera and Retoneka both caught their first.

“Uh—wait, this means I caught one, right!?”

“Ah, me too!”

Whether it was the bait or just good waters, everyone landed fish quickly.

Not quite a feeding frenzy, but no one went empty-handed, and time passed quickly.

“My, that’s quite a haul.”

Schnee emerged from the galley, smiling at the fish swimming in the large bucket Shin had conjured as a makeshift livewell.

“Caught more than I expected. Should we use them as ingredients? Otherwise, we can release them.”

“Fishing’s true joy is eating your catch, they say. Since it’s a rare chance, let’s make them tomorrow’s breakfast.”

“Leave it to you, ma’am!”

Shin and Milt snapped mock salutes in unison.

“…You two are too in sync,” Tiera muttered in exasperation.

Both averted their eyes sheepishly.

“I can gut them, but when it comes to cooking, I can only manage grilling.”

“I learned how to field-dress monsters, but not fish.”

“In that case, how about I teach you both how to fillet and prepare some simple dishes?”

Schnee’s offer made Shin nod immediately.

“Filleting and eating what you caught yourself, that’s part of the fun. But since you already prepared dinner, how about tomorrow at lunch instead?”

After all the time she’d spent prepping, it would be rude to change the menu now.

Since this trip was for relaxation, a little delay was fine.

“Then let’s do that. What about everyone else?”

“Oh, I’d like to learn.”

“Me too.”

Milt and Retoneka raised their hands.

Tiera said nothing; she had already learned directly from Schnee at the Moon Shrine, and was the second-best cook in the party after her.

“By the way, that makes me the winner of our match.”

“Damn, just one more catch and it would have been a draw.”

Milt had three fish to Shin’s two. Ironically, the ones who hadn’t even joined the contest—Tiera and Retoneka—had each hauled up five.

“A fishing contest?”

“Yeah. The deal was that the winner could make the loser do one thing, within reason, of course.”

“I see. To make someone obey…”

Schnee’s gaze slid toward Milt. Her gentle smile sharpened for just a moment, and Shin caught it.

“W-Wait, it’s nothing weird! I was just thinking maybe asking Shin for some tweaks to my equipment, that sort of thing! I wasn’t planning anything shady!”

Milt straightened her back with a snap, flustered and babbling.

“As long as you understand. Shin, you too, try to avoid matches that could give the wrong impression.”

“Y-Yeah, got it.”

Shin reflected that maybe the “do-as-I-say” part had been a mistake. It wasn’t a life-or-death battle, so he’d slipped back into a gamer’s mindset. Milt likely had as well.

“Well then, let’s eat. The sun’s already setting.”

Schnee turned on her heel and headed inside, calm once more. The others followed, Shin pausing just long enough to cover the fish tub before trailing after them.

“…Um, Miss Schnee—could it be…?”

Retoneka, apparently having read into Schnee’s demeanor, whispered to Tiera.

“It’s not really a secret, but I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone else.”

“Of course. If it got out, it would be a huge commotion.”

From her behavior, it wasn’t hard for the sharp-eyed to guess Schnee’s feelings for Shin. Retoneka seemed to have realized it, her face a confused tangle of excitement, shock, and uncertainty.

“I never imagined Miss Schnee could be like that. It’s well-known that she’s turned down countless royal proposals.”

“Well, with Master it isn’t just looks or personality. Having her on your side is a massive advantage for any ruler—militarily, politically, even in terms of public support. Some were genuinely in love, but most were desperate for her allegiance. It was exhausting to deal with.”

Since royalty often visited the Moon Shrine in person, Tiera—left minding the shop in Schnee’s absence—had been forced to handle them. Even within the Shrine’s protection, it had been nerve-racking. She sighed at the memory.

“That must have been… hard.”

“Tell me about it.”

(When did they get so close?)

Overhearing their exchange, Shin sensed a friendly ease between Retoneka and Tiera. Judging from how natural their interactions were, they’d already spoken before the voyage.

𑁋

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