Manor Lord of the Elf World

Chapter 7 Ice Fishing
In December, a thick layer of ice had already formed on the river.

Standing on the ice, you can see plump fish swimming below through the ice layer.

Ryan and the others couldn't wait to start fishing. After a short rest overnight, they went to the riverbank early the next morning.

"call!"

Ryan rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and shouted, "Brothers, grab your gear! We're having fresh fish soup tonight!"

The surrounding knights cheered.

The group picked up their weapons and chiseled a hole in the ice.

Before long, the fish below, lacking oxygen, began to swim towards the hole.

"What a great harvest!"

Looking at the pile of fish in front of him, Ryan's face showed the joy of a bountiful harvest.

He quickly directed the people around him to bring tools to fish.

Perhaps because they had been under the ice for too long, the fish were somewhat lacking in oxygen, which is why Ryan and his team easily caught a large basket of fresh and plump fish.

The fish only realized they were in the basket after they were put in, and they kept thrashing about.

Looking at the bountiful harvest, Ryan couldn't help but grin.

But just then, he suddenly spotted a special fish among the pile of fish. It was entirely red, with two long filaments like those of a catfish around its mouth, and its dorsal and ventral fins were shaped like a crown.

"What the hell? This guy managed to sneak in!"

Ryan, annoyed, picked up the Magikarp and kicked it away.

With a splash, the rejected Magikarp fell precisely into the river.

"Lord Ryan, why did you throw that fish away?" a trainee knight asked, puzzled.

"That guy is basically just bones, skin, and scales all over his body. He's not even edible, unless you have some special fetish and like eating bones," Ryan said disdainfully.

As he spoke, he turned around and his gaze suddenly fell upon Raven, who had appeared behind him at some point.

Ryan's eyes lit up, and he waved excitedly, showing off the fish he had caught: "Your Highness Raven! We're having fish tonight!"

Raven, who witnessed the whole thing: "..."

Poor Magikarp... it was a despised creature even in ancient times.

"Well done," Raven praised. He paused, then looked at the ice and said, "If you catch that kind of fish again, don't kick it."

Ryan scratched his head: "Why?"

Raven thought to himself that if Magikarp got enraged and evolved into Gyarados, then they wouldn't be able to handle it.

“…Just do as I say.” Raven said.

Ryan and the others were somewhat confused, but as knights, they should unconditionally obey His Highness's orders.

Several civilians were responsible for carrying the fish they caught back to their territory.

Ryan and the others prepared to continue exploring the plains and forests surrounding the camp.

"Your Highness Raven, aren't you going back?"

“I have some things to do, you can go first,” Raven said.

This place is not far from the camp. The Knights have already scouted the area and found that there are no dangerous Pokémon here, so it is very safe.

Therefore, Raven decided to test Dratini's moves here.

“Mini Dragon.” Raven patted his chest.

The miniature dragon hiding inside cautiously poked its head out: "Huh?"

"Come on, let me see your tornado. I'll make you fish soup tonight."

"Woo..."

The outside temperature was quite unpleasant for the dragon, but hearing Raven's words and thinking about the delicious food tonight, the Minidragon mustered its courage and flew out from its cashmere coat. "Minidragon, use Tornado!" Raven commanded.

“Woo—woo!”

Upon receiving the command, a stream of purple dragon-attribute energy surged from the mouth of the Dratini.

The energy was squeezed and swirled in the mouth of the Dratini, and then it turned into a tornado that shot forward.

"boom!"

The tornado struck the ice, and despite the Dratini's small size, it easily shattered the ice.

Raven seemed to be deep in thought.

Judging from this, the power of this tornado seems to be quite good.

Is this the power of Pokémon?

However, to Raven's great surprise, the Dratini could understand commands and react without any break-in period.

How do mini dragons know that a tornado is a tornado?

"Is this perhaps the default setting that Arceus, the creator god, made for all Pokémon?" Raven couldn't help but speculate.

Ryan, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw this scene.

What did he just see?
His Highness is actually commanding magical beasts?!
“There’s no need to demonstrate the Bind and Gaze. Given Dratini’s current state, the Bind’s power is limited,” Raven muttered.

This tornado attack is arguably Dratini's most powerful move to date.

"Alright, Dratini, come back!" Raven called out.

The shivering mini dragon immediately snuggled into Raven's arms.

Raven was about to return to his tent when he turned around and saw several knights staring in shock, their faces wide with disbelief.

Raven raised an eyebrow: "What are you staring at?"

Ryan then came to his senses and exclaimed, "Your Highness Raven, were you just commanding magical beasts?"

"Hmm." Raven asked with a smile, "What? You guys are interested in commanding magical beasts too?"

Ryan and the others shook their heads like rattles.

They're not interested!
Monsters are such dangerous and terrifying creatures; countless people have died at their hands... that's why they dare not approach them.

To their surprise, the small magical beast was incredibly obedient to Prince Raven...

The attitude of people in this era towards Pokémon is exactly as Raven predicted.

He was not surprised.

If you were to rashly tell these people things like "Warcraft is not actually dangerous, and humans can treat them as family and partners," they probably wouldn't believe you.

only……

Seeing the distracted look on Ryan and the others' faces, Raven knew that today's events had planted a seed in their minds, arousing their curiosity and desire to investigate.

Can humans really command monsters?
*
As dusk fell, night enveloped the entire territory.

After a long day, people and their families huddled together in tents, warming themselves by the fire while eating black bread and drinking hot fish soup.

This is a long-awaited warmth and happiness for people who have been lost in the blizzard for more than a month.

But beyond that, there is more confusion about their future and fear of their unknown fate.

Will they really be able to survive this winter?
Food supplies are limited, firewood is scarce, and the temperature is dropping. Perhaps soon, a terrible blizzard will ravage the entire camp.

The tents they are currently living in are no match for the blizzard.

More importantly, the tent doesn't keep you warm at all.

Even if the blizzard doesn't come, they will freeze to death in this icy wasteland when the wood runs out.

(End of this chapter)