A Single Mother's Farm of the Gods
Chapter 96: Fishing Competition Part 1

Chapter 96: Fishing Competition Part 1

Although the beach is crowded, there is still enough space for people to walk around and enjoy the place. The people sunbathing or perhaps setting up a little camp on the beach are assigned to a specified area of the beach to separate them from the stores and stalls that are set up for the people who are attending the festival.

The biggest one that is currently installed on the beach itself is a big stage with various things displayed there. Elaina wasn’t sure what is the main purpose of the stage but seeing the reactions of the people around, it seems this stage is a fundamental component of the festival itself.

The second one that Elaina noticed as she came onto the beach was the big pot sitting on top of a big fire pit that was powered by a burning rock. Elaina is not sure what it was but based on what little knowledge she has about magic, it must be the Burning Boulder that can be activated by pouring a bit of mana and letting it act as fuel which in turn will allow the boulder to flare up in flames.

"Thankfully, Princess Tabatha helped us secure a spot for this celebration. If not, we will have a hard time finding a good place to place our stuff," Julia said as she deployed the portable table that they bought when the two went shopping the other day.

"I can see that. With how crowded the beach is, the beach will be packed with people wanting to join in on the fun and since this is a week-long festival, I can tell that people are already looking forward to it," Elaina nodded as she looked around the place. Everyone is prepared and she is pretty sure most of them would be sleeping on the beach for the rest of the festival.

"Still, are you guys sure that you will be coming back home after this?" Princess Margaux asked.

"Although it is a good chance to experience the festival in full by staying here, I still have a farm to take care of. We can just visit the beach every time we are done or perhaps Julia can go and remain here if she wants to. As for me, I can’t have the full experience here while I leave the farm in shambles," Elaina explained.

"Fair enough. And it’s not like we are forced to stay here on the beach while the festival is ongoing."

"By the way princess, why are you here with us? Aren’t the royal family going to gather together?"

"You already know the answer, Miss Elaina. Since I still can’t deal with the decision of my parents, I won’t be going with them. I am fine with talking with them but for now, I will just remain on the sidelines and become an audience instead of being part of the royal family."

Elaina sighed but she couldn’t give a lecture to her about family unity if her own family is also a big mess.

The smell of various foods being grilled wafts in the air and Elaina can feel her two kids in her belly seeming to crave some food as she felt like she wanted to eat something and stave off her craving.

"Girls, I will be checking the food stalls for a bit, if you girls want to eat something, I will go and fetch some."

"Oh, then we will wait for whatever you bring, Sis! Princess Tabatha and Princess Margaux said every stall here is great in terms of food being served, you should bring something that is to your liking Sis!" Julia gave Elaina a thumbs-up.

Hearing the confirmation, Elaina separated herself from the two and started to wander on the beach’s stalls. There are various stuff present for all people to see and interact with. There are some people selling fruit candies and fresh fruits that are freshly sliced with a live cutting show for the customers as they perform their meticulous knife skills. Elaina is tempted to buy but she wanted something more that can immediately sate off her cravings.

Then Elaina arrived at a grilling area of the beach where the stalls lined up were full of vendors grilling various meat for consumption. All stalls are full of customers eating and Elaina can tell that everyone is having a good time.

As she continued to walk and check every stall, she arrived at the area where a few people carrying a fishing rod were gathering and currently signing up for something.

At the table is Lorenzo, the guy who gave her the fishing rod that she left with the two girls. As soon as some people had left after finishing the sign-ups, Elaina finally saw what was the group of people with fishing rods gathering there for.

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SIGN UP HERE FOR THE FISHING CONTEST

We accept participants for the fishing contest that will be happening 1 and a half hours from now. Any number of fishermen and women can participate as long as they know how to fish.

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Below the message is a countdown timer that is ticking down which means that is the timer before the signing up is over.

Elaina smiled and approached the table.

"Are the sign-ups still good to go?" Elaina asked as she grabbed the pen sitting on the table.

"Sure go on ahead. The more participants, the better," Lorenzo smiled and handed her the signup form. Elaina accepted it and started to fill the papers as Lorenzo stared at her with a furrow on his eyebrows. That’s when Lorenzo finally got to realize who was currently signing up.

"Oh, aren’t you the woman that Mrs. Marigold introduced last time? I remember you since your bright golden hair color is rare around in the Darcero Kingdom."

"Yeah. Thanks for the rod that you gave me last time. It proved to be very useful for fishing whenever I am done with work and is relaxing and it never failed me so far."

"Glad you like it. But that rod is not that great of a quality as that is one of the old rods that I can afford to hand over. It is possible to be upgraded though so that is the main advantage of that rod."

"Hey, it’s fine. And you are running a business too so giving stuff for free would be somewhat of a loss of revenue, yes? Oh, here are the papers."

Lorenzo grabbed the papers and added Elaina’s name to the list of participants.

"The fishing contest will start soon after the signups are over. You can start your preparation now but it is best to relax until the announcements for the competition begin. Here is your bracelet that will allow us to know if you are a participant or not in the competition. Your bracelet will glow red to inform you that the competition will begin shortly," Lorenzo then handed Elaina a small bracelet made of iron. It looks crude but it is good enough to be used as a holder for the little gold bulb that holds the light that will glow red later.

"Do I have to bring my fishing rod on this?" Elaina asked.

"If you have your fishing rod with you then use that. Otherwise, you can rent a fishing rod in my store for 50 gold. You can also buy some baits from me as well if you wanted as well."

Elaina nodded and after hearing all of what she needed to hear, Elaina left and checked the stalls once again to find some food to eat while waiting for the upcoming fishing contest.

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While the situation on the beach is very crowded and busy, the nearby cove is as peaceful as it ever was, only hearing slight sounds that come from the party. The mother looked at her little girl that she managed to give birth the other day and sighed in relief.

"I think the coast should be a lot more clear. I think it is time for me to find some food that I can feed my daughter. I can’t keep on relying on what little food I have left. If I wanted to survive with her, then I needed to do this and test the waters."

After giving herself a little pep talk, she nodded and approached her sleeping little girl before kissing her forehead.

"I will be back a little bit later, alright? Don’t go anywhere as I will come back with food later."

The little girl just smiled after the kiss and moved a little bit. This made the mother smile a bit before she moved away and slowly into the water. She slowly revealed herself to be a half fish, half human. She is not a mermaid, but she has fins on her arms and both sides of her face. As for her legs and hands, both of them are webbed like some amphibian. One thing is clear she is not a human.

She slowly descended to the water before she dived under and swam away from the cove in search of food, leaving her child sleeping unattended but safe from outside influence.