Balina's family was running a business, after all, so they possessed at least a basic level of social intuition.
Hunting a Duramboros was never an easy task to begin with. Forming a group meant the reward money split between each Hunter would be significantly reduced. Combined with the additional requirement of bringing the Tail Hammer back intact, it was perfectly normal for such a Quest Commission to sit unclaimed for weeks or even a month.
Altaïr and his companion were doing them a massive favor by being willing to take the quest, so naturally, the family had to show their appreciation.
"We will complete the custom-made Armor and Weapons for you both in the shortest time possible," the workshop owner said, clapping his large hands together. "In the future, whenever you two come to our shop for maintenance, repairs, or crafting new equipment, we'll give you the maximum possible discount!"
Altaïr nodded with a smile and expressed his thanks; this was exactly the response he had been waiting for.
The actual amount saved through the discount was trivial, but building a good relationship with them meant they would put more care into every aspect of their work; that was what truly mattered.
With everyone on good terms, the atmosphere at the dining table became lively once more.
As the food on the table gradually vanished, the workshop owner realized they were running low and hurriedly urged his wife to prepare more dishes. Altaïr smiled and stopped them, standing up from the table. "It's about time we headed back to the Guild Hall. Thank you for the hospitality.
By the way, regarding the Quest Commission, please try to move as quickly as possible. Although it isn't currently the Breeding season, the Guild usually takes a few days to review Large Monster Hunt Quests that aren't specifically for threat elimination.
The sooner the application materials are submitted, the sooner the quest voucher can be issued."
"Right, of course. I'll head to the Guild Hall to apply right now."
The workshop owner stood up quickly. He had posted Quest Commissions before, and since his daughter was now a Hunter, he was quite familiar with the process.
Balina followed along with a skip in her step. Her eldest brother, Arman, looked like he wanted to join them as well, but someone had to keep an eye on the shop, so he was forced to stay behind with regret.
—--
The group arrived at the Guild Hall. When the guild receptionist, the Guild Manager, saw Altaïr and Isis, she waved to them enthusiastically from behind the counter.
When she heard they had brought someone in to post a commission, Miss Noya's smile grew even wider.
Not only were they completing existing tasks, but they were actually proactively bringing in clients? What kind of god-tier workhorses were these!
"A Duramboros?"
After listening to the workshop owner explain his target and the extra requirements, the Guild Manager tapped her chin with a finger and thought for a moment.
"There shouldn't be much of an issue. The population of Duramboros in the Metapetatto Jungle hasn't reached plague proportions, but there are plenty of them; they fall within the allowed hunting parameters.
However, we'll need to send someone to confirm which specific Duramboros in which area is the most suitable hunting target.
Just a heads-up: the Duramboros the Guild permits for hunting are generally solitary males. Don't go hunting females or juveniles on your own whim."
"Understood," Altaïr nodded. "Female Duramboros and their young usually live in herds. Even if only for our own safety, we wouldn't act recklessly."
"You know your stuff, Altaïr!" After chirping her praise, the Guild Manager's expression turned a bit more professional as she turned to the workshop owner who had come to commission the quest: "Our people will confirm the target's location and the hunting grounds as quickly as possible. This should take about three days to a week. Once that's done, the quest will be posted. You'll need to pay the reward money in advance, which the Guild will hold.
After the mission is over, the Guild will verify the completion and settle the payment with the Hunters."
Hearing this, the workshop owner took out his purse and readily handed over the funds. He then grabbed Altaïr and Isis by the hands, shaking them vigorously while saying things like, "I'm counting on you for everything!" and "You must bring back that Tail Hammer intact!" before being dragged away by his daughter, Balina.
After skillfully accepting the payment and completing the registration, Miss Noya pressed her hands to her lips and blew the two of them a kiss. "Mwah! I'll notify you the moment the quest is posted.
It's no wonder you promoted to 4★ before turning twenty, you're so hardworking! Keep bringing more quests my way in the future, and I'll do my best to prioritize you for high-difficulty missions. Love you guys!"
Altaïr: "..."
Did this woman misunderstand something? Did she think they had gone out and found their own work because the quests in the Guild Hall weren't difficult enough?
If it weren't for the sake of doing a favor, who would actually want to hunt something like a Duramboros? Especially with an additional requirement like preserving the Tail Hammer intact...
But Isis was already over there, foolishly grinning and saying, "Okay, okay, thank you, Noya!" It was enough to give anyone a headache.
Massaging his throbbing temples, Altaïr steadied his emotions and said, "Guild Manager, you know that it's best to have a Gunner along for a Duramboros hunt. Is there a suitable Gunner you could introduce to us?"
The guild receptionist nodded quickly. "Yes, yes! While we don't have a huge number of Hunters here in the Metapetatto Guild, the percentage of young people is quite high, and they're easy to get along with.
Are you only considering 4★ Gunners, or should we expand the range to include 3-4-5★?"
Altaïr paused to consider.
The difficulty for a Duramboros hunt should be 4★. With two 4★ Hunters leading the team, a 3★ Gunner could participate, but to be honest, even if it was just a temporary teammate, he still hoped to find a partner with more strength.
If it were a 5★ Gunner, their strength went without saying, but adding a 5★ Gunner to the team would likely result in the leadership role shifting.
It wasn't that he was obsessed with commanding the team, if it were Senior Serl, he would have no problem handing over command, but he wasn't quite comfortable entrusting his and Isis's lives to a total stranger.
"For now, let's stick to 4★ Gunners," Altaïr replied.
"Hmm, there are currently three 4★ Gunners registered in Metapetatto. I assume you're familiar with Mr. Brandley from the Vanguard Hunting Party?"
"Yes, but it seems the Vanguard Hunting Party went out on a hunting quest recently."
Otherwise, this job probably would have landed on them, Altaïr added mentally.
"That's true." The Guild Manager flipped through the registry. "That's a bit of a problem. Of the remaining two, one is a Bow user, a lone wolf who never parties up with anyone.
The other is a Heavy Bowgun user, but he's the captain of a hunting group. It won't be easy to convince him to join you temporarily.
Do you want to try contacting them?"
"I see..." After thinking for a moment, Altaïr shook his head. "Let's hold off on contacting those two for now. The quest review will take a few days anyway, so we can try to find another way. Worst case, the two of us are confident we can handle it; it would just take more time and effort."
"Alrighty."
Nodding to the Guildmarm to express their thanks, Altaïr and Isis left the counter and headed to the Tavern Area to order some food.
Isis hadn't eaten her fill earlier.
—--
Watching his companion stuffing food into her mouth, Altaïr hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Isis, do you think we need to add a Gunner to our team?"
Worrying that he hadn't been clear enough, Altaïr added, "Even if they aren't a permanent partner like the two of us, at least someone trustworthy we can cooperate with frequently."
Isis swallowed her food with an effort and tilted her head in thought. "It does seem like we need one. Starting from 4★, many of the Monsters we face will be Large Flying Wyverns.
If the team doesn't have a Gunner, it's often inconvenient in many situations, and it puts a lot of limits on our tactics."
"Yeah." Altaïr had been having a headache over this recently as well. "It's not just flying Monsters. For Monsters with high weak points like the Duramboros, or those with obvious elemental weaknesses, having a reliable Gunner in the team would make things much easier.
Among the people we know, is there anyone suitable? Maybe we could consider inviting them?"
"Big sister Francesca?" Isis's first thought was naturally Francesca, who wasn't related to her by blood but was closer than a real sister.
"Senior Francesca, huh." Altaïr pinched his chin. "Her strength is likely more than a grade above ours, and she seems even more dedicated to traveling than we are.
If you gave her a strong invitation, she'd probably be willing to come to Metapetatto for a while for the sake of your relationship, but that doesn't seem quite right, does it?"
"It definitely isn't." Isis shook her head rapidly; she hated forcing people to do things.
"But then again, Senior Francesca travels everywhere, so she must know quite a few people. How about you write her a letter? Mention the benefits and situation here in Metapetatto and see if she has anyone suitable to recommend."
"That works! I'll go write the letter in a bit!"
Altaïr nodded, then asked casually, "By the way, what kind of Weapon does Senior Francesca mainly use? I don't think I've ever seen her carrying one."
"It's a Slinger and a whistle, meow," Clawdia interjected from the side.
"?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)