"Little Isis! Give me a mirror! Mine broke earlier, meow!"
"But... but I didn't bring a mirror?" Isis said, frantically rummaging through her pack.
"How can a girl not carry a mirror with her, meow!" Shalan first scolded Isis with the air of an elder, then looked toward Nymera. "Do you have one, meow?"
Nymera nodded and pulled an exquisite little mirror from her bag. "Please, use mine."
Isis looked at Nymera in surprise.
Nymera tilted her head and explained in a low voice, "As a Gunner, it is only logical to carry a mirror to observe things outside of cover."
Shalan held up the mirror, looking left and right for a long time. "The color is alright, meow, but it's not very even in some spots, meow."
Saying that, she looked at the Professor. "Can you help me get some more Bitterbug juice so I can touch up the color, meow?"
The Professor's face darkened, and he didn't bother responding to the creature.
As an acquaintance of many years, Shalan was naturally aware of the Professor's personality. She shook the water from her fur and said, "Forget it, I'll do it myself later, meow. I might even give my tail a gradient, meow."
As Shalan took the mirror and went off to admire herself, the Professor prepared to arrange the group's evacuation.
Although the area near the pool was temporarily safe, it was still within that Glavenus's territory and was not suitable for a long stay.
Since they had already rendezvoused with Erik and Altaïr, it was time to head back to the city.
"Wait a moment, Professor."
Suddenly remembering something, Altaïr walked over to that broken cart, fished the gift from the Gajalaka out of his bag, and handed it to the Professor.
"Professor, can you tell what this is?"
"The wing of a large insect," the Professor answered decisively, but certain subsequent findings caused his expression to turn grim.
He carefully placed the wing on a relatively flat boulder, took out his portable multi-purpose eyepiece, and leaned in for a close inspection.
"As I thought... this color and structure, this starlight-like scale powder..." The Professor lifted his eyepiece and stared seriously at Altaïr. "Where did you get this?"
Sensing the gravity in the Professor's tone, Altaïr quickly explained the process of how he obtained the wing membrane.
"The straight-line distance between here and Esther Lake, West Schrade isn't that far. Could the Gajalaka have gotten it from there?
No, that's unlikely. Although this wing is somewhat dried out, it hasn't rotted. The time of death should be within a week. It's impossible for Gajalaka to travel that far in a single week.
So, has one wandered off and come to the northwestern part of the Jungle?"
"Professor?"
Altaïr could vaguely make out an outline from the Professor's muttering. "Has some dangerous Monster arrived nearby?"
"Rather than dangerous, it's more accurate to say it's special." The Professor had no intention of explaining the details.
After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again. "That might be the source of the changes occurring in the Jungle. We must hurry back."
Erik squeezed his way over. He seemed equally ignorant of the mysterious Monster the Professor spoke of, but he had heard the words "source of the changes occurring in the Jungle." "Return now? We have three Hunters here, plus you, Professor. That 'possible source' might be right nearby, shouldn't we take this opportunity to conduct a thorough search?"
"No," the Professor refused decisively. "Our preparations and supplies are insufficient, and there is still a Glavenus wandering the area.
Rather than a risky search, it is more important to return to the city immediately and report this matter to Guild headquarters."
With that, giving Erik no chance to speak further, the Professor carefully tucked away the mysterious wing fragment. "Altaïr, I must take this with me. You will be compensated for it later."
Altaïr glanced at Shalan. He didn't mind personally; it didn't look like it could be used as material for equipment, and it seemed useless for anything other than its appearance.
However, he had, after all, promised it to Shalan.
Shalan shot the Professor a side-eye and waved a paw, signaling it was fine. She knew that once something like this fell into the Professor's hands as an important specimen, there was no getting it back.
Still, looking at it from another perspective, this wing membrane might just be the greatest harvest of their entire trip.
Though they had only been gone for little more than half a month, the moment they stepped through the gates of Metapetatto City, Altaïr felt as if a lifetime had passed.
They really were back...
Under the curious gazes of countless passersby, Sajji pedaled the battered cart that had accompanied them for days, carrying the group with a series of creaks and groans until they reached the front of the Guild Hall.
In truth, for most of the final days of the return journey, it had been Hibiki pulling the cart.
However, perhaps realizing it was time for a final farewell to this cart he had named "Rathalos Model-08," Sajji had insisted on pedaling the final stretch himself.
The moment the cart came to a steady halt in front of the Guild Hall, Sajji broke into a flood of tears.
"Meow-aoo–!!"
Altaïr rubbed his head in consolation.
Leaving Sajji to have a private moment with his dilapidated cart, the group followed behind the Professor, entering the Guild Hall and approaching the Quest Counter.
Seeing them return, a smile of relief spread across the Guild Manager's face. Her hands were clasped gently in front of her, a warm expression on her lips. "Welcome back. I'm glad to see everyone is safe."
Altaïr looked her up and down.
If Sajji were here, he would almost certainly have said something like, "That smile is disgusting, meow," but Altaïr wasn't the type to say something so rude out loud.
He only expressed it through his face.
A vein throbbed on the Guild Manager's temple. If it weren't for a certain old man being here, would she have any reason to act so formal?!
"Prepare a peregrine falcon for me. I need to send an urgent letter to headquarters. Also, have the other investigation teams returned yet?"
"Ah, yes!" At the mention of official business, Miss Noya's expression turned solemn. "The investigation teams from the Elder Dragon Observation Team and the Frenzy Virus Research Institute have both returned. Their reports state 'no abnormalities.'
The four teams from the Royal Paleontology Scriveners have made some findings, but one of their teams has not yet returned."
"Notify the heads of the investigation teams. We are holding a meeting." Having said his piece, the Professor hurried away.
Once the Professor had departed, Miss Noya finally relaxed. She looked at Altaïr curiously and asked, "What exactly did you run into?" "I traded something strange with the Gajalaka, and the Professor seemed quite concerned about it," Altaïr said vaguely. "Ah, right, there's something else I need to report.
We were attacked by a Seregios and took it down in self-defense. It shouldn't be against the rules if I use its materials to craft equipment, right?"
The Guild Manager stared blankly at Shalan. After all, technically speaking, this fellow was the leader of the investigation team.
She was about to ask, but the words that came out were, "Why have you turned blue?"
"..."
Shalan choked for a moment, then hopped onto the counter and spun around. "I dyed it. Does it look good, meow?"
"It looks great, looks great." The socially savvy Guild Manager nodded rapidly. "How did you dye it? I might try it next time... Ah, no, I'll ask about that later.
Miss Shalan, is it true what Altaïr just said? That you hunted a Seregios in self-defense?"
"It's true, meow! That damn Seregios deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces, meow!" Bringing up that Seregios still made Shalan's blood boil.
"Could I trouble you to give a brief description of the attack?"
"What a pain, meow. Basically, that Seregios suddenly attacked the Airship, and the Airship crashed, meow..."
"The Airship crashed?!" The Guild Manager let out a sharp shriek.
Speaking of this, it wasn't just Shalan; Altaïr and the others felt a bit guilty as well. After all, they had borrowed the Airship from the Guild Manager.
And even for a small Airship, the cost was definitely not cheap.
"Ma-maybe we should just let the guarantor pay for it, meow?" Shalan's eyes darted around.
Isis: "..."
If she remembered correctly, the guarantor was her father.
Altaïr gave a bitter smile. "I'll take responsibility for the damages. I might not have enough cash on hand right now, though. Is it possible to pay in installments?"
The Guild Manager's eyes caught a faint glint.
She had been wondering how she could tie Altaïr and his team to the Metapetatto Guild Hall. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
If he owed a debt, wouldn't Altaïr have to stay? If Altaïr stayed, would Isis really leave? And if both Altaïr and Isis stayed, wouldn't Nymera have to stay too?
Installments! It definitely had to be installments!
"Wait, hold on." Erik suddenly spoke up from the side. "If we had come back empty-handed, we would probably have to shoulder the compensation ourselves.
But we brought back a lead this time. In that case, it seems like we can have the Royal Academy or the Hunter's Guild headquarters reimburse the losses!"
Altaïr's gloomy mood instantly brightened. "Really?!"
Miss Noya badly wanted to lie and say it wasn't true, but Altaïr could find out the truth just by asking the Professor later. Given the Professor's personality, he would even help him process the reimbursement.
The labor force she finally had in her grasp was flying away.
"Thank goodness for the Gajalaka!" Altaïr remarked from the bottom of his heart.
Damn those Gajalaka! The Guild Manager gritted her teeth.
(Translated by yourtl.app)