Adjusting his breathing and slowly calming his heart, which was pounding violently under the effects of the Dash Juice, Altaïr spoke up. "Olivia, you and the others focus on carving materials. Nymera and I will handle security."
With that, he gave Nymera a meaningful glance, and the two turned to walk away from the Glavenus's corpse.
A look of helplessness flickered across Olivia's face.
Selfish people who ignored the rules were certainly frustrating to deal with, but juniors like Altaïr, who went so far out of their way to be polite that it bordered on walking on eggshells, could make things feel equally awkward and distant.
She called out to stop them. "The Cohoot is up in the sky. What could you possibly need to guard against? Get over here and start carving materials!"
Altaïr and Nymera kept walking as if they hadn't heard her.
They were both self-aware enough to know that Olivia was undoubtedly the core of this hunt. Without her knocking the Glavenus down twice and keeping it pinned by locking onto its head, they wouldn't have been able to finish the fight so easily or efficiently; they might have even run into real danger.
Furthermore, Olivia had taken this quest on her own. Even without them tagging along, she was more than capable of hunting a Glavenus solo.
She was already being generous enough by agreeing to give Isis a share of the materials; how could they possibly have the gall to take more?
"Hey! Stop right there!" Olivia shouted, her voice rising.
This time, Altaïr and Nymera couldn't pretend they hadn't heard. The two turned around.
"Olivia..."
"I have no need for Glavenus materials, and I don't need the pocket change from selling them. If you need them, just take them!" Olivia said, her tone quite firm.
"Altaïr, aren't you skilled with both Dual Blades and the Long Sword? I heard you don't have a Fire Element weapon, right? Isn't this the perfect chance to forge a Glavenus Long Sword? And you too, Nymera, you Bowgunners need to build all sorts of weapons for different situations."
"I'm afraid I can't forge another fire Long Sword anyway," Altaïr said with a shrug and a smile. "Forging both a Glavenus Gunlance and a Long Sword requires the Glavenus's Tailblade. My new Long Sword is already being worked on at the smithy, so I'm in no rush for more weapons. It's more important for Isis to upgrade her gear. There will be chances to hunt Rathalos later anyway; the Wyvern Blade series has more upgrade paths. I'll worry about a fire Long Sword then."
Nymera also gave a thumbs up. "I already possess a Rathalos Cannon; there is no need to forge a Glavenus Cannon."
Hearing their reasoning, Olivia found herself at a loss.
"...Fine. Isis, pick out the high-quality materials. That Defender Gunlance of yours is indeed starting to hold you back." She then looked over at the other two. "And you two, even if you don't want the materials, come help with the carving. Let's finish up and get back to camp early. Oh, and weren't you supposed to harvest meat or something? Get to it. It's still hot out; cut it off while it's fresh so we can take it back."
This time, Altaïr and Nymera didn't refuse. They jogged back to the Glavenus's carcass. Nymera went to help Olivia and Isis with the materials, while Altaïr moved toward the back of the Glavenus by himself.
If there was anyone in this world most skilled at the art of butchery and deboning, if they weren't a Hunter, they were certainly a chef. As it happened, Altaïr dabbled in both.
"Wyvern Filet, right."
Arriving at the back of the carcass, Altaïr muttered to himself as he pulled out a Whetstone, giving the blade of his Carving Knife two sharp clink-clink strokes.
The knife had been sharpened long ago and hadn't been used since, so there was technically no need for those two strokes, but for some reason, doing so just felt right.
He had likely picked up the habit from the Felyne chefs back when he'd borrowed their kitchen.
The armor on the back of a Glavenus grew incredibly thick and was covered in blade-like dorsal spines. This was the result of natural evolution; after all, their primary competitors, the Rathalos kin, loved to launch attacks from above.
Hunters, naturally, wouldn't go looking for trouble by attacking such a spot, so the back of the Glavenus was kept quite intact. It wasn't like the chest, neck, or belly, which were riddled with wounds of all sizes; trying to harvest meat from those areas left one fearing a mouthful of shrapnel and blade oil.
Methodically, Altaïr peeled away the scales piece by piece, layer by layer. Some of the larger back plates were so thick and heavy that the small knife couldn't pry them loose at all. He had to call Isis over, using her Gunlance as a crowbar to force them off.
Isis happily carried away the chunks of back plating, which bore three-dimensional, flame-like patterns. These Glavenus Pyroshells, sturdier than steel plates, were prime materials for crafting shields.
Altaïr continued to dig deeper. Layer by layer, he stripped away the tough skin and resilient connective tissue, finally revealing the dark red muscle beneath.
Altaïr reached out a finger and poked the muscle, which was as hard as rock and showed almost no visible fat. He whispered under his breath, "Is this actually edible?"
"Not that part, meow," Clawdia said, having sidled up to him at some unknown point. "That's the outer loin, meow. You could boil it all night and still not be able to chew it, meow.
Let alone a Large Monster like a Glavenus, even the outer loin of an Aptonoth is usually only good for making jerky, meow."
"Then is the tenderloin near the spine edible?" Altaïr asked curiously.
Generally speaking, the tenderloin should be the softest meat on an animal.
"It's barely edible, meow, but it doesn't taste good, meow. No fat, so it's far too dry and tough, meow. The only tasty part is the meat near the waist, meow." Clawdia pointed to a section closer to the tail.
The Palamute, Hibiki, also trotted over expectantly, staring at the dark red dragon meat and drooling.
Spine meat that was far too tough for humans and Felynes was nothing before the bite force of a Palamute.
To keep the greedy hound from bothering him, Altaïr hacked off a large chunk of the tenderloin and tossed it to him.
"Here, eat up."
Hibiki gave a joyful bark, pinned the massive piece of meat down with his paws, and began to tear into it ravenously.
Altaïr chuckled and, under Clawdia's guidance, continued to dismantle the shell and skin further back.
Suddenly, a wide expanse of snowy white fat appeared before his eyes. Altaïr's knife hand paused, and his tone brightened considerably. "Oho, found it at last."
"I told you it was the waist meat, meow. Why'd you insist on opening up its upper back, meow?"
"This is a Brute Wyvern, not a cow. You think the line between its back and waist is that obvious?" Altaïr retorted crossly.
"Anyway, this is the spot, meow." Clawdia, who wasn't usually one for gluttony, couldn't help but lick the corner of her mouth. "The best part is the ribeye near the upper waist, meow. The fat is evenly distributed, the texture is soft and tender, and it's full of meaty aroma, meow!" "The sirloin from the back is also amazing, meow. I've had the ones Father cooked; they're super chewy but never dry, meow."
"To work, to work!"
Altaïr tried to roll up his sleeves, only to realize he was wearing armor.
Under Clawdia's squinting gaze, he gave a sheepish laugh and took out a Whetstone. He gave the blood-and-grease-stained blade two more rubs and then buried his head in the task of butchering.
The ribeye cut from a Kelbi was no larger than the palm of a hand; one from an Aptonoth was barely enough to fill Isis's stomach.
But the ribeye carved from the waist of a massive Brute Wyvern over twenty meters long was large enough to crush a dining table.
The sirloin was even more plentiful. To make transport easier, Altaïr had to cut the Glavenus's ribeye and sirloin into large blocks, each half a meter square.
The moment he sliced into the center, the sight of the Wyvern Filet, with its ruby-red color and rich, beautiful marble-like fat patterns, made even Altaïr unable to resist swallowing his spit.
Isis nearly lost her resolve to finish carving materials, almost tempted to run over and take a raw bite.
"Woof!" Hibiki dropped the tenderloin he was halfway through and ran over.
He wanted to eat this too!
Altaïr wasn't stingy. There was more meat here than they could possibly finish; the Jungle was hot and things spoiled easily, so it would be a waste if they didn't eat it within a day or two.
Altaïr hauled a large chunk and set it before Hibiki, saying with a smile, "Work hard, and in the future, there'll be plenty of meat from all kinds of Monsters for you to eat."
"Woof! Woof woof!" Hibiki hopped twice in excitement, affectionately licked Altaïr's palm, and buried his head in the feast once more.
Seeing her hunting partner's lack of dignity, Nymera in the distance felt both annoyed and amused. This fellow used to be close only to Master Iori.
Thinking of Master Iori brought to mind Master Yomogi, and thinking of Master Yomogi brought to mind Bunny Dango.
"I wonder if there's such a thing as meat-filled Bunny Dango?" Nymera, somewhat distracted, set down her small knife and talked to herself.
"..." Olivia ground her teeth, her masseter muscles bulging so much that her already square face looked even more angular.
"Hurry up! Keep carving materials!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)