The Professor had always favored studious young people.
He took the initiative to teach Altaïr a few common Gajalaka phrases, such as greetings, expressions of gratitude, the word for "friend," and farewells.
Isis slipped away under the pretext of needing to clean the bloodstains off her armor; making the firm decision to learn a completely foreign language was no easy feat.
At the very least, Isis didn't feel it was necessary to fry her brain trying to force herself to learn the Gajalaka language.
Her father hadn't learned it, her mother hadn't learned it, and Grandpa Amos hadn't learned it either. None of the senior Hunters she knew in the family were said to be fluent; only Aunt Gael happened to be skilled in it.
This gave Isis the impression that "anyone of sound mind simply shouldn't learn this."
Altaïr, however, harbored a considerable amount of enthusiasm for learning the Gajalaka language.
He worked hard to mimic the Professor's mouth shapes and pronunciation. To ensure he wouldn't forget, he carefully recorded the contents in his pocket memo, planning to organize these entries into a dedicated language-learning notebook later.
The Professor was quite satisfied with his attitude toward learning.
This young man didn't possess the special gift of a photographic memory or perfect recall, nor did he have the absolute focus of someone like Erik, who could ignore even his own life.
Compared to the budding scholars at the Royal Academy, his learning ability could only be described as average, but among the Hunter community, it was truly a rare find.
Arming the body with muscle and a weapon, while arming the brain with knowledge.
Venturing into danger alone, completing the investigation work along the way after hunting a Monster, this was the ideal image of what a Hunter should be\!
The current model heavily promoted by the Guild, which paired one Hunter with one Handler, was, to put it bluntly, the result of a failed attempt to promote general education among Hunters. The Guild had settled for the next best thing: giving the Hunter a "knowledge attachment."
The Research Commission proved the efficiency of this "brawn and brains" model.
However, he firmly believed that if a Hunter and a Handler could be merged into one, and then granted higher authority for on-site decision-making, the efficiency of resolving various incidents would undoubtedly be even higher\!
Altaïr had no idea how high the expectations the Professor placed on him were. He had already practiced the few words and short phrases the Professor taught him until they were familiar, so he asked the Professor to teach him a few more.
As long as it didn't involve grammar, simply memorizing a few pronunciations wasn't that difficult.
Furthermore, according to the Professor, the Gajalaka language had a simple structure. By applying Gajalaka vocabulary to the grammar of the human common tongue, basic communication wasn't much of a problem, even if the word order was jumbled and the meaning wasn't perfectly precise.
Before they knew it, midnight had arrived.
The Professor glanced at his pocket watch and said to Altaïr, who was busy reviewing his notes, "Let's go. Let's head outside. If any Gajalaka truly intend to come, it should be about time."
The elder and the youth left the tent.
They shooed the two young scholars, who were still lingering by the campfire reading by the light of the flames, back to their respective tents. They also checked in with Nymera, who was on night watch, telling her to keep an eye on the Palamutes.
Under the Professor's arrangements, the entire camp became quiet and empty.
This was done to minimize the nervousness of any visiting Gajalaka as much as possible. It was clear that the Professor placed great importance on this "meeting." Isis crawled out from her tent.
She had little interest in learning the Gajalaka language, but she was quite enthusiastic about watching the spectacle and making friends with the Gajalaka.
The Professor glanced at her but said nothing.
After all, though the previous act of delivering meat had been Olivia's suggestion, Isis was the one who had actually taken the lead in executing it. The Gajalaka would likely have a favorable impression of her.
The three of them huddled around the campfire in the center of the camp and began their wait.
The Professor held a scroll covered in ancient characters, reading quietly; Altaïr reviewed his recent notes, occasionally repeating a phrase or two under his breath; Isis let her gaze wander everywhere, searching for any Gajalaka that might be hidden in the shadows.
A long time passed in this manner.
Isis suddenly muttered, "Something feels off. It's like something is nearby."
"Is there?" Altaïr focused his senses for a moment. "You're probably just too nervous."
Suddenly, Isis let out a loud shout.
"Altaïr, look\!"
"What?"
Altaïr was startled by the sudden rise in Isis's voice and instinctively stood up. Even the Professor lowered his scroll and looked around.
Isis pointed to the smoker built from large leaves not far away. "We haven't checked it in so long. Is the meat inside over-smoked by now?"
After two seconds of silence, Altaïr let out a heavy sigh. "No. Smoking isn't like roasting; the fire underneath went out ages ago. It'll be fine just sitting there until tomorrow."
Isis didn't respond. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the entrance of the canyon. "Mmh, the guests are here."
Before the words had even left her mouth, several small figures stepped out from the shadows, cautiously entering the investigation team's camp.
The Professor stood up and put away his scroll, looking at Isis with a hint of doubt.
Had this girl, upon sensing something was wrong, used that outburst to trick the Gajalaka lurking nearby into showing themselves?
These Gajalaka likely didn't understand human speech. Isis's sudden shout could easily have made them think their whereabouts had been discovered, prompting them to reveal themselves.
And that shout hadn't been random. Isis's earlier comment about "feeling something off nearby" proved she truly had sensed some kind of anomaly.
Back then, there was a viewpoint among Hunters that people with pure hearts and direct minds possessed sharper perceptions, the so-called "animal instinct."
He had always considered such views groundless and utter nonsense.
Could there actually be something to it?
Otherwise, how was it that neither he nor Altaïr had noticed anything, yet Isis specifically sensed the intrusion ahead of time?
There was no time to ponder the details. The Gajalaka had already reached them. The Professor suppressed his thoughts and turned his gaze toward the midnight guests, observing them silently.
Leading the way was the Gajalaka with the glass bottle embedded in its mask. The glass bottle Isis had given it earlier had also been symmetrically attached, looking like a pair of bizarre horns.
Upon seeing Altaïr and Isis, that Gajalaka seemed very excited. It stepped forward, gesticulating wildly and pointing at the glass bottles on its mask while letting out "Gaya\!" hoots and calls.
Altaïr was completely bewildered, but Isis quite proactively reached out and shook its hand. Two other Gajalaka accompanied it. One was slightly larger in build, wearing a mask of considerably complex design and carrying an axe polished from Monster Bone on its back, a weapon far superior to the ragged blades and swords typically used by their kind.
The other was an elderly Gajalaka. It was difficult for those unfamiliar with the species to judge their age from appearance alone, but the Professor could tell from its paler skin tone and the weathered details on its mask.
"Altaïr, what is it saying?" Isis asked him after shaking hands with the joyfully hopping Gajalaka.
Altaïr replied helplessly, "I've only learned a few words total, how am I supposed to translate for you?"
The Professor spoke up then. "It's asking what these 'shiny containers' are called. It plans to change its name to that from now on."
"Glass bottle\!" Isis pointed at the glass bottles on the mask, enunciating each syllable: "This is called a glass, bot, tle\!"
"Bo, li, bong?"
"Glass, bot, tle\!" Isis tried to correct its pronunciation, but it was clearly no easy task; the human and the Gajalaka leaned their heads together, muttering and chirping back and forth.
"A-polo-gies and, thank. You for, food." A voice rang out, slurred, but unmistakably the common human tongue.
Altaïr looked over in surprise. The speaker was the smaller, thinner one of the other two Gajalaka.
Had the other side brought a translator too?
The Professor had no time to mind Isis, who was still repeating "glass bottle" over and over, and the other two Gajalaka ignored their silly young tribesman. Seeing that the Professor was fluent in the Gajalaka language, they immediately began a back-and-forth exchange.
The Gajalaka language was straightforward with low information density per phrase. This allowed the Professor to easily multitask, conversing with them while finding moments to provide Altaïr with a brief translation.
"They are the leader and the elder of the tribe. They came this time to thank us for the food we provided and brought gifts in return."
"They are asking about our purpose for coming here."
"Hmm? They want us to do them a favor? In exchange, their tribe will fully assist us in our investigation."
(Translated by yourtl.app)