Opening his eyes, Altaïr saw the familiar tent ceiling.
Altaïr sat up from the simple hammock, his still groggy head swiveling for a moment before he finally sorted out his thoughts.
By the time they found the fallen Apex Estrellian, it had already ceased breathing. Like the Estrellian it had bitten to death, it had become a dull, ashen corpse, as if bleached of color.
Over the course of that night's battle, besides the Apex Estrellian itself, five Estrellian Subspecies had been hunted in succession, and one regular Estrellian had been bitten to death by the Apex.
As for the number of dead Yian Kut-Ku, the Hunters could not even be bothered to count.
The series of grueling battles had completely drained their stamina. After a medic treated their wounds with simple care, the Hunters returned to camp and slept like the dead.
Their work was done, but for the scholars and various non-combatants who had come with the Airship, their work was just beginning.
A whole slew of tedious follow-up tasks awaited: handling corpses, taking photographs, compiling reports. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would be staying here for quite some time.
Upon waking, Altaïr washed up briefly and checked the sky. It was already nearing dusk.
He quickly ate two rations to soothe his protesting stomach, then took a stroll around the camp looking for someone.
In the women's tent, Isis's hammock was empty, but Nymera was still sleeping groggily.
During last night's operation, she could be considered the most exhausted of them all. Sleeping for almost the entire day still hadn't been enough for her to recover.
"I'm borrowing Hibiki, okay?" Altaïr said to Nymera, who was curled up in her hammock.
Nymera let out a snort, clearly not fully conscious.
Altaïr looked at the Palamute lying on the ground nearby, one eye cracked open to watch him. "See, your master agreed."
Hibiki huffed a puff of hot air from his nostrils, looking like he couldn't be bothered with him.
"Alright, I'm just a bit curious and want to go back to yesterday's spot for a look. Take me there, and I'll make you something delicious when we get back to the city," Altaïr chose honesty and bribery.
Hibiki scrambled to his feet in one fluid motion.
Why didn't you say so earlier? After sleeping all day, he'd long wanted to stretch his limbs, and to score a gourmet meal on top of it? Done!
He was a Palamute with the capacity for independent execution, capable of making choices for his own actions!
His master? Just let the master sleep!
Seeing Hibiki agree, Altaïr chuckled, returned to the tent, quickly equipped his Armor, and slung his weapon over his back. Man and dog dashed out of the camp, plunging headlong into the mountain forest.
On flat ground, a Palamute's speed was three to four times that of a Hunter. In areas with complex terrain, this gap could widen even further.
A mountain path of over a dozen kilometers would take Altaïr at least two to three hours on foot, but with Hibiki's help, they reached the blood-stained woodland in just over twenty minutes.
They didn't see Lord Fabius; rumor had it he was resting on the Airship.
As the absolute main force against the Apex Estrellian, the strength Fabius had demonstrated was astonishing.
But no matter what, he was still an old man past sixty. Such a high-intensity battle had taken quite a toll on him as well.
The subsequent cleanup and research work needed no direction from him; the Professor took over completely.
To Altaïr's surprise, the most critical task, dissecting the corpse of the Apex Estrellian, was not led by the Professor himself, but handed over to Sheila.
As for the Professor, he had temporarily assembled an exploration team, preparing to enter the Ruins that the Estrellians had claimed as their nest.
The old scholar believed that the Estrellian pack had occupied this mountain forest for months, and there had to be a reason for it.
This Ruins was very likely that "reason."
Noticing Altaïr looking around restlessly from atop his Palamute, the Professor beckoned him over.
Altaïr had a sudden premonition that he was "in for trouble," but he couldn't pretend not to see, so he had no choice but to brace himself and walk over.
"All rested up?" the Professor asked.
"Yeah."
"Perfect timing. The other Hunters are still resting, and the Guild Knight is needed to secure this site. The exploration team is short a guard; you're with us."
Altaïr's face clouded. "I was actually looking for Isis."
The Professor shot him a glance, then continued: "The corpse and materials of the Apex will all be taken by the Guild. Research requirements are one aspect, and you weren't the main force in the battle either.
But there are five corpses of the Estrellian Subspecies, and I can arrange for your group to be compensated with more materials..."
"That's too generous! So, it's just a few of us? We're heading out now? Or are we waiting for someone else?"
Hibiki's ears twitched.
It figured Altaïr wasn't much different from itself.
"Just a few of us, a preliminary investigation. If the Ruins turn out to be unexpectedly large in scale, a dedicated investigation team will be formed afterward."
Altaïr glanced around. The entire party, including himself, was only four people.
Himself, the Professor, a middle-aged Wyverian scholar he didn't know, and that young lady who had been following behind Sheila, the one named Alma.
"This is Researcher Egbert," the Professor said, pointing first to the unfamiliar Wyverian scholar. "Quite accomplished in the study of ancient civilizations and archaeology.
This is Altaïr, a young Hunter of decent ability."
Altaïr and the archaeologist shook hands.
"I don't need to introduce Alma, do I? Sheila's student, who also knows a bit about ancient script. I brought her along to assist and take some notes."
The young woman, whom Altaïr had always remembered as composed and serene, seemed eager and restless.
He could tell that, compared to ecology and biology, she was far more interested in subjects related to humanities and history.
Altaïr gave her a polite smile, then looked back at the Professor. "So, Professor, did you see Isis?"
"So the two of you can't spend a single minute apart?" The Professor glared at him in exasperation.
"That's not it," Altaïr said helplessly. "I just thought there might be some danger down below in the Ruins. Bringing her along as a Tank would make it safer."
"There isn't much danger. At least no Large Monsters. Some Felynes went down early this morning and roughly confirmed as much."
The Professor tilted his head, gesturing for the group to follow. "As for Isis, she's busy.
She needs to take that Estrellian hatchling, locate the other Estrellians that fled into the Jungle, and find a way to calm them down."
"After that, I'll need to guide them and bring them back to Esther Lake."
"Bring them back to Esther Lake?" Altaïr's gaze went a bit blank as he listened. "How?
Large Monsters like Estrellians; even a cargo airship can only carry one at a time, right? And you'd have to worry about attacks along the way.
If we go overland, we'd have to first cross the Old Jungle, then cut through half of the Schrade Region. That's over a thousand kilometers, isn't it? Could we even make it in two months?"
The Professor shot him a sidelong glance. "The air is definitely out of the question, too prone to accidents, and the Guild can't mobilize enough armed large airships to transport them.
The overland route is the safest option. If Isis can't fully gain the trust of those Estrellians, that's the only path we can take.
But if she can completely calm those Estrellians down, we can consider sea transport. The cargo capacity of sea vessels is nothing an airship can match. Two large ships should be able to carry all of those Estrellians.
Departing from Metapetatto Bay, following the coastline, and disembarking at Meruchitta Port; Esther Lake would be very close after that. The entire journey could be compressed to within ten days."
Altaïr listened, the corners of his eyes twitching. As the "caretaker" of that Estrellian hatchling, Isis had naturally become the bridge for communicating with those Estrellians. Until those Estrellians were safely sent back to Esther Lake, there was no way she could leave.
According to the Professor, even if the process went smoothly, the whole affair would take ten days to half a month. If it didn't go smoothly, it could stretch straight into two or three months.
They had been in Metapetatto for just over three months.
The Professor could naturally guess what Altaïr was agonizing over, but many things were simply like this. If you were the only one who could do something, there was no shirking it.
"Although this trip will be time-consuming and laborious, Isis's final gains won't be small. I'll keep an eye on things and wrap all of this up as quickly as possible.
Now, let's descend into these Ruins and see what exactly attracted those Estrellians to linger here."