Wrapped only in coarse cloth, the small Flying Wyvern's corpse drew curious glances as Altaïr, Sajji, and Lambert dragged it through the streets of Loc Lac.
The Loc Lac Guild had announced earlier that sightings of the mysterious small Flying Wyvern should be reported directly to a guild receptionist. Anyone who brought back a "specimen" could take it to the research institute in exchange for a reward.
However, only a limited number of specimens would earn a reward. In short, it was first come, first served. That was the main reason Altaïr had ended the investigation as soon as they secured the corpse and returned directly to Loc Lac.
By the time Altaïr, Lambert, and Sajji dragged the small Flying Wyvern's corpse to the Royal Paleontology Scriveners' research institute, Lambert's face had gone deathly pale, and the petite girl nearly collapsed onto her backside.
Altaïr looked at her, speechless. Her combat ability aside, in terms of basic physical fitness, she probably could not match many of the trainees who had yet to graduate.
After spending so long around Isis, he had always considered his own physique poor. Only now did he realize just how pathetically weak an official Hunter could be.
"Have Isis train you properly later." With that parting remark, Altaïr grabbed the small Flying Wyvern by the tail and dragged it into the institute alone.
To his mild surprise, both Lamarck and the Guild Master were there.
At the sight of them dragging in something so large, Lamarck hurried over, his white lab coat stained with blood.
He lifted the covering cloth. When he saw that the corpse had no external injuries apart from the blood around its mouth and nose, his face lit up with delight.
"The body is very fresh, and it hasn't begun to decay. Someone, quick! Send it straight to the dissection room!"
Luga, whom Altaïr had met before, immediately rushed out with several other scholars. Together, they hauled the corpse into the dissection room.
"Not a bad specimen that kid brought back, eh?" asked the mustachioed Guild Master, who had been watching from the side with a grin.
"Very good." Lamarck nodded firmly. With no interest in anything else, he hurried straight back into the dissection room.
The mustachioed Guild Master twirled his mustache and smiled cheerfully at Altaïr and the others. "Very efficient! Someone else delivered a corpse a few hours ago, even faster than you.
But that body was severely damaged. Its torso was split open, and half of one wing was missing.
Lamarck had just asked me to tell the Hunters to be more careful, since excessive damage to a corpse would hinder the research. Then you arrived with a perfectly intact body.
I'm a man of my word. This specimen is worth the maximum reward, 3000z."
As the mustachioed Guild Master spoke, his gaze fell on Lambert. She was deathly pale, with heavy dark circles beneath her eyes and a thin, frail frame. Though still gasping for breath, she watched him expectantly.
"Make it 4000z!"
That was already on par with the reward for a 3★ quest, and all they had done was bring back the corpse of a Small Monster. It was undeniably generous.
"Thank you kindly, then." Altaïr turned back to Lambert with a smile. "We'll split the bounty fifty-fifty, 2000z each. Sound fair?"
Lambert nodded eagerly. With that 2000z, her finances would be much less strained. At the very least, she would no longer have to skimp on food while forging the Kulu Armor Set.
She was daydreaming about her new Armor when Mr. Lamarck, still wearing his mask, burst out of the dissection room, his voice filled with exasperation and fury.
"What in the world did you do to it? The corpse looks intact on the surface, but the inside is a complete disaster. The chest cavity is full of blood, the internal organs are pulverized, and the abdominal cavity is beyond recognition! Even its bones are broken in a dozen places. As a specimen, its value for dissection is actually lower than that of the chopped-up corpse we received earlier!"
Altaïr and Lambert exchanged a glance, then awkwardly averted their eyes.
What had they done? Nothing more than hit it with seven Echo Waves in a row. Just then, a scholar shoved open the dissection room door with a cry of astonishment. "Mr. Lamarck! You need to see this. Could this organ be a Flame Sac?"
A jumble of voices from the other scholars immediately followed.
"Hard to say. I think it looks more like a partially mutated crop?"
"It's all tangled up with the shredded lungs. It's nearly impossible to tell them apart now."
Lamarck let out a heavy sigh and strode briskly back into the dissection room, slamming the door shut with a bang.
"So, uh, Guild Master, that bounty you just mentioned... it still counts, right? You're a man of your word. You wouldn't go back on a promise, would you?" Altaïr asked with a dry laugh.
"..."
The elder Wyverian glared at the pair, his whiskers bristling. After several long seconds, he finally spat out in an aggrieved voice, "Damn it all. The last time someone cheated me out of money because I failed to inspect the goods properly was over a hundred years ago..."
Hearing the Guild Master's remark, Altaïr knew that the elder, who had once been a merchant and still prized his integrity, was bracing himself to swallow the loss.
Relieved, he hurriedly explained, "We didn't expect this either. We were as careful as we could be because we wanted to bring back an intact corpse and provide as much information as possible."
Lambert quickly used her fingers to push up the corners of her mouth, arranging her face into an honest smile.
The Guild Master let out a breath, with no further desire to reproach them. He was about to let the matter drop and ask where they had encountered this nameless small Flying Wyvern, as well as whether they had made any new discoveries, when...
A loud shout rang out from the research institute's entrance.
"I'm here!"
Isis pushed the door open and squeezed through with some difficulty, a bulging sack of materials strapped to her back and one hand dragging the tail of the small Flying Wyvern, which was bound so tightly that it could do nothing but writhe occasionally.
At the sight of Altaïr and Lambert, her eyes widened in surprise. Then, as understanding dawned, she winked at Altaïr.
She set the sack of materials aside, then used her powerful arms to hoist the rather pitiful-looking nameless Flying Wyvern up in front of her.
The mustachioed Guild Master's gaze darted back and forth between the three of them, his face filled with suspicion. "You aren't about to tell me this one's also fine on the outside but smashed to pulp on the inside, are you?"
"Smashed to pulp inside? How could that be? It's still alive, you know," Isis said, giving the small Flying Wyvern at her feet a kick.
The wyvern twisted its neck, struggling but unable to break free of the rope binding it.
The mustachioed Guild Master crouched down and carefully checked the small Flying Wyvern's condition before finally nodding.
Just as he was about to speak, his gaze shifted to Altaïr and Isis. The two had moved closer and were exchanging knowing smiles. Suspicion deepened on his face. "Hold on. You're not setting me up, are you? If you'd brought this live one back first, the one you just sold wouldn't have fetched much. So you unloaded the damaged one first to collect that reward, and now you're bringing in the live one for another? If the last specimen had been intact enough, this live one wouldn't be nearly as valuable either. So you planned this? It's a two-part scam!"
By the end of his accusation, the mustachioed Guild Master looked ready to leap to his feet.
The winks and raised eyebrows Isis and Altaïr had exchanged moments earlier now seemed to carry some secret meaning.
He had spent years as a dominant figure in the trading world. After taking over the Loc Lac Guild, he had served as its Guild Master for decades. Yet today, these youngsters had played him like a fiddle? "No, no!" Altaïr hurriedly explained. "Lambert and I aren't in cahoots with Isis. We had no idea she was bringing a live specimen, and the internal damage to the previous corpse really was an accident."
The mustachioed Guild Master locked eyes with Altaïr, his face full of distrust as he searched for some telltale sign.
He stared for several seconds but saw only helpless sincerity in Altaïr's eyes. Yet he could not be completely sure. Had he really spent so long away from business and grown so old that he could no longer see through their act?
"Forget it. Let's say you're telling the truth. This live one... I'll value it at 5000z," the Guild Master muttered in agreement.
When the scholars, still dissatisfied with the previous specimen, heard that a Hunter had brought back a living one, they burst into cheers.
Lamarck called out, "Alive? Good. Drag it inside. Luga, prepare the tranquilizer." Then he ducked straight back into the dissection room.
Watching the scholars rush out of the dissection room, still clutching small knives and bone saws and spattered with blood, Isis finally sensed something was wrong.
"Wh-what are they going to do?"
"Dissect it, obviously. What else?" Altaïr answered offhandedly.
"D-dissect it?! No! I went through so much trouble to bring back a live one!"
Isis frantically moved to block the approaching scholars. "I trained this Mernos to be my personal transport!"
"It's not a Mernos, remember? We confirmed that not long ago," Luga said, bold enough to crouch down and pat the small Flying Wyvern on the head. "Besides, its body isn't built for long-distance flight while carrying a load. As for domesticating it... give up on that."
Isis wanted to argue further, but the small Flying Wyvern, driven into a frenzy by the scent of its own kind's blood, suddenly lashed out, sending Luga sprawling onto his back while simultaneously wrenching its head free of the ropes.
"Whoosh!"
A fierce jet of flame shot out. Just before it could engulf the scholars, Isis darted in front of them and raised her shield to block the crimson fire.
Thanks to Isis's quick reaction, the column of flame missed the scholars, though the lingering dragon flame burned through the remaining ropes on the small Flying Wyvern.
Realizing its bonds had loosened, the wyvern beat its wings and heaved violently, throwing off the cords still tangled around its body.
"We can't let it escape!" Altaïr whipped the Long Sword from his back in a flash.
They were inside a city. If a flying creature capable of unleashing a breath attack got loose, the resulting chaos and casualties would be unthinkable.
"Ugh, and I thought I might finally get to feel what it's like to ride a wyvern through the sky..." Isis grimaced, though her movements did not slow at all.
She charged several steps forward and delivered a Tackle, knocking the small Flying Wyvern back to the ground as it beat its wings and tried to take off.
(Translated by yourtl.app)