"What were you two talking about over there?" Altaïr asked with a puzzled look as Nymera approached. "The Village Chief called for you several times."
A sheepish smile crossed Nymera's face. "Nothing, really. Just idle chatter."
"All right, everyone, quiet down. We'll be landing on Tidal Island shortly, so let me go over the plan," the big-nosed Village Chief said, clapping his hands to draw the Hunters' attention.
"This island is by no means safe. It's home to many Monsters entirely unknown to us, and landing everyone at once would be too dangerous.
Our plan is for the ship to anchor at a safe spot offshore. An advance team of Hunters and scholars will take a small boat to the island first and conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the area around the landing point.
Ideally, we'll find a suitable place to establish a camp before the main force comes ashore."
"Understood," the Hunters replied in unison, nodding.
"You've probably all gotten to know one another over the past few days, but I think a proper introduction is in order."
The Village Chief turned and gestured to his side. "The head of the expedition's research team, Meowster of the Wycademy! He'll be working alongside you Hunters, providing academic support and advice!"
Dressed in a scholar's robe and square academic cap, the Felyne crossed his arms and gave a slight nod. "Pleased to meet you all, meow."
Felynes had long since found a place in every walk of human society. With their deft paws and sharp senses, they were well suited to assisting humans. Whether accompanying Hunters, smiths, cooks, or scholars, their energetic presence was a common sight.
But a Meowster like him, who had risen to become a doctor through his own ability and knowledge, then attained a high-ranking position in the Wycademy rather than serving as someone's aide, was exceedingly rare.
Even someone as proud as Clawdia treated Meowster with great respect.
His capabilities truly were extraordinary. As the Soaratorium's original leader, he was not only immensely knowledgeable but also possessed outstanding leadership skills.
Francesca had privately told Altaïr and the others that she had originally planned to visit the Wycademy and see whether she could recruit the Field Team Leader for their expedition.
That idea had proved unrealistic. As the Soaratorium's current leader, the Field Team Leader was so busy each day that he barely had time to rest. There was no way he could spare several years to join their expedition.
His mentor and friend, Meowster, had far more freedom in his schedule. After a great deal of persuasion, with Tidal Island's unique Monster population and ecosystem as bait, Francesca had finally convinced this eminent scholar to join them.
Within the expedition team, Meowster's authority was second only to the Village Chief's, on par with Francesca's and perhaps even slightly greater.
The three of them represented the Guild, the Wycademy, and the Merchant Guild, respectively. Together, they formed the expedition's core leadership, each responsible for a different area.
The Village Chief oversaw development, construction, and base management; Meowster oversaw exploration, investigation, and research; and Francesca, having recruited both of them, focused on securing sponsors and prying resources out of the Merchant Guild.
Meowster took over from the Village Chief. "There's no need for anyone to feel pressured, meow. We'll put safety first and proceed one step at a time, meow.
The ship has plenty of supplies. Even if we were to drift at sea for a full month, we wouldn't have a problem, meow. So there's no need to rush to establish a base or bring everyone ashore. Finding the right place will depend on luck, meow."
"That's right!" The Village Chief nodded emphatically in agreement.
"I plan to split the Hunters into two teams," Meowster said, leafing through the résumés in his paw. "As it happens, the roles split quite evenly, meow.
Two heavily armored Hunters, two mobile frontliners, two Gunners, and two supporters. Altaïr, Isis, and Nymera are already a team, meow. There's no need to split you up. You three will form the first team.
Dawn, Morgan, and Theo will form the second team, meow.
I'll accompany the first team. My deputy, Millsy, will accompany the second team and provide support, meow.
Rest assured, she's also an excellent scholar and more than capable of serving as a supporter, meow."
Behind Meowster, the young Wyverian scholar with deep brown hair gave a slight bow. "I look forward to working with everyone."
"Woo! A real beauty! Lucky us!" Theo laughed cheerfully and let out a whistle.
Unfortunately for him, neither the older, steady Dawn nor the perpetually cold-faced Morgan paid him any attention. Even Millsy herself ignored his teasing.
With no one taking the bait, he could only laugh awkwardly and fall silent.
"Excuse me, but is there nothing for the two of us to do?" Unable to contain herself, Kagetsu raised her hand. Her armor made her look like a Guild receptionist on duty.
Meowster looked over. "I noticed that you two supporters have low Hunter ranks, one at 2★ and the other at 3★, correct, meow?
The first few reconnaissance missions will be the most dangerous, and supporters will have little opportunity to contribute. For now, remain aboard and guard the ship."
Lambert thought of protesting that she was not merely a supporter, but ultimately held her tongue. If anything, her abilities as an attacker would be valued even less.
If she truly wanted to earn a place on the active team, she had to find a way to advance to 3★ as soon as possible.
"Millsy and I will work out detailed survey routes and prepare contingency plans, including retreat routes. Does anyone have any other questions?" Meowster's gaze swept over the Hunters.
Altaïr raised his hand. "Meowster, I have a question. This ship has a small Airship stored aboard, right?
Why not conduct aerial reconnaissance? Wouldn't that be far more efficient?"
Meowster glanced at him. "When surveying entirely unfamiliar territory, ground reconnaissance is safer than aerial reconnaissance because we don't know what Monsters inhabit this island, meow.
Many Flying Wyverns, along with some even more powerful Monsters, hate having anything fly over their heads, meow. If we recklessly use the Airship for reconnaissance, we risk being shot down."
"I see. I have no more questions." Altaïr nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry. We've already drawn up the plan for the survey's first phase, meow. Once we've established a base and begun the second phase, we'll bring the Airship into play, meow.
Millsy is a highly skilled Airship pilot. You can all look forward to that, meow."
With no further questions, the group left the galley and headed up to the deck.
—--
The coastline, distant and hazy before, now stood clearly in view.
Isis could not help exclaiming, "Wow. Is this really an island? I can't see either end! It's like an entire continent!"
Millsy smiled. "We're facing Tidal Island's southern coast. Preliminary estimates place its length at around a hundred kilometers, so of course you can't see either end.
And Tidal Island is long. Its eastern and western coastlines are longer still, exceeding three hundred kilometers.
That means that even with a clear road, and ignoring both the terrain and the risk of Monster attacks, it would take at least a week to walk from here to the far end of the island."
"Truly astonishing," Nymera murmured, equally impressed.
"The island's sheer scale is among its least remarkable features, meow." Meowster pressed a paw to his hat. His whiskers quivered, and irrepressible excitement filled his voice.
"Find us a place to anchor and lower the boats. We're going ashore, meow!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)