Ms. Meow-It-All's decision to order an early retreat was undoubtedly the right one.
Drawn by the twin lure of blood and roaring cries, even more juveniles were gathering from the surrounding caves, causing the Hunters considerable trouble as they retreated.
It was Theo who hit upon a less-than-ideal solution. He smashed Dung Bombs, normally used to drive away Monsters, against their own bodies.
The stench of the Dung Bombs was not enough to drive off the hungry juveniles, but it was more than sufficient to mask the Hunters' scent.
Faced with a choice between the foul-smelling unknown creatures ahead of them and the lure of blood in the distance, the vast majority of the juveniles decisively chose the latter. Taking advantage of the opening, the Hunters followed the route they had come, fought their way out of the deep cave where the Pariapuria juveniles had gathered, and made it safely back to the surface despite the hazards.
The few juveniles that pursued them could only watch helplessly as the Hunters climbed the rope ladder. The Pioneer rapidly ascended, carrying them into the sky and away from the dry river valley that looked utterly unremarkable from the outside.
By then, dawn was beginning to break.
—--
The newly built command post at Mangrove Outpost had been standing for only two days.
Ms. Meow-It-All handed a thick stack of quest reports to the Village Chief. "This is the action report for our investigation quest, meow.
"Pages one through four record the Hunters' activities over the past ten days, meow. Pages five through forty-eight cover our discoveries and conclusions about Pariapuria ecology, a risk analysis, and..."
"You've worked hard." The Village Chief took the stack of reports from Ms. Meow-It-All's paws with a solemn expression, then handed it to Francesca beside him.
Looking equally solemn, Francesca wrapped the stack of reports in waterproof oil paper, carefully poured sealing wax over the package, and stamped it with an official seal.
"Understood. I'll send it by peregrine falcon... No, a peregrine falcon probably can't carry this. I'll arrange for a dedicated messenger to deliver it to the Hunter's Guild headquarters!"
Ms. Meow-It-All's furry face took on a helpless expression. "Aren't you two going to read it in full first, meow?"
Francesca giggled and leaned back against the Village Chief's desk. "Haven't we already seen enough? We have the Hunters' action reports and the materials you brought back.
"As for academic reports and treatises like this, we can leave them for the scholars at headquarters to study carefully!"
With that, she straightened. "I oversee supplies and personnel. As for what comes next, whether we send Hunters to track down those Pariapuria or choose another course, you two can discuss it and decide.
"I'm going to check on our newest member first! Who would have thought an investigation quest could bring back a little Lynian seeking shelter with her baby? Well done! Isis and the others did a great job, ahahaha!
"Now we won't have to recruit any cultivation experts. We can establish a farm right away!"
Francesca laughed as she ran out of the command post. The Village Chief and Ms. Meow-It-All exchanged helpless glances.
"Based on the current situation, there should still be another three to five Pariapuria in the Mangrove Forest. I suggest reducing that number by half, meow.
"Whether the survivors become part of the Mangrove Forest's ecology or withdraw under pressure from the other Large Monsters, we should leave that choice to nature, meow.
"That should allow the Monsters driven to the fringes of the Mangrove Forest to gradually return to their home territories, meow."
"Then we'll do as you suggest. For now, let's post two quests to hunt Pariapuria."
"That should do it, meow."
—--
As the Village Chief and Ms. Meow-It-All discussed and settled their course of action, Francesca practically bounded outside the outpost.
On a flat stretch of ground not far beyond the outpost's outer wall, a small earthen house had already been built. Even Francesca would have had to stoop to enter it.
That was the new home for Honeysuckle and her child.
As was traditional among the Uruki, they would find a cave amid a field of flowers that could shelter them from wind and rain, weave hanging baskets from leaves and flowering vines, and suspend them inside the cave.
Those hanging flower baskets served as their beds, a custom they practiced from birth.
The terrain around Mangrove Outpost consisted of flat, open plains, so finding such a cave was naturally impossible. Honeysuckle had originally planned to hang the flower baskets from the outpost's outer wall.
The Village Chief did not mind adding a few round ornaments to the outer wall, but the flower baskets alone offered no protection from wind or rain. Francesca wanted to set aside one of the completed houses inside the outpost for them, but Honeysuckle found it difficult to adjust to the human custom of communal living. As a traditional Uruki, she still hoped to live among fields of flowers with her child.
Given her abilities, she could transform Mangrove Outpost into a sea of flowers in only two or three months. It was a beautiful prospect, but it would have been far too inconvenient for the human members of the outpost.
The only workable compromise was to build them a home outside the outpost walls.
As head of the outpost's resource team, Francesca could easily have assigned a few smiths to build a home for Honeysuckle and her child. However, the smiths were busy constructing the outpost, and pulling any of them away without warning would have disrupted the existing work schedules. That left Francesca no choice but to inconvenience Honeysuckle and her child for a while by asking them to stay in her room first...
Unfortunately for Francesca, her plan never got the chance to succeed. Isis volunteered to build the house herself.
She naturally could not handle any complex construction, but a simple earthen house, made by digging a hole, setting a ring of logs upright as walls, and laying a few planks across them as a roof, was not too difficult for someone accustomed to camping in the wild and putting up temporary shelters.
The outpost already had plenty of lumber. Isis borrowed some tools from the smiths and dragged Altaïr, who had returned from a quest and was enjoying a break, over to help. Together, they completed a crude but sturdy earthen house in a single day.
Their rough craftsmanship had left the walls and roof of the earthen house full of gaps, but Honeysuckle did not mind at all. On the contrary, she seemed delighted.
She packed the gaps with mud, scattered flower and grass seeds from who knew where, laid a thick layer of soil and moss over the roof, and transplanted many plants with dense root systems.
After only a few rainfalls, this small earthen house, less than ten square meters in area, would become a true flower-covered home.
Having learned the complex human language and spent a long time in contact with human society, Honeysuckle understood that humans had reasons for offering help and protection. For her and her child to survive more securely in this land, she had to demonstrate her own worth.
Once her baby was settled, she quickly got to work.
She cleared uncultivated land, examined the soil and water sources, and built frames for climbing plants, keeping so busy that she hardly paused for a moment.
When Francesca arrived at the door of the earthen house, Honeysuckle was carrying a small flower basket and using a tiny hoe to level the surrounding ground.
Seeing Francesca approach, she paused her work.
Francesca rubbed her hands together eagerly and approached with a besotted grin. "Is the little baby still asleep? I'm here to play with you~."
"Francesca... miss." Honeysuckle stepped back half a pace and hid her flower basket. After two days at Mangrove Outpost, she was gradually realizing just how irresistible her child was to humans.
Many people had come specifically to greet her, just for the chance to pet her baby.
"Ahem..."
Realizing that her behavior had been a little rude, Francesca cleared her throat. "I heard from Isis earlier that you had something you wanted to tell me, so I just happened to be passing by... Yes, passing by... and thought I'd check on you."
Honeysuckle blinked her round eyes at her. For a moment, Francesca thought that if she could not pet the baby, petting the mother would do just as well.
"Francesca... miss, everyone can give Honeysuckle... a list of what they need. Except for... plants from places of extreme cold and some plants... that only grow in certain regions, almost... anything can be grown as long as there are seeds."
Hearing Honeysuckle's halting command of the common language, Francesca was momentarily at a loss for words.
She had encountered Uruki before. These little Lynians were naturally carefree and fiercely independent. They rarely cultivated plants toward a specific goal, preferring simply to live as part of nature among fields of flowers.
She had never met an Uruki like Honeysuckle, one who so directly asked her for a list of things people wanted her to grow.
Her besotted grin faded. Francesca rubbed her chin and studied Honeysuckle for a long moment. When Honeysuckle nervously averted her gaze, Francesca smiled and asked, "This isn't really what you love doing, is it? Even if you want to earn our goodwill and protection, you don't need to push yourself this hard from the start.
"Is there something you need our help with?"
Honeysuckle was silent for a few seconds before answering uneasily. "Honeysuckle wants... to ask the Hunters to help... find Star Jasmine."
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5 bonus chapters for every 100 PS the novel gets. unlimited as long as it's before the weekly reset