So the Royal Academy's investigation into the "One-Horned Demon King" had another purpose behind it?
Understanding dawned on Altaïr.
Discovering ruins of an ancient civilization in the Great Desert was nothing unusual. Sometimes, a single great sandstorm could unearth ruins that had lain buried for thousands of years, exposing them to the sky once more.
For the nomadic tribes roaming the vast sea of sand, those ancient ruins were also an important source of income.
Although the various "super-ancient treasures" bought from the nomads were almost always fake, even counterfeits had to be based on something, didn't they?
They would dig something up, make a batch of imitations based on its appearance, and haul them into the city to sell to tourists. Then they would use their connections to find discerning regular customers and sell them the genuine article at a high price. Altaïr knew the whole process inside out.
"Then we'd better hurry," Altaïr said with a nod. "Once word gets out, our only chance of finding anything from the ruins will be to try our luck on the black market."
Everyone gave Altaïr a strange look.
He seemed awfully familiar with the process...
Altaïr laughed awkwardly and looked away.
Best not to ask. He had only heard about it from people in the Loc Lac Rangers...
"In short, our plan is to dock the Knowledge Seeker at the ruins first, then search the surrounding area for the Demon King's trail.
"Once we find it, we'll just..."
"..."
"Take it down in one fell swoop!" Isis clenched her fists excitedly.
"No, no, no. Don't be so hasty." Alva waved his hands repeatedly.
The whole reason he had called these High Rank Hunters together for a brief meeting was that he feared the instructions would not be conveyed clearly enough, prompting them to charge straight in as soon as they found the target.
"Although we've abandoned our plans for breeding experiments, the Demon King is still an unprecedented individual. Conducting a reasonable amount of research before the hunt begins is necessary.
"Dissecting a corpse is certainly the most direct way to understand a target, but some information can only be obtained while the target is still alive..." His voice grew softer and softer.
Lania stood beside him, watching quietly until his words faltered. Then she fixed him with a somber gaze. "Go on. I'm listening."
"Ahem! We really aren't planning anything excessive, but it does happen to be March..."
"..." The others did not immediately understand, but Altaïr instantly grasped Alva's implication.
Diablos were the most numerous large Flying Wyvern species in the Great Desert and had the widest range. Altaïr knew their habits quite well.
"March and April mark the Diablos breeding season, and the region stretching from the Dead Sand Sea to the western Great Desert is their breeding ground.
"You want to observe the Demon King's breeding behavior?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You really haven't given up on that scheme, have you?" Francesca glanced sidelong at Alva, whose forehead was beaded with sweat.
Lania's expression instantly darkened as well.
"Let me explain!" Alva hurriedly said. "We really aren't planning to breed a whole brood of little Demon Kings.
"But, well... You know..."
"..."
"Use your words! Explain yourself clearly!" Lania barked.
Under Lania's intense questioning, Alva wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly gathered his thoughts. "Fine. Our main objective is to determine what caused the Demon King to appear.
"Is it an inherited genetic trait, or did some external factor cause it to mutate? The Guild must be concerned about that as well, right?
"The most direct way to find out is by observing its offspring."
"So, ultimately, you still intend to conduct breeding experiments?" Lania casually turned one hand over. A small, gleaming dagger appeared in her palm, its polished blade flashing as it spun around her fingertips.
Everyone's eyes followed the spinning blade despite themselves.
Suddenly, she flicked her wrist. The small dagger flashed past Alva's cheek. Thunk!
It embedded itself in the backrest of his chair.
Alva jumped in fright, then let his shoulders slump in utter helplessness. "Was that really necessary? We've been married for over twenty years, and you're still pulling that one?"
Lania produced another dagger and said coldly, "Answer the question directly."
"All right, all right..." Alva raised his hands in surrender. His expression grew serious. "Breeding experiments use artificial inducement and intervention to make target organisms reproduce.
"For example, making a Rathian mate with a Khezu to see what kind of hybrid they would produce..."
Everyone else was speechless.
Alva continued, "Such pairings almost never occur naturally, so they do present various risks and ethical problems.
"Since we promised the Guild that we wouldn't conduct such experiments, we won't break that promise. We accept the Guild's supervision on that point.
"Natural reproduction, however, is an entirely different matter.
"This isn't a word game. That Demon King is clearly an adult that has been sexually mature for years. Over the past several years, perhaps even decades, it must have bred naturally many times.
"Think about it. If it really produced whole broods of little Demon Kings, then given its formidable strength and ability to outcompete other Diablos, a red Diablos Subspecies would have emerged long ago, wouldn't it?
"Since that hasn't happened, its breeding clearly hasn't disrupted the ecosystem."
Serl, who had barely spoken, gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment. "That's true. No other red Diablos have been sighted, nor has its breeding caused an ecological disaster."
As soon as someone agreed with him, Alva began speaking faster. "So, we don't intend to do anything. We only want to observe.
"The Demon King is male. We want to see whether it competes with other male Diablos for mating rights, whether it mates with female Diablos, and whether any female it mates with produces offspring that differ from ordinary Diablos.
"That last point will require a long-term observation project. The Royal Academy will appoint a dedicated team to handle it, and the project will also remain under the Guild's supervision."
Altaïr pressed him further. "Another question. How long will we have to observe it? If the target doesn't interact with other Diablos and simply keeps to itself, are we supposed to watch it indefinitely?"
Alva slowed down. "Half a month. Once we locate the Demon King, we hope to track and observe it for half a month.
"You won't need to trouble yourselves with that part. The Knowledge Seeker carries small Airships specifically for observation, so we'll be quite safe watching from the air.
"Once the half-month observation period is over, you can commence the hunt as normal."
Isis muttered, "So that's why they told us from the start that the quest would take about a month. Half of it is for this."
"Altaïr, Serl, what do you two think?"
After a brief, hushed exchange with Altaïr, Serl turned to Francesca and asked, "Without any resupply, how long will the Knowledge Seeker's provisions last?"
"Two months, easily," Francesca answered promptly.
Altaïr and Serl exchanged a glance and nodded. As the older of the two, Serl gave their answer. "In that case, we have no objections."
Alva looked expectantly at Lania.
Lania's expression remained cold. "You didn't discuss this with us beforehand and only called this meeting after we'd already set sail. Did you think that would make it easier to win approval?"
"I wouldn't put it quite like that. Ha ha ha..." Alva laughed awkwardly.
Lania took a quest form from inside her coat. "This quest to hunt the crimson Diablos was issued at the beginning of March with a one-month deadline.
"It is now early March.
"How long you take to find the target, observe it, and hunt it is not my concern.
"I only want to see the corpse of that crimson Diablos before the quest deadline.
"If the quest fails because you exceed the time limit, the Royal Academy will bear full responsibility."
Alva's eyes lit up. "That works! If we can locate the target in two or three days, we'll have around twenty days to observe it!"
Altaïr glanced sidelong at him. "Mr. Alva, if I may be blunt, finding one particular Diablos that travels underground in this vast sea of sand will not be easy.
"If it takes us twenty days to find the target, you'll only have two or three days to observe it."
Alva froze. He turned to Lania. "Would that situation also be considered the Royal Academy's responsibility?"
"Yes."
A brief silence followed. Alva pushed his glasses up, the glare on the lenses obscuring his eyes.
"In that case, I'll handle this personally."