"Get the **** out of here!"
Oshura turned and roared, then looked back at the hulking fellow before her. He was nearly a head taller than she was and almost twice as broad. Suspicion covered her face as she asked, "Are you really only seventeen?"
Finally beginning to understand why she was upset, Gordon gave an awkward laugh. "Well, not exactly seventeen. I'll be eighteen in another month or two..."
The corner of Oshura's mouth twitched again. "...Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Gordon kept grinning foolishly, not daring to answer.
"Haaah."
Oshura let out a long sigh. She had realized that the fellow before her was just a kid with rather poor social awareness. He had meant no harm, so there was no point getting angry.
At the same time, though, she grew even more curious.
"Kokoto Village? I remember that being a little village farther east. What brought you to Minegarde? Ah, I know. You're here to apply for an assessment quest and become a full-fledged hunter?"
Gordon shook his head. His reason for coming to Minegarde was hardly a secret, so he answered frankly. "No, I just advanced to two-star. The village chief and the others thought I should get out and see more of the world."
Oshura's eyes widened a little. "Two-star? You're a two-star hunter? And you're not even an adult yet?"
"Yeah."
Gordon took out his Hunter's Notes and showed her. He did feel a little proud. According to the Instructor, hunters who reached two-star at his age were few and far between.
"Well, I'll be damned," Oshura muttered. "When I was seventeen, I was still hauling fucking barbells around training camp. Oh, right, what did you say your name was again?"
"...Gordon."
"Right. I'll remember that."
Oshura nodded and continued, "So, kid, are you just passing through, or are you planning to join Minegarde's Hunter Gathering Hall and use this place as your base for a while?"
Gordon, who had been hoping to ask her how to register, immediately replied, "I'm planning to stay for a while."
"I see. Come with me, then."
Oshura unfolded her arms and beckoned to Gordon, who hurried after her.
"You'll have to buy your big sister here a drink later as thanks!"
"Of course! Big Sis Oshura."
"Hmm?"
"Uh, Senior Oshura!"
"Mm, that sounds much better."
The huntress flashed a toothy grin and led Gordon to a counter inside the Gathering Hub.
A young receptionist in a pale green maid's uniform lay slumped over the counter, fast asleep. She looked no more than a year or two older than Gordon.
Oshura slapped the counter hard, and the receptionist shot upright as if she had been electrocuted.
"Eek! Sorry, I wasn't slacking off!"
Oshura rolled her eyes at the sight and said irritably, "Why are you sleeping again, Tiji? Relax. The one with the glasses isn't here today."
"Oh, it's only you, Oshura."
The young receptionist named Tiji immediately returned to her usual languid manner, giving Gordon a curious look where he stood behind Oshura.
She knew every hunter at the Minegarde Hunter Gathering Hall, but this fellow clearly wasn't one of them.
"This kid's Gordon, a genius hunter from Kokoto Village. He's already two-star, and he's not even an adult yet." Oshura rested an arm on the counter and grinned. "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Oh my, that really is unusual!" Tiji said, widening her round, almond-shaped eyes and holding her fingertips lightly over her little mouth.
"Then hurry up and register him!"
Oshura's sudden rise in volume gave Gordon a start behind her.
Tiji, on the other hand, seemed long accustomed to Oshura's abrupt outbursts. She pursed her lips at her, then turned to Gordon with her trademark sweet smile. Folding her hands over her lower abdomen, she bowed slightly and said:
"Hello, Mr. Hunter. Please provide your Hunter's Notes. If you have any documents such as a letter of introduction, please provide those as well."
Caught off guard by her suddenly professional manner, Gordon fumbled out his Hunter's Notes and the letter of introduction the village chief had written.
Tiji accepted them with both hands and began checking and processing them with practiced ease.
Oshura smacked her lips and muttered loudly to Gordon, "Little brother Gordon, don't let this one's sweet smile fool you.
"She coasts on being cute and spends all day slacking off. She's the laziest receptionist in the entire Gathering Hub. If you don't get a little stern with her, she'll drag out even the simplest quest registration for a whole hour."
At that point, she suddenly glanced at Porkchop behind Gordon and continued, "Also, she's an incurable cat fanatic. The kind who won't let go once she gets her hands on a Felyne. Especially a little fellow with bright fur like you. Remember to keep your distance."
"Meow-meow?"
Porkchop shuddered at her words and instinctively edged farther behind Gordon.
"Hey! You gorilla woman! Who badmouths someone right to their face like that?!" Tiji, who had looked so diligent just a moment ago, slammed her hands on the counter and stood up, though her eyes kept straying behind Gordon.
Gordon silently shifted half a step to block her view of Porkchop, only for Oshura beside him to explode as well.
"G-gorilla woman?! You-you dare say that again?!"
Tiji's words seemed to have struck a sore spot. Oshura's voice had turned shrill.
"What else would you call a muscle woman who spends all day hunting Congalala?" Tiji glared back fearlessly, only for Oshura to reach across the counter and hoist her petite frame into the air.
Comparing their builds and muscle mass, Gordon was just thinking that Tiji was probably in for some suffering when a cold voice came from behind them.
"Have you had enough?"
Oshura and Tiji froze at once. Feeling a chill at his back as well, Gordon instinctively turned around.
The newcomer was an exceptionally tall woman. He was now almost a hundred and ninety centimeters tall, yet she was every bit as tall as he was.
Her skin was light brown, and she wore a silk robe with a distinctly exotic flair. A gold, pearl-adorned hairpin ran through her long hair, which was piled high on her head.
Gordon suspected that the hairpin alone was worth several times everything he owned.
Yet some of her other features stood out even more than her clothing.
Her ears were narrower and more pointed than those of ordinary humans, her hands had only four fingers each, and her lower legs bent backward. All of these marked the newcomer as a Wyverian.
The Wyverians were an exceedingly mysterious and rare people among humankind.
They possessed alchemical and smithing techniques far beyond those of ordinary humans, as well as much longer lifespans, earning them a reputation as "the people best suited to becoming artisans and scholars."
They could often be found even in academic institutions such as the Royal Wyverian Research Team and the Elder Dragon Observation Bureau.
They also possessed extraordinary leadership abilities and keen insight. In remote villages, the position of village chief was often held by a Wyverian.
Kokoto Village was one such example.
"My apologies for that embarrassing display."
The Wyverian woman elegantly inclined her head to Gordon in apology. Then she gently adjusted her glasses and introduced herself in a rather ethereal voice:
"A pleasure to meet you, unfamiliar young hunter. I am the head of the Minegarde Hunter Gathering Hall, Vantikasya Mo Lagoma Tiratina."
Before you continue