When Gordon reached the service counter, two receptionists were on duty. Besides Tiji in her pale green uniform, there was an unfamiliar receptionist wearing a pale yellow maid outfit.
Gordon naturally went over to the more familiar of the two.
"Good morning, Tiji."
"Yaaawn~"
Tiji covered her little mouth and yawned before replying lazily, "Morning, Gordon~."
The unfamiliar receptionist beside her also looked over and greeted Gordon warmly.
After a brief introduction, Gordon learned that this seemingly gentle receptionist was named Machi. She appeared to be Tiji's senior.
"What brings you here, Gordon? Surely you aren't here to pick out a quest this early in the morning?" Tiji propped up her chin, looking utterly listless. Only after Machi shot her a glare did she slowly straighten up.
"Actually, I am. I wanted to pick a quest and stretch my legs. I was badly injured just before coming to Minegarde and spent over a month in bed. My joints feel like they're rusting solid."
"Oh? What monster did you run into to get hurt that badly?"
Though Tiji always gave off a lazy air, she was actually a lively, talkative girl.
Gordon made no attempt to hide it. His mouth twisted as though he had a toothache. "A Rathalos. It really beat me to a pulp. If Porkchop hadn't saved my life, I probably wouldn't have made it back."
"Uh, you really do have rotten luck." Tiji looked at Gordon with pity in her eyes.
She knew Gordon's hunter rank. A two-star hunter couldn't possibly accept a quest to hunt a Rathalos, so it could only have been an accidental encounter.
Poor unlucky bastard.
After a little more idle chatter, Tiji dropped an enormous "book" onto the counter with a thud.
Gordon flipped through a couple of pages before realizing that every single page was a quest form!
There were thirty or forty two-star quests alone, and over a hundred one-star quests. Just the ones in front of him amounted to several years' worth of quests in Kokoto Village.
That was a big-city gathering hall for you, huh?
Gordon wasn't interested in one-star gathering quests, so he began browsing the two-star quests.
As for the three-star quests available "under special conditions," he had no intention of touching those for now.
Gordon believed he had a clear understanding of his own abilities-those of an ordinary two-star hunter, perhaps a tiny bit better, but definitely nowhere near the level of a three-star hunter.
Forcing his way into a three-star quest now would be irresponsible toward himself, and even more so toward his teammates.
Yet even these two-star quests alone left him overwhelmed by the choices.
After all, he had only recently been promoted to two-star hunter. Apart from the urgent quest involving the Blue Velociprey King, the only two-star quest he had actually accepted was the one to steal Rathalos eggs.
And even that had ended in failure.
He had no way of judging which quests paid well or which were appropriately difficult.
Fortunately, Oshura had taught him a secret weapon at the dinner table yesterday.
"Ahem."
Setting aside his guilt, Gordon cleared his throat, bent down, and lifted Porkchop, who had been following him, onto the counter. He rubbed the Felyne's fluffy little head and said with a solemn expression:
"Miss Tiji, if you can pick out a suitable two-star quest for me, I'll let you pet Porkchop for ten minutes."
Porkchop: "Meow, meow, meow??"
Staring at Porkchop's glossy cream-and-gold fur, Tiji's eyes began to sparkle. Her lazy drawl turned eager. "You have yourself a deal!"
Machi: "..."
It feels like you've single-handedly lowered the reliability of every receptionist in the Minegarde Hunter Gathering Hall.
Oblivious to her senior's helpless look, Tiji rapidly flipped through the quest forms. In little more than ten seconds, she pulled one out and handed it to Gordon.
--
Slaying quest: Plundering everywhere! Shakalaka bandits! (★★) Objective: Slay 20 Shakalaka Reward: 4,300z Location: Metabe Forest Time limit: 10 days The Shakalaka summer festival is about to begin again. These pests have started scouring the area for food and livestock to use as offerings. They won't even spare passing caravans, and they've even raided villages. Hurry and teach these wretched creatures a lesson!
--
"Well? Pretty good, right?" Tiji looked immensely proud of herself.
Gordon read the quest carefully. It really was an excellent choice.
Shakalaka were a type of Lynian monster slightly smaller than Felynes. Compared to the gentle, kindhearted Felynes, these creatures were far more violent and vicious, often attacking humans unprovoked.
Slaying twenty Shakalaka wasn't particularly difficult. After all, it didn't involve fighting large monsters; it would simply take more time. If not for the sheer number involved, it should have been a one-star quest.
True, it lacked a little challenge for a two-star quest, but for Gordon, whose bones felt loose after over a month in bed, it couldn't have been more suitable.
Most importantly, the reward was quite generous. Even Gordon's urgent quest to hunt the Blue Velociprey King had only paid 4,000z.
"Great. I'll take this one."
Gordon gave Tiji a thumbs-up, then pushed Porkchop toward her under the Felyne's incredulous gaze. "Porkchop, take one for the team and let her admire you. I'll treat you to smoked cod sausages afterward!"
Unable to wait any longer, Tiji scooped Porkchop into her arms and began petting him to her heart's content as he struggled in protest, crying, "Meow, meow, meow, meow!"
"Heeheeheehee..."
Just as the receptionist was indulging in her petting spree with a lecherous grin, two figures approached the counter, one behind the other.
Hearing them approach, Gordon turned to look and discovered that one of them was Amos, whom he had met just yesterday.
"Good morning, Amos."
Gordon took the initiative to greet him. He held this powerful veteran in great respect.
"Good morning, Gordon."
Amos nodded to him with a friendly smile.
Choosing to ignore Tiji's strange behavior, Amos turned to Machi. "Machi, let me see the quest forms."
"Certainly, Lord Amos."
Machi bowed respectfully and picked up a slim but finely made booklet. Before she could hand it to Amos, however, he waved it away.
"No, not high-rank quests. A one-star slaying quest will do, two-star at most. I'm planning to take my apprentice out to the hunting grounds for her first taste of combat."
Only then did Gordon notice the slender girl standing behind Amos.
She wore a very new set of hunter armor. Its cut differed slightly from the men's version he knew, but the materials and design were exactly the same.
Why does she look a little familiar?
Gordon wondered to himself, while the girl's gaze remained fixed on Tiji-or, more precisely, on Porkchop, who was still struggling in her arms.
Noticing the girl's gaze and misunderstanding it, Amos smiled. "That Felyne is a hunting companion, a trusted partner who fights alongside a hunter. If I remember correctly, this little fellow is Gordon's partner."
"Are you... are you Porkchop?" The girl took two steps forward and asked hesitantly.
"...Meow?"
Suddenly hearing someone call his name, Porkchop stopped struggling and looked at her.
He studied the girl's features and searched his memory for a while. Finally recalling something, Porkchop exclaimed in surprise, "You're the little girl from the caravan, meow? I think your name was... Hayata, meow?"
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