Farewells and Encounters

Morning sunlight shone into Dondorma.

Walking along the street, Sara raised his arm.

He offered an earthworm to the beetle's mouthparts.

"You can't eat any more."

Entering the institute's courtyard, he checked on the Kinsects as usual.

"Just as I thought, the Kinsects became noticeably more active after Ahtal-Ka returned..."

After finishing his records, Sara headed toward Sisi's little shed.

In a dark corner the sunlight had yet to reach.

A stark white skeletal dragon stood in plain sight.

A dozen or so Felynes lay sprawled around its bony claws.

"What the-!"

Sara reached back to draw his Insect Glaive, but his hand grasped empty air.

Only then did he realize that, with no demonstrations scheduled today, he was wearing nothing but the institute's scholar uniform.

"Morning, Director, meow!"

Just as Sara was growing terribly nervous, Kaluo strolled past him carrying a basin of water.

Wait, this monster had no muscles or shell, and there were plenty of traces of clumped insect silk binding its bones together. The Felynes weren't hurt, either. They were just snoring...

"I really am getting old..."

Sara sighed softly.

"What's wrong, meow?"

Kaluo asked curiously.

"I said you're up early too."

"I didn't get up early, meow. I haven't slept. This is what we made with Sisi last night. Impressive, isn't it, meow?"

"It certainly is impressive... Just don't casually take it out for fun at night, or you might bring out all the Guild Knights."

Sara cautioned him.

"Don't worry, meow. We'll be taking Old Bones along on this trip."

"Right. You'll be leaving soon."

Thinking of how the Kinsect Research Institute would soon return to having nothing but the buzz of insect wings all day, Sara felt a faint sadness.

Kaluo brought the basin into the house they had built beside the institute.

After washing up, Li Le packed his luggage and loaded it into the pedal cart's cargo compartment.

He had not wanted to leave in such a hurry, but the hunter teams and merchant caravans heading to Val Habar had packed every means of transport along the safe routes.

Li Le was being dispatched there on official Guild business, which was the only reason he had a railcar to ride.

Although it only covered a little under half the journey, that was already quite a rare privilege, so he could only accept the Guild's arrangements for his departure time.

Holo woke the Felynes and hung the insect cages on the cargo compartment's sideboards.

Although the Kinsects in the cages had all finished being raised, someone still had to feed, observe, and care for them each day.

Holo therefore decided to select half the Felynes to accompany them as support.

Surprisingly, despite the dangers of Val Habar, every Felyne present wanted to go along.

"Let them all go. We can recruit another group for the institute."

With Sara's instructions, Holo promptly did so.

The compartment carrying the Kinsects and Felynes was hitched up, with Sisi and Old Bones' compartment right behind it.

"Once we part this time, who knows how long it'll be before we see each other again."

Watching the three-compartment pedal cart recede into the distance, and all the cats waving their paws in farewell, Holo's eyes filled with tears.

"As long as the people you miss are still around, you'll meet again sooner or later."

After speaking, Sara looked up at the azure sky.

On the crowded, noisy railcar platform, the three-compartment cart moved extremely slowly.

"Wasn't Val Habar supposed to be dangerous? Why does everyone look like they're off to hunt for gold...?"

Li Le had thought only the railcars would be crowded. He hadn't expected even the platform to be packed.

"It's not just humans. There are lots of Felynes too, meow."

After making that observation, Kaluo stretched out his paws and yawned.

Inching his way to the edge of the platform, Li Le let out a soft breath and felt considerably more at ease.

"Li Le!"

"Kaluo!"

Hearing the shouts from the opposite platform, Li Le looked up.

"It's Lan Rui and Sanhua Miao, meow!"

Kaluo waved his paw rapidly.

Compared with the packed crowd on this side, the opposite platform looked very quiet.

"Heading back to Bherna Village, then...? Good luck, Lan Rui! Let's hunt together again when we get the chance!"

"Sure! Write if you need anything!"

Whooo~

The whistle sounded, and a railcar trailing black smoke slowly pulled into the station.

"You were so brave, both when you ventured into the wild alone and during the hunt! I've always really admired that!"

Lan Rui's sudden praise caught Li Le somewhat off guard.

But speaking of bravery, he felt there was something he ought to mention, so he called out a warning. "Some of the weapon styles taught by the Wycademy professors are actually very dangerous! They aren't suited to every hunter! If you can't adapt to them, don't force yourself!"

"Understood! You be careful in Val Habar too! Work with Sisi more. Don't go off on your own..."

Whoosh~

The arriving railcar passed between them, cutting them off from each other.

Clack!

The sliding doors of several cargo compartments were pulled open from inside at the same time, and Felynes holding stamps in their paws began checking tickets.

"Good luck, Lan Rui."

Murmuring those words, Li Le went to have his ticket checked.

"This is a ticket for personnel dispatched on official Guild business, meow... Mr. Li Le, director of the Kinsect Research Institute's Val Habar branch! Hello, meow! Welcome aboard!"

As the Felyne spoke, he gave a slight bow.

Li Le glanced along the railcar.

"Excuse me, does this railcar not have any passenger compartments?"

"That's right, meow. The Kinsect Research Institute declared so much cargo that we couldn't arrange transport on a railcar with passenger compartments."

As the Felyne spoke, he turned to look at the two extra cargo compartments attached behind the pedal cart.

"All right, everyone, stop sleeping for now and help guide the cart aboard."

Whooo!

The whistle echoed across the platform. The railcar pulled out of the station and soon left the city far behind.

Two days later, at the end of the rails, all the passengers and cargo were unloaded at a station marked by nothing but a single signpost.

There was no road ahead, nor any sign of cooking smoke or an outpost.

Looking toward the boundless horizon, Li Le checked his bearings on the map and climbed onto the pedal cart.

Although the pedaling stations had been modified into seven small ones and one large one.

And seven of the accompanying cats could help pedal, Li Le still found it somewhat strenuous.

But thinking that he could train his leg strength while traveling, he soon accepted it.

"Ahead on the right! Bonepile spotted, meow!"

As Kaluo finished speaking, telescope in paw, several Felynes leaped off the cart.

Li Le promptly slowed down.

Before long, the cats returned, working together to carry a large, elongated section of spine that had been half buried in the earth.

Pssht~

Sisi shot out silk, hoisting the spine into the air.

Then Sisi looked down at Old Bones beneath its feet.

In terms of appearance, the current Old Bones not only failed to resemble a Cephalos, but did not even look like a monster.

That was because all the bone materials the Felynes had gathered were tiny fragments.

And unlike wood, bone materials could not be freely cut and sanded into shape.

So the whole thing could only just be glued together into something approaching the shape of a dragon.

But now that they were out in the wild, a natural storehouse of materials, things were entirely different.

As long as the Felynes were willing to gather them, they could help find and bring back most kinds of bone materials.

After making a comparison, Sisi removed Old Bones' entire spine and replaced it outright.

Once replaced, the dragon's previously uneven, undulating spine immediately took on a natural curve.

Seeing this, the Felynes grew ever more enthusiastic about the work.

As the journey continued, the surrounding grassland gradually receded, and the terrain grew increasingly barren.

Eight days later, the fierce midday sun blazed overhead.

The airborne sand and dust grew ever thicker.

By now, even a light shake of Li Le's sleeve sent a cloud of dust billowing out.

"Huff... huff... We're finally here. Keep it up, everyone!"

Gasping for breath, Li Le pedaled hard, and the Felynes gave it their all too.

The pedal cart sped toward an outpost ahead, where a great many sandships had gathered.

This was not Val Habar, but it was an essential stop on the way there.

Hunter teams, merchant caravans, traveling vendors, Guild personnel stationed there, gatherers...

Large numbers of people moved through the outpost in dense streams.

"Heavy ballistae, cannons, Dragonators... What powerful combat equipment, meow!"

Seeing the weapons mounted on some of the large sandships, Kaluo could not help exclaiming.

"These were all prepared to drive off Dah'ren Mohran. There should be a few over in Val Habar too."

Li Le offered his guess.

"Which one are we taking, meow?"

Kaluo asked, his eyes full of anticipation.

"The director said he'd already bought one to keep the Kinsects and rearing supplies coming afterward. I think it was called..."

As he spoke, Li Le unrolled a scroll to check.

"Oh, it's called the Sandworm."

"The Sandworm. That doesn't sound very imposing, meow."

"Don't judge it by its name alone. Maybe the director has a surprise for us."

"Hmm~ Good point, meow."

The human and cat immediately got off the cart and headed toward the outpost's management office.

Under the guidance of a male administrator, they soon arrived at the sandship docks.

"The Sandworm, right...? That's the one."

Following the direction he casually pointed in, Li Le and Kaluo looked over.

A dazzling golden light flashed, and both human and cat hurriedly raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Honestly, apart from Sisi under the blazing sun and Flashbugs crushed when Flash Bomb crafting failed.

Li Le had never seen such a brilliant gold.

"It's... it's a golden sandship, meow! Cannons, a Dragonator, a striking gong-it has everything! Director Sara is amazing!"

Once Kaluo got a clear look, he immediately cried out in excitement.

"No, with the institute's budget, how could we possibly afford a sandship like that...?"

After his brief surprise, Li Le soon noticed something amiss.

And things turned out just as he had guessed.

The large golden sandship did not pull alongside the dock, but continued sailing forward.

Nor were the people standing on its deck sandship crew. They were three hunters with extraordinary bearing.

"It's a top-tier hunter team."

After observing for a moment, Li Le soon spotted Aiden at the stern.

"I hear they're the hunter team with the best chance of having every member reach six stars. It really gives you something to look forward to."

Even the male administrator, accustomed as he was to seeing sandships, could not help watching them leave.

"Then where's our Sandworm, meow?"

Kaluo asked, somewhat crestfallen.

"Right over there."

The male administrator held out his hand and pointed the way again.

A small, battered sandship, tethered and towed by ropes, came into view.

"The Sandworm may be a little small, but it's quite safe traveling alongside the larger sandships. And with things so tight right now, having a sandship of your own is already quite an achievement."

The male administrator explained.

"Thank you."

Li Le accepted the contract and stamped it, confirming receipt of the Sandworm.

Once they had a sandship-or had managed to hitch a ride on one.

The first thing everyone in the outpost did was set off immediately.

For an unexplored region, both new monsters and new materials were major ecological discoveries.

Li Le, however, was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he began modifying and reinforcing the Sandworm.

It was not that he wanted to be cautious. Rather, after the test run, Li Le felt that even if the Sandworm never encountered Dah'ren Mohran along the way, it risked capsizing and falling apart during ordinary sailing.

He brought Sisi to the sandship docks. Looking at the Sandworm swaying in the wind and sand, Sisi seemed a little curious.

Li Le generally did not allow anything like this to be touched.

And the sandship before them looked especially fragile.

Setting up the teaching drawing board, Li Le explained his ideas.

As for materials...

There was not much else in the three carriages, but the bone materials the cats had gathered along the way were almost too plentiful to fit.

Li Le had originally wanted to unload them to reduce the weight and make pedaling a little easier.

But seeing how reluctant Sisi and the cats were to part with them, he had gritted his teeth and persevered the whole way.

Now they came in handy.

Clink, clink! Clang, clang! Pfft, pfft!

The sounds of hammering and silk spraying rang out one after another.

By sunset, a sharply angular sandship of white bone stood at the docks.

Watching the pedal cart roll onto the deck and the newly resewn golden sail rise.

Li Le wiped the sweat from his forehead and instantly felt that all the effort had been worthwhile.

Looking at the Sandworm, Sisi suddenly gained a strange insight.

Perhaps some structures did not need to be dismantled and reassembled. Reinforcing and expanding upon the original foundation could produce good results too.

Early the next morning, fierce winds howled through the swirling sand.

"Crew, assemble!"

On the deck hung with insect cages, the cats formed two neat lines at Li Le's call.

"Although the Sandworm has been modified and reinforced, this desert crossing will still be very dangerous, so everyone must stay completely alert."

"Understood, meow!"

The cats answered in unison.

"Felynes working on deck, check your safety harnesses now."

"All good, meow!"

"Lookout Kaluo!"

"Here, meow!"

"No matter how enormous a bone mound you spot, don't remind us to gather from it again."

"Understood, meow. I'll focus only on Remobra movements, the direction of sandstorms, and approaching Cephalos packs."

Kaluo answered loudly.

"Very good!"

"Sisi, what's your duty?"

Li Le looked beside him.

As a sickle claw rose, a metal anchor was hauled up on silk.

"That's right. You're responsible for bringing the sandship to an emergency stop if we run into danger. The hull has been reinforced, so there's no need to worry about it breaking apart."

"Destination, Val Habar! Set sail!"

"Forward, meow!!!"

Amid the rousing cries, the golden sail billowed in the wind.

As the Sandworm glided along, it soon joined a traveling convoy of dozens of sandships, large and small.

Once he had confirmed that the Sandworm was sailing without any major problems, Li Le raised his spyglass.

He began observing the larger sandships in the convoy.

Before long, he spotted an unusual one on the outer edge near the front.

Unlike the other decks, which looked crowded and piled high with cargo.

The deck of this large sandship was exceptionally clear, leaving plenty of room to load and operate the weapons mounted on its hull.

Its crew looked relatively idle, too.

A man wearing an orange cowboy hat stood at the bow with his arms folded, unafraid of the wind and sand.

Li Le lowered his spyglass and murmured.

"Is that the Caravan Leader?"