Setting sail

Creeeak~

The mine cart slowed to a stop, and a hand reached out in front of Disi.

"As long as you made it back safely..."

Joda's stern expression relaxed.

The caravan members gathered around. Once they confirmed that nothing was wrong with Disi apart from a little venom remaining in his body, they finally felt relieved.

"Looks like he fought a hard battle with the Nerscylla before choosing to retreat. Getting that far on a solo hunt really is unusual."

Julius, watching from a distance with his arms folded, spoke with some admiration.

"So many people~ Are we at the village, meow?"

A helmeted cat's head appeared inside the mine cart.

Judging by the filthy fur and the many purple venom stains on the feline armor, the cat had suffered plenty too.

"Lone Star! You're all right too! Thank goodness, meow!"

Kaluo ran over happily.

"Hmph! How could anything happen to me, meow!"

Lone Star straightened his crooked helmet and planted one paw on the mine cart's railing, looking utterly fearless.

"I'm a Palico who's hunted a Nerscylla alongside Disi now. Kaluo, you and Li Le need to work harder, meow."

With that, Lone Star closed his eyes and hooked both paws around his belt, seemingly waiting to bask in praise.

But the previously lively village entrance fell silent.

Lone Star opened his eyes curiously and discovered that everyone's expressions had become rather strange.

"Disi, Lone Star isn't exaggerating, is he?"

Joda gripped Disi's shoulders with both hands and asked solemnly.

"No. Lone Star did a lot to help hunt the Nerscylla too. I've marked the corpse's location on the map. Sorry for the trouble, Sophia, but please contact the transport team. I'm a little tired..."

As Disi spoke, his head began to sway.

Then his neck tilted, and he passed out.

Everyone hurriedly removed the Elite Screamblade+ from his back and carried him into the caravan's carriage to recuperate.

As soon as the news of the Nerscylla hunt was confirmed, Village Chief Rair set out for the blocked lava flow with the village's able-bodied adults and rock-breaking tools.

In front of the mobile Guild carriage, Lone Star brought the quest contract to Sophia for verification.

"Successfully rescued by a cat cart twice... Disi was still persisting even then?"

Reading the added notes on the quest, Sophia could not help feeling shocked.

"I tried to persuade Disi to give up too, but he said he'd figured out the Nerscylla's attacks and wanted to try again, meow."

"He pushed himself too hard. And this means his reward will be reduced by two-thirds. Still, those cats risked their lives to rescue Disi... The format and contents of this rescue contract are so strange. And why are there only paw prints, without any signatures?"

Sophia looked at the yellowed old scroll and asked in puzzlement.

"I noticed something was wrong too, but the Melynx tribe's chief couldn't write and couldn't provide a proper rescue contract, so they used this instead, meow."

"Uh... Hiring an illegal rescue team? Who did Disi learn that from?"

She did not think Caravan Leader Joda, the craftsman Laude, the Meowscular Chef, or the Wyverian merchant would have suggested such a thing.

"Hello, Lone Star. I just visited Disi. He said he wanted King Turkey Meat and Mane Tuna for lunch."

"Understood. I'll get right to gathering the ingredients."

"Sophia... Is something wrong?"

Seeing her gaze turn toward him, Li Le felt rather odd.

Rustle~

Sophia held up the illegal rescue contract.

"Oh, the Melynx tribe at the bottom of the cave sends out a cart for just 500z? If I'd known it was that cheap, I'd have gotten one too."

"You..."

Sophia was speechless.

"Haha, the tribe even gave me two dried fish, meow."

"Were they good?"

"I really enjoyed them, meow."

"What a shame. They were hanging all over the cat altar back then, but I was too scared to take any."

Unable to get a word in, Sophia resignedly verified the quest contract.

As for the Melynx's illegal rescue contract, it was not within her scope of verification at all, so the reward was still paid in full.

But Sophia believed Disi certainly would not refuse to pay his debt.

The human and cat chatted as they walked to buy ingredients.

Li Le discovered that Lone Star really liked exaggerating his role in a hunt.

But he did not find it annoying. Instead, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"I've really found someone who understands me, meow."

"Me too... Oh, did Disi's illness affect the hunt?"

Li Le asked with concern.

"It did, meow. But strangely enough, when his illness suddenly grew severe, I actually felt that Disi became stronger. After the Nerscylla injected him with venom, even his bearing became unfamiliar, meow."

Lone Star recalled.

He gets stronger as his illness worsens and with abnormal statuses. Then, after he's infected with the Frenzy Virus...

"You look a little pale, meow... Actually, I'm worried something will go wrong if Disi keeps going like this too. But he seems to have come to like being a hunter and helping others, meow."

"Maybe this is fate."

Li Le sighed.

Late at night two days later, no one in Cathar slept.

Everyone waited beside the lava channel that ran through the village.

As the blazing orange light surged toward them, the once gray and lifeless Cathar was bathed in vivid orange-red.

Seeing this, Village Chief Rair could not help lifting his goggles and wiping away his tears.

Sisi was also deeply shaken by the abrupt change in their surroundings.

A grand celebration began then and there, lasting until dawn.

To thank the Hunter Caravan, the villagers went straight to work without resting.

Construction of the Isana accelerated explosively.

Three days later, at the shipbuilding harbor.

Disi wore a set of Nerscylla armor, with the poison-element charge blade Arachnoscale on his back.

As he gazed at the nearly completed Isana, his eyes were full of anticipation.

"Li Le, Village Chief Rair's grandfather once hosted a Wyverian craftsman from across the sea. That craftsman said he'd seen that pure white scale before. That's why the caravan is crossing the sea to investigate."

"You're leaving already...? Won't you wait a little longer?"

Li Le did not know whether he should encourage him to go or stay.

"I want to see that monster, and I want to see the scenery at the journey's end."

"What if the price is too high and it isn't worth it?"

"Haven't you always believed in me? Why are you doubting me this time?"

"Uh... All right. Take this crate of swim rings. Consider it my farewell gift."

"This whole crate is full of swim rings...?"

Disi looked at the large crate, as wide as a person, with some surprise.

"The sea is dangerous. It never hurts to prepare more."

Li Le felt that, gifted as Disi was, he should still be a long way from defeating a Gore Magala, let alone a Shagaru Magala.

The experience at sea would be a perilous encounter, but also a good opportunity for training.

"Thank you."

"Mm. I have something important to take care of, so I won't see you off."

Li Le did not actually have anything urgent to do. He was simply afraid he would be unable to stop himself from urging Disi to stay.

After all, once they set sail this time, turning back would be difficult.

After wandering around the village for a while, Li Le came to the enormous, roaring furnace.

Village Chief Rair was sitting on the ground beside it, looking rather forlorn.

Since the lava had started flowing again, Li Le had never seen him look so forlorn.

Gemma stood beside him, looking conflicted as she tried to console him about something.

"Go on. Let the outside world see our Brute Wyverns' lava forging too."

Rair spoke as though he had come to terms with it, then rose from the ground.

"Father, you agree?"

Gemma asked with some surprise.

"I acknowledge Laude's forging skills. And he doesn't need to rely on flowing lava, either. There are indeed things worth learning from him. But whether you follow the Hunter Caravan or Li Le and Sisi to design and build Ahtal-Neset, you'd best make your choice soon."

With that, Rair looked toward the harbor. He clearly knew that, given Joda's personality, the Isana would set sail as soon as construction was complete.

"Well... It's so hard to choose!"

"Hehe! A difficult choice, isn't it?"

Rair smiled, his hooked mustache curling upward as he asked rather smugly.

"Damn it, you knew I'd struggle with this, didn't you?"

Gemma was rather frustrated. She had not expected Rair to have been waiting for this moment.

"The decorations Laude makes really are excellent... And Sisi's Ahtal-Neset has even more possibilities for expansion, just waiting for you to put your talents to full use."

"Ah! Stop talking!"

Feeling rather overwhelmed, Gemma covered her ears.

Rair's smug expression stiffened, and he could not help feeling sorry for Gemma again.

"I'm sorry, Gemma. I don't want this either, but this is a choice you have to face."

"How about learning forging from Laude first, then coming back to build Ahtal-Neset once you've mastered it?"

Hearing Li Le's suggestion, father and daughter turned to look at him.

"That way, as Gemma's forging skills improve, there'll be more possibilities for expanding Ahtal-Neset, and the feline engineering team can learn more too."

"That's right, Father! I'm going to pack!"

"Wait! Daughter!"

"Don't worry about me!"

Rair's calls failed to bring Gemma back.

"Sigh~ She's leaving after all."

Rair did not blame Li Le for his suggestion. Instead, he seemed quite at peace with it.

"I believe Gemma will definitely become a first-rate craftswoman in the future. It's not impossible that she'll bring the Brute Wyverns' lava forging to greater heights."

"I hope so too... Time to see her off."

"Oh, I gave the caravan a crate of swim rings. Remind Gemma that she should keep one around her waist for the whole sea crossing."

"Quite cautious... But crossing the sea really is dangerous. It's very necessary."

With that, Rair hurried toward the harbor.

The Hunter Caravan, having resolved Cathar's crisis, received a send-off from all the villagers.

Not long after the Isana sailed out of the harbor, the elite hunter's golden ship departed as well.

By now, the Sandworm's modifications for a long sea voyage were almost complete.

Work on forging the Dragonator, however, had only recently begun.

Still, progress was already much faster than it had been without lava.

"Blackish-purple scale powder... No eyes... A four-limbed monster with wingarms and forelegs on its upper body. What should you do if you encounter it?"

During the evening's little monster-identification lesson, Li Le focused his explanation on the monster marked with a question mark.

Scratch, scratch~

Sisi drew an X on the rock.

"That's right. Get away as quickly as possible. If you really can't escape, keep the fight as short as you can. You mustn't get bogged down fighting it. Otherwise, even winning is almost the same as losing."

Listening to Li Le's explanation, Sisi seemed thoughtful, as though she understood the danger involved.

Three days later, a Dragonator tip with serrated spikes and a dark metallic gleam was installed on the Sandworm's bow.

Its construction, however, did not use a conventional launching mechanism.

Instead, Gemma had designed a retractable crossbow mechanism specifically for Sisi, operated by pulling insect silk.

The problem they could detect at present was that the Sandworm's medium-sized sandship hull was not quite suited to the custom firing mechanism it carried.

Every time the insect silk finished cocking the mechanism and the Dragonator thrust forward from the bow,

the Sandworm shuddered violently, as though it might fall apart at any moment.

Bang-crack!

As the hull jolted violently, a worried Kaluo offered a reminder from inside the swaying cabin.

"Li Le, Sisi's been playing with the Dragonator for almost a whole day now, meow."

"It hasn't broken, has it?"

"Gemma's design is very sturdy, meow. There's no sign of damage yet, and our Ahtal-Neset Engineering Team can repair it too."

Kaluo spoke with his head held high.

"Then let Sisi play to her heart's content. There aren't many insects at sea. Do we still have enough insect food stored aboard?"

"I checked. We have enough, meow... Lots of caravans that arrived in the village have set sail to explore one after another. Is it almost time for the Sandworm too, meow?"

Kaluo asked.

"Mm, I don't really want to set sail, but I can't rest easy if I don't go."

"Huh? Wasn't wanting to explore the reason you refitted the ship, meow?"

Kaluo sounded surprised.

"I already know where the destination is. I just don't know what kind of ending awaits. I've long since lost the desire to explore."

"Uh... then what are you worried about, meow?"

"Ecological stability. More specifically, making sure Sisi can survive this calamity."

"I still don't know what you're worried about, but we in the Ahtal-Neset Engineering Team will give you our full support, meow!"

Kaluo said excitedly.

"Mm, thanks... Kaluo, tell everyone we're setting sail tonight!"

Bang, clank!

As the Dragonator thrust out, the hull shuddered violently again.

With several thick strands of insect silk wound around each of the sickle claws on either side, Sisi slowly backed across the metal slatted deck.

Creak, creak~

The insect silk creaked under tension. Just as the Dragonator was about to finish cocking, the four insect legs pressing down suddenly slipped free.

Amid a shower of scraping sparks, the insect silk dragged Sisi back toward the bow.

The golden body dropped flat with the momentum. Today's excessive cocking and firing had already exhausted Sisi's strength.

Yet looking at the Dragonator's shaft, Sisi still couldn't help raising a sickle claw and lightly touching it several times, seeming to cherish it deeply.

"Sisi, you've already fired it successfully twenty-two times. That's already amazing, meow."

The Felyne wearing a mail carrier's cap praised Sisi and took out a cotton handkerchief.

After wiping it against an insect leg and seeing the pale yellow, fragrant stain it picked up, the Felyne nodded happily in satisfaction.

"Even though I can't sail with you, having this as a memento is enough for me, meow..."

With that, the Felyne mail carrier reluctantly prepared to leave the ship.

Only then did the Felyne suddenly remember having apparently come to deliver a letter to Li Le.

Instead, watching Sisi fire the Dragonator had proved utterly engrossing, so the Felyne hurried toward the cabin.

"Li Le, there's a letter from Bherna Village, meow!"

"Perfect timing. Thank you."

Li Le thought that if the letter had arrived any later, the Sandboat probably would have set sail.

"Uh... there's no need to thank me, meow."

With that, the Felyne mail carrier lowered their head guiltily and ran off.

Li Le opened the letter.

Le, reading these words is like seeing you in person.

After receiving your letter and confirming that you're doing well, I can rest easy.

There are now large numbers of prototype airships floating above the village every day.

One crashed out in the wilds. The village sent out a rescue party, and only hunters of three stars or above were allowed to go.

So Sanhua and I went, but this Tetsucabra armor really is heavy when you're wearing the full set.

The lightweight hunter armor I wore before was more comfortable after all.

Give my regards to Kaluo. I look forward to seeing you both again.

To think Lan Rui was advancing so quickly too...

I can't lose!

"Hm?"

Li Le noticed a dark red stain at the corner of the letter.

He picked it up and held it to the oil lamp, only to discover that it was a spot of blood left after being wiped away.

"Uh... I'd better stop competing and write a gentler reply."

Li Le was a little afraid that Lan Rui was pushing too hard.