Late at night, the Soaratorium passed over the city of Metapetatto.
A massive vessel of this scale consumed a vast amount of fuel and time whether ascending or descending; therefore, unless absolutely necessary, the Soaratorium rarely touched down on the ground.
Personnel usually moved to and from the ship via small Airships docked near the stern.
Altaïr and Sajji were currently seeing off Isis and Nymera.
He would be departing first, taking a small Airship down to Metapetatto to complete the quest settlement procedures before the time limit expired.
Isis and Nymera, meanwhile, would remain aboard the Soaratorium as it continued toward Dundorma, after which they would return to their respective hometowns to visit family.
The three of them agreed to meet up one month later at the Hunter Guild Hall in Metapetatto.
Having bid a temporary farewell to his companions, Altaïr and Sajji boarded the lightweight Airship. To his surprise, the pilot turned out to be the Wyverian guild receptionist named Millsy.
Miss Millsy's piloting skills were unexpectedly superb; in less than twenty minutes, the small Airship made a nimble landing in the clearing in front of the Guild Hall.
—--
Altaïr led Sajji down the gangway and turned back to give a slight bow of thanks.
Millsy waved to them with a beam and maneuvered the small Airship back into the sky, chasing after the Soaratorium as it receded above the clouds.
"I feel a strange sense of loneliness, meow," Sajji muttered beside Altaïr, his ears twitching.
Altaïr reached out and gave the cat's head a few affectionate ruffles. He could relate to the feeling; after constantly moving as a team, being suddenly left on their own really did take some getting used to.
"Let's go."
The man and cat stepped into the Guild Hall.
It was already past midnight, and even the usually bustling Tavern Area was silent. The entire first-floor lobby was pitch black, save for a single oil lamp flickering at the Quest Counter, though no one was in sight.
"Meow?"
Sajji suddenly jumped, whipping around toward the Tavern Area. "Who's there, meow?! There's something moving over there, meow!"
Altaïr instinctively looked toward the tavern. Amidst the shifting shadows of tables and chairs stood a silhouette. The figure moved with slow steps, seemingly dragging something heavy.
The sound of furniture being bumped aside scraped against the floor, creating a harsh, grating "creak."
"It... it looks like they're dragging two people, meow..." Sajji's voice trembled slightly.
Altaïr frowned and called out loudly, "Who's there!"
"Eh?" The figure stopped and immediately came trotting over toward them, never letting go of the heavy objects. "Is that Altaïr?"
The familiar voice made Altaïr's expression relax. "Guild Manager Noya?"
Noya huffed and puffed as she dragged the two large masses closer. By the faint glow of the lamp from the counter, Altaïr could finally make out that she was indeed dragging two people by their feet.
"...What are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, this?" Noya let go of their ankles. "Just some drunks who fell asleep under the tables. I'm dragging them to the training ground; there are mats and blankets over there."
"I see..."
No wonder he often saw hungover drunks whenever he went to the training ground early in the morning. It was hard work for this woman; despite being the Guild Manager of a local branch, she had to handle these matters personally.
"Sajji, let's give her a hand."
With the help of Altaïr and Sajji, they finally managed to drag the dead-drunk alcoholics to the training ground.
Altaïr, driven by a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, lined them up neatly and peacefully. Before long, however, the burly men reeking of alcohol had huddled back together. One even wrapped his arms around another's neck and gave him a lick, making the hair on Altaïr's neck stand on end.
He found yet another reason to drink in moderation and never get wasted.
"Thanks a lot!" The Guild Manager led Altaïr back to the Quest Counter and turned up the oil lamp on the desk.
It seemed she was the one on the night shift.
"Did you just get back? What took you so long? Did the Duramboros hunt go well? Where are Isis and that Miss Nymera?"
In the face of Miss Noya's barrage of questions, Altaïr briefly explained the situation.
"A Hyper state Duramboros? The Soaratorium? Tsk, did that little silver-haired brat tell you anything about Hunting Styles or Hunter Arts, and then try to invite you to the Wycademy?"
Altaïr: "..."
"You didn't agree, did you?" Whether it was an act or not, Miss Noya's eyes began to well up with tears.
"No, we plan to stay active around here for a while longer."
"That's good! That's good!" Noya patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. "Between the various Guild branches and all the major organizations, no one loves poaching people more than us, except for the Wycademy. You have to stay on your guard!"
Altaïr: "..."
For a moment, he didn't quite know how to respond to that.
Fortunately, Miss Noya didn't linger on the topic for too long. "Oh right, you just mentioned a Hyper state, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"What a coincidence..." she muttered under her breath.
Sajji's sharp ears caught it and he asked, "What's a coincidence, meow?"
"It's nothing, really." Miss Noya toyed with her neatly trimmed bangs. "A few days ago, the Vanguard Hunting Party returned. They also encountered a Hyper Monster."
"Serl and the others?! Are they okay?"
"They're fine, they're fine." Noya waved her hand. "Their quest was to hunt a Nargacuga, but a Hyper state Yian Kut-Ku intruded.
According to them, the Nargacuga actually got into a fight with that Yian Kut-Ku. Although the Nargacuga successfully snapped the Yian Kut-Ku's neck, it took a few nasty hits in the process.
If anything, it made their battle much easier."
At this point, Noya raised her index finger and tapped her chin. "Hyper Monsters are quite rare. Usually, we don't hear news of one even once a year, and now two have appeared at once."
Altaïr's brow furrowed. "Could there be some connection between the two?"
"A connection?" Noya blinked, startled. "What kind of connection? Isn't the Hyper state similar to phenomena like Subspecies or Rare Species? Isn't it just a special mutation caused by a chance encounter with environmental factors?"
Altaïr wore a look of solemnity. "That is indeed the mainstream view in academia at present. However, due to an insufficient sample size, that view cannot yet be called a definitive conclusion. One cannot rule out the possibility that other factors might lead to the Hyper state."
"..." Noya fell silent for a few seconds. "Why do you sound just like one of those scholars?"
"Because those are basically the scholars' exact words."
"...Fair enough." Helplessly, Noya pulled a map out from a drawer in the Quest Counter and spread it open.
Altaïr knew at a glance that it was a map of the Old Jungle.
"Where exactly did you encounter the Duramboros?" Noya asked.
"Here." Altaïr quickly pointed out the location. "The southern edge of the Jungle, in the area near the Ancestral Steppe."
"I see. However, the location where the Vanguard Hunting Party discovered that Hyper Yian Kut-Ku was roughly here." Noya's finger tapped the other side of the map. "The western part of the Jungle, almost near the sea. The straight-line distance between the two points is about five hundred kilometers. If there were a connection between them, it would be a major incident."
"That makes sense." Altaïr nodded; Noya's reasoning had convinced him.
"Alright, don't overthink it. It's late, so get some rest!" Noya's tone sounded like she was coaxing a child.
Just then, a carrier pigeon landed on the windowsill next to the counter. Its "coo-coo" drew the attention of both.
"Goodnight then, Miss Noya. Thank you for your hard work on the night shift." Altaïr withdrew his gaze. Lacking excessive curiosity, he said his goodbyes and left with Sajji.
"Goodnight!" Noya waved with a smile, then walked over to the windowsill and removed the small message tube from the carrier pigeon's leg.
"Tch, it's a letter from that old hag Geo Wandreo." When she was alone, Noya dropped her usual mask of cuteness and elegance, clicking her tongue quite ungracefully.
"Two weeks ago, a Hyper Congalala was spotted near the land bridge. A few days ago, a Hyper Hypnocatrice was found in the southeastern Jungle. Feels like something is wrong; asking if we've had similar cases on our end?
Hmm... Wait, WHAT?!!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)