Shalan's sudden departure gave Erik and the others a massive fright.
Even Altaïr, who had settled his mind and entered a state of meditative daza-zen, was pulled out of his trance by Sajji's frantic tugging.
As he listened to Sajji gesticulating wildly, describing how Shalan had taken off on a kite, Altaïr couldn't help but fall into a stunned silence.
First and foremost, he realized that Shalan hadn't brought the kite along because she wanted to play with it in the Jungle, which gave him a slight sense of relief.
At least Isis's senior wasn't some brainless young lady who lacked a sense of tension and only thought about playing in the middle of a perilous wilderness.
As expected of a 9★ Palico, then?
To think she could actually fly; flying was a critical ability, after all. A scout capable of moving rapidly across any terrain was undoubtedly the best kind of scout; she could serve as the team's eyes and drastically improve the investigation team's efficiency.
But the problem was...
Where did she fly off to, and when would she be back?
"Stop our advance for now. Hover in place and wait for her," Altaïr ordered Erik after a brief hesitation. "Don't fly too far forward, or she won't be able to find us."
"Got it."
Under Erik and Sajji's operation, the Airship gradually slowed down and hovered in the sky. Fortunately, there were no high winds at the moment; otherwise, maintaining a hover would have taken a considerable amount of effort.
Five minutes, ten minutes... nearly half an hour passed.
Just as the group began to wonder if Miss Shalan had messed up and crashed, they finally spotted her figure appearing among the clouds.
She circled the Airship to bleed off speed before finally landing steadily on the deck.
Altaïr walked over.
If it had been Isis or Sajji who had left for half an hour without a word while they were en route, he would have had to give them a stern lecture.
But the other party was Miss Shalan, Isis's senior, a 9★ Palico, and the nominal captain of this investigation team.
He couldn't be too blunt; he had to frame it differently.
He crouched down in front of Shalan so that while his gaze was still slightly higher than hers, it didn't feel like he was looking down on her. "Captain Shalan, you went to scout the surroundings just now, didn't you?
Please let us know in advance next time. I can arrange a rendezvous point, which would make it easier for everyone to regroup."
"Ye-yeah, exactly right, meow! I was out scouting, meow!" Shalan's ears twitched. "But you have a point, meow. Next time I go out to pl–to scout, I'll say something first, meow."
"As expected of Captain Shalan, meow! You even know how to fly, meow!" Sajji praised her from the side with total sincerity.
If it had harbored any doubts about Shalan's strength before, the moment she took to the skies, that doubt had completely transformed into adoration.
Shalan lifted her small head proudly. "Well, there are lots of things I can do, meow! Melee and ranged attacks, using all sorts of items, I won't even mention those basics, meow.
Stealthy infiltration, tracking traces, luring Monsters, battlefield first aid, Felvine dances... I'm a pro at all of them, meow!"
Altaïr's eyes brightened as he listened.
Good grief, were these the skills mastered by a Palico belonging to a Legendary Hunting Group? It was clear that Shalan was a Support Palico specializing in auxiliary aid and emergency healing. Her direct combat capabilities might be relatively weak, but even considering her support skills alone, she was enough to elevate a team's combat effectiveness to an entirely new level.
Altaïr instinctively wanted to rub Shalan's head, but the moment he reached out, he realized she was his senior and might not appreciate the gesture. Instead, he took her small paw and gave it a firm shake.
"A Legendary Palico is truly extraordinary. With you here, this investigation will surely be a success."
"Of course it will, meow!" Shalan beamed, preening from the praise as she thumped her chest. "You can rely on Lady Shalan for everything, meow!"
"Sajji! Come help me steady the rudder!"
Erik abandoned the steering wheel and ran excitedly to Shalan's side. "So, Lady Shalan, could you help us with something?"
"Certainly, meow!" Shalan promised grandly.
"It's like this!" Erik pulled out his map and spread it open. "Our planned route starts from Metapetatto, crossing the Arcolis Region and heading northwest to investigate and explore. Our primary objective is to check the various Large Monsters along the way to see if they've entered a Hyper state."
"Mm-hmm, meow."
"As per our original plan, the Airship would fly at a low altitude to confirm the locations of Large Monsters along the route. But low-altitude flight consumes a lot of fuel, and we can't afford to double back. We'd be forced to crawl forward in a straight line, which means we'd undoubtedly miss the territories of most Large Monsters. However, since you can fly, everything becomes much easier!" Erik followed Altaïr's lead, grabbing Shalan's paw and shaking it.
"Meow?" Shalan felt a flicker of unease.
"We can take the Airship above the clouds and let it hover at a high altitude where the currents are stable. By minimizing ascents and descents to save fuel, we can have you, Lady Shalan, use the kite to conduct a wide-range search at low altitude. Whenever you spot a Large Monster, you record it, eventually completing a distribution map of their active areas. This would save us a massive amount of scouting time!"
"Meow, meow?!"
That sounded like it would be very, very exhausting, meow!
"I object to this plan." Altaïr shook his head. "Erik, we are an extremely small investigation team. Scouting along a single line is already the limit of our capabilities. Your new plan is essentially exploiting Captain Shalan's ability to fly to forcibly expand our search area. While it would greatly increase the probability of finding clues, don't forget the scale of our team. Two people and two Felynes, even if Captain Shalan could sweep the entire northwestern Jungle and mark the activity area of every Large Monster, could we actually investigate them all?"
Erik choked on his words.
That was obviously impossible. Even if the Monster density in the northwestern Jungle was lower than in the south, it was still far beyond what their miniature investigation team could handle.
Hearing this, Shalan breathed a secret sigh of relief.
She had thought she was going to be worked to death, meow.
Though she was feeling lucky inside, she put on an outward show of regret, shaking her head. "A pity, meow. You lot just can't keep up, meow. Aerial reconnaissance is a piece of cake for me, meow." "If you could keep up with my pace, we could turn the northwestern Jungle upside down in just a few days, meow! We'd definitely find a lead that way, meow!"
"As expected of Captain Shalan."
Altaïr mirrored Sajji's way of giving praise, offering Shalan a thumbs-up. "That's why my plan is to focus on targeted investigations. While Captain Shalan performs low-altitude reconnaissance, please focus on marking individuals with abnormal sizes or behaviors.
Once the intelligence is brought back, Erik will analyze it to confirm high-value priority targets, and then we will conduct targeted investigations.
Of course, if we really encounter a High Threat Level Hyper individual, it would be difficult for the rest of us to get close given our current strength. In that case, we'll have to rely on Captain Shalan to infiltrate stealthily and gather intel."
Shalan's entire body stiffened, and she began to stutter. "H-H-Hyper Monsters are too dangerous, meow! Even if you don't get close, there's still a huge risk, meow!"
"Now that you mention it, that's true..." Altaïr pondered for a moment before looking up. "I was being too impatient.
If a High Threat Level Hyper Monster is discovered, we only need to note its territory and report it to the Guild. That's already beyond our capabilities.
My apologies, Captain Shalan. It is we who are holding you back.
You only need to perform low-altitude reconnaissance and mark priority targets. As for any potentially existing High Threat Level Hyper Monsters, we will simply avoid them."
Shalan: "..."
Did they think low-altitude reconnaissance on a kite was easy, meow?!
But she had talked herself into a corner earlier, saying it was a piece of cake, and she had already pushed back against the stealth reconnaissance of high-danger monsters. She no longer had the face to keep making excuses, meow...
Under the expectant gazes of the two men and one cat, Shalan's heart, which had been soaring, falling, and soaring again, finally died.
Seeing the light fade from Shalan's eyes, Altaïr's expression became somewhat subtle.
To be honest, he had no intention of being sarcastic or setting a trap for Shalan. He wouldn't resort to such petty tricks in a treacherous hunting ground.
He had simply been analyzing things rationally, laying out the feasibility and the difficulties as objectively as possible.
But this prideful elder seemed to have backed herself into a corner once again.
(Translated by yourtl.app)