Although their previous reconnaissance had already covered most of the large island's regions, the Hunters still did not dare let their guard down. They spent another full day meticulously inspecting the entire island.
They ultimately confirmed that there were only four Large Monsters on the island: a male and female pair of Lagiacrus nesting on the western coast, a Qurupeco in the midwestern highlands, and a Royal Ludroth pack in the far east.
For a medium-sized island spanning more than thirty square kilometers, that Monster density was fairly normal.
After being away for over a day, Clawdia also returned in her small boat, having successfully brought back mucus from a Lagiacrus.
Inside the Hunter's Camp, she took a cork-stoppered glass bottle from a leather pouch and set it in front of everyone.
"This mucus was scraped from a really strong Lagiacrus, meow. I watched it fight several other Lagiacrus and never saw it lose once, meow. Even when a female Lagiacrus approached, it beat her up too, meow. After that, no other Lagiacrus dared go near it, meow. I suspect that guy wasn't there for mating rights at all, meow. It only wanted to fight, meow."
"Uh..."
Altaïr and the others exchanged glances. That sort of thing could happen, right?
"It shouldn't... be a problem?" Altaïr eyed the cloudy mucus filling most of the glass bottle. "Could this one's presence be so overwhelming that it scares those two Lagiacrus away?"
Isis poked the glass bottle with a finger. "A few dozen kilometers isn't far for a Large Monster of the Lagiacrus's caliber. The two on this island might have been beaten up by it before."
"Unsettling." Even Nymera looked troubled.
Jara rubbed his cheeks with both hands. "Clawdia, did you collect any extra mucus from another Lagiacrus as a backup? Using this guy's odor as bait might be a little... unsuitable, don't you think?"
Clawdia eyed them sideways. "You were the ones who told me to find the strongest possible Lagiacrus and collect mucus from it, meow."
Altaïr gave a dry laugh. He really had said that at the time.
Clawdia huffed, then pulled a second glass bottle from the same leather pouch. "I knew you'd say that, so I found another chance to get some mucus from a different Lagiacrus, meow. This one's strength isn't on par with that battle maniac, but at least it held its own in a proper fight for several rounds, meow. It should still count as relatively strong, meow."
Hearing this, Altaïr and the others sighed in relief.
Although her personality was a little... regrettable in some respects, it was undeniable that as the most experienced Hunter among them, Clawdia was always reliable.
"Well done!" Isis happily hugged Clawdia and nuzzled her cheek.
Clawdia struggled to keep her expression calm, but her tail could not help wagging from side to side.
Sajji leaned close to the two identical-looking glass bottles and sniffed. Both gave off a pungent, fishy odor, but if he had to tell the two scents apart, he really did not think he could.
Perhaps only a Lagiacrus could truly tell the difference? "So which one is the mucus from the super-strong Lagiacrus, and which one is from the pretty-strong Lagiacrus, meow? I'm all mixed up, meow."
The Hunters, who had been passing the two bottles of mucus between them for a closer look, were suddenly jolted with alarm. They all turned in unison toward Clawdia, who was nestled in Isis's arms.
"You... you marked them, right?" Jara's chubby face quivered.
Clawdia huffed. "What do you take me for, meow? I drew an X on the stopper of the bottle with the super-strong Lagiacrus's mucus, meow."
She paused, then added, "You guys didn't open the bottles and swap the stoppers... right, meow?"
Altaïr, Nymera, and Jara exchanged awkward glances.
Isis had been holding Clawdia the whole time and had never handled the bottles, so she was definitely innocent.
But the rest of them, out of curiosity, had definitely pulled out the stoppers to sniff and inspect the contents. As for whether the bottles had changed hands in the process and the stoppers had accidentally been swapped along the way...
Who could possibly remember that? "What the meow is wrong with you people, meow?!" Clawdia sprang out of Isis's arms, positively fuming. "Do you have any idea how much effort I went through, how much danger I faced, to get these two bottles of mucus from those two Lagiacrus, meow?!
"You only had to look, so why did you swap the stoppers, meow!"
"Calm down, calm down." Altaïr hastily tried to soothe her. "We did open the stoppers, but that doesn't mean they were definitely swapped."
As he spoke, he picked up one glass bottle, opened the stopper and pretended to sniff it, then promptly put the stopper back and handed the glass bottle to Jara.
"See? Open the stopper, then naturally put it back on. It's a very fluid motion. Logically speaking, the stoppers shouldn't have gotten mixed up."
Clawdia's expression eased slightly.
Jara looked down at the glass bottle Altaïr had handed him, pulled out the stopper, pretended to sniff it as well, then casually handed the open bottle over to Nymera.
"Actually, doesn't it feel more natural not to put the stopper back on?"
Altaïr had no answer.
"Hah..."
Seeing Clawdia bare her fangs, Altaïr rubbed his throbbing temple. "In short, there is no way to be absolutely certain right now which Lagiacrus each bottle of mucus came from.
"But in theory, the probability that the stoppers weren't swapped is higher."
"How so?" Nymera asked, tilting her head.
"Because we passed them around more than once. Even if the stoppers were swapped, it's possible they got swapped right back."
After that brief explanation, Altaïr sighed. "Anyway, let's just stick to the original plan for now. We'll use the bottle without a mark on its stopper as the scent lure."
"But what if that bottle is actually from the super-strong Lagiacrus, and it scares the two Lagiacrus so much they won't dare show themselves?" Isis could not help asking.
"It shouldn't come to that," Altaïr said with a frown. "Even if that Lagiacrus is stronger, this island is still the territory where this newly formed Lagiacrus pair has built their nest.
"Facing a powerful intruder, they should at least put up some resistance."
Jara clawed frantically at his hair. "But we can't be sure whether that Lagiacrus pair will hole up and refuse to come out, attack together, or have the male Lagiacrus charge out while the female Lagiacrus hides and watches the show.
"There are just too many variables. We can't formulate a tactical plan like this!"
"Indeed."
Altaïr felt a bit weary. What had originally been a solid plan had been thrown into chaos because of a moment's carelessness on their part.
And now, he really could not bring himself to ask Clawdia to go and collect another batch of Lagiacrus mucus.
"Perhaps I could run a test first?" Nymera suddenly spoke up. "I could take two portions of mucus and make a separate trip near the Lagiacrus nest to observe the two Lagiacrus's reactions.
"That way, even if both Lagiacrus chase me out, with Hibiki here, I can withdraw quickly."
After a two-second silence, Altaïr nodded. "That is indeed the most reliable approach. It just means asking you to make two extra trips."
Nymera sighed. "It's hardly a hardship. After all, I may have been the one who mixed up the bottle stoppers.
"I'll set out now, while it's still light, and determine the results as quickly as possible so it won't affect tomorrow's official Hunt."
Altaïr and Jara also stood up. "Jara, Sajji, and I will go lay the scent trails first. Before we officially begin tomorrow, we'll only need to smear the mucus on."
Hearing this, Isis also started to stand, but Altaïr gestured for her to "sit down."
"Isis, you're the main frontliner. The pressure of tomorrow's battle will be greatest on you. Tonight, you stay at the camp and get some good rest with Clawdia."
"Oh, oh." Isis sat back down beside the campfire in a daze.
Only then did the sulking Clawdia's expression soften somewhat.
Altaïr and the others left the camp to begin their operation, leaving only Isis and Clawdia to keep warm by the fire.
Holding Clawdia against her chest with one arm, Isis used the campfire to heat up the leftover Well-done Steak from last night. "Clawdia, don't you think that male Lagiacrus we're targeting is a little pitiful?"
"Meow?" Clawdia looked up at Isis, puzzled by her sudden musing.
"After finally defeating a group of rivals and winning mating rights with the female Lagiacrus, he travels all the way to a large island to build a nest, ready to produce offspring.
"Then, scent after scent from various male Lagiacrus passes by his doorstep. He can't stand it and runs out to drive away the intruders, only to be lured by us into a valley, pinned down by the head, and slaughtered..."
Clawdia said, "...That does seem a bit pitiful, meow."
(Translated by yourtl.app)