As Altaïr and the others left Mezeporta for the Fonron Great Forest...
—--
Port Tanzia.
The Professor and the others had already completed their mission and were piloting the Knowledge Seeker back to Dundorma.
Isis, Nymera, and Morgan remained in Port Tanzia to enjoy their vacation.
Morgan had taken the guild receptionist's advice and gone out to sea aboard a Dragonship to Hunt a Lagiacrus.
Although he lacked experience in naval combat, no Dragonship would turn down a High Rank Hunter who volunteered to join, especially a High Rank Gunner.
Even if he did not enter the water, operating the Ballista on deck would still be a tremendous help.
—--
Meanwhile, Isis had dragged Nymera around Port Tanzia for two days of nonstop eating and shopping. They revisited the restaurant Francesca had recommended several times, wolfing down food as though trying to consume a year's worth of seafood in one sitting and stuffing themselves silly.
After cramming the last piece of lobster into her mouth, chewing, and swallowing, Isis sighed.
"Nymera."
"?"
"I'm getting bored."
"??"
Nymera had long since eaten her fill and was sitting there sipping tea. She looked as though she had seen a ghost.
"You... you're already sick of the food?" Nymera was so taken aback that she momentarily forgot her usual manner of speech. "Then should we try a few new places tomorrow? There is still plenty of street food around."
"I'm not sick of the food. This restaurant is pretty good. If it weren't a little expensive, I could eat here every day for a month without a problem." Isis shook her head.
"What I'm bored with is this routine of eating, playing, sleeping, then waking up and eating again. It was great for the first day or two, but now it is getting old.
"While we were tracking Nakarkos and escorting the scholars studying its corpse, we spent the entire time cooped up aboard the Knowledge Seeker and barely moved.
"No Hunting, no real training. I feel like bugs are crawling all over me."
"..." Nymera fell silent.
She knew exactly what this was: guilt from slacking off.
Nymera felt it too, but usually only after an entire month of eating and sleeping, not after the few days it had taken Isis to grow "bored."
"Then let's take a quest!" Isis's tone changed instantly. She turned to Nymera, brimming with excitement. "What do you say? Ready for an exhilarating Hunt after such a long break?"
Such a long break...
Do I need to remind you that just over a week ago, we fought a savage Elder Dragon that swallowed an entire village?
Nymera grumbled inwardly, but when she met Isis's expectant gaze, she ultimately gave a soft laugh and nodded.
"Then let us begin the exhilarating Hunt, just as you say."
Isis eagerly sprang to her feet. "Perfect! We're already well fed, so let's head to the Guild Hall right now!"
Nymera's expression stiffened slightly. She had assumed they would at least wait until the next day.
With Isis dragging her along, Nymera felt as though she were riding a runaway wild dog... No, a Palamute was not this frantic. This was more like riding a runaway wild boar!
The pair charged into the Guild Hall near the port with the same breathless momentum.
—--
Unlike those in most towns, Port Tanzia's Guild Hall was open to the air.
Visitors could gaze directly across the vast South Sea, though they also had to endure the sea breeze and blazing sun.
As the locals said, children of the sea feared no such things!
In the Tavern Area, a giant stew pot more than three meters across bubbled away, ingredients covered in seasoning sizzled on the grill, and the savory aroma of seafood drifted on the sea breeze.
Isis glanced over instinctively and swallowed hard, but immediately slapped her cheeks and forced herself to focus.
No. She was already full. She had come here to take a quest and could not let herself get distracted!
Nymera desperately wanted to tell her that there was no need to rush into a Hunt and that one more meal would do no harm.
Isis's resolve, however, was unexpectedly firm. Once her mind was made up, she did not spare the delicacies in the Tavern Area another glance and walked straight to the Quest Counter.
"Do you have any interesting Hunting quests to recommend?" Isis handed her Hunter's Notes to the guild receptionist in a sailor uniform.
The guild receptionist paused when she noticed the six stars on the cover of Isis's notes.
A couple of days earlier, a strikingly beautiful High Rank Heavy Bowgun user had asked her a similar question.
After all, the Guild directly assigned most quests undertaken by High Rank Hunters, and even when such Hunters took quests on their own initiative, they usually did so from a familiar base.
Seeing High Rank Hunters cross regional boundaries in search of quests was unusual, especially ones so young...
Despite her surprise, the Port Tanzia guild receptionist remained thoroughly professional.
She folded her hands before her and bowed slightly. "Miss Isis, do you have any particular requirements for the quest target?"
Isis turned to Nymera beside her. "Is there any Monster you want to Hunt?"
"Me?" Nymera tilted her head.
Was she allowed to say, "I want to spend a few more days shopping around Port Tanzia"?
"Yes. Didn't you say you wanted a new Armor Set? I thought we could use this opportunity to make one for you.
"Do you have a target in mind?" Isis asked.
Nymera felt ashamed of what she had been thinking only seconds earlier.
Following Isis's example, she slapped her cheeks and forced herself to focus.
"All right! I do. I've been considering Mizutsune. A High Rank set made from carefully selected Mizutsune materials would be an excellent match for an agile Gunner like me."
"A High Rank Mizutsune set, huh." Isis nodded, then turned back to the guild receptionist behind the counter. "Do you have any quests to Hunt Mizutsune? One with multiple Mizutsune in the same area would be ideal.
"High Rank armor is difficult to make, so we could gather a large stock of high-quality materials all at once."
The guild receptionist's eyes lit up. "We do. Please wait a moment."
With that, she bent over the stack of quest forms and began searching.
Mizutsune had a 5★ Danger Rating, and very few Hunters could defeat one alone.
Multiple Mizutsune appearing in the same area posed an even greater danger. Such a situation generally required intervention by High Rank Hunters or cooperation between two elite hunting parties to resolve without undue risk.
High Rank Hunters rarely needed Mizutsune materials, however, and cooperative Hunts involving multiple parties were uncommon. These quests were difficult and offered little profit, so they often piled up.
Having two High Rank Hunters volunteer for one was the best possible outcome.
The guild receptionist soon placed a quest form in front of them.
Hunting Quest: Shall We Dance? (6★)
Quest Objective: Hunt two Mizutsune. Quest Location: Deserted Island. Time Limit: 15 days. Reward: 22,000z.
Monsters That May Appear: Royal Ludroth, Ludroth, Jaggi.
Merchant Guild Shipmaster: One night on Deserted Island, I saw two Mizutsune dancing intimately beneath the bright moon. The sight was so beautiful that, if possible, I would truly love to join them...
Ahem... Their dance may be beautiful, but their territory seriously threatens navigational safety. If two become four and four become eight, we will have a major problem. Go deal with them quickly.
"What do you think of this quest?" Isis turned to ask Nymera's opinion.
Nymera dipped her chin. "It is ideal. Still, I feel a touch of melancholy that we must disturb two Mizutsune at the height of their tender courtship."
"It can't be helped." Isis casually picked up the quest form. "I feel a little sorry for them, but we'll send the pair off together!"
—--
A cargo ship docked at a small port on the coast of the Fonron Region.
Three young Hunters disembarked.
"I have to ask, Lambert, was it really worth going to all this trouble to come all the way out here?" Chia complained.
"Even hitching a ride on a merchant ship was cheaper than taking an Airship, but it still cost us plenty. And that Tower you mentioned is another two hundred kilometers from here. We'll have to walk for days..."
Lambert gave him a strange look. "Didn't I tell you I could come alone? You didn't have to follow me."
"No way." Chia shook his head. "What if you ran into danger out here by yourself? We're companions!"