The youngest member of the Loc Lac Rangers, who had been following behind the big man, found it utterly baffling when an unfamiliar face casually draped an arm over the big man's shoulder, and instinctively moved forward to pull him away.
But another veteran member held him back, chuckling, "Relax, he's an old friend."
The big man turned his head to glance at Altaïr and Sajji, who had sidled up to him. He paused for a moment, then his stern, square face broke into a smile.
"Well, if it isn't you, kid. And Sajji too. Weren't you both up north? When did you get back?"
"Touched down in Rekusara just a few hours ago." Altaïr grinned teasingly. "Got promoted to captain, I see. Looking pretty impressive there, Nuri!"
The burly man named Nuri shoved him lightly. "Don't think I can't tell, kid. We Loc Lac Rangers have seen our fair share of things. That's the Regios Armor Set you're wearing, isn't it?
"A 5★ Monster, no less. So that means you're at least 4★ now, huh? Heh! Just like you, kid. Only been a little over two years, and you've already jumped from 2★ to almost 5★?"
"The Rangers taught me well. All the credit goes to Boss Joda!"
"Meow-meow!" Sajji chimed in with a meow.
"Both of you, give it a rest. Boss Joda isn't here, so your flattery's wasted." Nuri ruffled Sajji's fluffy little head, then raised his chin to point toward the three people being detained, Isis and the others.
"Those friends of yours?"
"No, they're my sworn enemies." Altaïr gritted his teeth. "Why else would they stir up this much trouble the moment they were out of my sight for two hours?
"Nymera, weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on those two? Why'd you join in too?!"
Nymera laughed awkwardly and averted her gaze. "I found it rather entertaining, so I just went along and kept time for them."
Keeping time with a Light Bowgun, huh?!
The smile on Nuri's face dimmed a little. "If they're your friends, I won't take them in.
"But all of you, be careful. With the big tournament going on around here lately, tourists and merchants have surged in numbers. Rekusara's own city guard can't handle it all, so they had to call us in for help.
"Those guys have been working overtime day and night for a solid month. They're all in a foul temper. If they catch you, they won't just let you off with a few words like we did. They really will lock you up, detain you, and fine you."
"You hear that?" Altaïr glared at the three.
"Okay." Isis nodded obediently.
Lambert was still muttering under her breath, "I just saw someone busking on the beach with a trumpet and accordion. Why's a Hunting Horn not allowed? I wasn't even going to play an Echo Wave..."
Altaïr shot a glare over, and Isis chuckled apologetically, wrapping her arms around Lambert from behind and covering her mouth.
After thinking for a moment, Altaïr spoke to Nuri again, "Nuri, in a bit I'll give you a few addresses. Use the Loc Lac Rangers' official seal and write some warning letters to their families for me.
"Explain that they were detained for reckless use of weapons in a public place."
"No way!"
"Stop!"
This time Isis and Nymera really did panic, stumbling over each other in a rush to swear they would never act out again. Only Lambert, still with Isis's hand clamped over her mouth, kept her dead-fish stare.
If her parents could control her, she would never have ended up in the Hunter Training Camp back then.
Altaïr's gaze settled on her. Lambert let out a heavy sigh, pushed Isis's hand aside, and said listlessly, "Fine, I get it. I won't pull that stuff where there are people around anymore."
"If you can't hold it in, you can blow this, meow." Perched on Nuri's shoulder, Sajji pulled a small green flute from his pocket. "But it breaks really easily, so don't blow too hard, meow."
Lambert took the little flute, glanced at it, and handed it back. "A Health Flute. I know how they're built. I'll carve one myself later out of some sturdier bone materials.
"Playing one of those shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Altaïr pictured Lambert walking along, suddenly pulling out a tiny flute and tootling a few notes. It felt pretty harmless, so he nodded. "Just don't mess around with Hunter weapons anymore, and don't disturb anyone else."
After threatening and lecturing the whole lot of them, Altaïr chatted with Nuri a while longer.
"Nuri, we're planning to head to Val Habar. Do you know a good route?"
As an official organization, the Loc Lac Rangers might have some special channels. Since he had this connection, he might as well use it. Whether it panned out was another matter.
"To Val Habar?" Nuri looked the group over once more. "If I may ask, what are your respective Hunter ranks?"
"The two of us are 4★." Altaïr gestured to himself and Isis, then lifted his chin toward Nymera. "She's 5★.
"As for this last one, she's a rookie who was promoted less than half a month ago."
"Two 4★ and one 5★, pretty high rank. Should be no problem then." Nuri smiled. "As it happens, there's a way.
"You all keep patrolling. I'll take them with me for a bit of business."
The familiar faces among the Loc Lac Rangers greeted Altaïr, agreed to meet for drinks that evening, and then continued on their patrol duties.
Nuri tilted his head, signaling for Altaïr and the others to follow him. "The starting and ending points for this Sandship race are Leke Bay and Val Habar. You already knew that, right?"
"We did."
"I did not. No wonder this place is so bustling."
"What's a Sandship race? It sounds fun. Can we join?"
Altaïr made a "quiet" gesture at his companions, who had only been focused on causing trouble and had paid no attention to anything else.
Walking ahead, Nuri continued, "The straight-line distance between Rekusara and Val Habar is under two hundred kilometers, but the race route isn't straight.
"For safety, it has to go around areas where Monsters appear and pass through oases that serve as waypoints. The whole route is over three hundred kilometers long."
"Even though all the competitors are the best of the best, and the route's been surveyed over and over, things can still go wrong without warning.
"Like a Nibelsnarf wandering around wherever it pleases, right?"
"Yeah." Altaïr's expression grew serious, too.
The Great Desert had never been a safe place. Apart from what lurked on the surface, all kinds of Monsters also hid beneath the yellow sands.
If it was just a single Sandship speeding along, the odds of an attack were relatively low.
After all, few Monsters could catch up to a small Sandship at full speed, even ambushers like Nibelsnarf or Cephalos that lay in wait beneath the sand. By the time they reacted, the Sandship would already be long gone.
But what about when a dozen, maybe even several dozen, Sandships moved in formation, passing through one after another?
The vibrations from the Sandships ahead racing across the sand would draw nearby Monsters in. The farther back a Sandship was, the more likely it'd be to come under attack.
"To keep the competitors as safe as possible, several large Sandships will serve as support vessels, setting out together with the racers to provide route guidance and navigation, drive off Monsters, give medical aid, and all that.
"Since driving off Monsters is part of the plan, naturally these support vessels need Hunters on board.
"To be honest, with so many tourists and merchants around Rekusara lately, there are loads of situations requiring Hunter escorts, and the local Guild Hall is already stretched thin.
"For some of the support vessels, they're scraping by with us Loc Lac Rangers filling in. Sure, we can fight Monsters too, but we're nowhere near as professional as you guys."
By this point, Nuri's meaning was pretty clear.
Altaïr and the others could serve as escorts and board those support vessels. The race route was headed toward Val Habar anyway, so they'd also get a ride straight to their destination.
—--
"We're here." After following Nuri for about ten minutes, the group arrived at an open-air shipyard.
Several large Sandships serving as support vessels for the race were docked right there in the yard.
"But I've got to warn you upfront; don't expect much in the way of pay.
"After all, you'd be joining at the last minute. Going through the process to get you the kind of compensation that matches your Hunter rank would probably take a ton of work, and it might not even be ready in time for the race the day after tomorrow."
"I'm fine with it. What do you think?" Altaïr looked toward his companions.
"No need, no need!" Isis waved a hand generously. "We get to watch the speed race up close and hitch a free ride; what more could you want?"
Nymera said with a beaming smile, "I feel the same way."
Lambert stared blankly at the high-prowed bow of the large Sandship, and a very rock 'n' roll idea suddenly popped into her head.
"..."
Sensing the dangerous look coming from Altaïr, she hastily raised her hands. "No, no, no, I'm not planning to do anything crazy! But I was thinking, maybe we could talk it over with the organizers?
"Maybe they'd like to add some rousing, thrilling music to this desert speed race too?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)