While Isis was explaining things to Nymera, Jara listened from nearby and got the gist of it.
"So Isis is planning to upgrade her armor, aiming for either Gravios or Lagiacrus?" he asked, seeking confirmation.
"That's right!" Isis nodded vigorously.
"And because you really couldn't choose which one to hunt, you decided to let deliciousness tip the scales a tiny bit?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"To be honest, even I think that's pretty reckless..." Jara rubbed his chubby chin.
Hearing that, Isis looked a bit awkward. If she hadn't truly been unable to choose, she wouldn't have resorted to this.
"The liver is still being prepared. First, here's some thinly sliced Gobul meat, meow. It can be eaten as sashimi or in the hot pot, meow." The Felyne Chef arrived carrying a huge platter layered with translucent, glistening fish slices.
"I'm swamped, meow! Clawdia, go bring out the hot pot, then come help me in the kitchen, meow!"
"...Got it, meow."
"Let's talk while we eat, talk while we eat!" Jara impatiently snatched a few slices of fish with his fingers, tossed them into his mouth, and closed his eyes to savor the springy texture. Only after several seconds did he sigh.
"As expected, ingredient quality is one thing, but cooking skill is crucial too. You can't find knife work like this anywhere in Val Habar except from the Felyne Chef."
"Crunch, crunch, crunch... Mmm, this crunchy texture is completely different from regular Sushifish." Isis also temporarily pushed her dilemma to the back of her mind, spearing a few slices with her fork and chewing with audible crunches.
Waving his plump hand and urging Altaïr and Nymera to hurry up and try some too, Jara then continued, "Both Lagiacrus and Gravios have edible parts.
"Gravios neck meat and wings are both edible, and there's quite a lot of meat. The Volcano region has relevant recipes. I haven't tried the neck meat, but I was lucky enough to taste the wing once.
"Another Hunter had hunted a Gravios then, and that pair of wings was too much for a single village to finish. I was just passing by and got invited to the meal."
"Was it good?" Isis asked excitedly, popping more fish into her mouth.
"It was alright, but honestly, it was a bit too tough; the hitzone was just average." Jara stroked his chin critically. "But the point of that dish might not have been the flavor itself.
"A typical grilled chicken wing is only about the length of your palm, right? Even a roasted Gargwa wing is just over half a meter long.
"But a Gravios wing, even after removing the wing tip, which is pure bone and completely inedible, and stripping away the wing membrane, is still five or six meters long. Imagine a wing that huge roasting over a fire, with an entire village gathered around eating it. You get that kind of atmosphere, right?"
"Ooh..." Isis's eyes sparkled, clearly intrigued.
"The hot pot is here, meow!" The Felyne Chef and his reluctant helper, Clawdia, worked together to carry in a giant copper pot filled with a bright red, spicy broth.
Altaïr, who wasn't overly fond of raw food, cooked a slice of fish briefly in the broth, tasted it, and immediately proceeded to cook several more.
"Gravios is all about that bold, hearty flavor. What about the Lagiacrus?" he asked, idly twirling his chopsticks.
"The Lagiacrus's tail is quite famous, even more so than a Rathalos tail. As for the other parts, I'm not too sure."
Clawdia arrived at the table carrying a large platter of stir-fried fish slices, and upon hearing Jara's words, chimed in casually.
"Lagiacrus milt is a supreme delicacy, meow, but the stuff is impossible to preserve. Pickling or freezing won't work, meow. It has to be eaten on the spot, meow, so very few people know about it, meow."
After speaking, Clawdia set down the platter and made to leave, but Jara grabbed her tail.
"Meow!!"
Clawdia's claws swatted the back of his hand.
Not minding the bloody scratches on his hand in the least, Jara's plump face was alight with excitement. "Tell me more about the milt!"
Clawdia glared at him angrily, not wanting to elaborate, but noticing that Isis seemed equally intrigued, she finally muttered, "I haven't tasted it myself, meow. It's just something I heard, meow."
"Did your father tell you?" Altaïr asked curiously.
He knew Clawdia's father was not only a legendary Felyne but also a Felyne Chef of superb culinary skill.
To his surprise, Clawdia shook her head. "Not Father, meow. It was my mother who told me, back when I was little, meow. She said it's the finest delicacy in Moga Village, something you can't get anywhere else, meow."
"Why wouldn't you be able to get it?" Isis looked puzzled. "Lagiacrus are quite widespread, aren't they? From the Frozen Seaway in the northern continent, Minegarde in the northwest, Geo Wandreo in the center, Port Tanzia in the south, and even the Leke Bay we just came from, they're found in all those places, right?"
"Piscine Liver is here, meow! First course! Cooked low-temperature to medium-rare and then chilled again. Give it a try, meow." The Felyne Chef arrived holding a plate of cubed, unassuming-looking Gobul liver.
Hearing Isis's question, the Felyne Chef casually explained, "Lagiacrus are indeed widespread, but of those locales, only the southern seas where Moga Village sits are a breeding ground for them, meow. Even if you hunt a Lagiacrus in other regions, there's no milt to be eaten, meow. And it also depends on the season, meow. The window when the milt is at its best is very short, meow, only about a month or so, meow."
"I see." Isis nodded with an air of profound understanding, then abruptly asked, "So what is milt, anyway?"
Altaïr's expression turned a bit odd as he cracked a grin. "It's the testes."
Cephalos milt was also a delicacy praised to the heavens by gourmands, its value far exceeding even that of Piscine Liver. Every year after the Autumn Harvest Fest, during the food festival season, tycoons would flock to Loc Lac, paying a fortune to hire the Hunting Fleet to capture live Cephalos, all for a single taste of their milt. Considering the danger involved, the rarity of Lagiacrus milt clearly far surpassed even that.
"What are testes?" Isis asked, tilting her head.
At this question, not just Altaïr, but Jara, the Felyne Chef, Nymera, and even Clawdia all froze, their expressions stiffening.
Did we really have to start explaining from there?!
Altaïr and Jara, being men, consciously averted their gazes. Nymera stared at the Gobul liver on her plate as if it had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the room, and even Clawdia, who was closest to Isis, turned away and pretended to look for nonexistent flies.
In the end, it was the senior Felyne Chef who sighed. "Anyway, it's a kind of organ, meow."
"Oh, so what about it?" Isis found everyone's reaction strange but didn't press further. "Chef, you said earlier that the season is short. Does the Lagiacrus this season have that, uh, milt?"
The Felyne Chef nodded. "It's just right, meow. A little after the monsoon season, now is the best time, meow."
"So we should definitely hunt the Lagiacrus!" Isis clenched her fist. "Even the season is perfect. Doesn't it feel like 'this must be fate'?"
Altaïr shrugged. "I don't mind either way. So you mean we skip the hunting grounds here at Leke Bay, take an Airship straight to Moga Village, and hunt the Lagiacrus there?"
"Can we?" Isis looked at her two companions. "Of course, I'm just throwing it out there. Hunting here at Leke Bay would work too; we don't have to go to Moga Village."
Whether hunting a Lagiacrus or a Gravios, the main goal was to craft new equipment. As her teammates, Altaïr and Nymera would naturally help.
But if it was just for a bite to eat, specifically going so far out of the way to the far southern seas of the Old World, her two teammates had no obligation to accompany her on such a trek.
"I don't mind," Altaïr declared. "It's just that if we go to Moga Village, we'll be strangers there, so our preparations before departure need to be more thorough."
"I have no objections." Nymera had also returned to her usual smiling expression.
If Gravios armor were more suitable for Isis than Lagiacrus armor, but Isis chose the latter on a whim for food, then Nymera would of course object.
But since the target had already been decided as Lagiacrus, and the only change was traveling farther for a tastier meal in terms of hunting ground choice, she didn't really mind.
"I'm going too." Jara stood up and placed a hand on Isis's shoulder, his face serious. "A friend needs help, and your buddy here never shirks his duty!"
"That's too much trouble for you. The three of us are confident we can hunt the Lagiacrus."
"Please, I'm begging you, take me with you. This is the request of a lifetime..."
(Translated by yourtl.app)