Hearing Clawdia's scream, Isis, Altaïr, and the others hurried over.
Then they saw a dark-skinned, bare-chested man holding the struggling Clawdia in a tight cradle like a baby, utterly unconcerned by the countless bloody scratches her claws had carved into his arms and chest.
As a Gunner, Nymera had superhuman eyesight. She narrowed her eyes.
She recognized him. He was the sturdy man who had jumped into the sea to help guide the Airship's landing.
After everyone boarded the sampan, he had disappeared without a trace, yet somehow he had reappeared here.
Noticing the hostile looks from the group, the sturdy man, whose sideburns were going gray and who looked to be in his fifties, not quite sixty, finally calmed down somewhat from his earlier excitement.
He loosened his muscular arms, which had been clamped around her like iron bands, and Clawdia shot out with a whoosh, scurrying in panic to hide behind Isis.
"Meow! What is this stuff, meow!"
Clawdia erupted in another scream. She discovered that many white, slightly sticky patches clung to her fur. She had no idea whether it was mud or something else.
Recalling how the bare-chested man had just held her, the fur at the tip of Clawdia's tail bristled as she frantically shook and shimmied.
"Don't be like that."
Seeing how disgusted Clawdia looked, the sturdy man, already past "middle-aged," actually looked aggrieved. "That's the beeswax we Sea People often apply before going into the sea to prevent chapping and cracking. It's not something filthy."
Clawdia was still frantically swatting at herself, and when she worried it would not come clean, she called Sajji over to help her swat.
Isis stood guard in front of Clawdia warily, but considering the man's age, she still maintained basic politeness. "Who might you be?"
Only then did the sturdy man turn his attention to her. He stared blankly for a moment, then said with sudden realization, "Could you be Isis?"
Isis looked at him, puzzled. She had no impression of this older man, yet he could call her by name. Perhaps he was someone her parents knew?
"So it really is you." The sturdy man smiled broadly, his wrinkled eyes crinkling as he bared a mouthful of white teeth. "I'm Az, a Hunter who likes fishing, and I was also the hunting partner of Clawdia's mother, Roe.
"I helped deliver Clawdia and Pawdrick when they were born."
Hearing the sturdy man say that, the wariness in Isis's eyes gradually faded.
She had a vague impression of the name, maybe a memory from when she was very young, but she could not recall it clearly.
Clawdia also poked her head out from behind Isis, sizing him up again and again, comparing him to the "Master Az" from her mother's descriptions.
"Where is my mother from, meow?" she suddenly asked.
The burly man named Az paused briefly, then replied with a smile, "The Fish-Basket Tribe, in the southwest of the Ancient Forest in the New World. You've inherited their clan's striped coat. As for Roe, she's skilled with the Felyne Fork and also good at making all sorts of dried seafood."
Hearing him rattle all this off in one breath, Clawdia finally confirmed his identity.
She shuffled out rather reluctantly from behind Isis, though her words already carried a respectful tone. "I mistook you for someone suspicious. Sorry for scratching you, meow."
"Ah, it's nothing." Despite the fresh claw marks on his arm, chest, and even his face still oozing blood, Az remained as jovial as ever.
Like a grandfather who simply could not get angry at a little granddaughter throwing a tantrum.
But to Clawdia, who was not familiar with him, that inexplicably kindly smile struck her as a bit creepy, and she had no desire to get close.
Still, considering his relationship with her mother, she remained perfectly polite and respectful.
"This is Master Az, meow, a very powerful Lance user, meow. And these ones here are..." She introduced everyone to each other, clearing up the misunderstanding in the process.
Although the first impression he'd made was a little odd, Altaïr and the others took turns greeting the old veteran.
Az kept the same jovial demeanor. "No need to be so formal. You lot came on that royal ship, right? That one there is the Third Princess. What kind of outrageous request has she cooked up this time, you know?"
Having no intention of letting the princess take the blame for them, Altaïr explained the situation frankly.
"So you originally planned to hunt a Lagiacrus to forge equipment, but since Lagiacrus breeding season was coming up, you made a special trip to the South Sea, hoping to sample Lagiacrus soft roe while you were at it?" Az's expression gradually turned stern.
Standing at the very front and meeting Az's gaze head-on, Altaïr felt his scalp prickle.
A 4-star Hunter hunting a 5★ monster under the lead of a 5★ Hunter was indeed cutting corners. Strictly speaking, though, it fell within the range of what the Guild tacitly permitted. Aside from a few particularly rigid old-timers, most people would not really care.
But if the purpose of cutting corners was to eat, or at least part of the purpose was to eat, then it would not be strange at all for him, as both a senior and an elder, to scold them a bit.
Az's broad, webbed palm landed heavily on Altaïr's shoulder. "I get it. Fishing is the same, you know. Only by going to the best spot in the best season can you catch the fattest fish."
Altaïr: "?"
Jara, who'd been keeping quiet at the back, suddenly bounded forward, eyes shining. "Speaking of this season, the fattest fish in these waters has to be...!"
"The Speartuna, without a doubt!" Az flashed a mouthful of white teeth. "But the South Sea has more than just Speartuna. Spear squid, Serpentine Salmon, and red sea bream are all superb this time of year! If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made a special trip back to my old hometown this time of year, you know!"
Jara's pale, chubby hand, like a steamed bun, clasped Az's large dark hand tightly; the two exchanged a look of burning enthusiasm.
"You truly are the real thing, too!"
"And you as well, my chubby young friend!"
"A gourmet!"
"A fishing fanatic, no doubt!"
"..."
"...Tch." Az let go of Jara's chubby hand with a look of disgust.
What he loved was the process of pursuing and seeking out rare fish in lakes, rivers, seas, jungles, and mountains all over the world, encountering them, battling them, and finally reeling them in.
As for whether the fish was eaten, kept, or released back into the ocean after being caught, that was not quite as important.
He was completely different from the kind of fellow who wanted to stuff every fish he saw straight into his mouth!
But Jara was clearly no fool either; he sidled up with a fawning grin. "Old-timer, I was born and raised in Val Habar. Never saw much more than a few muddy puddles, so I barely ever had the chance to go fishing.
"Coming to the South Sea this time, I'm really looking to make up for what I've missed. Loving to fish and loving to eat fish aren't exactly contradictory, right? I know perfectly well how casting bait and line to catch a fish makes the catch taste twice as good, so since I'm here in the South Sea, of course I want to experience it thoroughly!"
As he spoke, he drew the Insect Glaive from his back and made a clumsy, wildly inappropriate casting motion.
Az's expression immediately brightened.
For an angler passionate about fishing, the greatest joy was naturally fishing itself. So what was the second greatest? Getting other people hooked. "So that's how it is. Well, then, I do have to criticize you a bit. It's not that Val Habar has no fish. The Jyuratodus in those desert mudholes, the Cephalos and Delex in the sand sea, aren't they the finest catches? A true angler ought to be able to cast their rod with gusto even in the middle of a desert."
"Uh, you're quite right."
"Of course, the most basic fishing should still start from the water. For that, I've first got to introduce the types of rods, hooks, and lines... Hm, there's quite a bit to cover from the beginning. Anyone else want to learn together?"
Az looked expectantly at the others.
"Not me. I prefer eating over fishing," Isis refused decisively.
"The joy of the fishing line... is not where my interests lie," Nymera politely refused as well.
Altaïr was quite interested in learning to fish. After all, in the wild, fishing was an extremely practical skill, and he rather liked the feeling of quietly angling.
But their main purpose this time was to hunt a Lagiacrus, so they could not afford to spend too much of their preparation time learning how to fish.
So he chose to speak candidly. "Senior Az, fishing is very interesting, but we need to prepare for the Lagiacrus hunt..."
Before he could finish, Clawdia suddenly spoke up. "Master Az, could we trouble you to instruct Altaïr and the others in underwater combat techniques, meow?"
Az blinked, looked at Clawdia's awkward expression, and a hint of mischief flickered in his eyes. "Call me Grandpa, and I'll teach."
Clawdia bristled in silent fury.
(Translated by yourtl.app)