For the first two days after arriving in Kamura Village, Altaïr and Isis had almost nothing to do, while everyone else was extremely busy.
The scholars led by the director were especially elusive. No one had seen them since the landing. Apparently, they were dissecting and studying samples from infected Monsters in a temporary sealed research facility somewhere in the village.
Morgan delivered the Deadeye Yian Garuga materials to the Smithy, placed an order for a new weapon, and then shut himself in his room to craft Bowgun Ammo.
Although the general store sold finished Bowgun Ammo, many Gunners, Morgan included, preferred to craft their own. They simply felt more comfortable using ammunition they had made themselves.
The Heavy Bowgun users of the Cluster Heavy Bowgun Squad were no different. Their specialized Lv3 Cluster Ammo had astonishing power, but it was difficult to store, and stockpiling large quantities aboard an Airship was extremely dangerous. They therefore carried only a few combat loads apiece.
With frequent extermination battles ahead, they naturally needed to craft more and build up their reserves.
Nymera was something of an exception. She had shared that habit in the Old World, but seemed to have dropped it after returning to Kamura Village.
Altaïr had even overheard the following conversation at Nymera's house.
Seeing the other Gunners busy crafting Bowgun Ammo, Nymera had felt a little embarrassed and decided to make some for old times' sake, intending to keep it in reserve. Yomogi promptly dragged her out of the room and hauled her off to the tea shop.
"Crafting Bowgun Ammo? If you want to slack off, just admit it. Why put on an act? Kagero personally crafts and refines all the Ammo he sells you, and he only charges you what it costs him. It's more reliable than anything you make yourself.
"Let him handle it. You can come help at the shop."
At the time, Altaïr had thought it was fine for Nymera to spend a while in Kamura Village training in its secret Silkbind techniques, but she should not stay too long. Otherwise, she might be pampered into uselessness...
As it turned out, when life became too comfortable, growing complacent was easy. Nymera was not the only one. Altaïr and Isis were no better, and before they knew it, two days had slipped away.
As he ate the light but refined and plentiful dinner Yomogi had carefully prepared, Altaïr made a decision.
If no further orders arrived by the following morning, he would take the initiative and ask Guild Master Hojo whether there was anything they could do.
They had come prepared to save the villagers from disaster, not to spend a vacation fattening themselves up.
For better or worse, less than half an hour after Altaïr made that decision, a Meowcenaries Felyne dressed entirely in black knocked on Nymera's door.
"Miss Nymera, Senior Maki has called a meeting. Please go to the Guild Hall as soon as possible." The messenger then looked toward Altaïr, Isis, and Morgan. "Everyone from the Guild support team is welcome to come as well, if convenient."
"Senior Maki is back?" Nymera threw down the scrubbing brush and apron she had been using to wash the dishes and rushed outside in delight.
Altaïr, Isis, and Morgan exchanged glances, then hurried after her.
Their lodgings were nearby, and the small group could move quickly, so they were the first to reach the Guild Hall.
Maki sat beside the giant cherry tree in the center of the main floor, chewing Bunny Dango. Unmistakable fatigue showed on her face.
Physically, however, she did not appear to have suffered any injuries.
When she saw the familiar faces of Altaïr and Isis, she paused, then slowly smiled.
"Guild Master Hojo said two young High Rank Hunters were coming. So it's you two. Well? Are you enjoying life since making High Rank?" Her voice held a trace of gleeful teasing.
Altaïr was at a loss for words. Their contributions during the Shen Gaoren interception had, of course, been the immediate reason His Immenseness specially promoted them to 6★, but the comments Maki had deliberately written in their Hunter's Notes had likely played a part. To His Immenseness, the assessment of an 8★ Hunter who might have reached 9★ if not for old injuries carried considerable weight.
Ignoring her teasing, Altaïr asked, "Good evening, Senior Maki. Did you catch the Shagaru Magala?"
Maki choked on the sticky Bunny Dango in her mouth. After gulping down two mouthfuls of hot tea to wash it down, she rolled her eyes. "Is that any way to greet someone? You went straight for the sore spot..."
She tossed the bamboo skewer onto the plate. "We found its trail at the Infernal Springs, but it's extremely wary and clever. It seemed to know we could threaten it, and it even knew that our Cohoots were our eyes. It slipped away before we could get close."
The others gradually arrived as they spoke. Having overheard the conversation from a distance, the director immediately asked, "So we can confirm that a Shagaru Magala is present?"
Maki appeared to know the director as well. She rummaged through an inner pocket, pulled out a glittering "pebble" no larger than a fingernail, and tossed it onto the tea table, where it flashed brilliantly under the lamplight.
Isis instinctively reached out to pick it up for a closer look, but the director slapped her hand away. With a grave expression, the director ordered everyone nearby to step back, accepted gloves and an isolation mask from an attending Felyne, and put both on before carefully lifting the platinum-white fragment.
"There's no need to be so cautious." Maki waved dismissively. "I treated this thing repeatedly with a Dragon Element weapon. It's completely inactive and thoroughly dead, so there's no risk of parasitic infection."
"What is it?" Isis asked quietly.
"Shagaru Magala scale dust. More precisely, these are the reproductive spores within its scale dust. If the 'deactivation' Senior Maki mentioned was incomplete and this fragment were carelessly introduced into a Large Monster's body, a Gore Magala would eventually burst out of the host."
"Eek!" Isis instantly lost all desire to pick it up and inspect it.
"Gore Magala scale dust also contains reproductive spores, but they are not this color. It seems this really did come from a Shagaru Magala. So is a Shagaru Magala truly the source of this Frenzy Virus outbreak?"
"If only it were that simple. Killing it would solve most of our problems." Maki leaned back against the trunk of the giant cherry tree, her lips twisting into an expression that could hardly be called a smile.
"First, judging by how cautious it is, it has learned to be seriously wary of Hunters.
"In other words, this isn't some clueless fool that has never seen a Hunter, hatched without a clue, molted without a clue, then run amok because it thought itself invincible.
"It knows how to hide, it keeps out of our way, and it deliberately spreads scale dust to accelerate the outbreak and force us to divide our attention.
"That's one cunning opponent."
Maki let out a heavy sigh. "And that's only one side of it. According to reports from the Meowcenaries, further reconnaissance uncovered pure black scale dust in the Flooded Forest.
"And that's not all. An urgent message from Elgado reported that multiple Monsters infected with the Frenzy Virus have appeared near the Citadel.
"Do you know what that means?"
Maki clearly was not trying to quiz anyone. She buried her fingers in her short hair, which barely reached her ears, and clutched her head, her voice bordering on frantic.
"Three sources. At least three sources! That means that, aside from the Shagaru Magala we nearly caught, there are probably two Gore Magala active at the same time!
"What the hell is going on?! Where did all these things suddenly come from?
"With that many infection sources, the outbreak should have become severe enough to detect long ago, shouldn't it?"
"This is indeed unusual." The director's fine eyebrows, so pale as to be almost invisible, drew together. "Judging by the few Shagaru Magala observed over the past several decades, 'lying low' and 'growing in secret' do not appear to be typical behaviors for the species."
Standing nearby with her chin cupped in one hand, Isis joined in. "You said the Shagaru Magala fled before you could even get close. That makes it sound almost afraid of Hunters.
"Could it have witnessed a powerful Hunter beating a Monster senseless when it was very young and been traumatized by the sight? Maybe it hid and grew in secret, only daring to reveal itself after molting into its adult form.
"That still wouldn't explain why Gore Magala have appeared elsewhere, but it would at least account for the Shagaru Magala's behavior and why the outbreak surfaced only recently."
"That shouldn't be possible. Who could traumatize a young Elder Dragon like that? Besides, the Infernal Springs are off-limits. No one normally goes there... Wait."
As though she had suddenly remembered something, Maki's expression changed dramatically. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Don't tell me that careless idiot has left another mess for me to clean up?"
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YourTL.app was used for this chapter and can also translate novels for readers when no English release is available.
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I went to sleep and forgot yesterday's 5 chapters, sorry