Before the sky had fully darkened, Chia returned to the Guild Hall carrying a large bundle.
He ruffled the hair of his younger sister, who had run up to greet him, then placed the bundle on the Quest Counter.
Noya opened the bundle's drawstring and peeked inside. Sure enough, it was filled with all kinds of mushrooms.
As a native born and raised in this vast Jungle, he could gather mushrooms more efficiently than even a High Rank Hunter.
After settling the gathering quest and turning in the ten portions of Unique Mushrooms it required, the cloth bag was still bulging.
Besides the common Unique Mushrooms, it also contained more valuable Giant Pinecloud Mushrooms, along with versatile varieties such as Parashrooms.
At the Guild's purchase rates, the large bag, still half full, was worth far more than the gathering quest's reward.
Even if he had no other skills, his "special talent" for gathering produce from the wild was enough to give him and his sister a stable, comfortable life.
"Shall I cash in the rest for you, as usual?" Guildmarm Noya asked casually.
Chia nodded with a smile. "Yes, thank you, Guildmarm."
Noya poured out the remaining mushrooms and quickly counted them, then seemed to remember something. She beckoned the boy over and whispered, "These Giant Pinecloud Mushrooms are of pretty good quality, but since this is one of their main growing regions, they won't fetch a particularly high price."
As she spoke, she pointed with her chin toward a table at the edge of the tavern. "Why not give them as a gift and get to know the seniors? Just give them to the tallest girl over there.
They also have something they want to discuss with you. It's... a good thing, of course!"
Chia looked where Noya had indicated and exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Altaïr?!"
"Go on! Take them!" Noya urged him again.
Coming to his senses, Chia hurriedly thanked her, gathered up the armful of wild delicacies still covered in damp soil, and strode toward the table where Altaïr and the others sat.
Altaïr noticed him and waved him over.
When he reached the tavern table, Chia looked a little nervous. Following Noya's advice, he first placed the fresh Giant Pinecloud Mushrooms in front of Isis.
Then, apparently realizing how abrupt the gesture had been, he added awkwardly, "Fresh, moist Giant Pinecloud Mushrooms can be eaten raw. They taste great dipped in a little sauce or with just a sprinkle of salt!"
Isis, who had been a little taken aback, picked one up without thinking. "Would the sauce I use for Well-done Steak work? I'll give it a try..."
Altaïr was at a loss for words. A boy who had grown up in a small mountain village deep in the Jungle, and who until recently had been consumed by thoughts of revenge, naturally would not understand such social niceties. Someone had clearly taught him this.
He glanced toward the counter and, sure enough, found Noya watching them. The moment their eyes met, she looked away.
"All right, just let her try one for the novelty and sell the rest. Between supporting your sister and preparing for your promotion to 2★... you must be rather short on money."
"It's fine, Senior Altaïr! There is no shortage of mushrooms in the Jungle. I'll just pick some more tomorrow," the youth said with a chuckle.
Altaïr studied him for a moment, then motioned for him to sit with them. "You're in much better spirits. Looks like you've worked through it. Good. That's good."
Chia rubbed the back of his head. "For Adie's sake, I've got to pull myself together."
"He really does seem completely different now, meow," Sajji murmured, then poked Lambert beside him. "What does he sound like now, meow?"
Ever since discovering Lambert's "special ability," he had delighted in hearing her appraise people.
Lambert glanced over without interest, then bent back over the large serving of food Isis had carefully portioned out for her.
"A rather boring sound. Mm, maybe slightly more spirited than a normal person?"
"I see, meow." Sajji nodded slowly.
When Lambert called someone "boring," it was not necessarily a criticism; she had once described Nymera the same way. It meant the person had a stable state of mind and was perfectly normal.
Altaïr briefly introduced Chia to everyone who had not met him, and Chia politely greeted them one by one, including, of course, his former classmate Lambert.
Lambert looked up and raised her chin in acknowledgment. They had not been close at the training camp, but they were not exactly on bad terms either.
After the greetings, Chia tentatively spoke up. "Guildmarm Noya said you seniors had something to discuss with me?"
"No need to be so nervous." Isis set down her Giant Pinecloud Mushroom and smiled. "Put simply, we want to introduce you to someone who might make a good teammate.
This is Vari, a 2★ Light Bowgun user from Loc Lac. You two are about the same age, so you should have no trouble talking. If you hit it off, you can try taking quests together.
If you work well together, great. If you are not a good fit as teammates, you can still consider it making a new friend."
She did not include Lambert in the invitation. Lambert had clearly said she was not looking for teammates, so Isis did not intend to interfere too much.
Chia looked surprised, clearly not expecting anything like this, but he quickly recovered and took the initiative to offer Vari his hand. "In that case, I look forward to learning from you, Senior Vari."
Being called "Senior" startled Vari, and he hurriedly waved his hands. "Just call me Vari! I've only been an official Hunter for a few months, and I only advanced to 2★ with help from the Loc Lac Rangers. I'm hardly worthy of being called a senior!"
"Then I'll call you Vari. And you can just call me Archi, like everyone else!"
Now that he had let go of his hatred, Chia was naturally cheerful. Though Vari was somewhat indecisive, he was easy to get along with. The two youths, nearly the same age, were soon chatting together.
Lambert, who was also their age, had no interest in joining the conversation and simply ate on her own. The serving was a little too large for her.
She had little interest in entertaining Chia's eager questions, but with the seniors present, she could hardly ignore him outright. In the end, she was all but dragged into the conversation.
A satisfied smile spread across Isis's face as she watched the three of them whisper among themselves, and she nodded emphatically. "That's the spirit!"
She then leaned close to Altaïr's ear and whispered, "This is exactly how Francesca brought Senior Serl and the rest of the Vanguard Hunting Party together!"
Altaïr was momentarily speechless.
So that's why you've suddenly become so enthusiastic about matchmaking. You're trying to copy Senior Francesca?
Then again, if the two boys learned to work well together, they might truly become a permanent duo. A frontliner paired with a Gunner was the most common setup for a two-person team.
Lambert was harder to read. She would probably prefer to work alone.
Still, it would be good for her to get to know people her own age.
Few Hunters could remain lone wolves for life. As their Hunter rank rose, they would inevitably encounter situations they could not handle alone. Even Hunters who preferred to work solo needed some experience cooperating with others.
Take Lambert, for example. If she encountered a Monster she truly wanted to Hunt but was not confident she could handle alone, her personality meant that, given the choice between asking others for help and making a risky solo attempt, she would almost certainly choose the latter.
A few more friends her own age would give her more options in such situations.
Wait, why am I starting to think more and more like her parents? Is this because of my age? But I just turned twenty! Just as he was agonizing over this, the Guild Hall's door opened.
Altaïr instinctively glanced toward the entrance, then immediately looked away. The visitor was a courier.
Urgent letters were generally sent by Carrier Pigeon or even peregrine falcon. Couriers mostly delivered routine correspondence, such as letters from home, so there was nothing worth paying attention to.
Just as he looked away, a shout rang out from the Quest Counter. It was Noya's voice. "Altaïr! Isis! There's a letter for you two!"
They exchanged a glance, each seeing their own surprise reflected in the other's eyes.
They had only returned from Loc Lac to Metapetatto that day, and a letter had already arrived for them. Either the sender knew their movements precisely and had accurately calculated the travel time, or... the sender was simply very lucky.
Since it had come by courier rather than Carrier Pigeon, luck was the more likely explanation.
"Who could it be?" Isis trotted over, took the letter, and glanced at it.
"Huh? It's from Francesca, addressed to both of us?"
"Us? Both?" Altaïr pointed to himself, unable to understand why Senior Francesca, whom Isis treated like an older sister, would include him in a letter sent to Isis.
"Let me have a look." Isis broke the wax seal and tore open the envelope.
(Translated by yourtl.app)