The ship's food stores were still ample, but they would not last forever.
With no stable supply line yet established and every shipment having to come from elsewhere, the canteen had naturally canceled its à la carte service and now provided only nutritionally balanced set meals for the members of the expedition team.
Portions were unlimited, of course. Everyone could eat their fill and ask for more, but alcohol was rationed.
Such a "dull" dining arrangement was hardly suitable for a banquet. The Hunters chatted idly as they quickly filled their stomachs, then prepared to leave.
The young Wyverian who called himself the "Village Chief" tugged Meowster along and trotted over. "Wait! Everyone, there's something I'd like to ask you about!"
Dawn, the combat team leader, stepped forward. "No need to be so formal. Village Chief, if you need anything, just say the word."
"Please, everyone, take your seats!" The Village Chief settled at the long table where the Hunters had been sitting and gestured for those about to leave to sit back down.
"As you've probably heard, the Mangrove Forest isn't suitable for establishing a base. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on how we should go about finding a better location."
The Hunters exchanged glances, and for a moment, no one spoke.
After several seconds, the ever-blunt Isis tentatively spoke up. "Village Chief, can't you just decide?"
The other Hunters all nodded in agreement.
The Village Chief rubbed his large nose, a helpless look on his face. "See, that's exactly why I didn't want to pull rank as the one in charge and make every decision myself.
"I can set the general direction, but the information available to me is limited. You Hunters are the ones working on the front lines, so you must have all sorts of ideas. Maybe one of you has a clever solution.
"Just treat them as suggestions. I'll weigh them all carefully."
Meowster, whom the Village Chief had dragged along, added, "Don't worry about your suggestions leading him astray, meow. He knows exactly what he's doing and what his goals are, meow.
"Speak freely, meow. The Village Chief will pick out anything useful, meow."
"Since both the Village Chief and Meowster have said so, everyone should feel free to share whatever comes to mind," Dawn said with a smile. "This stubborn old fossil has been set in his ways for too long. You youngsters still know how to think flexibly."
Lambert, who rarely joined conversations unprompted, was the first to raise her hand. "Village Chief, although I haven't actually set foot on the island yet and can't offer any useful suggestions,
"I'd like to ask a question first. What kind of place would be suitable for establishing a base?"
Altaïr cast a slightly surprised glance at the young woman. Her question went straight to the heart of the matter. Rather than asking them to throw out random suggestions with no direction, it was better for the Village Chief to first give them a framework.
"Excellent!" The big-nosed Village Chief clapped his hands hard, thoroughly delighted that a young Hunter had taken the initiative to ask a question.
"Choosing an outpost location is a complex issue with many factors to consider. I can't sum it all up in a few sentences, but there are several key points we need to pay close attention to.
"First, it needs to be relatively safe. Compare a deep jungle where Monsters frequently appear with the edge of the jungle, where Monster density is lower. The latter is clearly more suitable, right? Natural barriers would be even better, of course, such as a river bend with water on three sides, a canyon with a narrow entrance, or the foot of a steep cliff."
The Hunters all nodded in agreement.
Theo could not help adding, "That sounds a lot like choosing a site for a Hunter's Camp!"
"The second issue is access to resources. We're trying to establish an outpost where the expedition team can explore and live, not a fortress.
"For instance, a cave at the top of a mountain might be very safe, but it won't work if you have to walk half a day just to gather a few mushrooms or can't find any wood nearby to build a fence.
"The last factor is accessibility, which overlaps somewhat with the second point.
"The outpost we establish now might one day grow into a larger village or even a city. If we can find a suitable place to build a port from the start, that would be ideal.
"Just look at Jumbo Village today. I worked so hard back then to find that perfect spot! Hahaha!"
As he spoke, the Village Chief burst into loud laughter.
"Ahem." Dawn coughed softly, reminding him that he had drifted off topic.
"Sorry, sorry!" the Village Chief said with a grin. "In any case, if you come across any rivers, be sure to pay close attention. A valuable water source and a transport route would solve two problems at once."
"I'd like to add one thing, meow," Meowster said after the Village Chief finished. "Try to avoid locations deep inside the forest, meow. Those Fanged Beasts we encountered this morning are highly adept at moving through the trees, meow.
"If we establish an outpost inside the forest, we'll be almost completely defenseless against them, meow."
"Well? Does anyone have any good ideas?" The big-nosed Village Chief looked at the Hunters expectantly.
"We did find a small river this morning," Morgan said. "But it was deep in the Mangrove Forest, so it may not be suitable."
The Village Chief snapped his fingers excitedly. "Oh, a small river? Really? That's valuable information!
"Don't underestimate small rivers and creeks. They may be tributaries of much larger rivers. Follow that creek, and you might find something even better!"
"Understood." Morgan nodded solemnly.
Meowster glanced at the Village Chief and thought the man certainly knew how to inspire people.
He and Millsy had already compiled the areas they had explored that day into a map and given it to the Village Chief, who therefore already knew that the second team had found a small river.
But this response was far better at firing up the younger Hunters than a flat, "I already know about that."
This guy really is better suited to leading the expedition team than I am, meow.
With Morgan leading by example, the other Hunters began sharing their discoveries and ideas as well. Although most of the information was either useless or repetitive, the Village Chief responded to every suggestion with the same enthusiasm.
Altaïr, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke. "I have a suggestion that might improve our exploration efficiency."
"Let's hear it! I'm dying to know!" the Village Chief said excitedly, turning to him.
"Covering the ground bit by bit is slow. Perhaps we should consider aerial reconnaissance."
"Aerial reconnaissance, huh?" The Village Chief folded his arms and shook his head. "You mean an Airship? No. We already discussed it. It's too risky."
"Not an Airship. A Cohoot." Altaïr smiled. "Nymera's Cohoot, Mochi, can quickly survey a large area from above. Combined with the speed of her Palamute, Hibiki, their reconnaissance would be extremely efficient.
"Of course, a Cohoot's ability to communicate is limited, so Mochi can't convey much detail. My idea is to have Nymera ride Hibiki while Mochi scouts ahead, allowing the three of them to conduct an initial rapid survey. They would first identify important landmarks such as rivers, canyons, and Monster nests, which Nymera could mark on the map. Then we would conduct a second, more detailed survey on foot. That would let us skip areas of little significance and greatly improve our efficiency."
"That's a good idea, meow." Meowster nodded emphatically. "I can come along to draw a more precise map, meow."
"Ooh! That's it! Now this is what it means to put our heads together!" The Village Chief threw his arms up and cheered. His exuberance was enough to make even the calmest person feel awkward, but everyone could see it was genuine. That was simply the sort of passionate, driven person he was.
"It just means Nymera, Hibiki, and Mochi will have their work cut out for them for a while." Altaïr gave Nymera an apologetic look. In a sense, his own suggestion had just saddled her with a great deal of work.
"No problem at all. If I can help everyone, I'm more than willing." Nymera chuckled, playing with Mochi as the Cohoot perched on her shoulder. "Just make sure to prepare some extra food for Hibiki, or he'll get upset again."
(Translated by yourtl.app)