Very soon, with the concerted efforts of the cats, this batch of plants was steadily harvested and then loaded onto those specially made cat carts.
At present, the Fire Wyvern Grimalkynes' cat carts are not only used to rescue Hunters, but also serve as the main means of transportation for materials.
Only, after loading four big carts, the cats looked at these full supplies and felt somewhat at a loss.
So much was not something Jagras could pull.
Especially this Felyne from Astera, after arranging for two Jagras to try pulling the carts, completely gave up on the old practice of using Jagras to transport supplies.
"Then we can only use Aptonoth, meow."
Yes, Aptonoth.
Domesticated Aptonoth were indeed extremely useful labor. Even here at the Ancient Tree, 4 were specially kept, dedicated to transporting large materials.
Only now, what the Felyne was worried about was that there were no Hunters on the Ancient Tree at present.
Those Hunters responsible for transport had all gone with the previous supply convoy to Astera and had not yet returned.
But seeing that the coldest part of winter was getting closer and closer, they had to hurry and deliver these materials.
"No other way, meow—we can only see if any Fire Wyvern lord is free, meow!"
The Grimalkyne scratched his head and looked toward the Felyne beside him.
This made the Felyne feel somewhat torn. It wasn't that they couldn't ask a Fire Wyvern for help—it was mainly that hiring a Fire Wyvern was simply too expensive, enough to hire two Hunter squads for a large-scale mission.
That was the Fire Wyvern's asking price! And sometimes there might not even be a Fire Wyvern available.
After thinking it over again and again, the Felyne gritted its teeth.
"Let's do it, meow."
This payment would have to be deducted from the Provisions team's funds. Ever since the arrival of the Third Fleet, when manpower had become sufficient, the Research Commission had once again reactivated its financial system.
Each department had its own funds, and it was no longer permitted to squander the Commission's overall pool of resources just because one had an adequate reason.
Yes, that's right—it means you.
The Ecological Research Center!!
They hadn't known before checking, but once they did, they found that among the various departments' expenditures over the years, the Ecological Research Center alone took up the largest share.
Especially in recent years, with research on Fire Wyverns, on Pink Rathian, on Chameleos, on Ahtal-Ka and the like, funds were being spent in huge amounts, nearly wrecking the financial system that had been so painstakingly established.
One must know that once this financial system collapses, repairing it is a difficult task, and it would also heavily affect relations with the Ancient Tree.
Trust is something very hard to build, but incomparably easy to destroy.
Therefore, since the Third Fleet, in the requests sent from the New World back to the Old World, the requirement for the Fourth Fleet was: powerful and comprehensively skilled logistics personnel.
...
On the Ancient Tree, not far from the canteen, there was a newly opened building-cave here, painted with cute cat heads and a very abstract Fire Wyvern totem.
A big signboard for the quest office was set there.
Several Grimalkynes were just squatting on little wooden stools, chatting with one another and sneakily showing off the Fire Wyvern ornaments they wore.
These cats were all specifically responsible for certain Fire Wyvern couples. When the Fire Wyvern couples they served had free time and indicated they could accept quests in the near term, the commanded cats would gather here to see what quests could be taken.
The Ancient Tree and Astera were not the same; here it was a state of much leisure and few quests.
Still the same line: asking a Fire Wyvern for help was too expensive. Even for the Research Commission, for the sake of that financial system that was not yet stable, they did not dare casually ask a Fire Wyvern for help.
After all, the Research Commission's materials were not sufficient now, and for some of the supply orders the cats requested, the Research Commission had even, rarely, fallen into arrears for a period of time.
There was no way around it: logistics personnel were insufficient, and with the Third Fleet being mainly scholars, after the logistics personnel on the Research Commission's side produced things primarily to supply this increased manpower, whatever remained that could be used to trade with the cats already counted as rushed out by working overtime.
This left the newly appointed Provisions Manager miserable, frequently going to the Commander to pour out complaints.
But what could be done about it?
Over by the Ancient Tree there were several hundred cats, more than 300 Fire Wyverns big and small, and on the Research Commission's side over 400 people.
A lot of logistics materials work was relying entirely on this hundred-some people to do; if not for the fact that the ones who came were all elites, and that the people of this world had exceptional physical gifts, they would have gone on strike long ago.
When the Felyne came on all fours, bouncing along to this place, the Grimalkynes halted their conversation at once, and several pairs of round, big eyes looked toward the Felyne.
"A job's in, meow!"
In an instant, the atmosphere that had been quite harmonious turned into mutual wariness.
There was no help for it. The position of the Fire Wyvern couples they served was indeed a bit awkward right now.
One of the cats represented a young Fire Wyvern couple who, because of Logan's new rules, had risen into the mid-layer of the Ancient Tree's canopy. They were extremely eager to improve their combat strength so as to truly gain a firm foothold in the canopy's mid-layer.
Therefore, regarding medicines that could treat injuries and the cat meals that provided sufficient stamina, they were in a state of urgent shortage of both.
Within the increasingly cutthroat Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern group, they were among the most diligent and enterprising Fire Wyvern couples.
As for the Fire Wyvern couples represented by the remaining Grimalkynes, they were those whose improvement in strength was somewhat slow and who were not very satisfied with their current places of residence.
Their situation now was also a bit awkward: former defeated opponents were gradually catching up to them, while those a little stronger than they were still remained opponents they could not beat. Yet under the rules on the Ancient Tree, if they wanted to change to a better place of residence and have a higher status in the group, everything had to be decided by strength.
Therefore, they were also the Fire Wyvern families that took quests the most diligently in addition to hunting.
This phenomenon among these Fire Wyvern couples could also be considered one of the preference patterns after the Fire Wyvern group gained group nature.
Although group nature made the Fire Wyvern group lose some sense of crisis, and even caused some Fire Wyverns to become lazy, and the hatchlings born in such an environment also had slightly lower risk resistance.
However, things such as status and internal competition within the group also gave the Fire Wyverns with ample logistics more goals beyond merely surviving.
In short, analyzing in terms of pros and cons, for now what group nature has brought still counts as advantages outweighing disadvantages.
Before the Felyne even went to the quest board, several Grimalkynes, after exchanging glances with one another, all ran toward the Felyne.
"Pick me, meow! The Lord Fire Wyvern of my household has already carried out 3 quests, meow!"
"The Lord Fire Wyvern of my household is strong in power, stable in temperament, and even more patient, meow!"
"My Lord Fire Wyvern was among the first to make contact with the Research Commission back when we were in the Wildspire Waste, and has many times helped the Research Commission drive off other monsters, meow! He was also among the first in the group to support cooperating with the Research Commission! Choose me and the quest will definitely be completed perfectly, meow!"
The cats meowed all at once, talking over one another; these were words the proud Fire Wyverns would of course never say out loud nor could bring themselves to say, but for the cats there was not the slightest burden.
As cats among the dutiful Grimalkynes of the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyvern clan who were specifically responsible for looking after Fire Wyvern families, the only thing they had to think about was how to take even better care of the Lord Fire Wyverns they served.
Since it was an order from the Lord Fire Wyverns, and they were willing to come take on the quest, the cats would spare no effort to secure it for their Lord Fire Wyverns.
Thus, one cat after another turned into gold-medal salesmen, constantly promoting the Fire Wyverns they served.
However, among this group of cats, the one belonging to the young Fire Wyvern couple seemed somewhat out of place.
After all, after all that had just been discussed, the Fire Wyvern couple it served truly seemed to have no advantages to speak of compared with the Lord Fire Wyverns the other cats served.
Insufficient in strength, lacking in quest experience, and low in status within the Fire Wyvern group.
Yet to not compete for its own Lord Fire Wyverns like this made the cat suffer greatly in conscience, completely going against the education it had received over the years.
So in the end, it could only weakly say one sentence.
"My Lord Fire Wyverns ask for less payment, meow."
All right, that really was the only advantage.
Originally startled by the Grimalkynes' enthusiasm, the Felyne suddenly heard this line, its eyes lit up, and it was just about to say something.
From the little hut of the quest office, a rather plump, clearly elderly female cat struck the table hard with the small sign in her hand.
"Quiet, all of you, meow! The quest hasn't even been posted yet, meow! Trying to snatch it for yourselves without knowing what kind of quest it is—this is being irresponsible to the Lord Fire Wyverns! You idiots, has all the teaching you received been eaten by the Revoltures, meow!"
It had to be said, this cat aunt still had quite the imposing presence. As soon as her words fell, the cats that had been crowding around the Felyne all shut their mouths and returned to their seats, waiting for the Felyne to register the quest.
One by one, they lowered their heads as if reflecting on their behavior.
Seeing this, the cat aunt—who had once been responsible for Aki's daily life and was one of the earliest Fire Wyvern Grimalkynes—nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a kind smile and an entirely different gentle tone, she looked toward the Felyne.
"May I ask if you're here to register a quest, meow?"
That benevolent tone and soft voice made the Felyne recall the cat aunt from the Research Commission's kitchen in the past—the head chef's teacher—who had also been such a gently voiced cat.
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