The shopkeeper cat aunt's gentle tone made the Felyne's mood, which had still been somewhat nervous and uneasy, instantly calm down.
Under the cat aunt's patient guidance, it very quickly finished registering this task.
Only, as the cat aunt kept writing on the paper, the expression on her face also changed from the gentle smile at the beginning to a bit of surprise. She repeatedly raised her head to look toward the Felyne below the counter, several times wanting to interrupt and ask whether the other party was sure about posting such a task.
If not for the fact that she also knew this Felyne, and knew it was one of the main members on the Research Commission side specially used to supervise and assist the cats in planting food, she would have thought this was some inexperienced little cat deliberately coming to post this kind of task as a joke.
Perhaps also knowing that the reward it offered for the registered task was indeed a bit too low, once the cat aunt pasted up the sheet with the task registration, this Felyne also lowered its head deeply.
It had already prepared itself to face the surprised, even angry, looks of those cats getting ready to take tasks.
[Task: Because of a shortage of hands, there are not enough Hunters available to take charge of this food transport task, so we need the Fire Wyvern lords' emergency rescue.]
This opening was actually not bad; at least two-thirds of the cats, after seeing this, thought carefully about their own Fire Wyvern lord's time and felt it was still acceptable.
It was materials transport, and along the familiar route from the Ancient Tree to Astera, and there were not many monsters lingering—one could completely treat it as going out to see the scenery.
But when the mission note stated that the haulers this time were 4 Aptonoth, most of the cats' expressions changed.
One must know it is winter now. Even the Ancient Forest has shown a certain degree of food scarcity. The Ancient Tree area is better off, because with Boss Fire Wyvern's daily temperature control, the plants here are growing out of season, and correspondingly many Aptonoth are active within this area.
This makes it so that the carnivorous monsters within the Ancient Tree region basically will not be lacking food.
But once they leave the Ancient Tree region, these four adult Aptonoth will, without a doubt, be an incomparably sumptuous feast in the eyes of those monsters short on food. This means that battles will absolutely occur along the escort route.
Battles are one thing; after all, the Fire Wyvern lords do not fear battle.
What the cats could not accept was the reward this time.
"Too little, it's really far too little, meow."
According to the current conversion rate for supplies from the Ancient Tree, this reward is only enough to support a Fire Wyvern couple's cat meals for about three days, or else just the basic medicines for 1–2 rescues.
This price is already far lower than the current market price.
To these single-hearted, lord-oriented "agent cats," this task is certainly unsuitable. Even if it were put to a Hunters squad on the Research Commission side, taking such a task would likely require repeated deliberation before they would consider accepting it or not.
After all, what they might encounter along the way is not just one or two monsters—it's several days of travel.
Four conspicuous Aptonoth, for those monsters wandering outside the transport route and going hungry every few days, would be a feast worth staking their lives on.
Watching these cats leave, the Felyne also lowered its head helplessly.
Although this situation had long been expected, a trace of disappointment still welled up in the Felyne's heart.
"It looks like I really need to go borrow a bit of funds from the Research Institute."
Over this past year, because of the Ahtal-Ka affair, the Provisions Unit, which originally had the most ample logistics funds, has instead become the most cash-strapped department.
"Master, I really have no choice either, meow!"
In the Felyne's mind there already surfaced its own master—namely, the current Provisions Manager—whose expression had gone bleak after seeing the funding report.
Just as the Felyne was preparing to leave, a small Grimalkyne that had been standing all along at the outer edge of the cats came over in a crisp voice.
"Can the reward for this task be raised just a little bit, meow? It doesn't need to be raised much—just a little is fine. At least make it enough for four days of cat meals, that will do, meow."
This Grimalkyne, recalling the minimum requirement given by the Fire Wyvern lord it serves, directly gave its own asking price.
Although it is indeed far lower than the going rate now, for the Fire Wyvern lord it serves, you get what you pay for.
The Fire Wyvern lord it serves is not strong within the group, and the reward offered for this task is not much; the two sides seem like they could make do with each other.
Besides, the good tasks wouldn't come around to the Fire Wyvern lord it serves anyway!
No choice, you know!
"You, this—"
The Felyne could hardly believe that there really was a Fire Wyvern willing to accept such a price, even though standing before it now was not the Fire Wyvern that would take on the task, but merely its representative Grimalkyne.
However, according to the newly established customary rules, once the Grimalkyne accepted, that meant the Fire Wyvern behind it had to accept as well.
Therefore, once the Felyne's mind turned around, it immediately opened its mouth to agree, afraid that this cat would change its mind.
The two sides quickly reached an agreement, then each completed their registration for the task.
When the Felyne returned to the starting point of the transport team, its cat face was brimming with joy.
Facing the inquiries of the other Grimalkynes in charge of escorting, the Felyne smiled with narrowed eyes, saying that being able to hire a Fire Wyvern at this price was simply incredible luck.
...
The sun was already high in the sky, and soon it was time for the agreed departure.
When the Felyne saw a pair of Fire Wyvern mates land beside the starting point, it blinked its round eyes in disbelief and rubbed them.
"Wasn't it supposed to be one, meow?"
The Felyne looked toward the Grimalkyne beside it, which had nimbly climbed down from the tree trunk with a small pack on its back, and asked in confusion.
"Eh, one? Meow?"
The Grimalkyne representing this Fire Wyvern pair also tilted its head blankly.
It didn't know either!!!
It was also the first time it had gone to the mission office to take on a task on behalf of the Fire Wyvern couple.
In its view, when Fire Wyvern mates go out, they always depart together—so naturally, taking on a mission should also mean both go together, right? How could only one go out on a mission?
For a moment, both sides fell silent, not knowing what to do next.
Just then, with a roar of impatience from the Rathalos—
Seeing the conflicted look on the Grimalkyne's face, the Felyne sighed and said, "Forget it, Fire Wyvern lords, both of you then, meow! Once we arrive at Astera, I'll make up the difference in pay for you, meow!"
After all, the price was already quite low—doubling it would only make it a little more than hiring a single Fire Wyvern.
By comparison, this batch of supplies was far more important, and it believed its master would surely understand afterward.
Thus, a pair of Fire Wyvern mates taking on their first mission, together with a cat taking on a task for the first time, muddleheadedly set out with the transport team.
And so began the era of internal competition among the Fire Wyvern group atop the Ancient Tree!!
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