Altaïr knew that Sajji had feelings for Clawdia.
Unlike Altaïr, who made no effort to hide his own feelings, Sajji usually concealed his very well. Even Altaïr, his closest friend, had only confirmed them after probing him during a conversation.
As far as he could tell, neither Isis nor Clawdia had noticed a thing. Isis was rather oblivious, while Clawdia's attention was always fixed on Isis.
Lady Shalan was harder to read. From what he knew of her, she loved stirring up trouble and watching the ensuing commotion, which made her especially attentive and perceptive when it came to matters like this.
They had not spent much time together, but she might still have noticed something, or at least guessed.
Otherwise, why would she have been so eager to drag Sajji along to Clawdia's house and insist that he wear that cute but slightly odd mascot-suit armor?
Putting himself in Sajji's place, Altaïr would never want to meet Isis's father in some gaudy, bizarre outfit. First impressions mattered.
There was no time to prepare much, and making too much of a fuss would be risky. Everyone in the room except Isis was sharp enough to notice something.
Altaïr dragged Sajji back to their room and first stripped off his Tigrex mascot suit. He then hesitated for a few seconds over whether to put him back in his Regios Armor Set or find him something else to wear.
In the end, he ruled out the Regios Armor Set.
Lady Shalan might only have been making an excuse to cause trouble, but she had a point. Altaïr, Isis, and even Clawdia had all upgraded to High Rank armor. Sajji alone was visibly lagging behind, which could give Purrcival the wrong idea.
Going without anything? That was perfectly normal for a Felyne, and Sajji's long fur meant he would not be cold, but it would seem too informal.
Hmm... Maybe that would work.
Suddenly remembering something, Altaïr rummaged through the cabinet and soon pulled out a lightweight set of Palico armor.
Made from soft leather with a few metal components, the lightweight Palico armor could hardly be called armor in the strictest sense. It offered no more protection than beginner equipment such as the Felyne Acorn Set.
The vest had numerous straps and pockets for storing tools, screws, and other odds and ends. Its headgear consisted of a leather cap and goggles.
Sajji often wore it while studying or building machinery, much as smiths wore heat-resistant gloves and leather aprons at the forge. It was his work uniform.
"Wear this. It doesn't look sloppy or overly formal, and it shows off your specialty. It's perfect for playing dumb...
I mean, for visiting a senior."
"Okay, meow."
Sajji readily changed into his familiar work clothes.
Altaïr crouched beside him and helped smooth his fur. Whenever a long-haired Felyne wore clothes or armor, tufts tended to stick out around the edges and through the gaps, making him look slightly comical.
That did not matter on an ordinary day, but today he had to look presentable!
The human and Felyne worked quickly. Changing Sajji's clothes and grooming his fur took barely two minutes.
Lady Shalan had been waiting by the door, ready to tease Sajji once he changed into his gleaming golden Regios Armor Set. His choice left her completely at a loss.
Something this plain, meow? What am I supposed to work with, meow?
Isis and the others, however, noticed nothing unusual. To them, it was perfectly natural for Sajji to change out of that adorable but ridiculous mascot suit before visiting a senior.
Hayata was the sole exception.
Lady Shalan had accompanied her for decades, so Hayata knew the Felyne's personality and thought process inside and out. She had been busy packing earlier and had failed to notice Lady Shalan slipping away.
When the group returned, Hayata asked Isis a few questions. As soon as she learned that Lady Shalan had conned Sajji into wearing that outfit to Purrcival's house, she understood everything.
Altaïr had actually misunderstood Lady Shalan. She was not trying to tease Sajji at all; her target was Purrcival. If Purrcival showed the slightest disapproval upon seeing that mascot-suit Palico armor, she would immediately start mocking him.
She would begin with, "What a rigid, old-fashioned sense of style," move on to, "Mind your own business, you old musclehead, meow!" and finish with, "Isn't your own son dressed even more flamboyantly, meow?"
By the end, Purrcival's blood pressure would be through the roof, yet he would be unable to take a swing at her in front of the younger generation.
It was her favorite kind of entertainment...
Hayata ruffled Lady Shalan's head for a moment, then smiled at the others. "You young ones go on ahead. Lady Shalan will stay and help me finish packing."
"Meow–!"
Having lost her chance to toy with Purrcival, Lady Shalan flattened her ears in displeasure but could only watch them leave with regret.
The two humans and one Felyne jogged from the residential district on the mountainside down to the harbor district on the outskirts of the city.
Most of the Lynians who had settled in Dundorma lived there. The district was filled with miniature houses whose roofs barely reached a human's height.
Loc Lac had similar neighborhoods. The roads were narrow, the houses were low, and young Felynes occasionally darted about as they played, so humans had to slow down and tread carefully whenever they entered.
With Isis leading the way, they arrived at a house that was exceptionally tall by the standards of the Lynian district.
Unlike the small houses designed solely for Lynians, whose roofs stood lower than a human, this house had a doorframe one hundred eighty centimeters high. Altaïr and Isis only had to duck slightly to enter.
Isis bent down and knocked on the door.
The door soon opened a crack, and Clawdia poked her head out. Her feline face wore a deep scowl, plainly annoyed that someone had interrupted her precious time with her family.
The moment she saw Isis at the door, however, her mood brightened. She pulled the door wide open and called over her shoulder, "Father! Mother! Isis is here, meow!"
Behind Isis, Altaïr and Sajji exchanged a glance. So we're invisible, then?
This was clearly not Isis's first visit. She led Altaïr and Sajji inside, with both humans ducking their heads as they passed through the doorway.
Clawdia's home was anything but bare. Fishing rods, nets, and other fishing equipment covered the walls, while several harpoons stood beside the door.
The largest room was not the living room but the kitchen, which was considerably larger than the one in Isis's home. Various knives were neatly arranged across the low counters, all designed for preparing fish and other seafood.
Piles of gutted and cleaned sea fish lay beside the cutting board, and the air carried a faintly acrid smell of blood.
Isis tilted her head toward Altaïr and explained in a whisper, "Clawdia's mother is skilled at preparing all kinds of dried fish and shrimp. Her dried fish is very popular in the city, and she..."
"She's a Grimalkyne from the New World who once served as Mr. Az's Palico and is skilled at fighting underwater," Altaïr quietly cut in. "Mr. Az has praised her to us more than once, saying his hunting partner makes the best dried fish in the world.
Clawdia also told us that her mother sells dried goods made from freshly caught fish at the harbor. She doesn't do it for money; it's purely a hobby."
"Why do you have to remember everything so well?" Isis muttered in frustration after he stole everything she had wanted to say.
Just then, a Felyne who looked more like some kind of bear came in from the backyard carrying two enormous fish baskets.
Adult Felynes generally stood between ninety and one hundred ten centimeters tall.
Sajji, for example, stood a little over one hundred centimeters, making him perfectly average for a male Felyne.
The newcomer, however, stood nearly one hundred thirty centimeters tall. Counting the tips of his ears, he was only slightly shorter than Francesca.
His muscles were as massive as...
Altaïr could not think of a suitable comparison until he caught sight of Isis beside him from the corner of his eye. Then the perfect one came to mind.
As massive as Mr. Gordon's.
So Felynes really do take after their hunting partners? But Clawdia and Isis have completely different personalities. Lady Shalan and Ms. Hayata could hardly be more different either.
Or do only male Felynes take after their hunting partners? Then what about Pawdrick and Francesca? Well, they aren't entirely different...
Altaïr's thoughts wandered in increasingly strange directions.
"Meow? Do we have visitors, meow?"
The enormous Felyne set the fish baskets beside the cutting board and looked at Isis, Altaïr, and Sajji.
His expression and tone were perfectly friendly, but the huge scar that ran from his forehead to the tip of his nose made his smile look rather fierce.
Even Sajji, standing beside Altaïr, shuddered involuntarily.
At that moment, he felt a profound kinship with everything Altaïr had endured over the past two days.
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I'll release 4 more chapters in few hours.
As always 5 bonus chapters @100powerstones ty for your support