Sajji stared speechlessly at Ning-Ning, who stood before him with both paws outstretched as though her demand were perfectly reasonable.
When he remained stone-faced and motionless, Ning-Ning thrust her paws closer. "You said it, meow. Give me a shell, and I'll tell you everything, right down to how often that black maniac takes a dump, meow."
Sajji looked at her grimy paw pads, unable to tell whether she was truly that dense or merely pretending.
Standing behind him, Altaïr sighed. "Just hand it over. Explain how to use it while you're at it."
At the eager gleam in Ning-Ning's eyes, Sajji reluctantly pulled a rocket for the Rathian Model-05 from his gear.
When Ning-Ning reached for it, Sajji swatted her paw away. He pulled out a small screwdriver, opened the casing, and tinkered with the mechanism for a moment.
"You don't have the proper launcher, so I removed the fuse from the propellant charge, meow. This is the manual safety. Pull it out to arm the rocket, meow. The warhead detonates on impact and has a lethal radius of about ten meters, meow. Stay at least twenty to thirty meters away, meow."
Ning-Ning nodded earnestly. "I don't understand, meow."
Damn it, the Felyne was illiterate, meow!
Sajji covered his face in anguish. He wanted nothing more than to toss her the rocket and be done with it, but his conscience would not allow that.
Heaving a long sigh, Sajji tried again in simpler terms. "Pull this out. Point this end at the enemy. It'll explode when it hits, meow. Stay far away when it goes off. Within twenty meters, you're probably in trouble. Within ten, you're dead, meow."
"Now I understand, meow!" Ning-Ning grinned happily. The dark fur at the corners of her mouth made her smile look especially vicious.
"You said it explodes on contact. Could I bury it in the ground and lure a Monster into stepping on it, meow? Or rig it to a tripwire as a trap, meow?"
Sajji gave the frighteningly grinning Felyne an odd look.
Already thinking about land mines and booby traps, meow?
If Clawdia had been in Ning-Ning's place, she probably would have thought only, "I could throw this thing thirty meters easy, meow."
"Use it however you like, meow. Just don't pull out the safety carelessly, meow. You saw what happened to that tree earlier. You aren't as sturdy as it was, meow."
Ning-Ning carefully tucked the modified rocket into the small hide pouch she carried. "Understood, Teacher Sajji, meow. I'll put it to good use, meow.
"By the way, could you teach me how to make things like this, meow? I'll do anything!"
Sajji held up a paw in a stop gesture. "I'm not your teacher, meow. And you can't learn this in just a few words.
"Forget all that for now and pay off the debt you owe, meow. Tell us everything you know about that Yian Garuga. Quickly."
"No problem, meow!" Ning-Ning proved remarkably cooperative. "Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you, meow."
"Why are you so obedient with him?" Lambert folded her arms, disgruntled. "With us, you keep demanding another 1000z or 2000z."
Ning-Ning shot her a sidelong glance. "Can you blow apart a tree trunk a meter thick in one shot, meow?"
Lambert choked. Her attacks relied on extremely penetrating high-frequency sound waves that could rattle the brains of even the most heavily armored Monsters.
In terms of sheer destructive power, however... she really could not blast through a large tree in a single attack.
She glanced at Chia and Vari. Well, neither could do it either.
The implication that she was weaker than a Felyne made Lambert's blood boil. She could not help arguing, "Sajji is a support Felyne who specializes in machinery. He relies on external power..."
"I don't care whether the power comes from inside or outside, meow. If you can use it, it counts." Ning-Ning glanced at Lambert, then turned toward Altaïr and the others. "And just because you can't do it, you think none of them can either, meow?"
Ning-Ning had heard Sajji call Altaïr "Boss." As far as she was concerned, anyone Sajji acknowledged as his boss had to be far stronger.
"Of course Boss can! Boss could cut through a tree like that with one swing, meow!" Sajji planted his paws on his hips and puffed out his chest.
"I could do it too," Isis chimed in with a grin. "Morgan has his Supernova, so he wouldn't have any trouble either."
Ning-Ning wore a knowing expression. "Now I believe they can take down the black maniac, meow. They're obviously much stronger than all of you.
"And they're willing to teach me how to wield power. Why wouldn't I listen to them, meow?"
For a moment, Lambert had nothing to say.
She could not dispute that the senior Hunters were stronger than her own team...
"We haven't said we'll teach you anything, meow!" Sajji could not resist interjecting.
Ning-Ning acted as though she had not heard. Instead, she looked at Altaïr, the obvious leader. "I can guide you right now, meow. I guarantee I'll get you to the target within two hours, meow.
"If you don't plan to start the Hunt immediately, I can have my underlings watch the black maniac, meow. I know every good ambush spot nearby. If you want to lure it somewhere, we can help with that too, meow."
"Hey! Even if the senior Hunters are stronger than us, you don't have to treat us so differently!"
"That's the privilege of the strong, meow!"
Watching the two dark-eyed figures glare at each other, Altaïr sighed and stepped in. "All right, both of you, stop arguing.
"Isis, Morgan, check your equipment and take stock of your Ammo. We're preparing to move out. Ning-Ning, guide us. You can tell us about the terrain and the target's temperament and habits on the way.
"As for whether we start the Hunt immediately--when does it get dark here?"
"In about seven or eight hours, meow," Ning-Ning answered promptly.
"That should be enough time. Yian Garuga aren't known for their stamina. The fight will be intense, but it probably won't drag on for long.
"We'll make the final decision once we find it. For now, prepare on the assumption that we'll begin the Hunt immediately."
"Understood!"
"Got it."
Isis and Morgan promptly began checking their gear.
"Reporting!" Lambert suddenly raised her hand. "I want to join the operation too!"
"No." Altaïr rejected the request without hesitation. "You haven't even advanced to 4★ yet. This is a special-permit Hunt with a 6★ difficulty rating. You aren't qualified to participate."
"Continuing my report!" Lambert raised her hand again. "I admit I'm not qualified to join the fight directly, but I can still help!
"I can play melodies to bolster the senior Hunters before the fight, and I can set traps to help stop the Monster when it tries to flee. And--oh, right!
"That thing's roar is incredibly powerful. Earplugs are useless against it, and Sonic Bombs have no effect either. But I could tell that it uses its beak as a resonator, then amplifies the sound with its outer ears. I have a rough idea of the frequency, and I can produce a corresponding noise to disrupt and interrupt its high-frequency screech!"
Altaïr frowned slightly.
He cared little about the morale-boosting melodies or help setting traps. It was essentially like bringing another support Felyne, useful but hardly decisive. Given the danger involved, there was no reason to let Lambert join them.
That high-frequency roar, however, did sound troublesome.
"Is what she said about the high-frequency roar true?" Altaïr asked Ning-Ning.
"That's true, meow."
Perhaps because Sajji called Altaïr "Boss," Ning-Ning answered his every question without hesitation. "The black maniac's roar can even knock a Rathalos out of the sky, meow. It likes to stun prey with its roar, then launch an immediate surprise attack, meow."
"That really is a threat," Altaïr murmured.
A breath attack could be dodged, and a sharp beak or venomous spines could be blocked. Noise, however, was pervasive and inescapable across a wide area. Even Isis's Large Shield was useless against it.
If Lambert had made this request over a year ago, Altaïr would have kicked her in the backside and sent her flying.
This incident, however, had shown him how much she had grown and matured.
"Fine. You'll come with us, but you aren't allowed to join the fight directly. Ning-Ning, keep an eye on her. If she causes trouble during the Hunt, I guarantee Sajji won't teach you anything."
"?!"
Ning-Ning's gaze immediately turned wary and dangerous as she looked at Lambert, seemingly considering whether to stab her on the sly so she would remain obediently bedridden in the cave.
Lambert, meanwhile, excitedly shouldered her Hunting Horn.
Yian Garuga, huh? I'm bringing backup to settle the score!
* * *
This chapter was translated through YourTL.app, which can also translate novels for readers when no English version exists.