Unlike the small Airships and passenger Airships Hunters often traveled aboard, their current vessel was a high-speed Airship from Kamura Village.
This type of Airship could not carry much cargo. Its specially modified propulsion engines burned far more fuel than standard models, and the ride was neither comfortable nor stable.
But it was incredibly fast...
On a regular route, an Airship leaving Dundorma would take four or five days to reach Kamura Village on another subcontinent.
This Airship needed only two days and three nights, cutting the journey almost in half.
With nothing to do during the trip, Altaïr and Isis passed the time in their own ways. Altaïr endlessly maintained his blades and read assorted books, while Isis trained with her own body weight without pause.
Morgan, who usually disliked socializing, found something to enjoy as well.
The four members of the Cluster Heavy Bowgun Squad led by Rosso were traveling with them. As the name suggested, every member used a Heavy Bowgun.
Rosso's outgoing, enthusiastic nature brought everyone together, and the five Heavy Bowgun users soon hit it off. The group gathered to exchange shooting experience and discuss customization techniques.
Judging by Hunter rank alone, the squad members assigned directly to Guild Headquarters were not especially highly ranked. Apart from Rosso, the 5★ captain, one was 4★ and the other two were 3★.
What was truly astonishing was that every member had taken part in more than one campaign to repel Elder Dragon-level creatures.
Through his conversations with the unit, Morgan encountered an approach to combat entirely different from conventional Hunting.
Their weapon and Armor models were completely standardized. Although every member used a Heavy Bowgun, the division of roles was exceptionally clear, direct, and efficient, making the squad seem more like a specialized military unit than a group of Hunters.
Within such a system, individual prowess mattered far less.
Hunting alone, none of the four, Rosso included, would be a match for Morgan. Yet once the Cluster Heavy Bowgun Squad entered its established combat procedures, replacing a single squad member with Morgan would only disrupt the formation.
As the discussions deepened, Morgan, Altaïr, and the others grew increasingly eager to see the Cluster Heavy Bowgun Squad perform in the hunting grounds.
—--
The voyage of several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The constant jolting had been unpleasant, but when the Airship descended through the clouds and mist and the lakeside village blanketed in cherry blossoms appeared below, the fatigue of the journey seemed to vanish at once.
Morgan stepped off the Airship. On his first visit to Kamura, he took a deep breath. "Has the air here always been this fresh?
"Is it because of... what was it, the oxygen content?"
"That has nothing to do with it." Holding a brightly colored oil-paper umbrella, the director descended the gangway with graceful steps.
Kamura Village had nearly everything except dedicated research facilities. The scholars led by the director, along with the Alchemist, provided support arguably even more crucial than the Hunters themselves.
"Like the New World, the Kamura region is a typical high-energy region. An environment like this nurtures countless unusual life-forms while drawing all kinds of powerful creatures to settle here."
The director's pink eyes swept over Morgan. "You may simply be more perceptive than most. The 'freshness' you're sensing could come from the sense of vitality produced by the energy-rich environment here."
Beside her, Isis opened her mouth wide and drew several deep breaths with exaggerated "hiss, huff" sounds, as though she could suck Kamura's energy straight into her stomach.
"I can feel it too! I feel a tiny bit stronger since we got here!"
Altaïr gave her a skeptical look.
Seriously? Then again, Isis was born in the New World. Maybe there really was something to this whole "adaptation to high-energy environments" idea?
Morgan discreetly touched the tip of his nose.
In truth, he did not think it had anything to do with the energy-rich environment or unusually keen perception.
Born and raised in a volcanic region, his respiratory system had long since grown accustomed to smoke, dust, and haze. He simply was not used to air this clean.
Hojo approached with his walking stick and smiled at the group. "Clean, comfortable guest rooms are ready in the village. Let me take you there so you can settle in."
"No need. We can stay with Nymera!" Isis could barely contain her excitement.
During their previous visit to Kamura Village, she and Altaïr had stayed at Nymera's home for quite some time and had even helped at the tea shop.
Before they left, Aunt Yomogi had repeatedly insisted that they stay there again the next time they visited Kamura Village.
"Mr. Hojo, is Nymera in the village right now?" Isis asked eagerly, but the moment the question left her mouth, she realized how silly it was.
Altaïr gave her an amused look. "You could try calling Hibiki."
"That's right!" Isis put her fingers to her lips and let out a loud, clear whistle.
Within seconds, a familiar howl answered. A moment later, a silver-gray Palamute came skidding around the bend in the village path, tongue lolling as he raced straight toward them.
Altaïr promptly retreated two steps and ducked behind Isis, while she happily spread her arms and moved forward to meet Hibiki.
"It's Hibiki!"
"Woof, woof!" As soon as Hibiki came within range, he launched himself into a flying pounce.
If a knee-high puppy came racing into someone's arms, the result would naturally be heartwarming.
A Palamute standing taller at the shoulder than most adults was another matter. That pounce was terrifying.
If Hibiki failed to hold back, the pounce would be no different from a Bullfango's charge. Judging by his headlong leap, he had not held back at all...
Altaïr knew that if Hibiki hit him like that, the only possible outcome was being flattened. Without Armor, getting away with only a few broken ribs would count as lucky.
Yet Isis simply spread her arms, lowered her center of gravity, bent her knees, and stopped Hibiki dead.
The steel studs beneath her battle boots gouged two furrows several meters long into the moss-covered village path. Isis and Hibiki looked less like they were embracing than grappling.
Under the stunned gazes of Rosso and the others, Isis seized Hibiki around the shoulders and neck. With a shout of "Hah!" she flipped the enormous canine onto the ground despite his weight of more than a ton.
Then she pressed both hands to Hibiki's belly and rubbed it vigorously.
To Altaïr and Morgan, this was nothing new.
Perhaps because they had similar tastes, Isis and Hibiki got along exceptionally well. Even Nymera, his owner, could not withstand one of Hibiki's full-force tackles, but Isis could.
The two often played this way, though when they kept it up too long, Clawdia would smack Hibiki with a paw.
Watching Isis and Hibiki roughhouse, Hojo chuckled and stroked his beard. He and Minoto led the Heavy Bowgun unit and the scholars away, leaving the old friends to enjoy their reunion undisturbed.
Altaïr noticed that Hibiki still had a bristle brush as long as an adult's arm hanging from his side.
If his guess was right, someone had been brushing Hibiki when Isis whistled. Besides, Hibiki had not come from the direction of the Buddy Plaza...
Sure enough, a familiar figure appeared at the corner of the street.
At the sight of the group, she paused involuntarily, then quickened into a jog toward them.
"Nymera!"
Isis sprang up from where she had been sprawled across Hibiki's belly and ran toward Nymera with a cheer.
Even if it was not a full-speed charge, the force behind her movement would still have sent someone flying on impact.
Altaïr raised a hand and opened his mouth. Before he could warn her, Nymera flicked her wrist, sent out a Wirebug, and vaulted over Isis's head at the last possible moment.
It was a textbook Fanning Vault, light and graceful. Altaïr could not help clapping twice.
Isis was speechless.
* * *
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