Arriving at the service counter, two Receptionists were on duty; besides Tiki in her light green uniform, there was also an unfamiliar Receptionist in a goose-yellow maid outfit.
Gordon, naturally, walked towards the former, who was relatively more familiar.
"Good morning, Tiki."
"Hoo-ah~"
Tiki first covered her small mouth with a yawn, then lazily said, "Morning, Gordon~."
The unfamiliar Receptionist beside her also looked over and greeted Gordon kindly.
After a brief introduction, Gordon learned that this seemingly gentle Receptionist was named Machi, and she appeared to be Miss Tiki's senior.
"What's up, Gordon? You're not coming to pick a quest first thing in the morning, are you?" Tiki rested her chin on her hand, looking listless, until Machi glared at her, and she slowly straightened up.
"Yes, I want to pick a quest and stretch my muscles. I suffered a serious injury before coming to Minagarde and was bedridden for over a month. Now I feel like my joints are rusted solid."
"Oh my? What monster did you encounter to get such a severe injury?"
Although Tiki always gave off a lazy vibe, she was essentially a very lively and talkative girl.
Gordon didn't hide it, grimacing as if in pain, "A Rathalos. I really got a good beating. If Zhu Pa hadn't saved my life, I probably wouldn't have made it back."
"Uh, then you're really quite unlucky, aren't you?" Tiki's gaze towards Gordon was filled with pity.
She knew Gordon's Hunter rank; a Two-Star Hunter couldn't possibly take on a Rathalos hunting quest, so it could only have been an accidental encounter.
Unlucky guy.
After a few casual remarks, Tiki slammed a massive "book" onto the counter.
Gordon flipped through a couple of pages and realized that every single page in it was a quest slip!
There were thirty to forty Two-Star quests alone, and over a hundred One-Star quests. Just these in front of him already amounted to several years' worth of quests for Kokoto Village.
Should he say, as expected of a big city's Gathering Hall?
Gordon had no interest in One-Star gathering quests, so he began to choose from the Two-Star quests.
As for the Three-Star quests available "under special conditions," he had no intention of touching them for now.
Gordon believed he had a very clear understanding of his own strength—regular Two-Star Hunter level, perhaps slightly higher, but definitely not at the Three-Star Hunter tier.
Forcibly participating in a Three-Star quest now would be irresponsible to himself and even more so to his teammates.
However, just these Two-Star quests already made him dizzy.
After all, he had only recently been promoted to a Two-Star Hunter. Apart from the urgent quest for the Blue Velocidrome, the only Two-Star quest he had truly taken on was the one to steal Rathalos eggs.
And it ultimately failed.
He had no way of judging which quests offered high rewards or which had suitable difficulty.
Fortunately, Oshura had taught him a trick at the dinner table yesterday.
"Ahem."
Putting aside the guilt in his heart, Gordon cleared his throat, bent down, picked up Zhu Pa who was following him, and placed it on the counter. He rubbed the latter's fluffy little head and said with a serious face:
"Miss Tiki, if you can help me choose a suitable Two-Star quest, I'll lend Zhu Pa to you for ten minutes of petting."
Zhu Pa: "Meow meow meow??"
Staring at Zhu Pa's glossy, creamy-white and golden fur, Tiki's eyes lit up, and her lazy tone became hurried: "It's a deal, agreed!"
Machi: "..."
It feels like the reliability of all the Receptionists at the Minagarde Hunter's Gathering Hall has been lowered by you alone...
Unaware of her senior's helpless gaze, Tiki swiftly flipped through the quest slips. In just ten-odd seconds, she pulled out one of them and handed it to Gordon.
—
Slaying Quest: Widespread Plunder! Qimian Tribe Bandits! (★★)
Quest Content: Slay 20 Qimian Tribe members
Reward: 4300z
Quest Location: Metabe Forest
Time Limit: 10 days
The Qimian Tribe's summer festival is about to begin again. These annoying fellows are starting to scavenge food and livestock everywhere as offerings. They don't even spare passing merchant caravans and have even robbed villages. Go teach these hateful guys a lesson!
—
"How is it? Pretty good, right?" Tiki looked proud.
Gordon read the quest carefully; it was indeed excellent.
The so-called Qimian Tribe are a type of beast-humanoid monster, even smaller than Airou. Compared to the gentle and kind Airou, these guys are much more irritable and ferocious, often actively attacking humans.
The difficulty of slaying 20 Qimian Tribe members isn't high, as it doesn't require fighting large monsters; it's just quite time-consuming. If not for the sheer number, it should have been considered a One-Star quest.
Indeed, as a Two-Star quest, it lacked a bit of challenge, but for Gordon, whose bones had loosened after being bedridden for over a month, it couldn't be more suitable.
Most importantly, the reward was also quite generous. One should know that Gordon's urgent quest to hunt the Blue Velocidrome only paid 4000 zenny.
"Alright, I'll take this quest."
Gordon gave Tiki a thumbs-up, then, under Zhu Pa's disbelieving gaze, pushed it towards Tiki. "Zhu Pa, just sell your charm for a bit. I'll treat you to smoked cod sausage later!"
Tiki, who had been eager, immediately pulled Zhu Pa into her embrace and began to playfully caress it amidst its struggling "Meow meow meow meow!" protests.
"Hehehehehe."
Just as the Receptionist was petting the Hunting Cat with a doting smile, two figures approached the counter, one in front of the other.
Gordon heard the movement and looked back, only to find that one of the newcomers was Amos, whom he had just met yesterday.
"Good morning, Senior Amos."
Gordon greeted him proactively. He held great respect for this powerful senior.
"Good morning, Gordon."
Amos also nodded at him with a kind smile.
Selectively ignoring Tiki, who was in a strange state, Amos said to Machi, "Machi, let me see the quest slips."
"Yes, Lord Amos."
Machi bowed respectfully, picked up a thin but exquisite small booklet, and before she could hand it to Amos, she saw him wave his hand, refusing, "No, not High-Rank quests. One-Star, or at most Two-Star slaying quests will do. I plan to take my apprentice to the Hunting Field to see some blood."
It was then that Gordon noticed a slender young girl following behind Amos.
The girl was wearing a brand new Hunter Set. Its style was slightly different from the male version he was familiar with, but the material and design aesthetic were identical.
Why does she look a little familiar?
Gordon muttered to himself, while the girl's gaze was fixed on Tiki, or more precisely, on the struggling Zhu Pa in Tiki's arms.
Noticing the girl's gaze, Amos, who had misunderstood, smiled and said, "That Airou is a Hunting Cat, a good partner who fights alongside Hunters. This child, I remember, is Gordon's partner, right?"
"You are, you are Zhu Pa, right?" The girl took two steps forward and asked tentatively.
"...Meow?"
Suddenly hearing someone call its name, Zhu Pa stopped struggling. It looked towards the other person.
After carefully discerning the girl's features and recalling for a while, Zhu Pa, who finally pulled something from its memory, exclaimed, "You're that little girl from the caravan, meow? I think your name was, Hayata, meow?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
If you guys wanna check it out.