Gordon and Ted hid around the corner until Miles, leading Oshura and Maksim, left the quest counter and exited the Gathering Hall, then they leisurely walked out.
Today's Receptionist on duty was the slacker Tiki.
Striving to maintain her business smile, she had just seen Miles and his group off and was about to lean down for a nap when she suddenly felt the surrounding light dim considerably.
She looked up, somewhat bewildered, only to find two enormous shadows, like walls, standing in front of the counter, completely blocking her view.
Tiki first swallowed nervously, somewhat afraid, but after seeing the faces of the newcomers against the light, she rolled her eyes and returned to her usual lazy demeanor.
"What is it~, so it's Gordon and Ted, huh? Ted, aren't you going with Miles, the old man? I just saw him leave, didn't I?"
Ted grinned, revealing a set of large buck teeth much bigger than usual, and chuckled, "Today, I'm not hunting with my old man; I'm going with our good brother Gordon!"
Tiki blinked, her gaze curiously sweeping between the two of them a few times.
"When did you two and little brother Gordon become good brothers?" Ever since she learned Gordon was younger than her, she always liked to call him "little brother," even though their age difference was less than half a year.
Immediately after, she looked at Ted and teased with a mischievous smile, "Oh, right, I just heard someone say that someone lost an arm wrestle to little brother Gordon, didn't they, 'Lord Ted, the strongest in arm wrestling'?"
"No, that's not how you can put it, mainly because of that, uh, well, This Daddy lost." Ted stared, stammering for a long time, but ultimately admitted his defeat.
Gordon flexed his arm, patting his bicep with a slightly smug expression; he had absolute confidence only in his strength.
"That's not the point! Today, This Daddy just didn't eat enough!" Ted argued stubbornly, then quickly changed the subject.
"Little Tiki, quickly help This Daddy see if there are any suitable gathering quests! Three-Star is fine, it needs to be in Metabe Forest, This Daddy wants to go on vacation!"
"Gathering quest? Forest? Vacation?" Several question marks appeared above Tiki's head.
She couldn't quite figure out the logical connection until Gordon and Ted explained a bit, then she suddenly realized, "Oh, I see, wait, I'll look~."
Gordon chuckled, turned around, and brought Zhu Pa, who was still somewhat intoxicated by the Matatabi, in front of Tiki.
Looking at the large, furry, doll-like Zhu Pa, Tiki let out a soft "Ooh~."
Like a thief, she craned her neck and quickly glanced left and right, confirming it was safe for the moment, then extended her hands and frantically rubbed Zhu Pa's little head.
"Don't let the Guild Master know, or I'll get scolded again!"
Reluctantly letting go, Tiki lowered her head and quickly flipped through the large book of quest lists.
Soon, she found three documents that met the requirements.
All quest locations were in Metabe Forest; the first document's gathering target was "Dragon Fungus," the second was "Rathalos Egg," and the third was "Premium Crab Roe."
"Brother Gordon, what do you think?" Ted pinched his broad, square chin and said, "I think we should skip the Dragon Fungus; it's too rare and depends too much on luck. We might not even be able to complete the quest."
Gordon agreed with Ted's statement, and he himself disdainfully flicked away the Rathalos Egg document; he had some psychological trauma regarding that item.
So, the only option left was this last document.
—
Gathering Quest: Golden Yellow! Premium Crab Roe! (★★★)
Quest Content: Deliver 5 portions of Premium Crab Roe
Reward: 5000z
Quest Location: Metabe Forest
Possible Monsters: Shield Crab, Blue Velocidrome, Daimyo Hermitaur
Time Limit: 10 days
Chef of a High-End Restaurant: Recently, I've been developing new dishes, and ordinary crab roe can no longer satisfy my craving for ultimate deliciousness. Only the Premium Crab Roe of the Shield Crab has enough rich fat and sweetness!
Please help me get five portions of Premium Crab Roe; my cooking soul is already burning!
—
"Sounds good, actually." Gordon licked the corner of his mouth, "I haven't eaten Shield Crab roe before."
"Aha! Then this is the quest! This Daddy hasn't eaten that stuff either, it should be very fresh, right, little Tiki, quickly help This Daddy with the procedures!" Ted rubbed his large hands, his face full of impatience.
Tiki didn't process it immediately; instead, she pointed her finger at the "Possible Monsters" column and said with a slightly serious tone:
"According to the hot air balloon report, there have been traces of Daimyo Hermitaur activity nearby. You might encounter it during the quest, have you two noticed?"
Daimyo Hermitaur is a Three-Star danger level monster. If it weren't for the possibility of encountering it, the difficulty rating of this quest would only be Two-Star.
"Saw it, saw it!" Ted waved his hand dismissively, "This Daddy is a Four-Star Hunter, Daimyo Hermitaur or whatever, as long as it dares to come, This Daddy will dare to cook it too!
By the way, can Daimyo Hermitaur's crab roe be eaten? Is it delicious? How do you eat it?"
Tiki & Gordon: "..."
"I can't do anything with you two, but you still need to be careful!" Tiki reminded again, hands on her hips, then took the quest document and left the counter to find the Guild Master.
—Although this was only a Three-Star gathering quest, if Gordon wanted to participate, he still needed to go through the Guild Master's special approval process.
Before long, Tiki returned. The Guild Master didn't say much about Gordon participating in this quest; the strength of the Four-Star Gunlance User Ted was enough to hold the field.
With the Guild Master's permission, the quest procedures were quickly completed.
As fellow swordsmen (a general term for melee fighters), Gordon and Ted didn't need to prepare anything special; their minds full of crab roe dishes, the two were already impatient.
"Let's go, let's go! Let's go now!"
"Wait, what about Zhu Pa, who's still high on Matatabi?" Gordon, who was almost out of the Gathering Hall's main entrance, suddenly stopped.
"Let's give it a vacation, and let little Tiki take care of it?"
"Uh, isn't that a bit inhuman..."
"When we come back, we'll bring it some crab roe and more local specialties as compensation?"
"That's the plan!"
After leaving Minagarde City, Gordon and Ted rode a Herbivore Dragon Car along the coastline, and a few days later, they arrived at their destination—a Hunting Field located in the northwest corner of Metabe Forest, along the coast.
Unlike the Hunting Field they visited for the Qimian Tribe subjugation, this place had a vast blue sea, warm and humid sea breeze, and extremely bright sunshine.
If it weren't for the hungry monsters lurking everywhere, this would truly be an excellent vacation spot.
Facing the sea, the wind, and the beach, Ted, who had clearly let himself go completely, even wanted to complete the quest wearing only swim trunks, but he was strongly advised against it by Gordon, who maintained the last shred of rationality.
Relaxing isn't like this! Do you really think a Hunting Field is a resort?
"But it's really hot like this," Ted, who was forced to be fully armored, looked a bit dejected. He took off his stuffy helmet and grumbled.
Gordon rolled his eyes and didn't respond.
Ted's equipment was a set of armor called "Basarios Armor." Solid and heavy carapaces covered every corner of his body, and the flamboyant shoulder pads made him, already extremely tall and sturdy, look even larger.
Considering his role as a Gunlance User, positioned as the front-line defender in the team, this copper-wall-and-iron-fortress-like appearance truly gave a strong sense of security.
--+--
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.