Emerging from the Wyverian artisan's smithy, the two humans and one cat exchanged glances as they watched the hurried crowds on the streets.
Everyone was busy except for the three of them with nothing to do. Even if they were told to continue their vacation, wouldn't they feel too embarrassed?
They made their way back to the guild hall tavern.
Guildmarm Sophia was swamped with work, with countless matters requiring her approval. She didn't seem to be at the Guild Hall currently, so it was better not to bother her.
With this in mind, Altaïr and Isis approached the quest counter to ask guild receptionist Hannah if there was anything they could do.
"Anything you can do?" Hannah glanced at the empty quest board.
Aside from emergency requests, the Val Habar guild typically didn't accept commissions during migration periods. After all, hunters were all assigned work, and even if the guild took requests, there wouldn't be manpower to handle them.
There were some particularly troublesome quests that had been posted for a long time, but those weren't something young hunters like them had the capability to tackle.
As a receptionist, she genuinely couldn't think of anything suitable for the two of them at the moment.
Hannah tapped her chin thoughtfully before saying, "Why don't you go ask some local hunters you're familiar with? Due to communication delays, my information here tends to be outdated.
During migration periods, hunters' assignments are divided by zones. There are bound to be areas short-handed where you could temporarily join.
If there are extermination or hunting missions needed, the zone supervisor will issue you official quest documents."
The suggestion was clear enough. Having only recently arrived in Val Habar, they didn't know many local hunters well. The image of a certain portly figure simultaneously came to both their minds.
The problem was how to find him. Normally, they could just check the popular food stalls, but with many shops closed for business now, it wasn't so certain.
Taking a chance, they searched around the food district and actually found the large man at Chef Meow's shop.
Chef Meow wasn't open for business either, with cold stoves. Jara was begging him to steam several baskets of buns to use as rations.
Naziya stood nearby, impatiently urging him, "Hurry up! Why steam buns when we have regular rations?"
"Those taste terrible..."
This was Altaïr's first time seeing these two equipped in their armor sets.
Jara wore a purple-gray armor set that extensively used leather with a rubber-like texture, appearing both thick and bulky.
"Gypceros Armor Set," Isis murmured beside him. "It really suits Brother Jara's build."
Altaïr took a closer look. The Gypceros monster inhabited damp areas like jungles and swamps, not appearing in desert regions, so this armor set was quite novel to him.
In contrast, he was very familiar with Naziya's equipment, the Makluva Set.
Crafted from Cephalos scales combined with scales and fins from various fish caught in oasis lakes, it was lightweight yet durable, featuring typical desert ethnic designs.
Among the 2★ and 3★ Hunters living in the desert region, quite a few use this set of armor.
However, their weapons were somewhat counterintuitive.
Jara, clad in heavy equipment, carried a dark red Insect Glaive on his back. Altaïr recognized it as the Vermillion Viper, a poison-attribute Insect Glaive crafted from Ioprey materials.
Meanwhile, Naziya, wearing lightweight fish-scale armor, shouldered a steel Switch Axe that looked heavy just by its appearance.
Sajji muttered quietly nearby, "That's the 'Valor Switch Axe' that Teacher Naziya assembled herself, Meow. It used a ton of precious metals and is supposedly a higher-grade weapon than your [Kagura] and the Defense Corps Gunlance, Meow.
She keeps saying this Switch Axe can crack open Flying Wyverns' skulls, even though she's just a 2★ Hunter, Meow."
Noticing Altaïr and the others' arrival, Naziya walked over to greet them but caught Sajji's last remark. Enraged, she grabbed Sajji and pinched his cheeks, "You damn cat, is this the mouth that's being disrespectful?!"
Meanwhile, Jara's eyes lit up the moment he saw Isis. He scurried over with surprising speed for his portly figure, grinning obsequiously as he asked, "Isis, little sis, have you had lunch yet?"
The question left Isis momentarily confused, and she instinctively replied, "Not yet."
"Chef Meow! Did you hear that? Isis hasn't eaten yet!"
Chef Meow remained silent for a few seconds, "We've got plenty of ingredients left here, Meow. If we don't use them soon, they'll go to waste since we're not open for business, Meow. I'll chop and stir-fry them all together to make steamed buns, Meow."
With that, Chef Meow started lighting the fire, kneading dough, and chopping ingredients.
Isis forgot her original purpose for coming again. She and Jara moved some tables and chairs so everyone could sit, then she propped her chin in her hands, gazing expectantly toward the stove.
While waiting for the food, Altaïr noticed Jara rubbing his chubby hands together like a fat fly and moved to sit beside him to inquire about the situation.
Jara's eyes shifted between Altaïr, Isis, and Sajji, "Let me confirm this, you're saying that because you were away on a business trip earlier, the guild didn't assign you any tedious, complicated, and poorly compensated tasks, basically voluntary labor, for the city migration.
But you returned from your trip early and found yourselves with an unexpected long vacation, allowing you to lounge around in your cabins eating and drinking all day. Yet you feel guilty and want to help share our workload?"
"Pretty much."
"I see." Jara nodded with exaggerated seriousness, then looked at Naziya, "So these guys have lost their minds, right?"
Naziya clicked her tongue, "You asked where we're short-handed? Everywhere, of course.
Val Habar migrates three to four times a year on average. Each migration takes about half a month, plus around a week of preparation before it starts. Those several dozen days are the busiest time of the year for us Val Habar Hunters.
It's literally like working people like livestock.
Even a 'part-time Hunter' like me, who rarely visits the Guild Hall for months, gets dragged out to work. You luckily escaped it but are crawling back on your own? What were you thinking?"
"We're part of the Val Habar Guild now too." Isis grinned foolishly, "We just learned everyone's super busy, so we wanted to help share a bit of the load."
Jara and Naziya, who had initially intended to persuade them to seize the chance to slack off, simultaneously facepalmed.
"What a pure-hearted child who truly cleanses the soul!"
"Compared to her, we're just slick and lazy adults. This is the price of growing up."
"This is a reward for the good child, meow." Chef Meow approached the dining table, placing the large steamer basket he'd been carrying overhead in front of Isis, then glared at Jara and Naziya. "You two lazybones, learn from little Isis, meow! If everyone slacked off all day like you two, how would Val Habar keep running, meow?!"
Having lived in Val Habar for many years and practically watched Jara's generation grow up, Chef Meow, though a Felyne, could be considered their elder.
Facing Chef Meow's scolding, the two could only bow their heads and repeatedly agree.
"So, old friends, is there anything we can help with?" Altaïr interjected with a smile. "We've been resting for several days already, and Isis just got new armor. This would be a good opportunity to adapt and break it in."
Jara and Naziya exchanged glances.
"Actually, yes. There's a task just assigned from above." Jara unfurled a map as he spoke, his chubby fingers tracing across it. "Val Habar's current position is here. This migration plan is to head nearly 300 kilometers north, reaching this location near the Ancestral Steppe."
"The Ancestral Steppe? Isn't that already at the northern edge of the Great Desert?" Altaïr asked in surprise.
The so-called Ancestral Steppe is a plain stretching between the Great Desert and Old Jungle, named for its numerous ancient civilization ruins.
Setting foot on the Ancestral Steppe meant leaving the Great Desert.
Jara chuckled and said, "Exactly. For the next few months, Val Habar will be stationed at the part of the Great Desert closest to the Ancestral Steppe. Our mission is to scout this area. If we encounter dangerous Monsters, we drive them away if possible. If we can't drive them away, we hunt them. If we can't defeat them, we come back and call for reinforcements. Simple and clear, right?"