"I was thinking… since the future me doesn't even consider the demon a living being, then for a being that isn't alive, can the term 'capture' even apply?"
Laios pointed at his quest panel as he spoke. "If the demon isn't a living thing, then it has no instincts or habits, no life or death. What I did in the future was merely rob it of the desire to keep consuming."
"The demon added traits and instincts to itself in order to understand humans, just so it could constantly savor human desires. But even then, it still wasn't a living being."
Laios pondered aloud: "Is it possible the quest description contains an error?"
His words caused the others to fall into deep thought.
But Kairo Retsu decisively slammed the table and stood up:
"I'll go ask Grandma Felyne!!"
And with that, he sprinted off toward the massive kitchen to find her. His fluid motion gave a certain subset of those watching a familiar feeling.
"How should I put this…" Kazuma muttered. "Kairo Retsu really reminds me of that guy… that guy."
"Right? Huh? Don't tell me your world has one too?" Naofumi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"You too?"
Kazuma and Naofumi locked eyes—
And spoke in unison: "Nobita Nobi!"
"I knew it! Knew it! Kairo Retsu rushing off to Grandma Felyne is just like Nobita running to Doraemon…" Kazuma griped.
Naofumi sighed. "Well, our Felynes do seem just as magical as Doraemon…"
A few minutes later, Kairo Retsu triumphantly returned to the canteen, still chewing a freshly-fried meat chunk:
"Today's Meowscular Meal includes deep-fried Dragon tenderloin! Grandma Felyne gave me a piece—delicious!"
"You just went in there to sneak food!?" Joseph snapped.
"What about the thing we asked!?"
"Oh, that?"
Kairo Retsu sat back down. "I already asked. Grandma Felyne said… the quest title has no issues whatsoever!"
"I guarantee you, what Grandma Felyne says is absolute."
He turned to Laios. "For us Hunters, the most important thing is—Felynes can do anything!"
"I see."
Laios nodded. "Then perhaps… we really do have another path available to us."
"In addition to slay and repel…"
"We capture the demon."
He looked seriously at the five in front of him and stated his idea.
"Interesting. As expected of the Gourmet King." Kairo Retsu scratched his chin. "But didn't you just say the demon isn't a living being, so it shouldn't be capturable? Why the change of heart?"
Laios organized his thoughts and replied:
"If the demon is a mass of magical desire, then in our world, it's akin to air or water."
"'Capturing' air or water doesn't make sense."
"Air and water don't fall into traps. They aren't drawn to bait."
"But the demon is different. It does have a lure it can't resist. Its desire is too pure."
Laios paused. "It lacks moderation."
"Mazes attract people to them—Senshi taught us that. But the demon is the same. It's lured by the 'maze' outside the dungeon. Just like how dungeon masters are eventually swallowed up by the power of the maze… I believe the Winged Lion is the same."
"It's just another type of dungeon master."
Laios's tone grew more certain:
"It's gradually layering on biological traits. And once it resembles a living being enough—it can be captured like one."
After hearing this, Kairo Retsu applauded.
"As expected of the Gourmet King. That analytical mind—you'd make a damn fine Hunter!"
"You know, the more I think about it, the more I feel like this demon can be captured."
He clenched his fist. "If the quest gave us that as a condition, there has to be a way to fulfill it."
"Looks like we've got more prep work to do."
Kairo Retsu gave a thumbs-up to the group.
"If there are things still left unfinished in your home worlds, now's the time to wrap them up. Once we've ironed out the plan, we can think about setting out!"
"So in the end, we're still taking the risk, huh…"
Naofumi sighed. "I'll try to finish my stuff quickly. Now that I've got a Heavy Bowgun, things on my side have gotten a lot easier. Shouldn't take long."
"I'm not going back until I've mastered Ripple to the point of absolute supremacy!" Joseph declared boldly. "Since time doesn't move in our home worlds while we're here, I'm gonna melt Kars the moment I lay eyes on him!"
"If it's prep time, then I guess I can't go back either?"
Laios pointed at himself. "By the way, is there really that much dragon meat around here?"
"Of course there is!"
Kairo Retsu thought for a second.
"Hey, how about I take you tomorrow to find some Herbivore Dragon eggs?"
"They're this big!"
He spread his arms dramatically.
"Awesome!"
Laios beamed.
"Can I bring a few back for Senshi and Marcille!?"
"Of course!"
Kairo Retsu gave him a big thumbs-up.
"There'll be even more ingredients for you to try! And in the future, once we start visiting other worlds, there might be entirely new monsters out there! New monsters mean new flavors!"
"That's amazing!!!!"
Laios Touden, male, age 26, race: Tallman.
Today—his first day as a Hunter—was, without a doubt, the happiest day of his life.
"Here we go—today's Meowscular Meal!"
Just then, Grandma Felyne arrived with steaming hot platters.
"There was still some Rathalos meat left, so I made deep-fried Dragon meat-nyaa."
She smiled kindly.
"Make sure to eat plenty, okay? If it's not enough, I'll make more for you."
"Oh! I overheard the Guildmaster and Hunter Laios talking about going egg hunting tomorrow, right?"
She added warmly:
"Please be careful, okay? Once you're back, I'll cook you something delicious with those Herbivore Dragon eggs."
"Grandma Felyne…!"
In that moment, Laios finally understood why Kairo Retsu and the others trusted her so much.
He too had now been completely won over by her kindness.
"This place is incredible!"
Poll: What should replace Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT)?
Hey everyone,
I've decided to put Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT) on hiatus for now. In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to run a poll to see what you'd like me to work on next. Can't wait to see what you all pick!
Options:
A brand new fanfic (picked by me)
Continue a recommended fanfic (suggested Readers and will be voted on)
Two chapters a day for Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World
Two chapters a day for My Game Studio is Full of Valkyries?!
Two chapters a day for Monster Hunter Grand Assembly
📅 Voting will be open on Patreon for one week!
Heres the link to the poll
https://www.patreon.com/posts/poll-on-what-to-137136810?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkpatreon.com/BestElysium