"!"
Laois's statement made Marcille and Chilchuck, who understood what the arrival of the Western Elves implied, instantly widen their eyes in shock.
Marcille immediately leapt up, grabbing the collar of Laois's armor and shaking him violently. "That's the kind of thing you should have said right from the start!!!!!!!!!"
"We're doomed! The Western Elves are here!" Chilchuck was visibly breaking down. "We're dead for sure! They must've figured out we used black magic! Those guys are going to drag us back to the Elven lands and torture us to death…"
"Ah, I'd like to clarify something on that point," Kairo Retsu raised his hand and interjected. "It's not exactly 'torture to death.' It's just that elves perceive time differently, so for them, the prisoner just kind of… dies of old age during interrogation…"
"THAT'S EXACTLY THE SAME THING!!!" Chilchuck shouted, clutching his head.
"Which means our only option is to defeat the Mad Sorcerer," Laois said, clenching his fist with determination. "It's fine! We'll find a way!"
"Why are you so damn optimistic!?" Chilchuck wailed.
"Because…"
Laois scratched his head. "After seeing a Nergigante up close, nothing else really feels that scary anymore."
"I'm convinced we've all got some seriously broken sense of mortality," muttered Kazuma off to the side.
Joseph Joestar was murmuring along with him, "So seeing an Elder Dragon has that kind of effect? I should try it too—might be good for boosting courage or whatever."
"Anyway, let's get you cleaned up first and wash off the transformation mushroom spores," Kairo Retsu said to Marcille and the others. "I'm sure we'll enjoy working together from here on out."
As he said this, Kairo Retsu picked up Kensuke—the wyvern-lion-hilted sword—and handed it to Laois. "Here, your sword."
"Oh! Kensuke!" Laois eagerly strapped the sword back onto his waist. "Now that that's settled, let's have breakfast! The Grandmaster and the others brought new ingredients! You guys go wash off the spores first!"
Though they had plenty of questions left, Marcille and the others decided to clean themselves up first.
Meanwhile, Laois and the hunters began setting up a fire to cook.
Laois drew a heating magic circle while the others set up the pot. As for Kairo Retsu…
He went and called over one of the Felynes helping to set up the temporary camp to cook them some Meowscular Chef-style food.
"Leave it to me, nya!" said one of the Felynes, a direct apprentice of the Meowscular Chef, confidently grabbing a spatula and beginning to whip up a proper Palico meal.
Laois crouched beside the Felyne with great interest, eagerly watching how the cooking was done and occasionally asking what ingredients were being used.
Stuff like leg meat from wyverns, coral shrimp, Rathalos whiskey, and secret barnacle abalone…
By the time Marcille and the others returned from bathing, they were stunned at the sight of the giant feast spread out before them.
"Why is there so much food!?" Marcille cried. "How did you even make all this!?"
"Obviously, it was cooked by our greatest partners—Felynes!!!!!!" Kairo Retsu proudly introduced their invaluable companions. "Felynes can do anything!!!!!!"
"Nice to meet you, nya!" the Felyne waved energetically. "Hope you like the Palico food I made, nya!"
"The cat can talk!? Isn't that a monster!?" Chilchuck yelped.
"Hmm?" Izutsuzumi approached the Felyne curiously and gave her a sniff. "Were you transformed into this by black magic too?"
"Nope, nya," the Felyne shook her head. "We Felynes have always been Felynes, nya!"
"So much food for breakfast…" Senshi gazed at the mountain of Palico meals, concerned. In his unchanged tone, he voiced his worry. "It would be a shame to let it go to waste."
"Waste?"
Kairo Retsu waved dismissively. "Don't worry. Never underestimate our appetites. Eat as much as you want—we'll handle the leftovers."
After that statement, everyone sat down to an especially hearty breakfast…
Marcille and the others were amazed to see just how much these hunters could eat. Even after they themselves were full, they watched in awe as the hunters packed away the food like bottomless pits.
Strangely, Laois's appetite had also skyrocketed—he was keeping up with the hunters without issue…
"We'll need to secure a lot more ingredients from now on," Senshi muttered, already thinking about food supply. "Can't let the youngsters go hungry…"
"Don't worry! We've got our own rations," Kairo Retsu assured them mid-chew. "Hunters need to fight monsters constantly, so naturally, we eat a lot. But we won't be too much trouble for you!"
"There are tons of monsters around here, right?" Kairo Retsu patted the Charge Blade on his back. "We're hunters—we're great at hunting!"
"We're some of the rarest elite hunters out there!" Kairo Retsu announced proudly, introducing the group to Marcille and the others.
"This here's Joseph Joestar! His skills are raw power and Hamon!"
"This is Naofumi Iwatani! He specializes in heavy bowgun bombardments and shields!"
"Satou Kazuma! He's good at sneaking, sniping, and stealing!"
"Tanjiro Kamado! He's got some wild sword techniques—and a really hard head!"
"And finally, the newest member of our team: Laois! He has deep knowledge of monsters and incredible observational skills! With hunters like us around, you can expect some serious surprises!" Kairo Retsu beamed.
"There's Laois… among the hunters," Chilchuck muttered.
"Yeah, Laois is one of them now…" Marcille said, eyeing him skeptically.
Izutsuzumi just went speechless. "..."
Despite their doubts, with the looming threat of the Western Elves, they had little choice but to trust Laois and accompany these hunters.
Their original five-person team had now expanded to ten, and together they resumed their journey deeper into the dungeon.
Although their bodies hadn't fully returned to normal, Marcille and the others managed to keep up. Soon, they arrived once again at the massive door leading further into the depths.
"We're back here again. No chains or locks… How are we supposed to get through?" Chilchuck scratched his head in frustration. "Doesn't look like there's another path either…"
Just as he was about to ask Laois, he noticed that Laois was stepping forward with Kensuke in hand—meanwhile, the other hunters were all assuming battle stances?
Laois had been worried whether the wyvern-lion would help open the door like before—but the moment Kensuke was raised, a flurry of tendrils emerged from it, putting Laois at ease.
As the door opened, the sound of gargoyle mechanisms activated above.
Kairo Retsu immediately drew his Charge Blade, sword in his left hand and shield in his right.
"It's showtime!"
"Crush those gargoyles!!"
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 by Readers and will be voted on Again)
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!
patreon.com/BestElysium